A Question and Answer for Mike Dun

Question:

Mike Dun: (on Facebook): There is a large tract of land at La Moye that was zoned and taken into States ownership for a Golf course back in John Rothwell's time - what is it used for now apart from the bowling? I wondered why it was not on the list of possible hospital sites. 

History of Site

There were proposals put forward for the States to buy the land and develop into a golf course, but that is not how matters transpired.

At least one of the land owners, Edward Bisson, flatly refused to sell his land. Like much of the farmed land in that area, it is good for growing early crops of Jersey royals. There was something of an impasse, and considerable local opposition.

It was Deputy Mike Vibert (St Brelade No 2) who was involved in steering the land to something very different – namely a country park, part of which could still be farmed, and which was available for access by the general public to walk around.

In the proposition before the States, he submitted the idea as a project for the Millennium:

“I am increasingly aware of general concern that no major project that is likely to be ready in time for the year 2000 has been identified to be financed from the Millennium Fund.”

“I am proposing the Les Creux project be adopted as the Island’: main Millennium project and is allocated the remaining finance available in the Millennium Fund, to be developed as Jersey's Millennium Country Park to open in the year 2000.”

“The projects approved for the Millennium so far are. in the main, relatively minor, such as the 12 wayside crosses and the various bursaries and the, as yet, unidentified feature or features to commemorate one thousand years of Jersey history.”

“In conclusion. I believe Les Creux would be worthy of being regarded as one of the main Millennium projects for the Island. It complements the other main Millennium Project, a town park.”

And he stated what was also important was “the extent to which the project is associated with Jersey and/or its history - Les Creux will allow the public access to one of the most naturally beautiful areas of the Island and will preserve hedgerows and dry stone walls”

It could, he said, “be enjoyed by all Island residents and families rather than just those of a certain age or interest grouping, or those resident in one part of the Island - Les Creux meets this criteria in the same way as an Urban Park, with the added benefits of country walks and the opportunity to participate in sports and leisure activities”

And there was an added environmental benefit: “Les Creux encompasses a whole host of environmental benefits as outlined in the Les Creux Land Use Study: these include the preservation and management of natural habitats for wildlife, the extension of woodland to the benefit of the red squirrel population and to encourage environmentally sensitive agricultural management” 

Current Use

Apart from bowling (and the fact it is a country park to commemorate the Millennium) we have:

Jersey Astronomy Club – not just for members but for visits by cubs, scouts, school groups on educational visit, and viewing on non-club night Mondays for any members of the public. Meets on second Monday of month at 8 pm, why not come along and see what it is about? Next presentation - Astronomy in the News. Viewing in the dome if clear skies.
http://jerseyastronomyclub.weebly.com/

Allotments – the first real allotments in Jersey which set the template for “how to do it”, and is still going strong.

Re-cycling centre – one of the largest facilities for paper, cardboard, glass, plastic, as well as the Salvation Army drop off clothes container.

Scout hut and grounds

BMX bike track

Tenant farmers on highly productive early land

Important habitat for two rare species (Agile frog and grass snake) also habitat for owls, bats and raptors of various kinds.

Tree planting project[s] - Rotary de la Manche/Trees for Life

..not to mention a variety of walks through farmland, woodland and heathland for Joe Public to enjoy.

So quite a lot apart from bowling not forgetting either that 92% of the total area is firmly green-zone, is considerably to the west of the Island (unlike Overdale or Warwick Farm), unsurprisingly it was not considered as a suitable site for the new hospital.

The Hospital Site and the Sunk Cost Fallacy

The Hospital Site and the Sunk Cost Fallacy

There has been a determination to press on with the Kensington Place / Gloucester Street hospital site despite plans being turned down twice, and it is only know that the pendulum seems to be swinging away.

So why is there so much resistance and reluctance to look at other sites, or at other companies (like the French company) to build the hospital?

I think that we are seeing here a very common psychological trait, which is called “the Sunk Cost Fallacy” or “the Sunk Cost Effect”. It is when previously invested resources – time, money, effort – bias judgement as to what to do next.

A good description comes in Arkes, Hal R., and Peter Ayton. “The Sunk Cost and Concorde Effects: Are Humans Less Rational than Lower Animals?” Psychological Bulletin 125.5 (1999): 591-600:

“The sunk cost effect is a maladaptive economic behaviour that is manifested in a greater tendency to continue an endeavour once an investment in money, effort, or time has been made (Arkes & Blumer, 1985). A prior investment should not influence one's consideration of current options; only the incremental costs and benefits of the current options should influence one's decision. Nevertheless, several researchers have shown that people do attend to prior investments as they consider what course of action to take.”

David McRaney, a writer for “Psychology Today”, on his blog “You are not so smart”, looks at how the mind works, or rather misfires, in making judgments that fail to be rational:

“In psychologist Daniel Kahneman’s book, Thinking Fast and Slow, he writes about how he and his colleague Amos Tversky through their work in the 1970s and ‘80s uncovered the imbalance between losses and gains in your mind. Kahneman explains that since all decisions involve uncertainty about the future the human brain you use to make decisions has evolved an automatic and unconscious system for judging how to proceed when a potential for loss arises. 

"Kahneman says organisms that placed more urgency on avoiding threats than they did on maximizing opportunities were more likely to pass on their genes. So, over time, the prospect of losses has become a more powerful motivator on your behaviour than the promise of gains. Whenever possible, you try to avoid losses of any kind, and when comparing losses to gains you don’t treat them equally.”

“Behavioural economist Dan Ariely adds a fascinating twist to loss aversion in his book, Predictably Irrational. He writes that when factoring the costs of any exchange, you tend to focus more on what you may lose in the bargain than on what you stand to gain. The “pain of paying,” as he puts it, arises whenever you must give up anything you own. The precise amount doesn’t matter at first. You’ll feel the pain no matter what price you must pay, and it will influence your decisions and behaviours.”

“When you lose something permanently, it hurts. The drive to mitigate this negative emotion leads to strange behaviours. Have you ever gone to see a movie only to realize within 15 minutes or so you are watching one of the worst films ever made, but you sat through it anyway? You didn’t want to waste the money, so you slid back in your chair and suffered. Maybe you once bought non-refundable tickets to a concert, and when the night arrived you felt sick, or tired, or hung over. Perhaps something more appealing was happening at the same time. You still went, even though you didn’t want to, in order to justify spending money you knew you could never get back.”

And it is this thought of wasting all that time, investment of resources and funding which is certainly affecting the hospital debate. The focus is on the loss rather than on the gain, or the possible delays, on the write off of plans and costs, and the tendency of human beings, because of the sunk cost fallacy, is to believe that just one more push can get you there and you can win the war.

Instead, you are just digging yourself into a deeper hole.

There’s a fascinating experiment created by Hal Arkes and Catherine Blumer in 1985 which demonstrated your tendency to go fuzzy when sunk costs come along. David McRaney explains:

“They asked subjects to assume they had spent $100 on a ticket for a ski trip in Michigan, but soon after found a better ski trip in Wisconsin for $50 and bought a ticket for this trip too. They then asked the people in the study to imagine they learned the two trips overlapped and the tickets couldn’t be refunded or resold. Which one do you think they chose, the $100 good vacation, or the $50 great one?”

“Over half of the people in the study went with the more expensive trip. It may not have promised to be as fun, but the loss seemed greater. That’s the fallacy at work, because the money is gone no matter what. You can’t get it back. The fallacy prevents you from realizing the best choice is to do whatever promises the better experience in the future, not which negates the feeling of loss in the past.”

And this is surely the case with the hospital site: politicians need to realise that the best choice is to do whatever promises the better experience in the future, not which negates the feeling of loss in the past.

Gloria R. Burthold in “Psychology of Decision Making in Legal, Health Care and Science Settings” explains how scientific thinking works, and in contrast, how the sociological processes work, often to the detriment of factual science:

“The scientific ideal is a relatively simple iterative process of observation, hypothesis development and hypothesis testing producing new evidence and debate leading to conclusions that are increasingly refined and reliable and cover more situations though are never certain.”

“By contrast, the sociological process of the diffusion of new beliefs is more complex. This sociological process often involves power struggles in which all sides of the debate claim that their old opinion is supported by the best evidence, but overlooking flaws in evidence that supports their opinions whilst discounting evidence that does not. Demosthenes once said that “Nothing is easier than self-deceit. For what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true” . It is normal to wish to be proven to have been right all along and that wish can blind us to the reality that we were wrong from the start.”

And of course, that we have seen played out with the hospital debate – a power struggle between different groups, those who think the Kensington place site is unviable, and those who still stick to their opinion that it is the best site for a cost effective and quickest built hospital.

After the first plans were turned down, Senator Andrew Green simply shrugged his shoulders and commissioned new plans which addressed some, but not all, and not significant issues. There didn’t really seem to be any indication of critical thought. Instead, a survey was commissioned which showed that two in three respondents said that rather than delaying the project any further, work should continue on developing the General Hospital plot. He proclaimed that was a “powerful mandate”. It was, but it was a powerful mandate for showing how readily people buy into the sunk cost fallacy.

“The survey revealed that opinion about the location is divided, with 51% agreeing that the new hospital should be built on the current site, while 47% disagreed. However, a third of the 47% of people who disagreed with building on the current site said that it was better to build there than delay any further.”

This time constraint has derailed critical thinking about the site, as can be seen how the evenly divided group in the survey of 1,000 (1% of the Island population) came down on the town site in order to get it done as soon as possible.

The prospect of endless delays in planning applications being submitted and then turned down does not seem to have been a factor. Instead there seems to be an indication that the mindset is to keep trying – regardless of delays – until plans get through. And yet that has already caused delays not counted in the original timetable, and which are just dismissed.

David McRaney concludes with this point:

“Sunk costs drive wars, push up prices in auctions and keep failed political policies alive. The fallacy makes you finish the meal when you are already full. It fills your home with things you no longer want or use. Every garage sale is a funeral for someone’s sunk costs.”

“As an adult human being, you have the gift of reflection and regret. You can predict a future place where you must admit your efforts were in vain, your losses permanent, and when you accept the truth it is going to hurt.”

It now looks as if the States may be on the point of admitting that the efforts put into the Town site must be written off, and a new site chosen, and new plans submitted. That seems like a backward step – but that’s the sunken cost fallacy whispering into our ears.

References
Ariely, D. (2009). Predictably irrational, revised and expanded edition: The hidden forces that shape our decisions.

Arkes, Hal R., and Peter Ayton. “The Sunk Cost and Concorde Effects: Are Humans Less Rational than Lower Animals?” Psychological Bulletin 125.5 (1999): 591-600

Burthold, G. R. (2008). Psychology of decision making in legal, health care and science settings. Gardners Books.

https://youarenotsosmart.com/2011/03/25/the-sunk-cost-fallacy/ 

Darkness Rising

From the 4th March 1981 comes this very early poem, a touch of Dylan Thomas creeping in, a Nietzsche reference taken from science fiction writer James Blish, and heavily influenced in style by Robert Browning. 

There's something there about oil and energy resources running out, and more than a degree of dark mysticism. I was probably going through a periodic bout of depression at the time. The poem forms part of a sequence I wrote called "The Age of Thatcher and Beyond", which probably accounts for being depressed.

Darkness Rising 

Softly, my darling, hear the daylight falling

As our light flickers; now the engine stalling

Stops, and at once becomes most still

Until silence so sharp that it might kill;

Then howling frenzy starts its rage

At loss of air-conditioned cage 

Now, my darling, comes the darkness rising

As a dusk of idols crumbles in prising

Open Pandora's box; left alone unseen

Is hope. Alas! That which might have been

Was not to be: the silken web falls lightly

But firm; no space here for the sprightly 

Only pray, my darling, for a wizard's spell

To break the enchantment of our hell,

And call forth hope for fresh tomorrow,

That failing there should be no sorrow

But tears of rage against the dying

Of the light, the darkness softly rising. 

4/03/1981

Les Quennevais School 1966 - Part 4

Here is the next part of the 1966 booklet produced on Les Quennevais School. If anyone knows the students named in the photos, I'd love to have memories of them for the next post.

Since posting the last piece, I've had various comments. It should be noted that the cane was also used at other schools, including the private schools, and I was clipped round the ears at my school in the 1970s with two rulers (one on each ear, ouch!) by my geography teacher, A.B. Harris, for day dreaming. So in context, the descriptions of the school below are not widely out from the rather harsher times of the 1960s.

Sue wrote: Love this- I was there in 1966 - aka Sue Waigh.

Kim wrote:

1966. The year before I started school there. It was a definitely a school in its early stages and you had to learn to stand on your own to feet. A time when you could either receive the stick across the knuckles or across the backside and a kick up the backside by the P.E teacher would motivate you in the cross country. But that was life in those days. You were there to learn . It was very much a different era to grow up in. Not just for the pupils but for the teachers also who were doing their best and treating us as they felt fit. Having a french teacher come up behind you and lift you out your chair by your ears certainly got your attention as did the blackboard rubber flying your way. But did I miss that school, well , they say the school days were the best days of your life. They probably were. Apart from educate you it also taught you to stand up on your own two feet.

Sue wrote:

I think more in Les Quennevais school when I was there in the 70's it was unruly and teachers could not control the class. Students were traumatised and pushed down the stairs. The school took the kids in that other schools rejected as in those days there weren't many secondary schools in Jersey.

Les Quennevais School 1966 - Part 4

Emile Goaziou at the forge.



Clive Coutanche at the lathe.



Leslie Rio welding.



Sir John Newsom watches boys at work on Quiver, our second Gnome class sailing dinghy.

The first of these, Quail, is on the left. Both were built by boys under the direction of Mr. Jones.

Election Expenses: The AG's Decision

Election Expenses: The AG's Decision

BBC Jersey reported:

Half of the candidates in Jersey's 2018 General Election may have broken expenses rules, the island's attorney general has said. Forty-five of 90 candidates appear to have submitted their returns illegally, according to Robert MacRae QC. His comments came as three candidates accused of failing to declare expenses had the charges against them dropped. It was unfair to single them out when "so many" candidates appeared to have broken the law, Mr MacRae said.

Eighteen sitting politicians are among the 45 candidates from the May 2018 poll thought to have broken election rules. Under the 2014 Public Elections Law, candidates are required to deliver a signed declaration of their expenses within 15 working days of the election. Twenty-eight candidates missed the 7 June deadline, while 17 candidates delivered declarations which "appeared" to break election law for other reasons, Mr MacRae said.

15 Working Days to Submit Expenses?

Is 15 working days enough time? Some candidates may not by that stage have received invoices for work done, and may have to use estimates. Why 15 days? In the UK and other jurisdictions, the timescale is far longer.

In the UK, for example, the timescale is a much more reasonable 35 days. In India, it is 30 days. This is much more sensible. You have to get invoices from people and not just have estimates. I had a bathroom heater fitted in early January, but have yet to receive the bill despite asking for it as soon as possible. I know I will receive it when the electrician does their monthly statements and invoices. That's why 35 days is much more sensible.

Advocate Rose Colley was speaking about late submissions, and suggesting that all the candidates should have been penalised and disqualified. Mention was made that she has stood for election both in the UK and in Jersey, but surprisingly when recounting her UK experience, she did not mention the more generous timescale.

I would recommend that PPC change the time from 15 working days to 35 days. The good news is they are looking at this question. 

A Joke?

Advocate Colley said candidates "should have realised" they were given incorrect forms for their expenses. "It's just made our island a joke, and it's just stupid," she said. "The fact that they could have been disqualified from office, yes, would have caused potentially 18 by-elections, but it would have sent out a message that the law is there and everyone needs to be really aware of the responsibilities.

My son's comment. "And 18 by-elections wouldn't have made the island a joke?"

She needs to get a sense of perspective.

Online Submission

Deputy Russell Labey of PPC said that it was ridiculous in the 21^st century that you had to submit your expenses to the Judicial Greffe by hand (during office hours) rather than by email. He also noted that no receipt was given when you did hand them in.

Advocate Colley said that submission electronically meant you couldn’t be sure that it really was the individual submitting the return and that was why it had to be done by the candidate in person.

I have never heard anything so preposterous. Doesn’t she know that from 2010, Income Tax returns will be completed and submitted online? Parish property schedules can already be checked and signed off online. Online banking allows submission of payments online.

As a defence of the status quo, it simply does not stand up to scrutiny. Of course there is a need to verify identity of someone submitting something online, but with digit id coming in this year, that would easily be possible.

The AG’s Decision

Advocate Colley criticised the decision of the AG as being “in the public interest” and said he should have consulted more widely. I would be extremely surprised if he had not discussed it with his colleagues, even if that was informally, but the decision was his and his allow. Because we don’t know if he consulted with others before making it, to assume he did not, without even asking him, seems rather presumptuous.

The law is to ensure expenses declarations were received in a timely manner, and even if some were late by a small margin, all were received from elected candidates.

Now I do know that in India, there were disqualified candidates for late submissions – but that was after 30 days, and most of those failed to submit expenses within any time scale.

Advocate Colley says that by doing nothing, the Island looks ridiculous, but to hold 18 bi-elections would not necessarily improve matters. It would look as if a rigid sticking to the rules rather than the intent of the law

“My duty’s to the law; you have no rights” (Inspector Javert, Les Miserables)

But would that be in the public interest? Watching Les Miserables on Sunday evenings brings home how Inspector Javert would have felt at home with a decision to prosecute regardless of the circumstances. He is flexible, unbending, because to him, the law is the highest authority. He cannot see beyond the law to the reasons behind the law.

In the eyes of Javert, Jean Valjean deserves judgment and condemnation because he has broken the law. Do we want Javert’s abstract justice of retribution? Is that in the public interest?

After all, we the people, have voted for those elected. No one has spent more than they should. Should our votes be cast aside, ignored, purely because of an infraction regarding a late submission of expenses (and remember, the expenses were submitted in the end)? That is the real public interest question.

Songs of the Night Sky

Inspired by Carl Sagan's Cosmos, a mood poem about the night sky, and the forthcoming lunar eclipse.

Songs of the Night Sky

Comes the blood moon, all-glorious above,
The goddess Selene, with blessings and love
A sign in the night sky, from ancient of days
Wonder and adore her, give her your praise

The stars in their courses, with majesty, grace
Diadems in the heavens, in backdrop of space
Deep nebula glow, as the stars come to form
Black hole at our centre, with gravity’s storm

The moon is for poets, for tongue to recite
And perigree comes, so bright with its light
It shines on the hills, and over the plain
And between the clouds, that bring us the rain

The vastness of space, we are so small, frail
So quick are our lives, a heartbeat to fail
Stars shine above, at our birth and our end
And moonbeams caress, in night sky our friend

In darkness came light, it blazes with love
The planetary spirits bright shining above
The Milky Way galaxy, with glory ablaze,
Stars twinkle in darkness, singing with praise!

Les Quennevais School 1966 - Part 3

Here is the next part of the 1966 booklet produced on Les Quennevais School.

Since the first post went up, a few comments have appeared. Not all was sweet and light. Carmen wrote:

"I went to Les Q in sept in 1977 & the bullying was horrific! I was traumatised and desperately wanted to move to Hautlieu for exams but thankfully got a place @ Beaulieu Convent where I found sanctuary."

Les Quennevais School 1966 - Part 3



French - Mr. Poingdestre using Credif tapes and film strips with a first year class.

Social Studies - third year boys take readings from the school weather station.



Certtain other subjects occur as options in the fourth year, as do Business Studies. Here fourth year pupils work-with Miss August.

Anne says: The 2 girls either side of Miss August is Shirley & Sue McClure. I was also in the class. Still friends after all those years. Would have been 1966.

Every pupil learns a variety of crafts, finding out how to combine them to make things of practical value.

Letter from Kevin Keen

Back last year, the JSPCA appointed a volunteer CEO to temporarily take charge amid “extremely challenging” financial difficulties. In this letter, he responds to recent criticisms in a letter to the JEP.

I would also note that he is a "volunteer CEO", as some remarks on Social Media have asked what he is getting paid as CEO. The clue is in the word "volunteer"

And finally if all Islanders make a donation, even a one off, although regular would be preferred, we can help get the JSPCA back on its feet. Kevin can't do it all, but together we can make a difference.

http://jspca.org.je/donations/

The JSPCA Animals’ Shelter provides a large range of services in the field of animal care and welfare, offering help and advice for all members of the public. These services include:

• 24 hour ambulance service
• Lost and found service
• Rehoming
• Welfare Clinic Scheme
• Foster Animal Scheme
• Boarding for Cats
• Rescue and Rehabilitation of injured wildlife
• Education
• Jersey Pet Cemetery

Letter from Kevin Keen

Sir

I am responding to comments made by Jason Cronin in a letter published on 11th January.

Although the audit of our 2017 accounts is not yet complete, an unaudited version was shared with members last May. Mr Cronin claims he has seen these accounts but has made some elementary errors in his analysis. 

The income from boarding animals of was actually £170,896, not the £300,000 Mr Cronin alleges. In addition approximately half of this was from the boarding of cats which we are continuing. 

Your correspondent also forgets to mention the cost of our boarding business, which in 2017 was £347,077, leaving a loss from what is really a business activity of some £176,000. This loss was lower than in previous years but clearly still substantial. 

After careful consideration we concluded deficits at such a level were unsustainable and our location not really suitable for commercial dog boarding either. We will however continue providing boarding services for cats which we believe can be made to produce profits to support our charitable activities.

I can assure Mr Cronin & Islanders that providing shelter to animals who are homeless continues and we will carry on rescuing animals including strays. The activities are true to our original charitable purpose and service a need the private sector cannot.

Mr Cronin speculates that that our real intention for ceasing dog boarding was to facilitate property development on our site, that is not the case. We certainly do have to find ways to to reduce our £1 million of debts and making the most of our substantial property assets will be part of that, but the reason for stopping commercial dog boarding was because it was loss making.

I can also put Mr. Cronin’s mind at rest regarding our application for registration under the Charities (Jersey) Law 2014, this was made in good time for the 31st December 2018 deadline and we will therefore benefit from the transitional relief provided by the Commissioner whilst he considers our application.

Finally, although for some reason Mr Cronin is not supportive of what we are trying to do, he appears to be very much in the minority because many islanders and local organisations have stepped forward to support us. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them all, they have been an inspiration. We clearly have a long way to go, but the generosity and kindness we have received gives me considerable optimism for the future of the JSPCA.

Yours faithfully

Kevin C Keen

Chief Executive (Interim)
JSPCA

A Little Clarity over Pay

January 2019: FOI Request:

With regard to the recent proposed strike action, a States spokesperson said: ‘We are disappointed at the unions’ decision to call for limited strike action among civil servants. We will consider the implications for the potential impact on public services, alongside confirming the contingency plans that are in place to minimise those impacts."

This doesn't give much regarding the chain of responsibility for the statement.

1.     Which States members were involved in producing / agreeing this statement for release?

2.     Were the Council of Ministers members all involved/consulted in deciding/agreeing to this statement?

Response

This statement was provided on behalf of the States Employment Board and was approved by the Chair and Vice Chair of the States Employment Board.

Comment

On 10^th January, one month after Tracey Valois resigned as Chair of the States Employment Board, Bailiwick Express noted:

Senior members of the States Employment Board “don’t feel there’s any pressure” to appoint a new leader in the face of escalating civil service strikes and mounting challenges from other public sector workers over pension rates and pay reversals, it has emerged.

In the meantime, the Chief Minister, John Le Fondre, is acting Chair.

The SEB's Vice Chair, Constable Richard Buchanan, said yesterday that he and the Chief Minister are not actively looking to appoint another politician to steer the body responsible for setting States workers' pay, terms and conditions.

Currently, the SEB consists of:

Senator John Le Fondre, Chief Minister

Connétable R.A. Buchanan, Assistant Chief Minister

Deputy S.J. Pinel, Minister for Treasury and Resources

Connétable D.W. Mezbourian of St. Lawrence

Deputy G.J. Truscott of St. Brelade.

The curious wording “provided on behalf of” doesn’t actually clarify a great deal about who drafted the Statement, although all members agreed with it. 

When the States Employment Board is making a statement, I do think it would be more honest for them to take responsibility than to hide behind “a States spokesperson” and “the States said...”, especially as it is likely that not all of the Council of Ministers are in agreement with said policy.

On the matter of transparency, I note:

“The States of Jersey is today publishing a table of civil service pay grades to aid transparency and understanding of the pay rates for civil servants, in light of current industrial action. The table also reveals the number of civil servants in each pay bracket, as well as examples of the kinds of roles, and shows that at each grade the majority of employees are paid at the top of their pay scale.”

For “The States of Jersey” read “The States Employment Board”, and note, by the way, this only covers pay rates for civil servants below £100,000. Of course, those above have been frozen, it is true, but then they are likely to face less pressure from the rising cost of living and rental costs.

In the interests of transparency, I have asked for a similar breakdown to be given for those above £100,000 – and it will be interesting to see, especially as we have just found out that the temporary head of Health is being paid £27,000 per month, which amounts to some £324,000 per annum. No wonder the nurses can’t get an adequate pay rise!

John Le Fondre, defending this, said it was only a temporary position while a new post holder was found and such temporary appointments always cost more. But that appointment was made on 19th June - for 6 months! It has clearly been extended, although the SEB has been surprisingly reticent for how long - another 6 months? Not much transparency there.

Kenny McNeil, of the RCN, said that constantly hearing how highly paid States executives were was the main reason that nurses chose to reject their pay offers:

“We have rejected our pay offer and the situation is that our members keep being told that there is no money but then keep hearing about directors getting huge payouts. ‘We think that if they can pay people that sort of money, then they should also pay well and respect the hard-working staff on the frontline. If they can find that sort of money to pay interim directors, then it shows that the money is there.”

It was understandable that Reform should support the strike action, but heartening to see both Steve Luce and Steve Pallett agree that enough was enough, and the SEB should climb down from its autocratic pedestal and seek some kind of compromise. They both said that there was money, but it needed to be diverted from other matters.

In that regard, remember that just before Christmas, Senator John Le Fondré, has now said he is committed to releasing funding for court appeals for CICRA under the next Medium Term Financial Plan. The Magic Money Tree has some money, it seems, if your face fits.

It’s a pity the same commitment hasn’t been made for the next MTFP to rectify the long term below cost of living pay for civil servants, nurses and teachers, which is certainly far more urgent. Why not come out and make that commitment now?

Some Late Expenses Submissions in 2008

Some Late Expenses Submissions in 2008

Back in 2008, there were elections for Deputies and Senators.

In April 2009, a good five months after the Deputy elections, Deputy Trevor Pitman asked the question:

"Will H.M. Attorney General explain what legal action, if any, can be taken against a number of candidates (successful and unsuccessful but all ‘independents’) in the 2008 Deputies elections who, well into 2009, had still not supplied details to the Judicial Greffe, as required by law, of their electoral campaign expenses? "

The law at that time came under the Public Elections (Expenditure and Donations) (Jersey) Regulations, 2008. This was replaced in 2014 by the Public Elections (Expenditure and Donations) (Jersey) Law 2014.

The wording was remarkably similar in respect of election expenses:

“A candidate who fails, without reasonable excuse, to deliver a declaration, or further declaration, in accordance with this Regulation is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine."

That is identical to current wording. Also identical - the regulations also specified the same 15 days for submitting expenses – or facing a fine.

But there was a significant difference. Guilty of an offense meant liable to a fine, but it did not mean automatic disqualification from office – that came only in the 2014 regulations under article 18 which was linked to submissions as well as breaches of expenses - indeed everywhere the phrase "guilty of offense" was stated in the old regulations and taken to the new..

Article 18 of those regulations specified that anyone guilty of an offense, if elected, would automatically be disqualified, although they could stand again if they wanted to. Looking at the Hansard of the States sitting at the time, the focus of discussion was entirely on breaching expense guidelines, not late submission of expenses.

No one queried the additional penalty under that article would also apply to the late submission, and considerably change its legal meaning. Why should they? For all intents and purpose, the article read the same - and was probably understood by members voting on it as meaning the same – namely that a late submission was an offense which would be liable to a fine.

That is how the law had read, and no one, even Jeremy Macon who was proposing it, highlighted that it had now changed. All he said was:

“Article 18 contains important new provision about the consequences of conviction. This provision could not be included in the Triennial Regulations but is included in this draft law. As can be seen, a person who has been elected but who is convicted of an offence of breaching this law will be disqualified from office.“

Roy Le Herrissier spoke against Article 18, but only on the grounds of its giving a second change

“Well, you can get another chance and put yourself forward to see whether the public feel, as some kind of quasi-jury, you are okay to run again.” I think is very wrong and I think we should be up front with people and say one way or the other and not lead to this, quite frankly, excruciating public kind of debate.”

When the matter came up about people being charged for breaking the law, it was clear that Jeremy Macon had breaching expenses in mind alone: “Why charge them? Again, because we discussed this and if you were to leave some sort of discretionary amount, say for example there would be a discretion of perhaps plus 10 per cent, then the new threshold will just become plus 10 per cent, and therefore all you are doing is increasing the overall amount.”

He didn’t consider the paragraph on late submission at all, although clearly it is mentioned in Article 18!

The Attorney-General noted in his reply to Trevor Pitman in April 2009:

“The legal – as opposed to political - enforcement mechanism for these Regulations lies in the bringing of a criminal prosecution. Such a prosecution will be considered in cases where a file is prepared by the police and passed to the Law Officers’ Department, or alternatively to a Centenier, for a decision as to whether or not to prosecute.”

“The lodging of this question last week led me to make some enquiries of the Judicial Greffier. I understand there are two candidates from the Deputies’ elections, neither of whom were elected, who have not yet filed a note of their election expenses as the Regulations require. I believe the Greffier is pursuing that matter to the extent he can. As far as I am aware, the Law Officers Department have as yet received no such police files for consideration in relation to the 2008 Deputies’ elections.”

The Deputies elections took place in October, so there was a significant gap, but no action was taken.

Later, in 2011, Deputy Pitman asked the new Attorney-General the following:

“Would the Attorney General advise whether any of the 2008 election candidates, successful or otherwise, failed to comply with the Public Elections (Expenditure and Donations) (Jersey) Regulations 2008 requiring that they provide full details of their campaign expenses, and if so, would he specify which roles they were standing for (e.g. Senator, Deputy or Connétable), who the candidates were and what sanctions they faced, having failed to comply? If none, what was the reason for this?”

This gave rise to the following extra information:

“In relation to the current question I have made further inquiries and am informed by the Deputy Judicial Greffier that one expenses return remains outstanding and that the candidate, who was unsuccessful, had left the island shortly after the election and remains outside the jurisdiction. As a result no investigation could be concluded and it accordingly remains the case that no investigation files have been received by my department.”

Clearly, although there was a late submission by at least one candidate for Deputy – although an unsuccessful one – no action was taken, no prosecution brought, no fine levied.

The grounds for the delay are not stated, but evidently it was taken that the intent of the law – as opposed to the letter of the law – was to ensure expenses declarations were received in a timely manner, and clearly once they had been submitted in the case of one candidate still in Jersey, it was deemed not in the public interest to pursue the matter further.

So why should this case of Deputies Wickenden, Raymond and Mr Manning be different? After all, they all submitted their expenses, albeit outside of the 15 days requirement.

What needs to be answered is why a late submission was not deemed liable to prosecution and a fine in 2008 – when it was eventually received – and yet it is now?

It seems wholly unfair that some slack was given in the public interest in 2008 which is not given now. Legal decisions should show some degree of consistency with precedent, and if they do not, it should be explained why the precedent should be overturned.

And while the law has changed since 2008, part of the penalties remain identical - the fine for late submission - so if that was not pursued then, one wonders if any documentation or minutes were made of that decision. I suspect it was not deemed in the public interest, but unless someone from the Judicial Greffe checks, we shall not know.

And finally, why wait all this time before bringing a case? This is surely one of the oddest aspects. It is not as if there is any leeway in the strict letter of the law, so why the delay? That does not look good as far as justice is concerned, and it looks ever more like someone deciding to make a point, rather than just applying the law once it was broken. 

January Blues

A mood poem for January, a time of cold wind, dark days, and winter illness!

January Blues
Cold month, and sneeze and cold
Signs of getting grey and old
It takes longer to defeat the bug
Accepting illness with a shrug
And decorations all stacked away
Christmas gone, such a bleak day
The tree came down, packed up
I sip warm soup, a welcome cup
And rest my weary bones again
Growing old, this slow amen
The trees are bare against the sky
As even nature comes to die
We wait for spring, we wait in hope
The dark mornings, hard to cope
But day by day, an early dawn
And Venus shining in the morn
I wait, wrap up, keeping warm
And fearful of the winter storm
And ice and snow, not yet to come
It’s feeling down, and feeling numb
And cold and darkness stretch out long
I wait, and pray, for Springtime song

Les Quennevais School 1966 - Part 2

Here is the next part of the 1966 booklet produced on Les Quennevais School.

Since the first post went up, a few comments have appeared and you may find them interesting!

Dianah noted that the first post showed a picture of the young Dianah sitting at the table in the library!!

Trevor B: Some of the original teachers were still there when I went in 1975. Although it’s a while ago now, the following I remember:

MRS. S. WEBB (Senior Mistress)
A. L. HARRIS (Head of Art Department)
C. S. M. HILL (Careers Master and Technical Drawing)
W. J. HORN (Head of Science Department)
O. LARBALESTIER (Science)
MRS. D. PICKERING (Needlework)
F. H. POINGDESTRE (Modern Languages)
B. SLOUS (Technical Department)
W. L. M. SMALL (Mathematics)
R. STONIER (Head of English Department)

In terms of memories, I remember Brian Slous being very serious and seemed to have no sense of humour..my metalwork was horrendous to be fair and also Mr Stonier had a goaty beard and suffered from gout. The favourite though was Mr Labalestier whose nickname was “Bolly” and we used to sing a very unsavoury song about him in Chemistry!!! I think he retired is c1976.

Stephen Regal (of Regal Construction) notes that "The first job that I worked on!" and of course with Rok-Regal, his company is now involved in building the new school, which seems right and proper.

Janine B: I was in the first intake of students. Lovely school after we had all came from the parish schools, with coal fires etc. Particularly remember Miss August and her Morris minor car with the split windscreen. She would cart us around in it, this would never happen now.

Carole D: I too was there on day one, absolutely loved the school. We had a school reunion when we all turned 40!!! with some of the teaching staff.

And now some more photos and captions. Please share any more memories that I can put up next time.

Les Quennevais School 1966 - Part 2


Each morning the pupils and staff assemble either with the Headmaster as seen here, or in Year Groups with the Year Teachers.

The Hall will seat five hundred. - Note that back in 1966, that could mean all the school, but not now!



The Choir and Orchestra, seen here rehearsing with Mr.Ward, take part regularly in the assemblies.



Throughout the five year course at the school, certain subjects feature at all levels.

These include Mathematics - here a first year class works in the Maths Room



... and English - Miss Greenwood takes a second year class (which, incidentally, has made the puppets to use in the little theatre set up in their room by senior boys).

Tony's Newsround

The Spokesperson has Spoken

The States of Jersey released this statement in response the news of the strike:

"We are disappointed at the unions’ decision to call for limited strike action among civil servants.....  etc etc"

-- States of Jersey Spokesperson

There's a curious semantic fuzziness about the term "States of Jersey". On the one hand, it is the Assembly, voting on issues, but in instances like this, it is actually the Executive within the States of Jersey... and possibly not even all of them, if you count Reform members in the Council of Ministers and Assistant Ministers.

So who is exactly "speaking here". The ITV report, no doubt looking at the Gov.Je website, says just "Spokesperson". But on whose behalf are they speaking? There's a cloak of anonymity here which really doesn't fit well with open and transparent government. If it is the COM it should be "Council of Ministers Spokesperson" (if it is a civil servant saying what has been decided by the COM). It is not the whole States unless there is a vote.

Language and politics, as Orwell noted, lends itself to obfuscation and deceit, and I'd prefer some real clarity as to who the "we" of "we are disappointed...." is.

Review of the Circumstances around the Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority’s Decision On ATF Fuels

The Chief Minister presented this to the States in December and I've just been reviewing it. The introduction says:

“The Government’s responsibility is to ensure that the competition system as a whole is operating properly, and that the JCRA is exercising its powers reasonably. My predecessor therefore commissioned a review of the circumstances leading up to the decision of the JCRA and its handling of the case.”

The review was conducted by Kassie Smith Q.C., who is a leading barrister in competition and regulation within the EU.

The conclusion seems to be that the JCRA is exercising its powers reasonably, although it needs to make the process more transparent – “In future, the JCRA should specifically record and explain (perhaps in its Annual Reports)25 how it has applied its prioritisation principles to its decisions whether or not to commence investigations under the 2005 Law.”

The chief weaknesses in the report appear to me to be:

1) It appears to second-guess or by implication suggest the Royal Court did not have proper expertise in its decision making (para 82) – “appeals under Article 53 of the 2005 Law are to the Royal Court which is a non-specialist court”. While note stating the position explicitly, it suggests (to the layman) that the Royal Court may have go its decision wrong!

In this area, it also notes “There should be a way for the Royal Court to gain access to, and appoint specialists, to help it deal with technically complex matters.” Perhaps, one cannot help but think, someone like Kassie Smith Q.C!

2) It seems to take the view that as JCRA didn’t appeal against the Royal Court in its own statement on grounds of cost, that the States should effectively provide a blank cheque for JCRA! (para 78 “Oxera recommended that the Government should “provide an explicit commitment that it will fund the JCRA as necessary if the Authority faces a legal challenge”). That would hardly be “equality of arms”!

The argument is that there “are incentives for those disadvantaged by a JCRA decision to appeal that decision in the expectation that the Authority will decide not to defend it given the risks and costs involved”

But it seems wrong to me that almost unlimited funds should be available to the States, when such is not the case for a private company, which has to be able to finance its own defence, with no guarantees that it will win or get costs awarded. While the current situation may not be perfect, tipping the balance in favour of the State is hardly an improvement.

Bailliwick Express notes that:

“The QC, whose salary sum has not yet been disclosed, is expected to complete her draft report by summer.”

There is as yet no indication how much this report has cost, but costs of reports are probably something lawyers are not too bothered about as long as they get paid well.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister, Senator John Le Fondré, has now said he is committed to releasing funding for court appeals for CICRA under the next Medium Term Financial Plan.

It’s a pity the same commitment hasn’t been made in the next MTFP to rectify the long term below cost of living pay for civil servants, nurses and teachers, which is certainly far more urgent. Why not come out and make that commitment now?

Election Expenses May 2018: Some Data

Did you know that it is possible for any member of the public to view the election expenses in the May elections? The law states that:

"The Greffier shall make declarations received by him or her under this Law available for inspection, free of charge, at the offices of the Judicial Greffe, during normal working hours."

Reasonably available is a moot point, when you have to go to the Judicial Greffe during office hours - they are closed lunchtime - and get someone who is authorised to be there to deliver a file to you, which they place on a table for you to view.

So they are available to the general public, just not easily so!

I put up the election expenses for the Senators here:
http://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2018/10/election-expenses-may-2018-senators.html

And now here are the rest, which is topical because of the recent furore about Hugh Raymond, Scott Wickenden, and the Third Man. (Curiously, Harry Lime did not stand for election!)

Caveats:

1) Because I had limited time, and was scribbling madly, there may be errors in what follows. Each expense form is made from direct expenses, and notional expenses and donations. Notional expenses are when someone supplies services or work at below the market rate, or even at no cost, so that a notional cost of what they would be is placed on the form. This is to ensure a level playing field.

2) Because of the complexities of Reform Party allocation of expenses - website, posters, election material, which was shared across all candidates, or sometimes within a district (posters, for example), it was beyond me in the time allowed to get what figures were needed for each Reform candidate - perhaps they can publish their own expenses data on their website, which would be public spirited and transparent, and save someone the trouble of trying to allocate all the bits and pieces.

3) Because of limited time, I did not manage to get election expenses for all candidates, even ones not of Reform. I only had around 30-40 minutes to spare. Hugh Raymond does not appear on my list, but I could have simply missed seeing his data. Scott Wickenden, interestingly, had an expenses submission in the file.

Expenses Copied

(but there may be mistakes in transcriptions, if only it was like the UK, available online!)

If any candidates contact me about errors, I will immediately update the figures.

St Helier District No 1 
Scott Wickenden £1,698.70
Russell Labey £1,515.04
Judy martin £1,332.73
Jason Lagasu £670.41

St. Helier District No. 2 
Linda Dodds £1,118.31
Barry Shelton £528.70
Geraint Jennings £458.00

St. Helier District No. 3 & 4 
Inna Gardina £2,493.88
Richard Rondel £1,509.73
Mary le Hegarat £1,350.48
Mike Higgins £1,150.70
Steven Ahier £1,175.90
Jacqui Carrell £1017.50+Notional £104.00=£1,121.50
Guy de Faye £267.00

St. Saviour District No. 1 
Kevin Pamplin £706.36
Isabella Lewis £447.95
Jeremy Macon £392.62+Notional £50.00=£442.62

St. Saviour District No. 2 
Louise Doublet £553.00+Notional £15.00 =£568.00
Kevin Lewis £226.80

St. Saviour District No. 3 
Mary O’Keefe £1,697.35
Andrew Le Quesne £1,537.58
Jess Perchard £935.08+Notional £56.67=£991.67

St. Brelade District No. 1 
John Young £45

St. Brelade District No. 2 
Tony Pike £730.62
Graham Truscott £314.08

St Lawrence 
Kirsten Morel £1,060.23 +Notional £431.50=£1,491,723

St Clement 
Susie Pinel £1,613.10
Lindsay Ash £1,125.56

St Peter 
Rowland Huelin £1,569.44
Sean Creavy £1,564.50

St. John 
Trevor Pointon £1,444.80
Nigel Philpott - £537.00

St Ouen 
Richard Renouf £817.70
Cliff Le Clerq £450.00

St Mary - Deputy 
Robert Johnson £1,298.20
Mark Baker £463.99

St Mary – Constable 
John le Bailly £682.21
Juliette Gallichan £366.58

Trinity 
David Richardson £726.76

New Year Resolutions

“The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes. Unless a particular man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions. Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective.” (GK Chesterton)

Are you making any New Year resolutions? I have just one, which is to spend more time on other projects, and less on the blog. A nasty bug laid me rather low over the holidays, but also gave me a break from the blog and time to have some reflections on how best to use my time.

Rather than trying to find something to say every day, I will restrict myself to probably just one or maybe two postings during the week.

The exception will be the Friday history blog which will still continue in its present format - taking older historical material, scanning, putting it through OCR software, and then correcting by hand. Saturday's will still be a Saturday poem, and Sunday will be an occasional post.

I will also be trying to spend more time exercising and lose more weight to keep my doctor happy!

There will still be blogs commenting on local politics, but not perhaps as many.

Night Chills

Starting to recover from recent bout of flu-like illness, and having had some feverish restless nights coughing, I penned this. I do not in the least think it likely Venus has anything to do with outbreaks of flu - it just shows how easy it is to align one set of data.

It's stated here:

"The hypothesis is that there are bacteria and viruses in the upper atmosphere of Venus (they've got to be acidophiles) and that during Venus inferior conjunctions with Earth, some of them can be swept away by solar storms and reach Earth in a viable state. Based on 20th century events it appears that these Venusian "drop-ins," (including influenza and influenza-like illnesses) tend to make themselves known one to two months after the inferior conjunction."

But consider this from one commentator: "a virus does not evolve or reproduce independently. It originates as a mutated chip off of a strand of DNA from a more complex organism. It can only reproduce by entering the cells of a creature to which its genes are fairly closely related. In effect, a flu bug mates with you and together you produce offspring. No molecule that developed in outer space would have contained a strand of DNA similar enough to a human’s to have caused any flu epidemics. "

The virus experts put it more succinctly:
http://edition.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/05/23/sars.fromspace/

Night Chills

Venus, bright in the dawn sky

Cold and feverish was the night

Shivering in the pale moonlight

Awakenings with pain I cry

In ancient times, an evil sprite

Would, they say, caused affright;

Venus, bright in the dawn sky

Cold and feverish was the night

The fever breaks, but here I lie

The invisible enemy, my blight

Departing like a dark Knight

My mind is free, once more I fly

Venus, bright in the dawn sky

Les Quennevais School 1966 - Part 1

Les Quennevais School 1966 - Part 1

Here is the first part of the 1966 booklet produced on Les Quennevais School.

LES QUENNEVAIS SCHOOL

Opened 8th June 1966 by The Bailiff of Jersey, Sir Robert Le Masurier

EDUCATION COMMITTEE 1966

President

SENATOR JOHN LE MARQUAND

Vice-President

R. R. JEUNE, Deputy of St. Helier

Members

R. H. LE CORNU, Constable of St. Mary

A. C. QUEREE, Deputy of St. Ouen

J. R. C. RILEY, Deputy of St. Helier

J. LE S. GALLICHAN, Deputy of Trinity

P. G. CABOT, Deputy of St. Saviour

Director of Education

H. C. A. WIMBERLEY, M.A.

STAFF

Headmaster and Principal

J. F. WATTS, B.A.

Deputy Headmaster

C. D. MITCHELL

Adult Tutor

B. K. HUGHES

MRS. S. WEBB (Senior Mistress)

MISS M. Y. AUGUST (Business Studies)

MISS R. CARTER (Music)

H. A. FAUVEL (Department of Social Studies)

MISS M. GREENWOOD, B.A. (English)

A. L. HARRIS (Head of Art Department)

C. S. M. HILL (Careers Master and Technical Drawing)

W. J. HORN (Head of Science Department)

R. G. JONES (Head of Technical Department)

O. LARBALESTIER (Science)

W. B. LEGG (Scripture)

MISS A. LE RENDU (Art)

MRS. D. PICKERING (Needlework)

F. H. POINGDESTRE (Modern Languages)

MISS M. A. WALKER, B.A. (Modern Languages)

J. C. RIDGE (Boys Physical Education)

MRS. M. RUSSEL (Girls Physical Education)

B. SLOUS (Technical Department)

W. L. M. SMALL (Mathematics)

R. STONIER (Head of English Department)

J. H. TUPPER (Technical Department)

MRS. M. E. UNDERWOOD (Head Remedial Department)

MRS. H. UWINS (Homecraft)

J. S. WALKER (Social Studies)

E. WARD (Head of Music Department)

Secretary MRS. J. HILLYER

Caretaker A. GIBBINS

On the 8th June 1966, the Bailiff of Jersey, Sir Robert Le Masurier official opened the school by unveiling the plaque before the Governing Body, parents, pupils and staff.

The President or the Education Committee, Senator John Le Marquand, then introduced the Guest of Honour. Sir John Newsom. CBE, who is seen here giving the opening address.

Sir John Newsom, KL, CBE, was Chief Education Officer for Hertfordshire from 1940 to 1957. He has written books for children and books about children, perhaps the best known of which is “The Education of Girls". He has been Chairman of the Central Advisory Council for Education and Chairman of the Educational Advisory Council of the independent Television Authority. but is probably still best known for his Chairmanship of the committee that produced “ Half Our Future" — the Newsom Report of 1963, dealing with the education of .school children aged 13-16.

After the ceremony, visitors saw the extensive exhibition of school life set up in the building.

The pages that follow record something of the diversity of activities in this mixed Secondary Modern School which is built for 500 pupils, and its Adult Education wing to which some 600 students already belong.

Here in the library we see the first practical meeting point of school and neighbourhood.

The library is both public branch library and school library. The Branch Librarian is Mr. I. Sutherland, A.L.A.

Dianah Le Huray commented that this showed picture of the young Dianah sitting at the table in the library!!

Having a Break

Blog is having a break because of illness except for Fridays which I prepared before Christmas.