Falklands : Falklands Legislative Council Report Part 1
Submitted by Falkland Islands News Network (Juanita Brock) 27.07.2008 (Article Archived on 10.08.2008)
A meeting of Legislative Council took place at 1030hrs on Friday, 25 July 2008 in the Court and Council Chamber of the Town Hall.
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL FRIDAY, 25 JULY 2008
Part 1: Questions for Oral Answer and Motion 4/2008
By J. Brock (FINN)
A meeting of Legislative Council took place at 1030hrs on Friday, 25 July 2008 in the Court and Council Chamber of the Town Hall. Prayers were conducted by the Rev Dr Richard Hines. H. E. the Governor Mr. Alan Huckle, in this instance, acted as Speaker of the House.
The Oath of Allegiance was administered to Air Commodore Gordon Moulds MBE and Keith Padgett, the Financial Secretary, followed by Confirmation of the Record of the Meeting of Legislative Council held on 28th and 30th May 2008.
QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER
Question Number 07/08 by The Honourable John Birmingham (JB):
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, will the Hon Janet Robertson please inform this House if and when the King Edward Memorial Hospital are going to request funding to install electric doors at the hospital main entrance?
Answer by Cllr the Hon Mrs Janet Robertson (JR):
I can confirm that there is no money in the Capital Works Budget for the Hospital for the instalment of electric doors. And, although there was some money in the 07/08 Capital Works Budget for redecoration works and improvement works in the main entrance, - things like lighting and seating – much of it was spent in the 07/08 year but the balance of it will be spent this year.
It is my understanding that the instalment of electric doors in the hospital is part of the aspiration to provide better access and facilities for the disabled in a number of Government buildings and further that this falls within the sphere of Public Works Capital Requirements rather than the Medical Services Budget. However, further clarification is required from the Director of Public Works on his return as there does not appear to be overall agreement on the original arrangement made for the funding of the doors.
In addition it is also my understanding that there is currently no provision in the PWD Capital Works Budget for the Disabled Works Access Mentioned.
Irrespective of funding issues, work has been on-going with regard to the hospital doors. The PWD Design Engineer recently submitted plans to the Director of Health which included re-configuring the doors at the main entrance so that both doors were at 90 Degree angles to one another in order to prevent excess draft entering the building when the doors are opened.
It is envisaged that the automatic doors would be installed at the same time as this work is done, once design and funding issues have been agreed.
JB: Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, I thank the Honourable Janet Robertson for her answer there. I would just like to clarify that it’s actually the Falkland Island(s)Government Capital Budget, not just PWDs.
JR: Sorry, I just want to make a distinction because a certain number of funds were made specifically for Capital Works in our hospital and I want to distinguish the two
JB: Thank you for that. I would also like to make the point that the Public Works Department are there to service the wishes of its customers which also include Departments. Therefore Departments put forward bids for Capital Projects.
Question Number 08/08 by The Honourable John Birmingham
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, can the Hon Richard Stevens inform this House of the number of pupils excluded both short-term and permanently from the FICS over the current academic year to the present and what provisions have been made with regard to their education?
Answer by the Hon Mr Richard Stevens (RS):
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, during the academic year 2007/8 a total of five students became excluded from the school for periods ranging from one and a half days to permanent exclusion. All five students had been excluded or suspended from the school for short and more extended periods have been provided with appropriate school work. Where the presenting problems are complex in a close partnership with Social Services the individualised solutions have been sought depending on the specific circumstances relating to the child and the level of parental support available.
I would just like to say that with the exclusions you are probably aware of this are related to unacceptable, disruptive behaviour which detrimentally affects the interests of the other students. And, the school works very hard to try and embrace these difficulties and work with these students so they can continue their careers within the school. The Head Teacher and the Interim Support Advisor are working to develop a reward and sanction approach which uses positive reinforcement to secure appropriate behaviour from these individuals.
JB: Chair, Honourable Members, I would like to thank the Honourable Richard Stevens for his answer.
Question Number 09/08 by The Honourable John Birmingham
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, can the Hon Mike Rendell please explain to this House the function of the Air Safety Support International (ASSI) and its role in the Falkland Islands?
Answer by the Hon Mr Mike Rendell (MR):
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, before I start I would just to give you due warning that there are a lot of acronyms to be stated during this reply.
In July 2000 the UK and its Overseas Territories (OTs) were audited by the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) and the audit found that the UK was somewhat lacking in relation to its regulations of the OTs Aviation Industry. As a result of this report and after consulting the OTs the UK Government created Air Safety Support International (ASSI) as a not for profit, wholly owned Subsidiary Company of the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) established under a direction from the UK Department of Transport.
ASSI is responsible for supporting the OTs existing in the safety regulation of all aspects of Civil Aviation including the licensing of personnel on a certification of aircraft, airlines, airports and Air Traffic Control. The key aim for the Company is to ensure that all territories provide civil aviation with regulation to the standards and recommended practices of ICAO.
Within the Falkland Islands it has become apparent that whilst the aviation industry has worked relatively well and safely for a number of years. There were some short-comings in respect of modern standards. It was also apparent that the Falkland Islands Civil Aviation Department (FICAD) did not entirely have the relevant expertise to deal with all the standards required by the UK’s CAA (ICAO).
The Governor of the Falkland Islands under the powers of a direction and the Air Navigation Overseas Territories Order is given the power and responsibility to regulate certain activities and it is the Overseas Territories Aviation Requirements, commonly known as OTARS, which are the Governor’s published detailed means of compliance with the law.
OTARS are designated by the Governor to either the Director of Civil Aviation (DCA) to regulate, or where the DCA does not have the resources to undertake the task, to ASSI.
In the Falkland Islands, the designation of annexes is as follows:
To ASSI: Operation and Airworthiness of aircraft, Aeronautical Telecommunications, and environmental protection.
To DCA: Personnel Licensing, aircraft accident and incident investigation, air traffic services and
Conditionally to the DCA: Meteorological services, aeronautical charts, aircraft nationality and registration marks, search and rescue, aerodromes, aeronautical information services and lastly, safe transport of dangerous goods by air
The OTARS conditionally designated to DCA are subject to the DCA or FICAD personnel obtaining the relevant expertise to regulate them. Eventually it would be hoped that as the (FICASRS) brings the relevant expertise and competency the DCA will be designated as the regulator for all access and ASSI would then only audit their capability in line with an ICAO audit of the UK as a whole.
FICAD was inspected by an ASSI team in June this year as part of an on-going process of assessing competency and the designation table has well changed as a result of this audit.
Lastly, it should be noted that the next ICAO audit for the UK and OTs is due in early 2009 and presumably Her Majesty’s Government will wish to ensure that aviation services (ANOTs) have moved ahead in the nine years since the last audit.
JB: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members – value for money – that was definitely worth it. Would it be fair to suggest that that reply would be available to Members of the Public if they so wished?
MR: I confirm that that would be the case.
JB: Thank you very much. Would the Honourable Member agree with me if I suggested that what is happening is an increase in regulation, which just seems to come along with the 21st Century and that the Falkland Islands are actually part of a club and the club is the United Kingdom Overseas Territories. And, as such, we can’t act as independently as some people think we can?
MR: I would agree with that sentiment.
JR: I was wondering if the Honourable Mike Rendell, following on from the question from my colleague here, would clarify what would happen if we simply disregarded the requirement of ASSI?
MR: I have to tell you that I am not absolutely sure what would happen if we disregarded these regulations under which we operate.
JR: Would you consider it likely that we would have no licence to operate?
MR: I think that’s very likely but I am sorry, I don’t know the specifics or the mechanics of how it would happen.
Cllr the Hon Mr Mike Summers (MS):
Mr Speaker, Thank-you. I might help my colleague by suggesting that if the Executive Council and the Government refused to implement the instructions and they would be implemented by the Governor on the order of the United Kingdom Government.
Can I ask my colleague – can he inform the House who currently pays for the costs for ASSI and is it anticipated that we will have to pick up those costs in due course?
MR: These costs are paid for by the UK Government. There are no costs to the Falkland Islands as it stands. But the costs, as I think, that ASSI are getting to run their operation are not particularly from the Falkland Islands but from other OTs, particularly from the West Indies, are quite considerable and there has been discussion that in due course that maybe it will be passed on to the OTs themselves.
MS: Could the Honourable Member confirm that ASSI was originally set up as a temporary organisation?
MR: I can confirm that. It was initially set up – it was a very temporary organisation and what has happened – what appears to have happened is that they have realised that the length and breadth of the responsibilities taken on as such that the time that’s going to be taken to deal with them in some cases, it appears, that they have an almost permanent responsibility and will deal with all the annexes in some OTs that their position is, to say the least, untenable.
Motion No 4/2008 to resolve that the Children and Young Persons (Tobacco) Ordinance (Amendment) Order 2008 is approved by the Legislative Council.
The Honourable Michael Victor Summers to move and the Honourable Andrea Patricia Clausen to second the following Motion ¾
“THIS House, pursuant to section 9 of the Children and Young Persons (Tobacco) Ordinance 2007, moves that the making of the Children and Young Persons (Tobacco) Ordinance (Amendment) Order 2008 is approved.”
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