Legislative Council Meeting Part 1

Commentary by J. Brock (FINN)

CA: Copies of subsidiary legislation published in the Falkland Islands Gazette since the last sitting of Legislative Council and laid on the table pursuant to Section 34.1 of the Interpretation and general clauses ordinance 1977:

• The Retirement Pensions Prescribed Rates Amendment Regulations 2002
• Defence Contractors Affiliate Tax Exemption No. 2 Order 2002
• Animal Health: Livestock Movement and Identification Provisional Order 2002
• The Abattoir Miscellaneous Provisions Order 2002
• Income Tax Disclosure of Information Order 2003
• Crozier Place, John Street and Reservoir Road, No Waiting Regulations Amendment Order 2003
• FIG All Funds Financial Statement and Audit Report Financial Statement for the Insurance Fund, the Sinking Fund, the Pensions Old Scheme Fund and the Currency Fund to the Year Ending 30 June 2002
• The Retirement Pensions Equalisation Plan financial Statement to the Year Ending 31 December 2001

Laid on the table pursuant to Section 51 of the Finance and Audit Ordinance

MB: Mr Speaker, I have great pleasure in laying the a fore mentioned papers on the table.

TB: Thank you

CA: Questions for Oral Answer:

Q1-2003 By the Hon. Mr. John Birmingham:

JB: Mr. President, Honourable Members, can the Hon. Chief Executive please confirm that there is a policy of anonymity within the Civil Service when dealing with a complaint by a member of the public?

MB: Mr. Speaker, I thank the Honourable ember for that, the first question of the New Year. And I will answer as follows: The Civil Service is currently reviewing its general policy on handling complaints as part of our customer care initiative. We take the view of rather than being afraid of complaints, we should welcome them because they give us valuable customer feedback on where we might improve our services to the public. Members will note that the recently published complaints procedure of the Medical Services was not headed a "Complaints Procedure." It was headed "A Getting It Right Procedure."

Along that basis, complaints shouldn’t be seen by staff as being a cause for portioning blame or pointing fingers. Equally, on that basis, we would hope that members of the public who complain would be happy to be identified. And, indeed, except in a few cases of extreme sensitivity, we wouldn’t want to encourage anonymous complaints.

Knowing the origin of the complainant often enables us to get to the bottom of the problem in the spirit of honesty and openness.

So, to return to the Honourable Member’s question, there is no policy of anonymity. But if requested we may preserve the anonymity of the complainant but that, In turn, may make it impossible for us to solve the problem.

JB: I thank the Honourable Chief Executive for his full reply there and I am sure that will be very useful for members of the public listening. And, I would like to suggest to him, though – we discussed this the other day – that in a small community people – as we know from reading the local newspaper – very often do not wish their name to be put to letters and to complaints. But I am very impressed with the idea that rather than looking at complaints in a negative way, we look at it a way of learning how to do things in a better way.

Thank you.

Q2-2003 By the Hon. John Birmingham:

Mr. President, Honourable Members, I forgot this morning to bring my snack and flask because I have actually asked Roger Edwards for questions before and I know that some of his answers are less than brief. Hopefully, this one will be.

Will the Honourable Roger Edwards please inform the House of the number of man hours per working week – I’ll change that to person hours – the Public Works Department allocate to keeping the Stanley Cemetery in a neat and tidy condition?

RE: Mr. Speaker, I would be delighted to keep my answer brief. There is no set number of man hours per working week allocated to maintaining the Cemetery.

JB: Well! What can I say? I thank the Honourable Member for his reply and I just wondered if he had any information as to the management of the Stanley Cemetery so as to keep it up to a neat and tidy manner? Here we go!

RE: Mr. Speaker, yes I have some supplementary information regarding the upkeep of the Cemetery and the grounds surrounding the Cemetery. Routine tasks are identified and are implemented as soon as required, or as required. Non recurring items are dealt with as soon as possible – weather conditions, occasional staff shortages, will obviously cause service levels to vary. In the recent past there was a post of Cemetery Keeper within the Property and Municipal Section, with the post holder resident at Cemetery Cottage. This post has been consolidated within the Property and Municipal Services team and the post no longer exists as a separate identity.

My honourable friend will be well aware that certain areas in and around the Cemetery are tendered out to contract and are presently being run by a local contractor. The area within the Cemetery itself is maintained by the Property and Municipal Section. It was thought better use of manpower to not have one dedicated Cemetery Keeper but to use men as and when it was necessary.

JB: I thank the Honourable Roger Edwards for that information and I accept that it is a management decision as to as and when men go into the Cemetery. Thank you.

CA: Motions:

Motion No. 1 of 2003 by the Honourable Philip Miller:

"It is moved that this House welcomes and endorses a proposal of Executive Council that the Pale Maiden should be adopted as the National Flower of the Falkland Islands and resolves and determines that it so be adopted." This motion is proposed by the Honourable Philip Miller and seconded by the Honourable Mike Summers.

PM: Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, as Chair of the month, it means that I have the honour of proposing this Motion. This issue came about as a result of a letter being sent to us from Mrs. Marilyn Hamilton, whose late partner, Falkland Islander, Pat Alazia, had often spoken of this native bloom. On finding out that the Falkland Islands do not have a national flower, she promptly wrote to Councillors suggesting that a flower native to the Falklands be adopted as the national flower. Members considered the suggestion and put the idea out for public consultation. As a result of receiving some 14 letters suggesting the Pale Maiden, brings us to the conclusion resulting in this motion today.

MS: Mr. Speaker, I am happy to second this motion that this delightful, popular and widely distributed flower becomes our National Flower.

TB: Does any other Member wish to speak to the Motion. The Motion is carried.

CA: Orders of the Day, Bills:

The Supplementary Appropriation 2002 – 2003 Bill 2003 – this Bill requires a first reading.

DH: Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, the purpose of this Bill is to authorise the withdrawal from the Consolidated Fund of the additional sum of £872,320.00 to meet supplementary expenditure approved by the Standing Finance Committee for the current financial year. The Bill provides for the Contingencies Fund to be replenished to the extent of £701, 320.00 in respect of any advances made. The reasons for the supplementary expenditure are as follows:

• Under the Operating Budget, £214,300.00 is allocated to cover the cost of emergency medical treatment in South America and for further routine referrals to the United Kingdom. This makes a revised budget of £384,000.00 for medical treatment overseas. Last year, we spent £524,000.00 on this part of the Health Services Budget.
• Under the Capital Budget, the following allocations are made: £23,000.00 for the purchase of a vehicle adapted for use by the disabled, £60,000.00 for the purchase of special equipment to aid the disabled, £28,720.00 to complete the Infant/Junior School extension at a revised project cost of £2.74 Million, £195,000.00 to meet on-going costs in connection with a contractual dispute, £170,300 for reinstating Phase 7 of the East Stanley Development at a revised project cost of £3.09 Million for both phases 6 and 7, £10,000.00 to remove the top sides of the Charles Cooper and finally, £171,000.00 to help fund the operation of the Abattoir to 31 December 2003. This makes a total cost of £4.16 Million for building and operating the Abattoir to the end of 2003.

Mr. Speaker, I beg to move the Bill be read a first time.

CA: The Criminal Justice Bill 2002. This Bill has been Gazetted and we go to the second reading.

MB: Mr. Speaker, this Bill seeks to amend two Ordinances that this House passed in 2000 – the Criminal Justice Ordinance and the Criminal Justice Evidence Ordinance. I will draw Members’ Attention to two key features of these amendments. The first clarifies the admissibility of Computer Evidence – the giving of Computer Evidence – and establishes that it is admissible to use Computer Evidence and that the Courts should rule that in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, the Courts will pursue that the Computer System was working properly. They have enormous faith.

The second change, which this brings forward, is opposite to the long tradition and the Legislative provision that wives will not be called upon to give evidence against their husbands, or compelled to give evidence against their husbands or visa versa. And, it amends that provision in certain circumstances. And, the circumstances are set out but broadly, they are as follows:

*Where, for instance, the husband stands accused with others, of an offence, the wife or visa versa, can be compelled to give evidence against those other people who are similarly charged with the same crimes.

*The Wife or Husband can be compelled to give evidence against a spouse in circumstances where offences have taken place against children under the age of 16, in particular, sexual offences, or where an assault has taken place on one spouse by another.

Mr. Speaker, I beg to move the second reading of this Bill.

CA: The Criminal Law Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2002: This Bill has also been Gazetted and we go to the second reading.

MB: This ordinance, Mr. Speaker, amends the Crimes Ordinance. And, Members will see in the Explanatory Memorandum, that there are three provisions. The first is to abolish the traditional Year and a Day Rule, which Members will recall provided that for the purpose of offences involving death and of suicide, an act or remission is conclusively presumed not to have caused a person’s death if more than a year and a day has lapsed when the person dies. That matter of course has also been a subject of change in legislation in the United Kingdom some years ago.

*The second issue I draw to your attention is the amendment which abolishes the rebuttable proposition that a child aged 10 or over – by which you mean a child aged 10 to 14 – is incapable of committing an offence. This establishes that that is so. They can.

*And, the third proposition amends the Criminal Justice Ordinance by abolishing the right of an accused to make an unsworn statement in Court. These unsworn statements confuse jurors and are not open to cross-examination.

These three provisions are recommended. Mr. Speaker, I move the second reading of the Bill.

CA: The Conservation of Wildlife and Nature Amendment Bill 2002: This Bill has also been Gazetted and requires a second reading.

MB: This Bill amends the Wildlife Ordinance of 1999 and seeks to clarify certain complexities that came from the original drafting of that Ordinance. The original Ordinance, as it stood, would have made it difficult for people, indeed illegal for people, to kill and capture Upland Geese, Mallard Ducks and Domestic Geese, which had become feral. This removes that potential offence, which was the original intention of Members when they passed the 1999 Act.

When Members passed the 1999 Bill, they also intended that outside the closed season in fishing, a rod and a line might be used outside the closed season if a person does not catch more than 6 trout in a day. That intention was not built into the original Ordinance. It is built into this. So, those are two changes.

A third provision, which is made here, follows from Members discussion in Committee and at EXCO of the requirements on the agreement of the Conservation of Albatross and Petrels in the Falkland Islands and makes illegal the collection for human consumption of any species of Albatross or Petrel egg as required by International Convention.

Mr. Speaker, I move the second reading of this Bill.

CA: The Licensing Amendment Bill 2003: This Bill has not been Gazetted and requires a first reading and is being presented under a certificate of urgency.

MB: Mr. Speaker, this Bill amends the Licensing Ordinance in order to facilitate the presence of Children at licensed club premises in Camp. It is brought to you under a certificate of urgency in order that that facility can be made available now in time for Camp Sports. The Bill, which is laid before you allows clubs to be able to apply to Licensing Justices for the exemption of their premises to allow children to be on the premises but only in Camp. It does not apply to clubs in town.

Mr. Speaker, I move the first reading of this Bill.

RE: Mr. Speaker, for the benefit of the general public and those who manage these clubs in the Camp and the like, could the Attorney General of the Chief Executive please explain procedures for this. Camp Sports are not far off. Are we going to apply this Bill to all the clubs in the Camp or do they have to specifically request each and every club. Could that please be made clear?

DL: In relation to any licensed premises in Camp, including clubs who wish to apply to allow children to be present, in the licensed part of the premises, they will need to make application to the Court – the Summary Court of Licensing Justices – for permission. They should make application quite rapidly so as to be in time for the Camp Sports. It will be quite simple to make application by letter. They probably need to send a representative or have a representative present to make the application on their behalf when it’s heard in Court. And, the Licensing Justices, I have no doubt, will consider each application on its merits. And, I cannot see any reason where it has been permitted in the past, it won’t be permitted in the future to have children on Camp club premises and on Camp licensed premises.

RE: Mr. Speaker, I thank the Attorney General for his very full answer.

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