Call the Midwife: Deaf and Giving Birth

"Call the Midwife" had a very moving story about a deaf mother, who could not speak, and could only sign, mainly to her husband, who could sign back, and tell the Midwives what she was saying..

The part was played by actress Genevieve Barr, who is in fact deaf, although is able to get some sound with hearing aids. As the Telegraph reported:

“At four years old, she was fitted with her first hearing aids, so was able to match the mouth patterns she had seen to the sounds she now heard, and slowly started to speak out loud. Barr still wears hearing aids, but as she can’t hear all the details of sound she relies on lip-reading to complete the picture.”

Her story, which is set out on the Internet Movie Database, is an amazing tale of overcoming obstactles. Here is what it says:

Genevieve was known by her teachers to be doubly cheeky and passionate. She was also a dreamer. Whilst she loved acting, time and time again she was encouraged to go up for the main parts in school plays and was rejected every time. She never knew whether this was because of the speech impediment that came naturally with profound deafness or because of a lack of acting talent. This was a difficult and sensitive issue for her, and with her academic abilities she opted to go to Edinburgh University to study English and History.

Genevieve graduated Edinburgh University in 2008 with an MA(Hons) in English Literature and History, receiving the Anne Lewis History prize for outstanding results. Whilst at university, Genevieve continued to play lacrosse for Scotland.orn profoundly deaf, the doctors told her parents that she would never learn to speak or fully adapt to a hearing world.

Despite this, Genevieve attended mainstream primary school and went onto Harrogate Ladies College as a day pupil. She achieved top grades at GCSE and a full set of As at A Level. She also played sport at a high level, competing nationally and internationally in high-board diving, playing lacrosse for Scotland and rounders for England.

Whilst at University, Genevieve applied for the Teach First graduate scheme, similar to Teach America and was the first ever deaf person to get in. Teach First is a challenging graduate scheme, which provides six weeks gruelling teaching training before sending its graduates to failing or impoverished schools around the country. Genevieve went to teach English at an inner city secondary comprehensive in South London.

This was a huge challenge for her - her deafness was not a forgiving trait in the classroom, and it was a huge battle to earn the respect of pupils and teachers alike. However, she worked hard and embraced this steep learning curve and it prepared her for other battles in ways in which she could not have envisioned.

A few months into teaching, Genevieve was approached by a casting director who was auditioning deaf and hearing people to play the lead role in BBC1 drama 'The Silence'. 'The Silence' was the story of a deaf teenager who witnesses a murder, who is also adapting to hearing for the first time after a cochlea implant operation. Genevieve auditioned after school hours and finally got the part. Genevieve filmed in Dublin for four months, and 'The Silence' came out in July 2010 to rave reviews.Genevieve was nominated for a BAFTA and an International Emmy for best actress.

As the Telegraph notes, this involved learning how to sign:

“'I tried to learn it a few times, partly because I felt ashamed for not being able to communicate with deaf people who signed, and because I wanted to explore my deaf identity,’ she says. 'But there’s just so much to learn.’ Barr learnt to sign properly for the role. 'I had to come across like I was fluent and had been signing my whole life.’…. 'At the read-through Genevieve made it clear that when people were speaking to her she had to see their lips moving,”

Although she has in fact now also played hearing roles, in “Call the Midwife”, it was the part of a deaf pregnant lady – and one giving birth – that she took. It was beautifully played and signed.

Remark Training (in BSL) were involved in making sure the signing from the husband was accurate, and you can read their report here.

http://www.remarktraining.co.uk/remark-onset-of-call-the-midwife/

“Having had no prior TV experience, I assumed the couple would have met and would have had script readings or rehearsals together. It turns out that they had never set eyes on each other before. We plunged into the script reading and BSL tutorial straight away and before we knew it we were all merrily discussing child birth, deaf culture and everything in between.”

Genevieve wrote about her own experiences on her blog:

http://genevievebarr.blogspot.com/2014/11/my-experiences-in-call-midwife.html

You can read her full account there and please do – it is very moving - but here are a few snippets:

“I've never given birth and even though I'm deaf, I am not fluent in sign - my modus operandi, communication wise, is certainly verbal. There was a lot to learn and it was important to get right.”

“Once the hairdresser had said decidedly that I was not suited to ringlets, but more to quaffs (think less Judy Garland, more Audrey Hepburn), I became a 'June Denton' faced with the prospects of bringing a child into a deaf world, or a hearing world. June is torn between the baby being able to hear, but she not being able to speak to it or vice versa - the baby being born deaf and therefore living in a silent world. A cruel dilemma - accentuated by the fact that hearing aids were not readily available and cochlea implants did not exist. A deaf person could not learn to speak so easily without those resources and segregation and discrimination were rife in society.”

“It's not an easy thing being deaf, and I know that more than most people. If it is a burden, then I carry it most times without being aware of it. If it is a burden and I am aware of it, then I carry it with pride and determination, therefore not really feeling it. But June's grace in her deafness, her delight in the small victories, her realisation that love can be conveyed without sound and without sound left me with more confidence than before - that regardless of which way my children go in the world, they will be loved and know they are loved.”

The 9th Earl of Jersey: An Interview

The 9th Earl of Jersey: An Interview

From 1966, and the pages of Jersey Topic, comes this interview with the 9th Earl of Jersey. He was George Francis Child Villiers, (15 February 1910 – 9 August 1998), an English peer from the Villiers family. He was the son of George Child Villiers, 8th Earl of Jersey and gave one of the family seats, Osterley Park, to the British nation in the late 1940s.

He moved to Jersey to Radier Manor, built on the site ofan old farmhouse. The shells of the original farm outbuildings still exist and the archway to the granite courtyard has a keystone with 1812 and PS on it. PS stands for Pierre Simonet and 1812 was when the original farmhouse was built.The manor as it is seen now was remodelled to the vision of the 9th Earl when he moved here in 1947. Georgian in style, it draws aspects from some of the properties that used to belong to the Jersey family, including Osterley Park House in London.

The gardens were created from what was essentially scrub land. The heavily planted borders are filled with all sorts of plants, shrubs and mature trees, including a Horse Chestnut which is thought to be at least as old as the original farm at around 200 years. The gardens reflect those at Osterley Park House which were planted in the vision of the famous Georgian socialite, Sarah Sophia, Countess of Jersey, indeed the gardens house some of the items that resided in the grounds of Osterley, including the sundial below.

His son was George Henry Child Villiers, Viscount Villiers (29 August 1948 – 19 March 1998) who tragically died of a heart attack when only 50, predeceasing his father. The 10th and current Earl of Jersey is George Francis William Child Villiers, known professionally as William Villiers and a former producer, actor and writer. He is the 1st Earl of Jersey to be born here, and is a proud patron of the Jersey Rugby Club.

In 2007, Radier Manor, the home of the Earl of Jersey, went on the market but in 2009 was withdrawn. Lord Jersey said:

“We have given careful thought to our long term needs and the future of our two young children and we feel strongly that staying in Jersey is, by far, the best option for us. We are committed to living in Jersey and to making it our mission to be good ambassadors for the island in whatever way we can,” commented Lord Jersey.

A recent Tweet by Lord Jersey is also interesting:

"Am starting The Earldom of Jersey brand. local produce made with traditional & enviromentally friendly methods"

The 9th Earl of Jersey:
An Interview from 1966 by Ted Vibert in Jersey Topic

I was late for our appointment. In a way it wasn't altogether my fault for I had set out in good time to meet Lord Jersey at Radier Manor. But it was only when I was at Longueville that I realised that I had no real idea where Radier Manor was. I decided to ask-and was directed to a farm called Radier. As drew up I felt that this wasn't the sumptuous home I had heard about. It wasn't.

I was directed to another farm called Radier and it all became rather confusing. But eventually I found Radier Manor and Lord Jersey, who accepted my apologies with an air that made me feel this had happened to him hundreds of times before.

The home of the 9th Lord Jersey is simply beautiful. It is set deep in the heart of the Jersey countryside in the parish of Grouville. From the house you look down a lovely little valley and you can see Noirmont far away in the distance. As we were climbing the stairs to his office we stopped to admire the view from a third floor window. It was then that I noticed how the new chimney at La Collette spoiled his view. I asked him how he felt about this. He sighed, shrugged. "In five years time they could probably have had a nuclear power station and done without it" he said.

And so to his office, which is part of the art gallery in which hang paintings of all his ancestors. The whole room reeked of history and at one end was his desk, the biggest one I have ever seen, covered with papers and pamphlets and magazines, many connected with breeding the Jersey cow.

Yes, it is true he said that he was the first Lord Jersey to settle in the island or even visit it. The title was created in 1697 and no one really knew the reason why Jersey had been chosen. The actual title was "Earl of the Island of Jersey in the County of Southampton". The mother of the first Lord Jersey was put in charge of the daughters of James II, the future Queens Mary and Anne, when he abdicated, and she brought them up at Richmond Palace with her own children.

"I have often wished we knew why the Jersey title was chosen" he told me. "We've delved into it and I've approached the Societe Jersiaise and all other likely sources of information but there is nothing at all in the records". He added: "The Villiers family were settled in Leicestershire soon after the Conquest. The great Duke of Buckingham, favourite of James I and Charles I, was also a member of the family".

He first came to the island in 1947 looking for a summer house. He added: "We found Radier and immediately fell in love with it. I was then living in Wimbledon having given the family home at Osterley Park to the National Trust. On my return from Jersey I found that the L.C.C. were going to take over my house by compulsory purchase so I was virtually homeless. I decided to come and live in Jersey."

It is a decision he in no way regrets. "I love living here" he says. "I feel part of the island now".

Farming and the Jersey cow is one of his big interests in life, although three years ago he sold most of his herd of 50 milking cows which were considered amongst the best head of cattle in Jersey. He has just returned to the island from a visit to New Zealand where he attended the World Jersey Cattle Bureau Conference, of which he is now President, and at which he read a Paper prepared by himself and Mr. T. Le Q. Blampied on "The Jersey Cow and its Island Home".

He is particularly saddened by the way in which other parts of the world have been allowed the lead in breeding the Jersey cow. He says "We are being left well behind by many other countries where they have adopted modern scientific methods of progeny testing and breeding. By selling our best bulls a few years ago we gave these countries the chance to overtake us. It would have been a much better idea if we had sold the semen but kept our top class bulls".

He has some strong things to say about the average Jersey farmer."Most of them adopt the attitude that what was good enough for their fathers and grandfathers is good enough for them. This is not the way to progress. This stubbornness which refuses new ideas, this inherent distrust of anything modern, could well be the end of the Jersey farmer".

He could see only one bright spot on the horizon-the fact that so many young farmers were going abroad to see how things are done overseas and are going, or had been, to agricultural colleges in England. "If they can get hold of the reins early enough they could save Jersey agriculture even at this late hour" he said.

He would like to have had some of the Jersey farmers with him in New Zealand, he said. There they would have seen a completely dynamic approach. "This would, I think, have shaken them out of their sleepiness".

Other than his interest in farming Lord Jersey is also a financier. He is a member of the board of the Jersey General Investment Trust, St. Clements Housing, Kleinwort Benson (Channel Islands) Ltd., and United Dominions Corporation. He is also chairman of the company that runs Hotel L'Horizon and the British Hotel in Broad Street.

It was time to go for we had talked well into the afternoon. Before leaving I slid in one more question. I asked "Have you ever had any political aspirations in Jersey". He smiled and shook his head. "I don't like 'I'll scratch your back if you'll scratch mine' sort of bargaining that happens so much in all politics-I prefer small committees to judge a question on its merits and then to get on with the action".

And as I drove back I felt that this was a pity. Men of the intelligence and calibre of Lord Jersey should be guiding our destiny.

Zombie Attacks and what they can teach us

Zombie attack plan and emergency measures for zombie outbreak

http://www.gov.je/StayingSafe/EmergencyPlanning/Pages/Organisation.aspx

Request

"Can the states of Jersey confirm if they have zombie attack preparedness plan? If yes, would you kindly release the public guidance that the states of Jersey would give out in the event of a localized, or global zombie outbreak?"

Response

"The States of Jersey do not hold any specific plan with relation to preparing for, or dealing with, a zombie attack. The States of Jersey Emergency Measures Plan provides overarching guidance for Emergency Services and other responders in the event of a major incident affecting the island."

Now a lot of ink has been spent saying what a waste of money this Freedom of Information request was, but what is overlooked is that it gives the States an opportunity, as in the links below the question, to set forth protocols for a major incident.

So it is actually quite good if people are drawn to the site, because they may also read the real guidelines – worth doing, as a siren around the Fuel Farm going off by mistake a few years ago caused widespread panic.

I was involved in a real life evacuation a few years ago when the gas cylinder at Gas Place caught fire. We were evacuated from work, and people in houses nearby were evacuated for several days. Incidents like these – there were another in Stopford Road a few years back involving oxy-acetylene cylinder – show us that major incidents can take place, even if localised.

It should be noted that major incidents can be quite localised but still major, for example:

2011: A major incident was declared at the General Hospital today (Sunday 14 August) shortly after 3 pm, following an incident in St Helier where a number of people were injured. Due to the nature of the casualties from the incident in St Helier, the hospital declared a major incident at approximately 3:10 pm, and for a short time, the Emergency Department was closed to non urgent cases.

2011: The General Hospital declared a major incident on Sunday 6 March 2011 following a serious road traffic collision in Trinity at approximately 12.20pm. The crash, which involved 3 cars on La Rue Es Picots, resulted in 8 casualties with varying injuries.

2012: The States of Jersey Police are currently working with other agencies dealing with the major incident declared after a fire at the Gas works.

Other events which could be major incidents include:

Major pollution of controlled waters
Disruption to aviation as a result of volcanic ash
Low temperatures and heavy snow
Severe space weather
Complete of large scale loss of gas supply for sustained period
Fire or explosion at fuel distribution site and tank storage of flammable or toxic liquids
Fire on a commercial vessel
Hazardous and noxious substance spill in marine environment
Passenger aircraft ditching at sea
Rapid accidental sinking of a passenger vessel
Major contamination incident
Collision between two commercial vessels
Oil spill inshore, offshore or in port
Storms and gales
Localised industrial accident involving a small toxic release
Accident on major trunk road
Building collapse (medium-commercial)
Local accident involving transport of hazardous chemicals
General aviation accident over major conurbation
Localised fire or explosion at fuel or toxic chemical storage site
Failure of on-Island telephony network
Non-zoonotic notifiable animal disease
Zoonotic notifiable animal disease

These are listed with medium and low term incidents at:

http://www.gov.je/SiteCollectionDocuments/Staying%20safe/ID%20Community%20Risk%20Register%2020140414%20ML%20v1.pdf


Also see:

http://www.gov.je/StayingSafe/EmergencyPlanning/Pages/Organisation.aspx

Here are a few nuggets:

“Major emergencies demand a response from more than just the emergency services, with States of Jersey departments, as well as other agencies and volunteer groups, all providing support during an incident. They each have a critical role, from supplying specialist expertise, equipment, people and resources, to providing support, care and welfare in helping to return the area and people to normal as soon as possible.”

“A great deal of work has also been done to improve emergency planning relationships between Jersey, Guernsey, the United Kingdom and France, with increased collaboration on testing our planning and response to any emergency, as well as exchanging good practice and new ideas.”

“In most emergencies, the States of Jersey Police will take the lead role in the initial response to the incident, supported by all the other relevant agencies. In some cases, such as medical emergencies or a major fire, the lead may fall to another department, such as Health and Social Services or the Fire Service”

The Emergency Planning Officer maintains an Emergency Planning web site detailing these working groups that can be accessed at:

www.gov.je/emergencyplanning

Definition of a Major Incident

“A major incident is any emergency that requires the implementation of special arrangements by one or all of the emergency services, and will generally include the involvement, either directly or indirectly, of large numbers of people. For example:

 rescue, treatment and transportation of a large number of casualties
 large-scale combined resources of the emergency services
 mobilisation and organisation of the emergency services to manage the threat of death, serious injury or homelessness to large numbers of people
 handling of a large number of enquiries likely to be generated from the public and the news media (usually addressed to the police)

And in the uncertain world in which we live, we have also this note:

“Acts of terrorism including suspected involvement of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear devices are subject to a specific multi-agency response, supported by the United Kingdom.”

Key Emergency responders are:

States of Jersey Police
Honorary Police
States of Jersey Fire and Rescue Service
Jersey Airport Rescue and Fire Service
States of Jersey Ambulance Service
Jersey Coastguard
Health and Social Services Department
Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD)
Chief Minister’s Department
Transport and Technical Services Department
Environment Department (Including Jersey Meteorological Office)

There’s also a mnemonic for response, rather oddly named “methane”.

The first Emergency Responder is required to provide their Control with a detailed situation report using the mnemonic ‘METHANE’ to alert the services of a major incident and provide more detailed casualty information:

Major = Major incident declared

Exact = Exact location of incident, with map references if possible

Type = Type of incident, details of vehicles, buildings, and aircraft involved18 States of Jersey Emergency Measures Plan 2014

Hazard = Hazards present and potential

Access = Access routes and suitable provisional rendezvous points (RVPs)

Numbers = Approximate number of casualties by priority category: P1 (Seriously injured), P2 (Moderately injured), P3 (Walking injured) P4 (Dead) & (P1 Expectant/Likely to die - blue corner of label turned down)

Emergency = Emergency services present and required including States Departments

Another document available gives practical advice in the case of a major incident:

http://www.gov.je/Freedom%20of%20Information%20library/ID%20FOI%20EmergencyPlanningGuidancePracticalAdvice%20English%2020091217%20ML%20030315.pdf

Making a list of important contacts, such as family, friends and neighbours, your children’s school, you’re GP, veterinary surgery, gas, water, electricity supplier, and your insurers. Carry this in your wallet or handbag and keep copies handy at home, at work or in the car.

o Consider support for vulnerable relatives, neighbours and friends.
o Arrange for a friend or relative out of your area to be the family contact point in case your family becomes separated during an emergency.
o Make up an emergency pack for home; work and the car (see details below).
o Know how to turn off your gas, electricity and water supplies.
o Know how to tune into your local radio station for public safety information.
o Check that your insurance cover is up to date.
o If in a flood risk area, keep a stock of empty sandbags and sand.

At Home

Prepare an Emergency Pack grab bag containing:

o A battery-powered or wind up radio (with local radio frequencies marked)
o Torch and spare batteries
o First aid kit
o A copy of your contact list
o A supply of food and water – enough for 4 to 7 days

Make an evacuation checklist of items to pack quickly if you are suddenly advised to leave your home. This list might include:

o Your emergency pack (Described above)
o Warm clothing
o Personal items e.g. glasses
o Baby food and nappies
o Wallet, purse and bank cards
o Mobile phone and charger
o Pet carrier, collar and lead, food and water (Take your pets with you if possible, as the emergency could be prolonged)

In the Car

This may vary according to the time of year, but keep these items in the car as a basic emergency kit:

o Bottled water
o First aid kit
o Torch & batteries
o Cigar plug lead for mobile phone
o Sweets, long life snacks
o Blanket, warm tracksuit and woolly hat
o Waterproof coat
o Wellington boots
o Spare socks (can also be used as gloves)

At Work

Know the emergency procedures for your workplace thoroughly. In some situations, you might have to remain at your workplace for safety. Your building may have good facilities but, even so, it could pay to think about what you would need if you had to stay overnight!

Budgets and Truth

"All child abuse, wherever it happens, is scandalous, but it is the unjustified and remorseless denigration of Jersey and her people that is the real scandal." (Sir Philip Bailhache)

It’s worth being reminded of these words, in a Liberation Day speech in 2008, which not only hijacked the ceremony for political ends – annoying a huge number of Islanders who were here during the war – but also put reputation above child abuse.

This speech was made confidently before the Jimmy Saville affair erupted into the public domain in 2012. It is almost inconceivable that anything so crass and thoughtless of victims of abuse could be made post-Saville, but what I want to point out here is something else it does.

It has to be remembered that in May 2008, the investigation into Haut de la Garenne was not completed. Witnesses were still being interviewed. Cases – some of which resulted in prosecutions and prison sentences for abusers – had not come to Court.

And yet here we have the Chief Judge, as Sir Philip was then Bailiff – pre-empting the judicial process, and making comments about it before it was complete.

They say that a leopard cannot change its spots, and it is notable that Sir Philip is back scaremongering, and making statements which attempt to interfere with the inquiry before it has finished. As the JEP reported:

“THE Independent Jersey Care Inquiry could cost taxpayers more than £50 million – eight times the original estimate, a Minister has told the JEP. Treasury Minister Alan Maclean said it was currently impossible to put a figure on the final costs, but External Relations Minister Sir Philip Bailhache said that he had been advised that the final bill could be £50m or more.”

This again is interference in the Care Inquiry, and if Sir Philip is making statements about "being advised", perhaps he could share with us lesser mortals, who it was that advised him, and make public the basis of their calculation, so that other cost accountants can check them out.

The inquiry has certainly gone over its original budget, and I for one, would like to see detailed accounts to see where the money has gone, and how it is being accounted for. That is only right and proper.

But it is equally proper that any estimates of projected expenditure by third party advisers to Senator Bailhache should also be made public, along with their names attached to the calculation. Let’s have some transparency here as well. If the third party is not prepared to go public, then it speaks volumes about the confidence they have in their calculations.

I have not great confidence in the lack of bias of Sir Philip Bailhache anyway. It should be noted that he was not in favour of an inquiry in the first place, and was notably absent from the States when the vote was taken – but was present the rest of that day!

In the meeting in the Royal Square on Sunday, Frances Le Gresley, who pushed for an inquiry to take place - after Senator Terry Le Sueur decided not to honour the promise to hold one – said that he had not spoken to Frances Oldham or any members of the inquiry team, either in the States or since, and it was important that politicians should not get involved.

Whether his words fall on deaf ears remains to be seen.

£50,000 or more? Is that a proper calculation by a reputable body who will be prepared to come out in public with it? Or is it Sir Philip Bailhache being economical with the truth?

References
http://jerseyeveningpost.com/news/2015/02/25/abuse-inquiry-costs-spiraling-should-spending-be-capped/

The Harvest of the Sea

I’ve still got a cough and cold, so did not really feel fit enough to write anything today. Instead, here is a piece from “The Pilot” of 1987.

The Harvest of the Sea
By John Jean
Living as we do surrounded by water, many islanders have a strong liking for fish of all types, and Jerseymen of the older generation liked nothing better than a day spent gathering the succulent ormers, sandeeling by the light of the moon, catching `cats', or just plain razor fishing with salt or hook.

If much of the splendid displays of fish seen in the shops and markets these days are supplies from Grimsby, the local fishermen still land a considerable amount of fish, often at some cost to themselves.

For obvious reasons fish can not be used in the lovely displays in our churches at harvest time, but shells and nets and other fishing tackle can be used and indeed do appear in some churches.

Another aspect of harvest of the sea that few of us give a moment's thought to, is that as I daily look out over St Aubin's Bay, whatever the weather, in fog, blizzard and in the severest gales, I see the constant arrival of container ships, oil tankers, colliers and gas carrying ships bringing all the supplies so necessary for the comfortable lives that we enjoy.

Would not Jesus have regarded this traffic as part of the harvest? Should we not include in our thanksgivings a prayer for the men who man these ships? If the vessels are man-made, the sea is part of God's gift to us and to him we should offer our thanks as we continue to enjoy this harvest of the sea.

The sea still takes it toll as recent events, both locally and further afield are remembered, and as I often pray in St Lawrence's beautiful Hamptonne chapel I look at the east window which depicts the calming of the storm and I am instantly soothed.

I wonder if the "Fishermen's version" of the 23rd Psalm written in 1874, by Captain John Roberts, is known and used by mariners today.

"The Lord is my pilot; I shall not drift.
He lighteth me across the dark waters;
He steereth me in deep channels.
He keepeth my log;
He guardeth me by the Star of holiness, for His name's sake;
Yea' though I sail mid the thunders and tempest of life, I will dread no danger;
For thou art near me; thy love and thy care they shelter me.
Thou preparest a harbour before me in the homeland of eternity;
Thou anointest the waves with oil; my ship rideth calmly;
Surely sunlight and starlight shall favour me on the voyage
I take; and I will rest in the port of my God forever."

Walking Distance

Today's poem was inspired by the Twilight Zone episode of the same name, of a stressed out businessman whose car needs a repair, and while waiting, walks to his nearby home town, but also walks back into the past of his lost childhood.

Walking Distance

A car broken down, a walk along
A dusty road into time long past
Long forgotten, the familiar song
The carousel, now seen at last

Merry-go rounds of distant youth
Ice cream from the corner shop
A weary man seeking the truth
Just where time seems to stop

A wisp of memory, of a happier day
And he sees himself, a carefree lad
Laughing ghosts of home this way
The businessman now feels so sad

Into the twilight zone, and going home
We never leave, however far we roam

The Case for Public Interest Litigation

The Case for Public Interest Litigation

“Taxpayers will pay the cost of a failed bid to overturn an election result caused by a registration mistake. Two other candidates, Nick Le Cornu and Gino Risolli, took Mr Wickenden to court saying the election was unlawful. That was rejected in November and now the Royal Court has told the States to pay costs.”

“Commissioner Julian Clyde Smith made the costs ruling at the Royal Court on Thursday. He said it was in the public interest to hear the case, which is why he told the States to pay costs” (1)

Now back in 2014, we had the original hearing, and this was reported:

“While Commissioner Julian Clyde-Smith found that the mistake meant that technically the election law had been breached, he ruled out holding a by-election - saying that the error had not affected the outcome.” (2)

The costs are £20,000. The law had been breached, so it was hardly fair to charge Nick Le Cornu or Gino Risoli, any more that it was for any charge to be made for Sarah Ferguson’s recount. But who was responsible?

Scott Wickenden evidently made the mistake, but he also assumed the Parish of St Helier would check the nomination paper. There does not appear to be any legal requirement for Parishes to do this, but having taken upon the task of doing so, they should also incur responsibility for not doing so thoroughly. As the case noted:

“Shortly prior to the nomination meeting, Eric Blakely, the electoral officer for the Parish of St Helier, requested all candidates in the general election to submit their nomination forms to him so that he could check that the proposer and seconders were registered in the electoral lists for the relevant districts”.

“Scott Wickenden submitted his form as requested, and it can be seen from the form that Eric Blakely had gone through it, ticking the entry for the proposer and each of the nine seconders on the left hand side and inserting the requisite electoral numbers. On 16th September, 2014, and in error, he confirmed to Scott Wickenden that the nomination form had been correctly completed.”

But the original case was ruled out as not materially effecting the outcome – the law allowed this kind of discretionary judgement to be made in legal cases, and it was made by Julian Clyde-Smith. And one can see why – at the nomination meeting, Scott Wickenden had another seconder in reserve in case of problems:

“At the nomination meeting held on 17th September, 2014, Scott Wickenden passed the nomination form to Martin Roberts, who was acting as clerk to the meeting, who in turn handed it to the Constable, who was presiding. Scott Wickenden had with him Andrea Mallett, who was on the electoral register for St Helier District No 1, who was prepared to act as a seconder if any discrepancy had been highlighted. Nothing was said in relation to the nomination form by any of the parish officials or by any member of the public.”

And the law said: “If the Royal Court considers that any failure to conduct an election in accordance with this Law is not a matter of substance and has not affected the result of the election, the Court shall not declare the election void and not order a fresh election.”

Now the same Mr Clyde-Smith has ruled that the States of Jersey should foot the bill as this case was "in the public interest".

There is an interesting article “"Costs in Public Interest Litigation: Whose Pocket Should be Picked? By Karen Kong. The summary of the piece notes that

“In light of the public benefits arising from public interest litigation in the elucidation of public law, promotion of deliberative democracy and good administration, the court should adequately reflect such benefits in the cost allocation of public interest cases. Costs discretion should be exercised in a flexible and purposive manner, with due regard to access to justice concern, so that the future development of public interest litigation will not be unnecessarily stifled.” (3)

The problem with litigation when in the public interest is that it can be used to cause nuisance. And hence Karen Kong suggests that:

“Only when the judicial review is raising a point of law that guidance from the court should be sought will it justify using the public purse to fund the litigation”

“It must be right that public interest challenge should have sufficient merits to deserve the use of public fund.”

I think there is certainly a good case in law for not making Nick Le Cornu or Gino Risoli suffer the costs. Whatever may be thought about them as individuals, and Nick certainly has made a name for himself through his ill-judged tweet, that must be put aside in considering this case. This is a perfect example of what Karen Kong describes in her conclusion:

“The risks of costs liability pose a real burden on litigants who wish to pursue the public interest through judicial review. Meritorious cases, even though unsuccessful, that help to resolve issues of public importance in the society are contributing to the good administration of the government and enhancing participation in the democratic process. The court should in such circumstances depart from the usual order of costs to follow the event and exempt the applicants from bearing the litigation expenses of the respondent public authority. (3)

Looking further afield, a very similar principle is stated by the Hon. Robert J. Sharpe, Justice, Court of Appeal for Ontario who stated that litigants should not bear costs if:

“The issues raised transcend the individual interests of the particular litigant, are of public importance, and have not been resolved in previous cases.” (4)

And Ellie Edwards writing in the Sydney Law review notes that “genuine public interest litigants should not be subject to the usual loser-pays rule.”

Although she does note that:

“a discrete approach has been taken to costs in circumstances where courts have concluded that a litigant has properly brought proceedings to advance a legitimate public interest, has contributed to the proper understanding of the law in question and has involved no private gain. In such cases the costs incurred have usually been described as incidental to the proper exercise of public administration.” (4)

Now in this instance, there was a case of gain in that the voiding of the election result, whatever steps were then taken, would leave a window of opportunity for Nick Le Cornu and Gino Risoli to try again. Nevertheless, the public interest, in settling this matter in case law – which had not occurred in Jersey before in these circumstances, should, I feel, have been the key consideration, and the gain was only potential, not actual.

Whether part of the cost should have been born by Mr Wickenden or the Parish of St Helier is another matter. The Court does not seem to have admonished either party. It determined that Mr Wickenden had made an honest mistake, which he was not aware of until after the election.

But the Parish check, a second set of eyes which he relied upon, proved unreliable, and I would hope that procedures will be improved to ensure this cannot happen again. It would be also helpful to know why it had happened: had the Parish been working from an out of date electoral role? Was there in fact (as happened in St Brelade in a number of instances in 2011) a case of someone moving address, being placed on a new roll, but not removed from the old? That needs to be investigated, but probably won't.

In the absence of a central database for checking on duplications, this remains a risk, and that it why it is important to know where the check went wrong, or else the public purse may have to write out a cheque again in the future.

Links
(1) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-jersey-31751661
(2) http://jerseyeveningpost.com/news/2014/11/20/royal-court-turns-down-appeal-election-result-for-town-deputy-stands/
(3) “"Costs in Public Interest Litigation: Whose Pocket Should be Picked? By Karen Kong.
(4) Access to Charter Justice, Hon. Robert J. Sharpe, Justice, Court of Appeal for Ontario
(5) Costs and Public Interest Litigation After Oshlack v Richmond River Council, Syney law review, Ellie Edwards

Time the people of Jersey woke up

A guest posting today, which I first spotted on Facebook in the Politics Jersey group, but which I suspect was also a letter to the JEP.

Time the people of Jersey woke up.
By Alan Breckon

2nd March 2015

I have noted with a passing interest some of the emerging issues regarding the Island’s financial position, and comments and some very loose opinions being expressed as to where we might be and how things may move forward and the various options available, including most importantly who is going to have to pay (more).

I see this at the moment as a “political soft-sell” as we are being softened up with Ministerial comments here and there, but no substance just yet.

I should say at the outset that I have never believed that the Fiscal Policy Panel have ever told us much we did not already know or could not deduce from generally available information both locally and from elsewhere – therefore their latest effort is more of the same in my opinion. It skirts around reality.

Over £100 Million has already been “withdrawn”

I write mainly because I think the general public should be alerted to where we might be going in financial terms and perhaps some of the inevitable consequences.

Firstly I believe that is important to highlight some of the background to what has already happened over the last few years (or is in train). About £100 Million has already been used from other sources to prop-up existing expenditure. This has been “withdrawn” from the Dwelling House Loans Fund, Criminal Offences Confiscation Fund, Car Parks Trading Fund, Health Insurance Fund etc etc …also a sell-back of States held shares to Jersey Telecom, similar proposals for Jersey Water allied to Treasury requests for extra dividends from JT and Jersey Post.

So although cashing in some of these shares and obtaining extra dividends now from these wholly owned States companies will have some short term never-to-be-repeated benefit, it could lead to increased charges in the not to distant future, so the public, who ironically are also the shareholder could end up paying more! So this raise the question once again as to who exactly is representing the shareholders best interests.

Over £26 Million from the Health Insurance Fund

There has been some recent comments about the state of the fund, and how and when contributions will need to increase. However it should be remembered that in both 2011 & 2012 £6.131 Million was withdrawn” from the Health Insurance Fund, (P125 of 2010, taken to the States by the Social Security Minister (then) Deputy Ian Gorst) supposedly to support primary healthcare provided by the Health Department and others, although I have never seen the evidence of what Health actually did with this money. Similarly, £2 Million in 2013, £6Million in 2014 and a further £6 Million is to be withdrawn in 2015. This information is contained in the Government Actuary’s Review of the Fund (R124 of 2014 at paragraph 3.6))

In order to gain access to this money the (Primary) Social Security Law had to be changed, because many years ago someone had the foresight to keep it arms length from politicians (and the Treasury) to use for other spending. It was decided to do this for prudent reasons so that Social Security funds should stand alone, hence financial transactions are to \ from Social Security, as opposed to virtually all other financial dealings with the States, which are to \ from the Treasurer of the States. Whilst the Law changes were being made it was also agreed that it would “for convenience” be made easier for “withdrawals” to be made, mainly at the request of the Treasury, who would then pass it to Health. So despite the fact that it has already been identified that Health Insurance Fund will need to be topped-up by increasing contributions in the not to distant future the Treasury will have access to “withdraw” – so in simple terms we could pay more and they could take away! This is a roundabout way of us – the contributors to the fund – funding Health – without much say, influence and little transparency on where the money is actually spent.

The Health Insurance Fund is, or perhaps that now should be was, designed to provide financial assistance to Jersey residents who need access to General Practitioner services and / or prescription drugs. The Fund is financed by Social Security contributions – 2% of what we pay. So, previously the Fund had a narrow remit and was indeed accumulating money since it was established in 1967, however, the goalposts have been well and truly moved and the States – through the Treasury – have got their hands on it and will continue to do so. The last Government Actuarial Review up to the end of 2012 showed that the Fund had a balance of £80.5 Million, how quickly it is depleted and how much extra we have pay depends almost entirely upon how much the Treasury take out and when!

So forget about the cost of children seeing a GP being a drain on the fund – it’s a red herring!

Instead of taking this money benefits could have been extended to the elderly or those with more complex health, needs, however, the States were not given that option.

So who has been raiding the various funds?

Most of the funds that have been raided, deliberately had a narrow remit – to protect them – however the access changed with Ministerial Government, giving both authority and access to the Treasury Minister and Treasurer of the States. Although Scrutiny or a Review by the Public Accounts Committee could shed some light on how and when funds were siphoned off it won’t bring the money back! I believe it is important to highlight the “withdrawal” of funds and cashing in of shares, mainly because most of this can not be repeated – when it is gone it’s gone! The family silver has been sold! A never to be repeated exercise – or is it?

The present Treasury Minister, Senator Alan Maclean, is now between a rock and a hard place, which is a shame for such a nice bloke. Then questions may be asked about his predecessor Senator Ozouf, who’s passed on the mantle!

New Hospital = sale of Jersey Telecom?

We need money to fund a new hospital so how do we fund it – perhaps sell JT – who recently have slumped in the popularity charts – so are nicely lined up for disposal without too much public outcry. This possibility is being “softly-sold” at the moment. Although if JT was sold in whole or in part the financial conundrum is that we will gain much need capital (cash) and gain a much needed modern health facility instead of owning the cash-cow that JT has become to the States. But we will need to forgo future States income from dividends from JT. So it’s not a win \ win proposal. There will be a benefit but there will be a cost – so in financial terms it will not be a simple case to balance the books.

Also the sale of JT would not fully fund a new hospital, however, it could provide a significant part.

Those who talk of the local economic benefit of the development to the construction industry should be aware that any such scheme would probably be too big for a local contractor and a great deal of the materials and fitting out etc, especially with specialised medical equipment would need to be imported.

Perhaps one-third of the money or more could go straight out of the Island.

A £250 Million housing loan over 40 years

Also it needs to be remembered that we have recently borrowed £250 Million to refurbish States rental properties and maybe build a few more. This is money that is needed now because over many years properties were never maintained properly, (evidence is Le Squez etc), or others built, due to inadequate funding from the States despite surplus rental income. This is mainly because the Treasury has been – and still is – siphoning off the tenants rent money, based loosely on a return on asset value to the taxpayer.

Curiously, the basis of this has been the rampant increase in residential property prices based on lack of supply, with demand being out of kilter and neither the tenants or the taxpayer are responsible, but the tenants are picking up the bill. The money is borrowed over a 40 year period and has as its base for repayment inflation-busting property prices and rents, funded by a combination of tenants contribution to rentals – topped up by Social Security from Income Support. I believe that the above could prove to be a recipe for disaster and it would be someone who is either very brave or foolish who is comfortable with such a situation.

Unless of course you continue allowing un-checked housing demand. by maintaining immigration growth that continues to create this demand, against a known supply-side deficit and ongoing affordability issues.

Such a “market-price-prop” from the equivalent of “council housing” does not exist in any other developed economy to my knowledge.

Transport & Technical Services – scope for raising money!

While the issue of a sewerage charge has recently emerged – deliberations about introducing one are not new - and I believe more background work has done than is being revealed at present. However, throughout the UK such services and charges are “the norm” and are already levied by the numerous water authorities, who also deal with liquid waste. The charging system is not complex, in that there is a basic annual charge per property and then any increases on the basic charge are linked to water meters, nearly 90% of Jersey Water’s customers are on a meter. Water in means waste comes out in various states of contamination, so this is considered the fairest means of charging – user pays! Which, in Jersey needs to be approved by the States, if it’s a new charge.

In Jersey’s case it would be fairly straightforward for the charges to be collected by Jersey Water who would be paid a fee for doing so to cover their costs. The technology for the billing should be readily available from the UK.

I believe that this will happen fairly soon because as things stand TTS have already received a loan from the Treasury’s Currency Fund of £25.4 Million which is repayable over 40 years for improvements at Bellozanne etc, also this is only about one third of the total cost. So the £80 Million, or so question is where will TTS get the funds to repay the loan and I don’t think it will come from coming round offering to cut your grass, or pull a few weeds out of your garden!

Extended Parking Charges

Presently most of the income for parking is generated between the hours of 8am & 5pm from Monday to Saturday, however, this leaves a great deal of scope to increase the income by extending the chargeable hours. Also the introduction of technology to parking, may be welcomed by many, however, somebody will pay and guess who that might be? Also the Treasury have already started taking money from the Car Parks Trading Fund so they will support an extension to chargeable hours by viewing it as another form of income.

Long Term Care Scheme

Initial start-up funding came from Social Security underspends, which I understand was over £11 Million in 2014, however, I believe this will not continue in future years.

When responding to a written question in the States (25\11\14) from Deputy Montfort Tadier the Social Security Minister replied as follows;

“The Department may also be affected by the possibility of the deferral of contributions into the long term care fund. This will have no impact on the operation of the fund itself. It would however reduce the potential to build up a working reserve in the fund in the first few years of its operation.”

In other words taxpayers / contributors will pick up the cost.

Presently contributions have been set at 1\2 % from January 2015 and will increase to 1% in January 2016 (to all individual taxpayers), but what will happen after that – how will the Scheme be funded and who will pay – clearly it appears that taxpayers will need to pay, and the increases in contributions will come sooner rather than later. I say this because the Treasury, who had identified States funding into the LTC Scheme are now clearly backing off as they identified “savings” in the most recent Budget of £5Million in 2015 and a further £5M in 2016 which was intended for the LTC fund.

So the question is who will have to fund the shortfall, (and you won’t need 3 guesses here), when it is identified in the first actuarial review - and the answer is individual taxpayers with increased contributions – as the “savings” from the Treasury are passed on as a reduction in the monies (or reserve) available to the Scheme, therefore, sooner rather than later the percentage payable will increase to 3% , probably in two or three steps between 2017 and 2020, if not before.

Another cautionary note here is that residents of Health’s beds and facilities will in some instances qualify for monies from the LTC Scheme, so a careful eye needs to be kept on this to ensure that Health are not trying to offset clinical costs against the LTC Scheme, something that requires a clinical judgement rather than one from the Treasury!

GST Petition

I believe that is important to remember the actually wording of the petition signed by over 19,000 people in 2007, which was; “We, the undersigned, petition the States of Jersey as follows – The Minister of Treasury & Resources is requested to take no further steps to introduce a Goods and Services Tax in Jersey until public finances have been examined independently to identify potential savings and until alternative methods of raising funds have been investigated”

This has still not been done with any vigour, and as we know the rate of GST was set at 3% and pretty soon increased to the present level of 5%, despite assurances that this would not happen (from Senator Ozouf). So the many million pound question is will it rise again and when? As GST now raises about £85 Million annually (every 1% raises £17 Million) – it could be a blunt instrument to plug the States Income & Expenditure gap.

The softening of any increase could be to take it off food, a much debated and contentious area, at a cost of about £10 Million a year. This would not be that difficult to administer and not much more expensive to collect. It would have an effect on inflation and on the Retail Price Index, however, this may be seen as a “blip” to the powers that be.

Although some Ministers may say they would never do this we should treat any such “promises” with caution. The above figures speak for themselves and will fill a sizeable black hole. I can hear Ministers saying, “well we’ve looked at everything else and it is with some regret … but it MUST be done”

While I am in no doubt that we as ordinary people will pay more in taxes and charges there are those who are paying nothing or getting preferential treatment – so the public should now, I believe, be questioning whether this is fair and reasonable or indeed sustainable in the present financial climate.

For example International Service Entities pay an annual fee of £150 a year to get exemption from GST. This is a very good deal that most households would welcome, however it’s not available to us! On a number of occasions ISE’s have been consulted as to whether they would like to pay more and guess what they said? It may well be time to increase this fee to £1,000 per year or scrap ISE status altogether

Companies paying no tax

A way has still not been found to get a tax contribution from those companies paying nothing, it has been considered to difficult to do. However most people would agree that when the window cleaner is paying more tax than the company something is wrong! A quick backwards glance at the tax collection figures shows that company tax take has reduced in real terms in the last ten years whilst individual taxpayers contributions have risen significantly.

To add insult to injury some of those companies paying nothing are charging us UK equivalent prices – including VAT – in the high street, also we may perhaps be building some posh new offices for other non-contributors to settle on public land. Could we be told of some of the economic benefit of those with the posh offices or new arrivals. Perhaps greater transparency regarding which companies are paying tax and those that are not is required so that we as consumers can make informed decisions about who we give our custom to.

I have no doubt that some, if not all of the above mentioned will happen in the next five years. Although this may appear to be somewhat pessimistic, my analysis is based on facts rather than rhetoric!

However, the warning signs are there to see and are publicly available and should, I believe act as a warning to the public of what’s waiting in the wings.

Finally the States taking money from the Jersey public in one or more of the above ways will lead to us having less disposable income – or spending power – hardly a catalyst for economic growth in the domestic economy, regardless of how many times one Minister or another mutters this as being a “strategic objective” (and also a good sound-bite). So the Jersey public may well ask; “are we really any better off since the introduction of Ministerial Government in 2005 and when exactly did we vote for it?”

An Evening's Consulation - Part 2

Here is a continuation of my notes with afterthoughts, on the meeting with Ministers “drop in session” at Communicare on Monday night.

When I met Rod Bryans, the Education Minister, I had my local Parish magazine hat on first. Now one of the key matters in St Brelade has to be Les Quennevais School, which is known to be overcrowded, and will faced increasing pressure in the future.

For a start, there is a baby bulge coming up through Primary Schools, which had been noted by his predecessor, Patrick Ryan, and secondly, more developments taking place even now in St Brelade mean the number of children will also increase because of what might be called “Parish immigration”.

As I mentioned before, a really useful statistical exercise would be to link inward migration, even within the Island between Parishes, and education provision. If we have 30 families coming in, how many will have school age children, and going by past statistics (useful if someone had compiled any) what proportion might be expected to take up places in States schools in the catchment area, and what proportion might ease that by going to the private sector?

This is the kind of look-through thinking which seems absent from debates on population, but good, solid statistics, are the foundation stone for good planning. With education, the claim that we need extra immigration to pay for schooling is not viable unless we can understand how much of an impact that will have on an already overstretched school system.

Anyway, my main questions on Les Quennevais School were – where is it going to be built? When is it going to be built? And, given the constraints on States spending, how is this going to be funded?

I mentioned that the project had rather stalled under the previous Minister, Patrick Ryan, but Rod assured me that it had not and in fact it was progressing well.

Property Holdings are providing a feasibility study which should be out within a week, and following this there would be a public consultation on the options at Communicare, a vote in the States, and the development of the option chosen, which should take between 2 – 3 years to complete.

It is good to have a timetable, because the Parish magazine, La Baguette, actually had an email from Patrick Ryan on the subject of Les Quennevais School back in 2012.

His email, which appeared in the magazine with his permission, and is public domain said:

“I can confirm that I am not proposing to relocate the school to the sports ground. I will, however, be taking a fresh look at the last feasibility study, which dates from 2002 and contained options for refurbishing and extending the existing building. The States set aside £7.7 million for that work to start in 2016.”

“It is now ten years since the feasibility study was carried out so it makes sense to revisit it in the light of changes that have taken place over the past decade. Les Quennevais was originally built for a maximum of 500 pupils. The facilities have been extended over the years and the school now has about 780 students but the site footprint remains the same. Pupil numbers are kept under review and future predictions are used to inform our planning.”

“We need to ask whether it would now be better and more cost-effective to completely rebuild the school. This would be a major decision and would require extra funding.”

“There are other important questions too, including what will happen to the branch library and the old site if the school were to move. It's currently too soon to provide the answers but I can assure you that St. Brelade parishioners will be among the first to know. Please watch this space”

Well, the people of St Brelade have been watching that space from June 2012, and if that is not some degree of stalling, I will eat my hat.

On 16 December 2013, Patrick Ryan told BBC Radio Jersey:

“The school was built in the 1960s for 450 pupils; it now has almost 900 and has been described as overcrowded and outdated. The favoured site is near Jersey Airport on what is currently privately-owned farmland. I must stress that the project is at an extremely early stage and we have a long way to go before we are even in a position to confirm that this is the right site.”

Now it looks hopeful that the early stage has finally passed, and the delays under Patrick Ryan – I’d personally still think of it as stalling – are over. It’s as well because the number of students in 2012 was 780, and by December 2013 was around 900.

Rod Bryans gives me more confidence than Patrick Ryan, and more open to set out a time table, whereas Patrick Ryan seemed to have had the scriptwriters for Jim Hacker (of Yes Minister fame) write his speeches.

Rod also praised Les Quennevais staff and the head teacher for coming up with innovative ways of dealing with the problem, and told me that sometimes a bit of pressure can be a good thing because it forces us to look more closely I’d concur with that, and think that Les Quennevais is doing a good job. But might they not be able to do a better job if the staff had more time to think ahead, and less to cope with planning for overcrowding?

Regarding thinking ahead, he thought that possibly more should be done to encourage learning of languages like Chinese, looking to the overseas market. On the subject of Highlands, he noted that the new principal had expanded the number of degree courses which could be taken locally.

I mentioned, as it seemed a good time to do so, that this academic year the accountancy degree course 2nd year was dropped for lack of numbers, and take up on the Financial Services degree was not brilliant, perhaps around 15. I asked how we could address the problem of needing immigration for the finance sector if we could not train enough people locally?

He said that we couldn’t force people to take up degree courses, which is of course true, but we can make it more attractive and visible as a career path, and less costly that an overseas degree, where people may well not return to Jersey and seek more lucrative jobs elsewhere. But apparently, perhaps following Mark Boleat’s comments on the matter, local Jersey businesses are getting more involved in the careers path in schools, which may help.

He also intimated that he didn’t see the financial sector as the future, but possibly a declining industry and thought the future would come more from other sectors such as IT. I don’t wholly share his confidence, because it all depends, as C.E.M. Joad was wont to say, what you mean by IT. A lot of the local IT course are very good on hardware and software, and the local market in those skills may actually be near saturation point.

However, while the courses cover programming, it is not a major part of the course, and yet if there is a room for an expanding market, it is there rather than other IT skills that there is, I think, better opportunities for growth. The recent initiatives in Schools regarding coding are a good start, but there is definitely a gap in that market.

I’d also like to know, but forgot to ask, how well courses take up matches the opportunities in the local market. There may be a high take up in media studies, for example, but what opportunities are there to use those skills locally? Over saturation of the market will not help unemployment.

On this he mentioned was again a point also made by Mark Boleat, that the finance sector were also interested in people with “soft skills”, and that these are transferable.

Soft skills, for those who don’t know, are skills such as communication, initiative, interacting with customers and team working. I’d leave out “emotional intelligence” which is often included in the list, as quite frankly it has about as much scientific substance as the Rorschach inkblot test.

But “soft skills” can and must go hand in hand with hard skills as well, with expertise in the job. While I accept that “soft skills” are important, I do wonder if they have been given a prominence rather greater than they deserve. They assume different degrees of importance depending on the kind of work someone is doing.

This is well stated by Nidhi Bhatnagar, Human Resources, Fidelity Info Services who said:

"It is always important to be really good at soft skills. However, the weightage of this parameter actually depends on the role that one is appearing for. For instance if one has appeared for a HR job, soft skills will be given high weightage along with the other prerequisites, lack of soft skills might even result in elimination/rejection, since a HR professional needs to cater to the aspirations and emotions of human capital, it is important that one has excellent soft skills.”

“On the other hand, if one applies for a sales job, soft skills need to be modified in a way where the person is able to crack a deal, the conviction required over there will be slightly different, the weightage of soft skills parameter might differ/might be less as well, however it will carry its due importance".

In fact, the best way of getting “soft skills” is the work placement that forms part of local degrees, but often not part of UK degree courses. Not only does it help acclimatise the student to the workplace far better than the few weeks of Trident (good though that is), it also helps them learn to interact with other people and get used to the work environment before getting a job. Soft skills are sometimes best learned on the job and work placements provide excellent training for this, which is probably why the number of local degree students in finance related courses do manage to get jobs locally in the industry.

One thing which also cropped up with my talk with Rod was a question I had about recruitment and training of local nurses. He told me that there was excellent work being done locally, and I asked why this was not more prominent and visible, because I keep my eyes and ears open, and I had not seen much evidence of this.

In fact, looking further in depth, I can see that it has been happening

In October 2013, there was a press release that “The Pre-Registration Nursing Programme in the adult field of nursing is provided on the Island by the University of Chester and has been endorsed by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).”

In April 2013, a press release noted that: “Around 80 pupils from Island schools will be finding out about a new university-standard nursing degree which they could be able to study without leaving Jersey.”

And Julie Mesney noted that: “HSSD hope to offer 15 students the opportunity to access the three-year adult field of nursing degree programme with smaller numbers of students being able to access the mental health field of nursing programme from September 2014.”

And on 7 November 2014, the press release noted that:

“Two open days will take place later this month to allow potential applicants to find out more prior to the 2015 intake of student nurses, who will begin their training next September and are guaranteed jobs once they have graduated. The 2015 intake will be the third successive group to embark on a degree course in Adult Nursing. Both the practical and academic elements of this course are delivered on the Island.”

So apologies now to Rod Bryans for myself not noticing these releases, and I am pleased to see that this has taken place.

This is an excellent degree course because it is addressing an urgent gap in Jersey’s job market, and also by training local nurses, it means less of an impact by immigration.

But I do notice (by way of mitigation) that apart from one report on the BBC local news website in 2014, and one in 2015 in the Jersey Evening Post, all the information I have gleaned has been from gov.je, and I do hope that there is wider coverage of this fantastic opportunity – surely a local success story – in the future.

Rod intimated that I may be able to get some more information about the course from Julie Mesney which I could put on my blog, and I will certainly be following this up. Anything which could help address nursing shortages is good.

The question I forgot to ask, of course, but only thought afterwards: given the projected shortage of local doctors, will any degree courses be set up so that doctors can train at least in part locally?

An Evening’s Consultation – Part 1

An Evening’s Consultation – Part 1

A new experimental format began tonight. Ministers, including the Chief Minister, made themselves available to the general public to meet and ask questions. It ‘s a bit like a Parent’s Evening at a school, except it is not timed with a bell every ten minutes, and you have the opportunity to sit down at a table with a Minister and ask questions. It’s a bit like a surgery and a chance to question Ministers directly about policy and decision making.

Incidentally, it was at small tables with chairs like a Parent's Evening, not like the big table shown above, but I forgot my camera. The photo above is by way of illustration of who the Ministers are only!

The numbers in the lunchtime session at St Paul’s Centre were quite promising, but perhaps as might be expected, there were less people coming along to ask questions, more of a slow trickle, at Communicare. That doesn’t mean the evenings are not important. And people did trickle in and out.

It is a method of engagement that has not been tried with previous Councils of Ministers, and shows a greater willingness to engage directly with the public. And because it is a one-to-one conversation, there is less likelihood of scoring political points, and a greater likelihood that people might want to speak about issues that concern them directly, rather than perhaps issues that some politicians and bloggers want to make centre stage, although the excellent Change.Je's "Question Time" addresses that and complements this well. We need both kinds of engagement. I only hope the slightly lower numbers in evenings will not dissuade Ministers from this kind of engagement.

But there is no reason why bloggers, or Parish Magazine reporters, for that matter, should not go along and ask questions and take notes. It was in that capacity that I went along, fortified by spoonfuls of cough mixture to ensure I didn’t give my germs to any of them, especially not to the Health Minister! My son had one or two finance related questions to ask, so came along too.

While waiting to speak to Ian Gorst and Rod Bryans, I had a chat with Paul Routier, who put the case for needing controlled immigration for extra funding for health and education. I did make the point that those extra people will also increase demands on healthcare and need educational provision for their children.

But the real debate on immigration is yet to come: at present we are following the “interim immigration” policy, until the States debate a full term one. It is not sure when that debate will take place, and perhaps that is as well: some figures are needed on immigration policy and how the existing strategy is working before making changes. I’d just like to see better “flow through” statistics, so that we can see a direct connection between demands on infrastructure and immigration.

Senator Routier also seemed unaware that the Accountancy Degree at Highlands which shares the first year with the Financial Services Degree has stopped for one year because of lack of numbers, and the Financial Services Degree itself has only about 10 people in one year. Are these being promoted enough as career choices? With the Finance industry asking for more immigration to meet its needs, it seems obvious that local degree courses could fill the gap, if more students took them up. Perhaps local businesses should also be promoting take up in liaison with Highlands?

As Andrew Green was free, we had a chat with him about how the hospital plans were progressing. There are four options, including the two-site solution (which he thinks may be more expensive in duplicating administration) and the Waterfront, where he thinks the current debates make a quick decision unlikely. The hospital site (and Kensington Place) remain one option, as does developing Overdale, but he was waiting for the feasibility study to come back to him, hopefully this week, on the costs of the different options.

The next stage would be public consultation, probably in April or May, and also probably involving some meetings in the Parishes, and if lucky, the States might actually debate the preferred solution in July. The building work itself, including getting appropriate tenders, would probably take two to three years, but it was very important to get things right, and try, as far as possible, to future proof the design.

As an example, he gave of a new kind of glass division which can be made opaque for privacy in the day, but transparent at night, enabling a nurse on duty to keep an eye over a wider area, while permitting smaller patient rooms. The technology was changing all the time, and even the current MRI scanner was considerably smaller than the first. But we had to try and plan as best for change, and get it right because the new hospital would probably have a lifetime of at least 50-60 years. That doesn't mean it wouldn't be changed just as the current one has, but the basic structure needs to be sorted now.

On prescriptions, he was of the opinion that a charge should be introduced, but that there should be a cap on the amount. He also thought that people with specific life threatening conditions should be protected because they had to have a repeat prescription – I cited the example of a diabetic, and he concurred. This was very different from a one off prescription of a course of antibiotics for an infection.

The elderly and the very young should also have some kind of cost protection, especially as children often got ill with a higher frequency than adults – and he mentioned he had endless ear infections as a child, often needing the doctor. He would also like to see pharmacists able to prescribe some medicines, as after all doctors also sometimes took advice from pharmacists on appropriate drugs. This could also reduce the costs of health care.

“Do you think Jersey could suffer reputational damage for having Bitcoin funds when Bitcoin isn’t globally regulated?” That was my son’s question to Ian Gorst, asking about the dangers of money laundering in the Bitcoin market, and the problem that while some jurisdictions may regulate it, others do not.

“It could and there is some concern” was Senator Gorst’s reply. The Chief Minister added that local Bitcoin funds were an “expert fund” where only those who understood the risks of a crypto-currency would take part, limiting the risk, and it was monitored by the JFSC and the States of Jersey. Crypto-currency was a new phenomenon but would probably be one of the ways the future market would go, and the UK and OEDC were also looking at issues of money laundering.

I asked Senator Gorst if they had been looking to Estonia for ideas about e-Cabinet. Apparently, they have taken an extensive look at Estonia. The e-Cabinet system has cut their cabinet meetings and made them much more efficient.

I looked at it last week, and this is how it works:

“It lets ministers prepare for cabinet meetings, conduct them and review minutes, entirely without paper. At its core, the system is a multi-user database and scheduler that keeps relevant information organized and updated in real time, giving ministers a clear overview of each item under discussion.”

“Well before the weekly cabinet session begins, the ministers access the system to review each agenda item and determine one’s own position. They then click a box stating whether they have any objections or would like to speak on the topic. That way the ministers’ positions are known beforehand. Decisions that have no objections are adopted without debate, saving considerable time.”

“Once Estonia adopted its e-Cabinet system, the average length of the weekly cabinet meetings was cut from 4 to 5 hours to just 30 to 90 minutes. The government also eliminated the need to print and deliver thousands of pages of documents each week – a significant reduction in environmental impact, not to mention cost. Because e-Cabinet uses web-based software and audio-visual equipment, ministers can take part remotely, and have often done so.”

As the BBC described it in 2004:

“Spaced at intervals along the table tops are sleek, flat-panel monitors, one for each minister. Underneath the desks are high-end computers, each hard-wired to the internet via broadband connections. The day's agenda is displayed on a giant projection screen. Any cabinet member who happens to be travelling can participate in the meeting via instant messaging. As the meeting progresses, press officers send updates to the Estonian government's website. In the space of 30 seconds, government decisions are made available to any Estonian citizen with an internet connection.”

The Chief Minister was not sure whether it would be appropriate for Jersey, and suggested that perhaps it was better geared to a party system. He thought it was important with the introduction of collective responsibility for any Minister to speak and put a case, as they would have to abide by a collective decision.

I can see where he may be coming from on this – deciding options before might mitigate against airing positions in depth. While a debate takes place if there are objections in Estonia, a debate in Jersey’s Council of Ministers might not work terribly well if it was known that a majority had already made a decision; changing those decision without losing face might be difficult.

Apparently the Council of Ministers meets, on average, for a day every two weeks, although sometimes it may be half a day every week, depending on matters in hand. Jersey is a smaller jurisdiction than Estonia, and so  I do wonder if something could be done to streamline matters.

Speaking of streamlining brings me to the appointment of Kevin Keen. Contrary to the bad press he seems to be getting, focusing mainly on his salary, I have hopes that if anyone can, he can help to streamline and make our government more efficient, and less fixated on empire building and silo mentalities. Apparently, according to Ian Gorst, he’s already made a good start, and Ian Gorst said this was absolutely crucial, as the Department structures were too much constrained by their past, when the world was very different from today, and had too rigid boundaries and demarcations.

Kevin Keen is joining a team which already exists - the other members of the group are Sir David Henshaw and Elisabeth Astall. I asked when this group was set up, and who decided it, and where I could find the Ministerial decision, and details about its remit etc. The Chief Minister admitted that there did not appear to be any decision online, although he thinks he set up the group initially, and promised to rectify the admission. He even made a note of it.

I think that is important, because while we know about Kevin Keen’s appointment, we know virtually nothing about this group he is joining. Any groups which are set up, which have members, should be visible somewhere, whether on states debates, reports or Ministerial decisions, otherwise we have no idea what is going on.

When I get a chance, I’ll dig out my notes on the other Ministers I spoke to – Rod Bryans on Education, and Lyndon Farnham on Economic Development.

All told, it was an interesting evening, a chance to ask questions that I otherwise might not have, and get some answers. The most important part of the engagement for me was getting the thinking behind the decision making, and also timetables for decisions. “Why do you think that?” is something worth finding out, even if we don’t necessarily agree with the end result, because at least we can understand the arguments behind that position.

Top Posts for the Month of January 2015

By far the most popular were the transcription I did of the 1971-1972 Pilot Magazine on Street Names of St Helier. Within one week, part 2 had 817 hits!

http://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2015/01/street-names-of-st-helier-part-2.html

And part 1 picked up 588 hits.

http://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2015/01/street-names-of-st-helier-part-1.html

More will be coming next week and the week after, so keep watching the blog. It makes all those lunch times burrowing in the library for nuggets worthwhile.

The Question Time event report also got 278 hits for part 1, and 185 for part 2. It is, if I may sound my own trumpet, the most comprehensive report on the event. Media reports were focussed largely on just one item, but this took in the lot, done from the scribblings in my trusty notepad.

http://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2015/01/question-time-part-1.html

http://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2015/01/question-time-part-2.html

Amazingly, from 2012, the second part of my posting on Jimmy Saville still continues to attract readers with 278 hits in January

Sifting Saville - Part 2

http://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2012/10/sifting-saville-part-2.html

Remembering Bob Bisson and his Bible Text covered house, and some other Jersey eccentrics came in with 182 hits.

http://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2015/01/some-jersey-eccentrics.html

And a look at how tourism misleads by not giving bed night statistics, but purely arrivals is here with 159 hits. If Guernsey’s more comprehensive survey is anything to go by, at least 45% of the arrivals are locals returning not visitors.

Lies, Dammed Lies, and Tourism Statistics
http://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2015/01/lies-dammed-lies-and-tourism-statistics.html

Ian Gort made a speech to the Chamber of Commerce. My comment is here with 155 hits:

The Challenge
http://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-challenge.html

And from a year ago, 149 hits on the political cliché of “testicular fortitude”, my analyisis of the term, and how it has an implicit sexist attitude. It seems to have vanished from Jersey politics in the meantime.

Political Clichés: Testicular Fortitude
http://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2014/01/political-cliches-testicular-fortitude.html

Rehabilitation and Forgiveness - Part 2

Rehabilitation and Forgiveness - Part 2

There is a view of human nature which I call the “11-plus idea”. It is the idea, which was also behind the 11 plus exam back in the 1960s and 1970s, than human nature is very fixed. If someone does something wrong, they are never allowed to forget it. It hangs like an albatross around their neck.

The notion of rehabilitation is now enshrined in law. There is a concept called “spent sentences”, where a sentence is deemed to have been spent after a particular amount of time, depending on the severity of the sentence, and also, when applying for a job, the nature of the job. The law tempers justice with mercy. It does not wipe the slate clean for people who may still pose a significant risk to society, but it does now allow for the fact that people change, and learn from mistakes.

I remember in the 1980s, when I used to chat to a man who had been to prison. He had made a mistake, accepting stolen property, and I think had been sentence to three months. He even mentioned it once to me – that I still saw him as a crook. It was clearly something which was a burden to him, and in a small island like Jersey, where people do not forget, that was understandable. I reassured him, and told him that I thought he had made a mistake, he had paid his debt to society, and no, I didn’t regard him as a crook. A number of years later, he asked me for a reference, which I gave for him. Apart from that one mistake, his life had been blameless. And I am sure he had learnt from that. I felt privileged and humbled that he trusted me and could ask me for a reference.

Mark Rylance, currently playing Thomas Cromwell in Wolf Hall on TV, was speaking on Desert Island Discs how they put on a play for those inside Broadmore. Some of those had killed loved ones, and had to come to terms with that, with whom they were. The play was Hamlet, and in a modern dress version. They were concerned that the subject matter might prove difficult for people who had committed crimes of a similar nature to those within the play, of murders within close knit relationships. But in fact, it enabled those inmates to open up and talk more freely; because the play was distanced for them, it gave them an opportunity to talk about it, and perhaps from that an opportunity for hope.

Of course society has to take steps to keep itself safe, and inadequate oversight and premature release of some prisoners has led to tragedies as they have committed murder again. But even within the confines of an institution like Broadmore, even if they might be judged by the law to always pose a risk to the public, what the law decides should not be the basis for our condemnation. Society needs to be protected, but we must not write these people off.

One of my favourite films is the “Birdman of Alcatraz”, starring Burt Lancaster as Robert Stroud and Karl Malden as Harvey Shoemaker. Stroud is a rebel, sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for murder. He was a pimp at 18, and had shot and killed a barman who had attacked one of his prostitutes. He was known in prison as an extremely dangerous inmate, and killed a guard. He was sentenced to death, but the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.

Serving solitary confinement, initially at Leavenworth prison, a turning point came in 1920, when he found a nest with three injured sparrows in the prison yard, and began raising them. He acquired a collection of some 300 canaries. He was allowed to keep them because of a radical prison-reforming warden, and his studies led him to produce the book “Diseases of Canaries” in 1933. This was an astounding book, meticulously researched, and led to him gaining the respect of scientists studying bird disaeases.

He was later transferred to Alcatraz, where the prison authorities would not permit his birds, but there studied law and history, and wrote two books, Bobbie, an autobiography, and Looking Outward: A History of the U.S. Prison System from Colonial Times to the Formation of the Bureau of Prisons. They could not be published until after his death.

But the prison service itself is often in need of reform. Stroud was able to highlight what conditions could be like for a prisoner, and pave the way for prison reform. It is forgotten by those who think prisons should be grim forbidding places, as they were in Victorian England, that the most essential thing you remove from a prisoner is their liberty.

When Robert Stroud was dying, he was transferred to the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri where he remained until his death. He was never freed, because he was assessed by a psychiatrist, who assessed him as brilliant, but still a danger to the public. But his life was an example of what can be achieved, even given such limitations.

We don’t have physical prison cells, but we are often imprisoned by fear, by stress, by the demands of modern living. Some people are trapped by depression. But the stories of people like Robert Stroud show us that even in circumstances where there seems no hope, the spirit of hope can enter in, just as it did when those sparrows, bruised and broken, flew into his life.