Executive Council had a heavy agenda of some 41 items at its monthly meeting on 30 October. I summarise the highlights below:

Executive Council continues to work on development of the new Fisheries Policy. We considered a paper on eligibility to hold fishing rights under the new arrangements for the establishment of long-term rights in the various Falkland Islands fisheries. The subject is complex, and we held a thorough discussion of the issues. The following summarises the conclusions which we reached:

- companies eligible to own individual transferable quotas in the fishery must be owned by shareholders who both enjoy Falkland Islands status and are ordinarily resident in the Falkland Islands;

- the Governor should however be given powers by the new fishery legislation to vary the requirement that such companies should be wholly owned by Falkland Islands status holders. Each case must be considered on its merits, and any variation must be company specific and clearly in the national interest;

- Government will establish registers of those companies which are eligible for fisheries rights in each fishery. Inclusion on the relevant register will be required to enable a company to be allocated fisheries rights or to trade in those rights;

- companies enjoying these rights must be in control of the use of these rights, must be actively involved in the harvesting and/or processing and/or selling of fish; and must make efficient use of those rights.

These decisions fill out some essential details of the new fisheries management system, and provide guidance to the Attorney General as he continues his work of preparing the new fisheries legislation.

On another fisheries matter, Executive Council agreed in principle to recommend the inclusion of two new long liners – the Isla Graciosa and the Mellas – on the Falklands shipping register, subject to the fulfilment of a number of conditions.

A team from the British NGO, Social Development Direct, visited the Falkland Islands some 18 months ago, as part of a project on the human rights in the UK Overseas Territories commissioned by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development. Executive Council considered Social Development Direct’s report on the Falkland Islands. Members were concerned about a number of significant inaccuracies in the report and agreed that a statement should be issued which corrected these inaccuracies. On the main recommendations of the report, which has already been published, Executive Council reached the following conclusions:

- the Foreign and Commonwealth Office should be asked to take up with the Ministry of Defence the concerns expressed in the report about employment conditions at MPA;

- the Attorney General should take up with the Chamber of Commerce the criticism in the report of conditions of service for St Helenian workers;

- the AG should seek advice from FCO Legal Advisers on the extent which international law allows the imposition of health and safety regulations on foreign fishing vessels fishing in Falkland Islands waters;

- the new fisheries legislation should provide for the prohibition of foreign masters who have mistreated their crews;

- a foreign woman in a settled relationship with a man of Falkland Islands status and who is himself entitled to free medical treatment should herself be entitled to free medical treatment in connection with pregnancy;

- a report should be prepared for Executive Council on the recommendation that a Complaints Commissioner be appointed;

- There is no need for a Human Rights Committee to be established in the Falkland Islands.

This was an important discussion which enabled Members to address the issues raised by Social Development Direct and to review human rights issues in the Falklands. Members noted that SDD’s report was broadly encouraging and that the most serious criticisms did not relate directly to the civilian community in the Falkland Islands.

In connection with restructuring of the tax system, Executive Council took another look at the proposal to tax family allowances. Executive Council concluded that family allowances should not be taxable. Executive Council also considered a number of other taxation issues, and approved the remission of the Taxes (Amendment) Bill 2003 to Legislative Council.

Another subject of interest to a large number of Falkland Islanders is the arrangements for the issuing of passports. Following the decision by the British Home Secretary that all British passports issued after 31 December 2003 should be machine readable, Executive Council had to consider whether the necessary equipment should be purchased to enable the Immigration Department to continue to provide a passport issuing service in the Falkland Islands. Executive Council decided in favour of purchasing the equipment, the cost of which is estimated to be around £45,000. Members noted that there might be a short period in the first part of next year when it might not be possible to issue passports locally, during the installation of the new equipment. Immigration Department will keep the public informed about this.

On a range of other issues, Executive Council agreed:

- to accept Councillor John Birmingham’s bid to take over the management of Look Out Lodge;

- that coins from other sterling based Territories, other than the UK, should not be accepted as legal tender in the Falkland Islands. (The Territories concerned are Ascension Island; St Helena; Guernsey; Jersey, Gibraltar and the Isle of Man;)

- that Caribbean Alliance Insurance should be permitted to carry out general insurance business in the Falkland Islands;

- that the public should be consulted about an application by Ms Julie Clarke and Ms Kirsty Parry for a licence to operate a night club;

Two further Bills – the Planning (Amendment) Bill, and the Housing Assistance (Guarantee) Bill, should be remitted in the first case for publication in the Gazette, and in the second submitted to Legislative Council.

Finally, Members agreed the Schedule for Executive Council and related meetings in 2004.