Falklands : Executive Council Report for February
Submitted by Falkland Islands News Network (Juanita Brock) 07.03.2006 (Article Archived on 21.03.2006)
A full report of February's EXCO meeting.
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETING: FEBRUARY 2006
This was my first ExCo since the election and it was good to see a mix of old and new faces around the table.
We seemed to have a long agenda but many of the papers were on budgetary issues and were referred to discussion in Select Committees so won’t be published at this stage. These papers included proposals to fund conservation work – for example both by providing some core funding to Falklands Conservation and also a request to provide matching funding for a project to study Johnny Rooks and Turkey vultures. This project has applied for funding under the Darwin Initiative – a UK Government fund – and will look at working with farmers and other interested parties to decide how best to manage the important populations of these two birds in the Falkland Islands. It is probably of particular interest to listeners in Camp, as, if it gets funding, an important part of the project will be to hear their views about these birds.
Other organisations that had put budgetary proposals forward for consideration include the Falkland Islands Radio Station and the Museum and National Trust. But there will be further discussions on those in Select Committees.
Councillors took a paper considering whether FIG should introduce taxation for civilian contractors at MPA. The paper considered the financial advantages that would accrue to FIG, put against the likely extra cost which would arise if defence contractors became eligible for FIG services such as medical care and schooling, rather than these being funded as they currently are by the military. There are also a number of employees at MPA who do benefit from FIG services because they are resident in Stanley, but who do not pay tax because of their employment status at MPA. Councillors stressed that although it was within the power of the FIG to tax civilian contractors at MPA, they continued to believe it was not in the best interests of the Falkland Islands to do so. They took account not only of the financial balance which I have just described, but also the fact that taxation of civilians would put an increased financial burden on the Ministry of Defence which they did not wish to do. They did agree however to keep the matter under review and consider separately the issue of those Stanley residents who currently enjoy tax-free status at MPA.
Councillors took a number of papers which dealt with Committees. It is a policy of the new Council to streamline the Committee structure where possible and this ExCo took steps to implement this. The Cost of Living Committee was therefore abolished although reports on the Cost of Living will of course continue to be carried out. Councillors also considered Terms of Reference for the Stanley Lands Committee, which in future is to be re-named the Lands Committee and will advise ExCo on all matters relating to the management, development, sale or lease of all Government land and buildings throughout the Falkland Islands, unless it is already within the remit of another Government Committee. The Committeee is also tasked with making recommendations to ExCo on future accommodation requirements and housing policy. This change fits with the creation of a Land Use portfolio which is currently held by Dr Davies. The Housing Committee will continue to exist, but it will deal primarily with the allocation of government housing in accordance with agreed and published policy. ExCo also agreed the policy by which housing should be allocated. This takes as its general principle ‘that the FIG is under no legal obligation to house any person (except where this is part of a contractual relationship between FIG and an officer recruited overseas) but is responsible for providing housing to Falkland Islanders who are in need and who are unable to find or afford accommodation in the private sector. The policy sets out the priorities for housing. Priority one is contract personnel recruited from overseas whose contract includes provision of accommodation. Priority two is residents with special needs and priority three is residents who do not have accommodation and do not have the financial means to buy, build or rent a house in the private sector. The policy is now to be published and I would urge anyone with an interest to read it as it goes into more detail than I have been able to set out here.
While on the subject of housing, I should also mention that ExCo considered the future of two of the Police cottages – numbers 3 and 4 Police Cottages, also known as 7 and 6 Ross Road. They decided that number 3 Police Cottages (7 Ross Road) should be sold but that for the moment Government should retain the other property. They were however concerned that given the location of the cottages and their visibility from Ross Road, that measures should be put in place to retain the uniformity of the exterior of the terrace and they asked the Attorney General to consider how best this should be done.
Another issue which will be of special interest to those in Camp, or visiting Camp, was a discussion on whether to designate all roads funded by FIG. The paper presented to ExCo contained a selection of views both for and against the proposal and drew on public comments made during previous discussions on this issue. Some of the advantages of designating the roads are that irresponsible and dangerous driving on designated roads can be discouraged and punished more easily, and damage or injury caused by such driving can more readily be awarded compensation. The disadvantages are largely to those who live in Camp who currently do not have to tax or insure vehicles and need not have a licence to drive on undesignated roads. Because this is such an important topic which could have a big impact on those in Camp, especially on the West, Councillors wanted to give it further consideration and are going to set up a small working group to consider the pros and cons of each side of the argument and whether there are solutions to some of the main challenges designations would pose.
Other items considered which remain work in progress were on Residence permits and Marine Farming. The views of the Foreign Office have been sought on different aspects of both those issues, so Councillors will return to them when those views have been received.
And finally…. The date for the next census was decided. It is to be on 8 October.
The next meeting of ExCo will be on 24 March.
|
