Falklands : Falklands Executive Council Report for April 2005
Submitted by Falkland Islands News Network (Juanita Brock) 03.05.2005 (Article Archived on 17.05.2005)
Find out what happened at this important monthly meeting.
Executive Council – 28 April 2005
It was quite a long ExCo this month – nearly 40 items on the agenda. A lot of them were related to the upcoming budget so I can’t go into details on what Councillors decided as their recommendations were all submitted to the Budget Committee for further discussion, but I hope to give listeners a flavour of what was discussed and some of the issues that concerned Councillors.
We started off the meeting with the Director of Fisheries and all Councillors (except one) present to discuss the early closure of the illex season and issue of whether refunds should be made to licensed jiggers. Councillors were naturally very concerned about the failure of the stock again and discussed the future prospects for the fishery. They considered the need to reward past loyalty and to ensure future interest in the fishery but also the current financial situation of the Islands and the need to make savings. The Director of Fisheries was able to provide some useful clarification of a number of points which Councillors raised and it was very valuable to have him attend in person.
Some important new legislation was also considered and agreed at this month’s meeting. The Sexual Offences Bill which enacts the provisions of the UK’s Sexual Offences Act was approved for submission to Legislative Council. This is significant because it increases the amount of protection for vulnerable people in society – in particular for children. An amendment was approved for the Media Trust Bill to take account of the fact that the Media Trust is to take over the running of the Falkland Islands Broadcasting Station. This is a move that has been discussed for some time and has been discussed with all the staff who are aware of the implications. Other pieces of legislation to look out for in the Gazette are the Planning (Amendment) Bill and the Finance Bill.
A number of issues relating to Education came up. There was substantial discussion on the issue of who should be entitled to funding from the FIG for further and higher education. At the moment this is available to all Status holders, regardless of how long they had been in the Islands, or whether or not they were likely to return. The issue will be discussed further by a small group of officials who are to prepare a further paper for Councillors. Councillors were very conscious of the need to be fair and not to discriminate against some people, but also of the importance of ensuring that the Islands have the possibility of benefiting from what can be a significant expense.
Also on education, Councillors took a paper on ways to deal with persistent unauthorised absences from school and agreed to make amendments to the legislation to enable stronger measures to be taken in the case of persistent offenders. ExCo takes a very strong view of unauthorised absences, although Councillors were keen to stress that they recognised there were occasions when it was not appropriate to take strong action. For example, many families took holidays rarely and when they did go away it was for a considerable period of time. Provided that this was not a regular occurrence and that a child did not miss a vital part of his or her schooling, Councillors would not be in favour of action being taken. However persistent absences, in particular during important years such as preparing for GCSE, should be discouraged and Councillors agreed to amend the existing legislation to give the Attorney General powers to prosecute parents who allowed their children to miss school regularly. Also on the subject of further education Councillors confirmed that applications for Government Housing from returning students should be considered on their merits and not given automatic priority. This will be made clear in the Government’s Housing Allocation Policy Statement.
On oil, Councillors agreed that in future work plans made by companies as part of their licensing agreement would be made public. This will enable other companies who are interested in applying for a licence see the kind of work which FIG expects them to commit to – although obviously each company will have a different work plan.
Probably one of the most emotive and controversial issues which has arisen over the last few months has been the route of the Murrell Road. As the public know, the route was initially chose on purely engineering grounds but when it was announced there were a number of objections on the grounds that this route would have a significant negative impact on the area which is a local beauty spot and very popular with fishermen. There has been a long period of consultation on this and expert advice has been sought from Fisheries Dept on the fishing aspects and from the Environmental Department on other issue. Councillors needed to take a decision at this meeting of ExCo because although road-building will not start again until next summer some preparation will be needed over the winter months. After considering all the options Councillors decided that the route originally planned across Mastins Point should stand, but that work should not begin until a satisfactory Management plan for the site had been drawn up in outline. The plan’s aims will be to detail how best to protect the natural environment and in particular the fish stocks and it should address not only the effect of building the road but also any potential effects of increased access. They asked for the Plan to be submitted to the September ExCo.
An issue on which Councillors would welcome further views from the public is the future of the Government Jetty which is currently in a very ramshackle state. A range of options was put to Councillors but they asked for further consultation with people who use the Jetty. However Councillors did decide the fate of the Camber House which is to be put for sale by public tender. A notice inviting bids has already been issued and further information is available from the Secretariat.
And finally … some new commemorative coins will be produced which collectors and souvenir hunters can buy. One is a gold coin to mark the wedding of the Prince of Wales to Mrs Parker-Bowles and shows a bouquet of flowers, including four sprays of Pale Maiden. Another is a coin to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War showing a family waving flags and surrounded by bunting and then a set of four coins to commemorate the anniversary of the death of Sir Winston Churchill which show him in four different aspects – as a young soldier, an artist, a writer and in his most famous role broadcasting to the nation during World War II.
The next ExCo will be a budget ExCo on Monday 23 May.
|
