Falklands : Falklands - Summary of Executive Council (14/12/07)
Submitted by Falkland Islands News Network (Juanita Brock) 20.12.2007 (Article Archived on 03.01.2008)
Councillors update us on what happened at this important Council meeting.
Summary of Executive Council Meeting 14th December 2007
A final draft of the Islands Plan 2008-12 was approved for consultation with the public and key stakeholders. The Islands Plan sets out the agenda of Government and promises to the community and stakeholders. Once approved, the Plan guides business plans of the service departments, and the Performance Management agreements with civil servants. The format of this Islands Plan differs from that of 2004-07 in that there are far reaching outcomes with specifically related milestones which are accompanied by an indication of where responsibility for delivery lies and the implications upon the Medium Term Financial Plan. All comments are to be submitted to the Secretariat by Friday 18th January for consideration by Executive Council on the 24th January.
As a result of the production of the new Islands Plan which sets out medium to long term objectives, Council approved the development of a five year Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) for modest reduction and redirection of the government’s expenditure, through the creation of an Island Plan Reserve, and for a shadow MTFP to meet reductions in revenue from the Illex fishery. These plans will properly review all aspects of services and propose options for changing service levels; provide longer range planning and will provide flexibility so that an Islands Plan Reserve can be created from savings to fund new policy. The target suggested for the MTFP is to reduce operational expenditure by £0.5 million p.a. and to increase revenue by up to £0.5 million p.a. the shadow MTFP, which will be considered alongside the MTFP each year would seek to meet the Islands Plan targets, managing without Illex income (£6 million).
Following the 2006/07 audited out-turn and bearing in mind that Members had clearly stated that if there was a budget surplus they would consider making a retrospective one-off bonus payment under the Holiday Credit Scheme, Council duly considered options for such a payment given the £5 million budget surplus of 2006/07. In order that wider views and an open debate could be held Executive Council sought advice from the Standing Finance Committee. Standing Finance Committee have subsequently recommended to Executive Council that a bonus payment of 24p per adult per day and 12p per child per day be made as a one-off payment for 2006/07. This will take the daily payments to 50p and 25p per day respectively, and will cost a total of £168,000.
A request from HQ BFSAI to use the annual FIG contribution to defence, for housing provision, for the refurbishment of some of the older service families accommodation rather than to build two new houses, was approved by Executive Council. This is to be a one-off re-direction of funding and all works are to be offered to local companies.
Council approved the reappointment of Mr John Frederick Simpson and Mrs Susan Jean Wilks as employee representatives, to the Pensions Board for a period of 2 years until December 2009, and the appointment of Mr Stephen Paul Freer, as an employer representative for 1 year.
A request for support of the attendance of two local competitors at the Golden Shears Competition was considered and approved. A contribution of £1,178 will be made from the donations and subventions vote.
Council approved that Mr Denis Humphreys be awarded the contract to operate Lookout Lodge for a period of 3 years on a commercial basis.
Civil Aviation in the UK Overseas Territories is governed by legislation (Air Navigation (Overseas Territories) Order 2001 and International conventions and standards) to which the UK as a State has agreed to comply. Overseas Territories Aviation Requirements (OTARs) have been published to provide details of means of compliance with AN(OT)O 2001. Over the past 25 years regulatory requirements have become more robust and the Falkland Islands has not always met the requirements laid down. To this end Council were asked to approve a number of requests that will enable FIG to satisfy the legal requirements under the recently published OTARs. Council agreed that the Stanley Aerodrome should be certificated and that the runway should be extended to the west so that the Visual Control Room is compliant. Funding for the runway extension is already within budget (in that resurfacing will take place in a different area to that originally planned). Additional funding of £15,000 to mitigate against the glare and reflection in the existing VCR and for the installation of runway lighting was also recommended to Standing Finance Committee. Members deferred consideration of which Fire and Rescue Category the aerodrome would meet until they have sight of the FIGAS strategic review which is due in March 2008. However, Members accepted that the current arrangements for Fire and Safety cover were unsatisfactory and so recommended to SFC that funding be provided for the recruitment of a part time fire officer (£12,000 per annum) and for the appropriate training (£16,000) to be carried out.
Following consultation with the public on the subject of BFBS TV a number of recommendations were put to Executive Council. Whilst noting the responses from the public, Council agreed that FIG should proceed with the BFBS TV project in order that progress can be made over the summer months for the purchase and installation of equipment. Council also agreed that a charge should be made for the service but have requested a further paper with options on fee levels and operational issues to come to the January meeting of Executive Council.
A report of the Working Group on Humane and Safe Working Conditions on Fishing Vessels was received and Council requested that this be circulated to the fishing industry for comments for consideration of the January meeting of Executive Council.
A paper clarifying Government’s policy on preferential appointments for posts in the Civil Service was received. Council requested that this paper be circulated and debated in order that the public can assess the impacts of such a policy.
Council agreed that a further moratorium on the issue of Permanent Residence Permits for a period of 12 months from 26th January 2008 be made by Order suspending the operation of section 18 of the Immigration Ordinance 1999. The reasons for this moratorium have not changed from those set down for the previous moratorium. Furthermore, some of the fundamental areas yet to be resolved are linked to Falkland Island Status and the routes to which are currently under review within the Constitutional negotiations with the FCO.
As a result of the recent schools inspection undertaken by the Service Children’s Education, Council were requested to approve a number of recommendations to meet some of the objectives laid down in the inspection reports. Council approved that an interim Deputy Headteacher be seconded or recruited from the UK for one year to create additional management capacity to support the improvements necessary in the FICS, that the Director of Education seeks support from SCE to conduct a progress review in FICS in November 2008 and that the Director of Education meets these costs by virement from within the overall Education Service budget.
This concludes the Executive Council summary for December 2007.
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