Falklands : Executive Council (November Report)
Submitted by Falkland Islands News Network (Juanita Brock) 29.11.2005 (Article Archived on 13.12.2005)
H. E. the Governor explains what happened during this vital meeting.
GOVERNOR’S REPORT ON THE MEETING OF EXECUTIVE COUNCIL ON THURSDAY 24 NOVEMBER 2005
The first meeting of Executive Council following the General Election took place on Thursday 24 November.
Executive Council confirmed its approval of the settlement reached between the Falkland Islands Government and Gordon Forbes Construction at negotiations held in London in October 2005, and recommended that the Standing Finance Committee finance the settlement from the Capital Equalisation Fund. Standing Finance Committee subsequently accepted this recommendation, and a separate press release has been issued by FIG setting out the terms of the settlement.
ExCo considered a revised fee structure for the Department of Agriculture. The recommendations of the Department were accepted, and the new fees will come into effect from 1 January 2006. It was agreed that any future changes in the fee structure should be timed to coincide with the beginning of FIG’s financial year, so the next set of changes will not therefore be brought into effect until 1 July 2007.
Members of the public will be aware of the investigation being undertaken by a team from the Metropolitan Police Service into allegations made against the Royal Falkland Islands Police. The costs of this investigation are being met by the Falkland Islands Government. ExCo considered a paper setting out the details of these costs, and agreed that a recommendation should be made to Standing Finance Committee to approve additional expenditure of £102,200 to cover the costs of the investigation. It is likely that, in the event of criminal proceedings resulting from the investigation, additional costs will be incurred, but it is not possible at present to anticipate the extent of these further costs.
The Falkland Islands Government has been invited by the UK’s Department for Works and Pensions to consider whether it wishes certain International Labour Organisation Conventions to be extended to the Falkland Islands. ExCo concluded that the Conventions on the Minimum Age for Admission to Employment and on the Worst Forms of Child Labour should be extended to the Falkland Islands. However, ExCo considered that further legal advice was required before a decision could be taken on the extension of the Convention on the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention because of the implications which adherence to the Convention might have for current Falkland Islands legislation and recruitment policy. Executive Council also agreed that the United Nations Convention Against Corruption should be extended to the Falkland Islands. The Attorney General will be drafting new legislation where necessary in order to give full effect in the Falkland Islands to the terms of these Conventions.
It is necessary in any community to have access to emergency powers in order to cope with disasters or other unforeseen and extreme circumstances. However, following changes in UK legislation a few years ago, it appears that the UK Orders in Council which provided for emergency powers in the Falkland Islands are no longer in force. The Attorney General has therefore drafted a Civil Contingency (Emergency Powers) Bill designed to make it possible to introduce emergency powers in the event of circumstances making that necessary. The terms of this Bill follow closely the equivalent UK legislation. Executive Council agreed that such powers were important, and that the Bill should be submitted to Legislative Council for decision.
The Financial Secretary submitted for consideration by Executive Council thirteen proposed changes to the Taxes Ordinance designed to simplify and clarify the taxation legislation. Executive Council agreed that the Financial Secretary should proceed with seven of the proposed changes, that he should not proceed with one, and that the remaining five should be deferred for further consideration. The proposed changes are quite technical and the details are being published separately, but I shall run through them very quickly.
The changes which were agreed by ExCo are as follows:
- a series of minor and clarifying amendments, largely to grammatical and typing errors in the consolidated version of the Taxes Ordinance;
- the closure of a loophole in the penalties imposed for the late filing of company accounts. Under the proposed change, a 10% tax-geared penalty will be implemented if company accounts are more than 6 months late if the tax has not been paid on the date after the expiry of the 6-month period;
- any sums paid under the Old Age Pensions Ordinance, which has now been superseded, will no longer be deductible from an individual’s taxable income;
- a small change to depreciation allowances;
- a change to arrangements for retirement pension contributions to take account of the fact that since 1 January 2003 independent taxation has been in force – ie married couples are taxed independently, not as a couple;
- a small change in the definition of the term “residence” in the Falkland Islands;
- a change in the taxation of fisheries property rights designed to extend such taxation to include share transfers.
It was decided not to make a recommended change to the tax rules concerning investment in forestry.
Proposed changes concerning residential properties and depreciation allowances, retirement benefit schemes and the commutation of pensions, the repayment of employees’ pension contributions, the tax treatment of lump sums, and contributions and payments under personal pension schemes were deferred for further consideration.
Finally, ExCo agreed the schedule of meetings for 2006.
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