Record of the Meeting M. of the Legislative Council
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RECORD OF THE MEETING M. ; OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL I > HELD IN STANLEY !i m QM 25 APRIL 1997 m - : I % m ■V»; RECORD OF THE MEETING OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL HELD IN STANLEY ON 25 APRIL 1997 PRESIDENT His Excellency the Governor (Mr Richard Peter Ralph CVO) MEMBERS Ex-Officio The Honourable the Acting Chief Executive (Mr Peter Thomas King) The Honourable the Financial Secretary 9 (Mr Derek Frank Howatt) Elected The Honourable William Robert Luxton (Elected Member for Camp Constituency) The Honourable Eric Miller Goss MBE (Elected Member for Camp Constituency) The Honourable Mrs Norma Edwards (Elected Member for Camp Constituency) The Honourable Richard James Stevens (Elected Member for Camp Constituency) The Honourable John Birmingham (Elected Member for Stanley Constituency) 0 The Honourable Mrs Sharon Halford (Elected Member for Stanley Constituency) The Honourable Michael Victor Summers OBE (Elected Member for Stanley Constituency) PERSONS ENTITLED TO ATTEND The Attorney General (Mr David Geoffrey Lang QC) The Commander British Forces Falkland Islands (Brigadier lain David Seumas Campbell) CLERK: Claudette Anderson Prayers: Father Cannack CONTENTS Papers laid on the Table by the Honourable the Acting Chief Executive 1 QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER 1/97 The Honourable W R Luxton 1 (West Road Contract) 2/97 The Honourable W R Luxton 3 (Road towards Hill Cove) m 3/97 The Honourable W R Luxton 4 (Next phase of the West Road towards Roy Cove) 4/97 The Honourable J Birmingham 4 (FIG’s Provision of Housing) 5/97 The Honourable J Birmingham 5 (Smoke Alarms) 6/97 The Honourable J Birmingham 7 (Further Education for FI Students) 7/97 The Honourable E M Goss MBE 8 (Route of Road from Darwin Cemetery to North Arm) 8/97 0 The Honourable Mrs N Edwards 9 (Equalisation of Freight & Fuel Costs) 9/97 The Honourable Mrs N Edwards 9 (Camp Track Repairs) 10/97 The Honourable Mr S Halford 10 (Loligo Squid Season) 11/97 The Honourable Mrs S Halford 11 (Pensions Legislation) 12/97 The Honourable Mrs S Halford 12 (MPA Road) 13/97 The Honourable R J Stevens 12 (The Cost of an Acre of Re-Seed) 14/97 The Honourable R J Stevens 13 (UHF Upgrade) 15/97 The Honourable R J Stevens 14 (Live TV Broadcasts) ORDER OF THE DAY - BILLS The Taxes (Amendment) Bill 1997 15 The Electoral (Amendment) Bill 1997 16 The Supplementary Appropriation (1996/97) Bill 1997 21 MOTION FOR ADJOURNMENT The Honourable Mrs N Edwards 23 The Honourable Mrs S Halford 24 The Honourable M V Summers OBE 26 The Honourable J Birmingham 28 The Honourable E M Goss MBE 31 The Honourable W R Luxton 32 The Honourable R J Stevens 34 The Honourable the Financial Secretary 35 The Honourable the Acting Chief Executive 36 The Commander British Forces 37 His Excellency the Governor 38 a RECORD OF THE MEETING OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL HELD ON 25 APRIL 1997 His Excellency the Governor Ladies and gentlemen, Honourable Members, this meeting is now in session. The Commander British Forces, Brigadier lain Campbell swore the Oath of Allegiance. PAPERS TO BE LAID ON THE TABLE BY THE HONOURABLE THE ACTING CHIEF EXECUTIVE Copies of subsidiary legislation published in the Falkland Islands Gazette since the last sitting of the Legislative Council and laid on the Table pursuant to Section 34 (1) of the Interpretation & General Clauses Ordinance 1977: The Stanley (Various Roads) (One-Way Street) (Amendment) Order 1997 The Fishing Licences (Applications and Fees) Regulations Order 1997 The Land Charges Fees Rules 1997 The Land Charges Rules 1997 The Mis-use of Drugs Regulations Order 1997 Fines: Increase in Standard Scale Order 1997 Copies of the Falkland Islands Government Special Funds Financial Statements and Audit Report and the Falkland Islands Government Financial Statement and Audit Report for the Year ended 30 June 1996 are laid on the Table pursuant to Section 57 of the Finance and Audit Order 1988. * QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER QUESTION No1/97 BY THE HONOURABLE W R LUXTON Mr President, there was only one tender for the current phase of the West Road contract and at the time the contract was agreed, the Chief Executive advised that the final agreement was the subject of negotiation between the contractor and the Director of Public Works. Will the Acting Chief Executive please list all variations agreed from the original tender document dated October 1996. Would he also list all items of materials and spares that are funded by FIG, and would he list any charges for labour costs incurred by the contractor which are a charge on FIG and list the cost of any labour provided directly by FIG. What is the total budget for this project, and is completion expected to be within this figure? 1 Reply by the Honourable the Acting Chief Executive Your Excellency, I am advised that the changes made to the original tender document and incorporated into the final contract are as follows: The work camp is paid for under the contract and becomes a Government asset. FIG is self-insuring the Government owned plant. The maximum retention percentage was reduced from 10% to 5%. All materials and spares are ultimately funded by FIG. Materials and spares are either provided by FIG or by the contractor. Materials provided by the contractor are paid for in accordance with the terms of the contract. The list is too extensive to list in an oral answer but will be supplied to the Councillors’ Office as soon as possible. Labour charges incurred by the contractor are reimbursed in accordance with the contract. These figures will be supplied in confidence to the Councillors’ Office. No labour has been provided directly by FIG. The budget for the project is £455,000 and current projections indicate that this will be exceeded by a relatively small amount. Final figures will only be known upon completion. The Honourable W R Luxton Your Excellency, could the Acting Chief Executive indicate what the cost was and who paid for the sand and shingle that was imported into West Falkland for this project all the way from the United Kingdom? ' I The Honourable the Acting Chief Executive I have no specific knowledge of that point. His Excellency the Governor Does any other Member wish to ask a Supplementary? The Honourable E M Goss MBE Mr President, Honourable Members. Could I ask the Acting Chief Executive how many kilometres does £455,000 plus a little bit more represent? How long is this phase of the contract? 2 The Honourable the Acting Chief Executive I am sorry, I do not have that figure with me, but it can be provided. What I might advise, Your Excellency, is that the Director of Public Works is carrying out an analysis of the total costs of the various contracts to date and this will be reported in due course - it will look at all the current road contracts and those performed in the past. QUESTION No 2/97 BY THE HONOURABLE W R LUXTON Can the Acting Chief Executive please explain why the road towards Hill Cove has been built on a line through three valleys approximately six kilometres south of Hill Cove? Does he not agree that doing so has created exceedingly dangerous slopes, greatly exceeding the limit laid down in the contract document; would he agree that it is likely that one of these slopes 9 will be impassable in the winter, and would the Acting Chief Executive not agree that it would have been possible to avoid all the problems I’ve mentioned by routing the road less than one kilometre to the south-west? The Honourable the Acting Chief Executive Your Excellency, I am advised that the route of the road was, in common with normal practice, selected, following such consultation and analysis as was possible in the time available. It may be that if time had permitted and more detailed evaluation, a different route may have been chosen. I am advised that the slopes of the road when finished will not exceed the maximum stated in the contract specification; a 15% incline, or approximately one in seven, and that this is not dangerous, or not considered to be dangerous. As with all roads, I imagine it may, depending on weather conditions and the vehicle in use, be impassable from time to time. I think it is impossible to say, without a survey of the alternative route being carried out, whether it would have been i possible to avoid any risk of the road being impassable in winter. The Honourable W R Luxton Perhaps the Acting Chief Executive could explain, please, how it is intended to convert a slope which exceeds 20% for a distance of some 200 yards down a hill, into one of 15% or less, without creating a dangerous embankment or moving a small mountain? The Honourable the Acting Chief Executive Your Excellency, I am not familiar with the area and my advice has come from the Public Works Department and I am not aware of those inclines. 3 His Excellency the Governor Again, I think if I may suggest, this is another case where if we could take that question on advisement and ask for further advice from the Public Works Department, since it is a highly technical one. The Honourable W R Luxton The Acting Chief Executive said that consultation had taken place; there is advice on record from local people as to the route which would, as I indicated in my question, have avoided all these problems with very little extra road building. Could he explain why this advice was ignored? The Honourable the Acting Chief Executive No, I cannot.