EXECUTIVE COUNCIL: THURSDAY, 27 FEBRUARY 2003
By the Acting Governor, Mr. Russ Jarvis
The Governor chaired this meeting of Executive Council but as he was travelling that evening on Leeds Castle to South Georgia on his first visit as Commissioner, it was agreed that I could attend in order to make this broadcast.
There were a number of complex and important agenda items and I was not surprised that the meeting did not finish until 1730. I will concentrate on those items I feel are the most important. Listeners who are interested in the other agenda items can see the relevant papers at Gilbert House. These will provide a clear picture of the range and variety of subjects that were considered. The issues I deal with in this broadcast come under the following broad headings: Health, Property Rights, Legislation, Human Resources, and Immigration.
Under the Health Heading, Executive Council considered whether or not the Health Service should provide Human Invitro Fertilisation or IVF, as it is commonly known. A lengthy discussion followed It was finally agreed that IVF treatment could be made available but on the understanding that it would not be at the cost of existing services. If funds were available, IVF would not be a priority when compared to other developments – for example, Occupational Therapy. The issue will be put to the Select Finance Committee for consideration, whether or not IVF is of sufficient priority that dedicated funds could be made available. It is possible, therefore, that, as in the United Kingdom, where waiting lists for this treatment are long, and selection is highly discriminatory, many couples seeking this treatment would have to go the private route and pay for it themselves.
The next health issue discussed was dentistry and the problems of managing the service that are arising as a result of increasing demand. Four recommendations were considered. Two were agreed and two required more information on the scale of the problem to enable Executive Council to take an informed decision. The two recommendations that were agreed are: that Dental Emergencies can be re-defined to reflect true need and that non emergencies should be provided with advice within 12 hours and an appointment as indicated by clinical need. In other words, the professional, in this case the Dentist, will judge on the basis of the information provided to him or her whether a patient needs to be seen immediately or not. The second agreed recommendation was that appointments for returning students should be offered on a planned basis. I understand this to mean that rather than the current haphazard way of students perhaps seeking appointments or not when they return to the Islands during school breaks, the Dental Department will take the initiative and offer students appointments rather than having to manage last minute bids by them for appointments. This, I feel, is sensible.
The two recommendations that were not agreed at this time were that high cost, high labour intensity treatment should be denied to those with poor dental history and/or prognosis. In other words, if you haven’t looked after your teeth, you take the consequences. This was not accepted. It was felt that the history of the availability of dental treatment into the Islands had to be taken into account and Executive Council wanted more detail on the scale of the problem. The second recommendation that was not accepted was for the introduction of an appeal mechanism to the DHSS with access to UK regional dental office advice, where appropriate, to be put in place. This is to enable anyone denied treatment to an appeal process. It follows that as the recommendation that could result in denial of treatment was not accepted. This recommendation similarly fell by the way-side.
The issues under property rights were reflected in a paper entitled "Eligibility to Own, Hold, Long-term Marine Farming and Fishing Rights. It sought to determine who in the community had the right to hold or own long-term marine farming and fishing rights. The paper questioned whether these rights should be restricted to Falkland Islands Status Holders or include other residents – Permanent Residence Permit Holders, for example. Clearly, this is a very important issue and it is therefore essential that Executive Council gets it right. It was agreed that a view from the legal advisors in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is sought and that Councillor Summers and the Attorney General draft to the Governor a paper outlining all the issues.
The Customs Bill 2003, the fifth draft of the Bill, that has been in preparation since 1998, is now ready to be published in the Gazette and circulated to interested parties for comment before being considered at the April Executive Council Meeting. Briefly, the Bill replaces, in its entirety, a patchwork of Bills, Amendments, etc. and has a necessity to deal with all that has changed since 1943 when the present Customs Ordinance was first enacted – an important and very complex piece of legislation.
A paper from the Attorney General gave an outline of the legislation that his department expects to handle during 2003. It makes clear the scope and variety of legislation that the Falkland Islands require.
Another major piece of work is the Public Service Management Code. This fundamental revision of the Civil Service Personnel Procedures is almost complete. It reflects the modernisation of the Civil Service and its use as a possible replacement for Colonial Regulations. The next step is for the code to be issued for consultation on the detail to the public, managers and the civil service union, as well as to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
This brought us to "Any Other Business." The main issue was that of Immigration and, in particular, that of individuals arriving in the Islands without valid passports. Discussions ranged from detention of all such individuals to discretion being left in the hands of immigration officials. In any event, it was agreed that Immigration Officers required clear direction and guidance on these matters and this is sadly, currently lacking. Councillor Roger Edwards and the Principal Immigration Officer will work together on this issue.
Finally, this was the last meeting that the Chief Executive, Dr. Blanch, would attend before he left the Islands. Executive Council, lead by the Governor, paid tribute to the work and the substantial contribution he has made not only to the workings of Executive Council but to the Administration of the Falklands as well during his stay here.
(100X Transcription Service)
