Falklands : LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY MEETING 30 JULY 2010 Part 1: Questions for Oral Answer
Submitted by Falkland Islands News Network (Juanita Brock) 08.08.2010 (Article Archived on 22.08.2010)
A meeting of Legislative Assembly took place at 1030hrs on Friday, 30 July 2010 in the Court and Assembly Chamber of the Town Hall. Present were Councillors Cheek, Short, Ross, Sawle, Halford, Edwards, R and Edwards, E. Cllr Luxton is absent from the Islands.
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY MEETING 30 JULY 2010
(Part 1: Questions for Oral Answer)
Transcript and Commentary by J. Brock (FINN)
A meeting of Legislative Assembly took place at 1030hrs on Friday, 30 July 2010 in the Court and Assembly Chamber of the Town Hall. Present were Councillors Cheek, Short, Ross, Sawle, Halford, Edwards, R and Edwards, E. Cllr Luxton is absent from the Islands.
After prayers by the Rev Dr Richard Hines of Christ Church Cathedral a confirmation of the minutes of the meetings held on Wednesday, 26 May and Friday, 28 may 2010 was signed as a true record of that meeting.
Papers to be Lain on the Table by the Honourable the Chief Executive:
(Copies of subsidiary legislation published in the Falkland Islands’ Gazette since the last sitting of Legislative Assembly and lain on the table pursuant to Section 34/1 of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance 1977.)
1. Coins Order 2010
2. Capital Equalisation Fund Order 2010
3. Road Traffic (Motorcycling Events at Fairy Cove) Order 2010
4. Stanley (Various Roads) One Way Order 2010
5. Public Health (Variation of Fines) Order 2010
6. Public Health (Ships) Regulations 2010
7. Taxes and Duties (Defence Contractors’ Employees Exemption)(No 2) Order 2010
QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER
Question Number 08/10 by the Honourable Sharon Halford (SH):
Would the Honourable Gavin Short please explain to this house, why it takes the PSD such an extremely long time to do the works on vacated FIG houses and turn them around, especially when there is a need for such properties? Could he also not agree that it is unreasonable and not good practice to have properties unoccupied for more than a month when all they need is repainting; and would he further explain why work still appears to be ongoing on one property which will soon have been vacant for a year?
Answer by the Hon Mr Gavin Short (GS):
Mr Speaker, I am indebted to the Public Works Department for this answer to the question. I’ll take it in chunks, if I may. I will start with “why it takes the PSD such an extremely long time to do the works on vacated FIG houses.”
The Property and Municipal Services, which is now known as the Public Works Department, endeavours to locate vacant properties as soon as possible. However, due to the demand placed on our services, coupled with resource issues, it is often the case that we are called upon to deal with more other urgent works, which inevitably results in delays. In an ideal world, the preferred solution would be to have a dedicated team whose remit would be to repair vacant properties as quickly as possible. Due to budgetary restraints this is not possible. PWD has recently recruited a painter/handyman, which we hope will help with the turn-around time for vacant properties.
Part “B” of the Question: “could he also not agree that it is unreasonable and not good practice to have properties unoccupied for more than a month when all they need is repainting,” if this were the case, I would agree. However, it is normal practice for the Housing Section to relocate property as soon as possible, particularly if the only maintenance issue is decoration. We would not delay the reallocation of property simply on the basis of internal decoration. The Housing Section has dealt with 60 property movements between July 2009 and June 2010. Where possible, PWD use the private sector to carry out decoration to our properties. In recent months the cost of using the private sector has increased to a level that it is financially difficult to sustain this procurement route.
And the third part of the Good Lady’s question, “would he further explain why work still appears to be ongoing on one property which will soon have been vacant for a year?” Without specific details, it’s difficult to get a clear explanation. The only house that has been vacant for a prolonged length of time was ready for occupation within three weeks of hand-over. That was in October 2009. This house was allocated for contract officers and due to re-shuffling of accommodation for one occupant and another not arriving in post the property remained empty but has since been given back to the Housing Section for non-contract officer usage.
SH: I thank the Honourable Gavin Short for his response. I am surprised, really, that you mentioned budgetary restraints because when properties are empty for a long period of time they are losing rent. And I would have thought that a little effort and payment to, maybe, the private sector to get them back online they could be recouping the rent which they otherwise would not be getting. But certainly, just recently, I was asked about redecorating a sheltered unit so people could move in and we were told it could take possibly up to two months before the work could be undertaken. That was why I mentioned properties being vacant for longer than a month. But I thank you for your response and I shall give you the details about the house I believe is still unoccupied on the long-term one later.
Question Number 09/10 by the Honourable Sharon Halford:
Now that the camp TV system is up and running, and I hasten to add very much appreciated, could the Honourable Dick Sawle please inform this house of the correct procedure for reporting faults when they occur and also explain who will be responsible for fixing them and in what given time frame?
Answer by the Hon Mr Dick Sawle (DS):
Firstly, before anything else I think I owe the Honourable Sharon Halford an apology as I think the last time you asked you a question I called you the Honourable Harren Shalford. So the Honourable Sick Dawle sends his apologies.
I am very glad to be able to confirm that your observation of the Camp TV System together with radio reception via the same equipment is now up and running and also note your kind remarks that it’s much appreciated. There is still one or two loose ends in Camp but those should be dealt with in the very near future. I believe it is much appreciated and now that Camp is connected to the rest of the world in terms of entertainment and news, I know for a fact there are many who feel far less isolated as a result.
I would also like to add once again my personal thanks to Andrew Lee, Lynn Brownlee, G&S Electrical and to the SSVC engineers on the ground here and also in the UK for their help both with this project and with others that are still on-going. Mike Fisher of SSVC has worked hard on this project and is currently heavily involved in trying to maintain an FM radio service using the existing and rather ageing equipment. He’s also, of course, involved in the update of the FM network which will result in an enhanced service that will improve reception throughout the Falklands and which is still some way away from completion.
Regarding fault reporting, there is at present no formal procedure for fault reporting. This is not yet something which we’ve turned our attention to. And the reason for this is simply that the primal objective has been to supply the service as promised and all energies have, quite rightly, been directed at this primary aim rather than setting up fault reporting procedures.
Having said this, there is no reason why anyone wishing to report a fault should not make contact with FIRS, who have almost daily contact with the SSVC engineers. I would suggest that this is probably the most efficient way of dealing with day to day service provision problems.
The contract that we have for the provision and also for the maintenance for the service provided is with SSVC and they will, ultimately be responsible for repair and maintenance of the delivery of the service to residents of both Camp and Stanley.
However, as people in Camp are aware any fault with any equipment supplied to them by FIG that has been signed for as received in good working order will be for the person concerned to repair or maintain. Any future maintenance or repair of individual reception items would therefore be at the owner’s cost in the same way that if my TV in town breaks down, it would be up to me to fix it or buy a new one.
The timeframe therefore, in circumstances such as these is one for the individual concerned to set. If there should be any fault in the broadcast service rather than the satellite service IE the free to view service broadcast around Stanley, then SSVC are obliged under their contract to repair it as soon as is practicable. It’s simply not possible to set time-frames for repairs as there are too many factors that need to be taken into consideration, for example, weather, spares in stock or needing to be ordered and the amount of damage and consequently the amount of repair needed.
SH: I thank the Honourable Dick Sawle for that response. I will certainly be looking forward to the enhanced FM Radio service because whilst he was away I wouldn’t have known what was going on had I not sat beside the television and listened to the radio on that. But the FM Service at the moment needs crutches from time to time to keep it going. So I am sure all of us out there in the Camp who find this rather an essential service will actually look forward to when it is fully installed and up and running.
DS: Point taken. Mr Speaker, as I mentioned to this House before, I think there is some £260,000.00 still in the budget, which is for the enhanced network system. It should result in great improvements to everybody in Camp and other areas in Camp at the moment don’t receive FM. But that is still some way off from completion.
GS: Mr Speaker, I would like to ask the Honourable Gentleman, does he not agree with me that it is a slightly unfair that there isn’t a customer charter in place for the television service for the repair of it if it is something major, whereas the other service provider seems to have this sort of thing in place and it seems to be a requirement?
DS: Mr Speaker, we do have an agreement with SSVC and as I say, repairs will be made as soon as practicable. For example, delays to repairs of the transmitter of Mt Mariah were due bad weather and also the lack of helicopter availability. I think in general repairs are carried out as soon as they possibly can be but I don’t think that it’s worth spending a huge amount of time producing a charter document which could be difficult to adhere to given the remote circumstance of the Falkland Islands.
GS: I thank you for your reply, sir.
Question Number 10/10 by the Honourable Gavin Short:
Given the increased amount of personal data and recorded conversations being held by companies within the islands can the Honourable Dick Sawle please advise this House whether both the private sector and FIG are subject to any data protection legislation and if not whether thought is being given to the introduction of legislation?
Answer by the Hon Mr Dick Sawle (DS):
Mr Speaker, I am assuming that the personal data and recorded conversations mentioned in the question relate to, for example, recorded conversations on the Cable & Wireless Fault Reporting Line and possibly regarding data – the data that is collected from a number of retail outlets who provide customers who request them with charge cards.
There is, of course, much data held by FIG relating to employees which is treated, as one would expect, in the strictest of confidence.
However, legislation is often treated as a reactive tool, designed to protect consumers, in this case, from potential unwarranted intrusion. I am not aware of any perceived or real problem with any of the examples I have given above but if I have missed the point of your question then I am always willing to listen and act if necessary.
The specific points of your question, a data protection ordinance was made in 1995 but has never been brought into force because no policy priority has ever been given to the establishment of the appropriate administrative systems necessary to implement a data protection scheme. For this reason no supporting regulations have ever been made on the ordinance, which would reflect the detailed policy decisions necessary for the implementation for a data protection scheme.
There are no existing plans for the introduction of data protection legislation and it is not being notified as a policy provided by the current legislative assembly.
GS: I thank the Gentleman for his reply.
Question Number 11/10 by the Honourable Gavin Short:
Under the management code, how many investigations have taken place in 2008, 2009 and so far in 2010. Is the Honourable Dick Sawle satisfied that the present management code is “fit for purpose” and is there any plans to decentralise certain functions and devolve them back down to the Director/Managerial level.
Answer by the Hon Mr Dick Sawle (DS):
Mr Speaker, I would like to note my thanks to the HR Department for assistance for the answer to this.
Under the Management Code the following investigations have taken place: In 2008 there were eight, in 2009 there were 13 and in 2010, so far to date, there have been 5. The investigations have covered allegations of bullying, misconduct and lack of capability and have been instigated either in the disciplinary and capability procedure or the whistle-blowing procedure contained within Chapter 4 of the Management Code.
To turn to the second part of your question, “satisfied that the present management code is fit for purpose,” I am not entirely clear what “fit for purpose” means in this context. As the Honourable Member will know, Members are not allowed to become involved in individual cases and therefore it is hard for me to put the subjective view on whether or not Chapter 4 of the code, which is an 87 page document, which I assume you are referring to, is working properly. In any question of discipline in a large organisation such as FIG, they will always, quite naturally be opposing views. My view is the system might well be top-heavy and cumbersome but my view is therefore very much that of someone looking in from the outside rather than from the inside. But my entirely uninformed views appear at first site appear to be borne out by the review of Chapter 4 which is currently being undertaken as I am going to explain.
So therefore the answer to the third part of your question is yes. There are plans to decentralise certain functions and devolve them back down to the Director/Managerial level.
Under the review of Government it is intentioned to delegate all managerial control to supervisors and managers. In order to achieve this, the Senior Personnel Officer will be conducting a full review of the Management Code Chapter 4, conduct, capability and discipline. A full programme of consultation within FIG will be taking place tp take onboard comments and to build in managerial accountability at lower levels.
The consultation will be as far as possible in accordance with a time table which is attached as ‘appendix – 1.’ As it is rather difficult to read out Appendix – 1because it’s a spread sheet, I would summarise it. I say the review process has already commenced and is due to finish in June 2011. I will, of course, make the full, written out answer available to the Honourable member.
The intention is to ensure the procedure can be operated quickly, effectively and fairly is properly recorded at all times and is robust enough to withstand legal challenge. Advice has been given that any proposed changes to Chapter 4 will need to be consulted on with the Secretary of State.
Managers will be trained in the process and a full programme of implementation will commence once the amendments have the approval of all bodies consulted. The Human Resources Department welcomes Managers being actively involved in disciplinary and capability matters at a lower level. The manager’s responsibility of managing HR processes with their staff will be actively supported by the Human Resources Department. It is essential that processes are followed in full and good practices encouraged to prevent successful challenge under the Employment Ordinance through the Summary Court.
GS: I thank the Honourable member for that rather splendid reply and I look forward to receiving the spread sheet in due course.
SH: I am just wondering if the Honourable Dick Sawle can tell us whether or not – presumably this management code is a living document and as working practices are ever-changing and hopefully improving – it would need to be looked at, updated and amended on a fairly regular basis as you mentioned one chapter – is this document actually amended more often across the board or not?
DS: Mr Speaker, I don’t know if it would be right to describe the document as a living document. I don’t think it is. It is a document which, I believe, FIG has to provide under our Constitution and I don’t think it’s a document that would therefore change without a proper consultation process and, as mentioned, any changes to Chapter 4, which is the disciplinary section would have to be approved ultimately by the Secretary of State.
Question Number 12/10 by the Honourable Gavin Short
Given the stated policy of this Government to localise posts, can the Honourable Dick Sawle advise this House if we have actively started to promote succession planning and at what stage is this and when would we expect a full plan to be in place?
Also, are the FIG actively encouraging organisations that receive FIG funding to engage in actively training people in order to localise posts (where appropriate) as part of the condition of receiving future FIG funding?
Answer by the Hon Mr Dick Sawle (DS):
Mr Speaker - people normally complain that I speak too much – well, this time it’s not my fault.
Succession planning has been taking place on an informal basis in the Public Services Department and FIGAS, with individuals selected for targeted training for some years now. It is the Government’s intent to promote the will to train for promotional posts through the advised appraisal process, which is currently being re-drawn for introduction within 2010/11 to become fully operational for all staff in the year 2011/12.
It is also the intention to commence in 2010/11 a management development programme to provide in-house training wherever possible in key management skill areas for existing managers and those aspiring to manage. A leadership development programme is also being devised as an action learning project based upon real life scenarios in 2010/11.
Effective succession planning will depend on the success of these initiatives together with an on-going programme of targeted training opportunities in specific job related professional skills areas. Inevitably this is likely to require overseas training with all the costs attached to send individuals and in some cases families away to complete this training as has happened in the past. Funding is required both for the training and also for any possible back-filling of posts required. A formal policy on succession planning is still in the formative stage.
FIG has not consulted organisations that receive FIG funding as to whether or not they wish to engage in actively training people in order to localise posts where appropriate. Once the FIG management development programmes are up and running it could be appropriate to encourage participation from among groups in the wider community.
GS: I thank the Honourable Member for his reply.
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