Falklands : Falklands General Purposes Committee Brief (01/28/08)
Submitted by Falkland Islands News Network (Juanita Brock) 29.01.2008 (Article Archived on 12.02.2008)
A meeting of the General Purposes Committee took place on Wednesday, 23 January 2008 and Cllr Summers explained what happened to the media.
GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE BRIEF (01/28/08)
By J. Brock (FINN)
A meeting of the General Purposes Committee took place on Wednesday, 23 January 2008 and on Monday, 28 January 2008 Cllr Summers told the media what went on in that meeting as well as other meetings that took place during January 2008.
Items on the agenda were as follows:
1. Membership on the Prerogative of Mercy Committee
2. Topics and ideas for the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference in Kuala Lumpur
3. Who will take what overseas trips as well as participation in the Westminster Seminar.
4. Councillors allowances in respect of broadband services
5. Government’s way forward in respect of difficult children
6. The Rural Development working group
7. Cllr Clausen’s role as a non member of the FIMCO Board
8. December meetings
9. Visits by members of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association
Meetings during January included:
1. A meeting with Overseas Territories Minister Meg Munn
2. A meeting about the Islands Plan
3. A meeting with FIG funded and /or subsidised Mercopress representatives
4. A meeting on Port Development
Cllr Summers also said that at the end of the Month Mr Andrew Jackson, Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Buenos Aires and Ms Merit Lesley, Director General of Defence Intelligence will undertake routine visits to the Falklands. Cllr Summers added that it was normal for people new to post with responsibilities relevant to the Falklands to visit the Islands at an early stage during their involvement with their post.
Argentine Next of Kin Visit:
Councillors will talk with these officials about a Next of Kin visit by the Argentine Families Association. Cllr Summers said that the Association President, Mr Cesneros, had approached FIG with a proposal for a November 2007 visit on a cruise ship. This was the best option and FIG agreed to it. However, Cllr Summers said that it was the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs that insisted the families came on a charter flight. This threw a spanner in the works because the Argentines would have to break their own ban on charter flights. And, breaking the ban at their will and making no concession for other commercial charter flights to the Falklands was a non-starter with Councillors. Cllr Summers went on to say that representatives from the Argentine Families Association met with the new President of Argentina. We do not know what will come of the meeting as a representative of the Association has yet to approach FIG.
Councillors’ Overseas Trips:
Cllrs Stevens and Robertson will attend the C-24 Meeting in New York. Cllrs Clausen and Robertson will attend the European Overseas Territories Conference in Cayman. Cllrs Hansen and Clausen will attend an Overseas Territories Conference. Cllrs Summers and Rendell will attend the Overseas Territories Consultative Council Meeting and Cllr Cockwell will attend the CPA Conference in Kuala Lumpur.
CPA Issues:
Councillor Cockwell will come up with agenda items, thoughts and ideas for the CPA Conference in Kuala Lumpur.
Councillors Allowances:
It was decided that Councillors would be reimbursed for the Bronze Broadband Package that Cable & Wireless provide. This was equivalent to the old “Silver” package.
Difficult Children:
Various parents along with FIG will look into the way in which difficult children are handled in our society and whose responsibility it is to pay expenses for a child who is difficult. There is no written policy about what the parents pay for and what FIG will pay for. The policy would be difficult to write and to police. Multi area discussions including Health and Medical Services, Social Services, the Education Department could come up with a policy but Councillors have an underlying feeling that parents shouldn’t be absolved from the responsibility of their difficult children. A clear cut policy is difficult to define and what has been written still a work in progress report.
Prerogative of Mercy Committee:
Councillor Summers explained that the Prerogative of Mercy Committee advised H. E. the Governor about sentenced criminals who, for overwhelming reasons cannot complete their sentence. Cllrs Rendell and Robertson sit on the Committee and it is them who advise the Governor if or not a prisoner should serve the rest of his or her sentence. Cllr Summers stressed that there must be compelling reasons why a prisoner should be relieved and that the outcome is at the discretion of the Governor.
Rural Development Working Group:
Cllr Hansen is taking his Camp portfolio and heading a group focusing on rural development. The group will look into longer term strategies for rural development. Names of interested people need to be put forward and Cllr Hansen will reflect on what needs to be done before submitting a paper to EXCO in due course.
Cllr Clausen and FIMCO:
Councillors discussed what Cllr Clausen’s responsibilities are as an observer on the FIMCO Board. She got the responsibility because she chairs the Standing Finance Committee. There are minor matters that need clarification and there are some difficulties arising from her attendance in that as an observer she cannot influence the discussion in any way.
Foreign Affairs Select Committee Visit:
This visit will take place from 12 to 18 March 2008 when 3 Members of Parliament will come to the Falklands. The members are named as Mr Eric Illsley MP, Ms Giselu Stuart MP and Mr Malcolm Moss MP. They will look into the Overseas Territories and how they are managed. Cllr Summers testified at the Foreign Affairs Committee late last year.
Port Development:
Cllr Summers said he expected that there would be a report coming from the seminar that was held this morning. Cllr Summers found it interesting and useful but quipped that the best place for the port, in his opinion, was the least popular with the rest of the group attending. Participants were asked to decide where the port should be. There were two areas in Port William – one at the eastern end and one at the western end. An area in Berkley Sound was also on the agenda.
Cllr Summers mentioned that the new port would have to deal with fisheries, tourism and hydrocarbons exploration – none of which were very compatible – especially Tourism and Fisheries.
More on the Seminar will be available later.
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