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States Greffe: Scrutiny
Senator Lyndon Farnham
Minister for Economic Development, Tourism, Sport and Culture By email
8th April 2022 Dear Minister
Economic and International Affairs Scrutiny Panel (EIA) Technology Accelerator Fund
I write following the recently lodged P.75/2022 Technology Accelerator Fund and a briefing provided by officers within your Department on 16th March 2022.
The Panel notes that, within the report accompanying the proposition, under item 5.2 the Minutes of Oversight Group meetings will be made available to the Economic and International Affairs Scrutiny Panel. The Panel is rightly concerned that it is referenced within the report and wishes to make it known that it had not been made aware of any background regarding this particular fund and its potential impact on the economy until the offer of a briefing from your officers, following lodging of the proposition on 10th March 2022. Additionally, the Panel notes that this proposition was lodged by the Council of Ministers and not by the Chief Minister, who originally had responsibility for the fund as detailed in the Government Plan 2022 - 2025. This would effectively bring the remit of any scrutiny under the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel (CSSP) and not EIA.
I have spoken to the Chair of CSSP which I understand has its own concerns and further understand that no scrutiny of this proposition has been undertaken, despite it forming part of the Government Plan 2022 – 2025 which was approved in December 2021. I have been informed that a letter has been sent to the Chief Minister by the Chair of CSSP asking for the proposition to be withdrawn and wish to advise you that the EIA Panel is fully supportive of this stance given the late lodging and the time frame until the end of this term of office.
Whilst the Panel is not against the implementation of such a fund and recognises the potential benefits and stimulus it could bring to the Island, it believes that without full analysis or scrutiny on the proposition, launching this fund at this time would be extremely imprudent.
If you have any questions regarding the above, please do not hesitate to contact me. Yours sincerely
Deputy David Johnson
Chair
Economic and International Affairs Scrutiny Panel
cc Chief Minister
Chair of Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel