Report of Proceedings of Tynwald Court
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Printed (by Authority) by CORRIE LTD., 48 Bucks Road, Douglas, Isle of Man REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS OF TYNWALD COURT DOUGLAS, Wednesday 21st October, 1987 at 10.30 a.m. Present: The Lieutenant-Governor (His Excellency Major General Laurence New, C.B., C.B.E.). In the Council: The President of the Council (the Hon. J.C. Nivison, C.B.E.), the Lord Bishop (the Rt. Rev. Arthur Henry Attwell), the Attorney-General (Mr. T.W. Cain), Messrs. R.J.G. Anderson, A.A. Catlin, Mrs. B.Q. Hanson, Messrs. E.G. Lowey, W.K. Quirk and J.N. Radcliffe with Mr. T.A. Bawden, Clerk of the Council. In the Keys: The Speaker (the Hon. Sir Charles Kerruish, O.B.E.) (Garff); Brig. N.A. Butler, C.B.E. (Ramsey); Mr. R.E. Quine (Ayre); Mr. J.D.Q. Cannan (Michael); Mrs. H. Hannan (Peel); Mr. W.A. Gilbey (Glenfaba); Mr. B. Barton (Middle); Messrs. P. Karran, R.C. Leventhorpe, and D.G. Maddrell (Onchan); Mr. B. May and Mrs. J. Delaney (Douglas North); Messrs. A.C. Duggan and D.C. Cretney (Douglas South); Messrs. D.F.K. Delaney and P.W. Kermode (Douglas East); Messrs J.C. Cain and G.V.H. Kneale (Douglas West); Mr. J.A. Brown (Castletown); Mr. D.J. Gelling (Malew and Santon); Mr. M.R. Walker, Dr. J.R. Orme and Mr. J. Corrin (Rushen); with Prof. T. St. J.N. Bates, Clerk of Tynwald. The Lord Bishop took the prayers. PETITION OF THE MAYOR, ALDERMEN AND BURGESSES OF DOUGLAS RE PUBLIC STREET LIGHTING SCHEMES - APPROVED The Governor: We turn, hon. members, to petitions and first item 40 on the main Agenda. I call on the Minister for Local Government and the Environment to move. Mr. Delaney: Your Excellency, with respect to the petition of the Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of Douglas to borrow £63,000, repayable within 15 years, to defray the cost of public street lighting schemes, I beg to move: That the prayer of the petition be and the same is hereby granted. Petition of the Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of Douglas Re Public Street Lighting Schemes — Approved T122 TYNWALD COURT, WEDNESDAY, 21st OCTOBER, 1987 This petition is in respect of on-going scheduled works to improve the street lighting in the borough within the requirements laid down by the British Standard. The department fully supports this petition, as we hope will this hon. Court. Mr. Lowey: I beg to second, sir. The Governor: Then, hon. members, I put to you the motion at item 40 on the Agenda standing in the name of Minister for Local Government and the Environment. Will all in favour say aye; those against say no. The ayes have it. The ayes have it. PETITION OF THE MAYOR, ALDERMEN AND BURGESSES OF DOUGLAS RE REWIRING OF DWELLINGS ON THE WILLASTON ESTATE - APPROVED The Governor: Item 41. I call on the same minister. Mr. Delaney: Your Excellency, with respect to the petition of the Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of Douglas for authority to borrow £126,804, repayable within 20 years, to defray the cost of rewiring 162 dwellings on the Willaston estate, I beg to move: That the prayer of the petition be and the same is hereby granted subject to the redecoration allowance being increased to a maximum of £100 where circumstances dictate with any consequent expenditure in excess of the petitioned sum being included in the petition for phase III of this scheme. This petition covers the rewiring of 162 dwellings on the Willaston estate, Douglas, and the petition sum can be divided into two amounts. The electric rewiring will be carried out at a total cost of £117,894, such sum having been obtained by competitive tender. The additional sum of £8,910 represents a payment of £55 to each householder for redecoration of the premises after the rewiring element has been completed. The average unit cost is £782. During the hearing of this petition to my department it became clear that under 0 certain circumstances the redecoration element may need to be greater and therefore, if this Court is in agreement, the department has agreed that the redecoration element be increased to a maximum of £100 where circumstances dictate, any excess expenditure of the petition sum being included in the petition of phase III of this scheme. The petition before us today represents the second phase of a programme that will lead to the whole of the Willaston estate of 640 housing units being rewired over a five-year period. The original wiring is coming to the end of its useful and safe life and my department is satisfied, Your Excellency, that these works are desirable and accordingly I move this petition. Mr. Lowey: I beg to second, sir. Petition of the Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of Douglas Re Wiring of Dwellings on the Willaston Estate — Approved TYNWALD COURT, WEDNESDAY, 21st OCTOBER, 1987 T123 Mr. Brown: Your Excellency, just a question. The hon. member has just said that it has been increased to £100 where necessary. Could he just confirm that that will apply throughout the Island? Mr. Cretney: Also on that point, Your Excellency, I can confirm that the other hon. member for South Douglas and I have both found problems on a previous scheme at Springvalley and I welcome the move that is now being made available to people in Willaston under special circumstances to increase the amount available for redecoration because we have both encountered problems (Mr. Duggan: Hear, hear.) on previous job. Mr. Delaney: Your Excellency, in answer to my hon. colleague, the Minister for Health and Social Security, it is not the policy of my department to be discriminatory against anyone in the Isle of Man in relation to any public funds and we will take into account any problems that affect any local authority on housing and if we find just and need for such increases to be made we will make them. I thank the member for South Douglas for his support. This obvious error, Your Excellency, in no differential being allowed came to light to me and my colleagues of different types of houses involved in the rewiring where some people it was costing more, some people possibly less, Your Excellency, but we have to cover for those people who are worse off because of our actions. The Governor: I put to you the motion standing in the name of the Minister Local Government and the Environment at item 41 of the Agenda. Will hon. members in favour say aye; those against say no. The ayes have it. The ayes have it. PETITION OF DOUGLAS CORPORATION RE REFURBISHMENT OF DWELLINGS ON THE UPPER PULROSE ESTATE — APPROVED The Governor: Item 42. I call on the Minister for Local Government and the Environment. Mr. Delaney: Your Excellency, with respect to the petition of Douglas Corporation for authority to borrow £432,033, repayable within 20 years, to defray the cost of refurbishing 24 dwellings on the Upper Pulrose estate, being phase II of a scheme, I beg to move: That the prayer of the petition be and the same is hereby granted. Your Excellency, this petition is in respect of phase II of a scheme to refurbish r the dwellings of the Upper Pulrose estate which were built around 1935, one of the older estates under the authority of Douglas Corporation. The proposed works are similar to those carried out on phase I, approval to which was granted at the sitting of Tynwald October 1986. Mention may be made of the fact that the unit cost of this phase has risen to Petition of Douglas Corporation Re Refurbishment of Dwellings on the Upper Pulrose Estate — Approved T124 TYNWALD COURT, WEDNESDAY, 21st OCTOBER, 1987 £18,000 compared with £15,000 for phase I, which is a matter of some concern to my colleagues and myself. This large increase, of course, reflects the present state of the building industry in which only two suitable contractors were prepared to tender for work in this £400,000 range of work scheduled. Notwithstanding this high unit price, my department is satisfied that these are necessary works and it would of course be particularly unfair if the tenants of phase II were to be denied the refurbishment of their homes which tenants of phase I have already received and of which the refurbishment is a general policy and has been of this Government, Your Excellency. I beg to move. Mr. Cannan: I beg to second, Your Excellency, and in doing so I would like to say to this hon. Court that the Treasury support this petition but with certain reservations. The Treasury, as I said yesterday, are fully in support of housing and refurbishment, building of new houses, service plots, and the provision of loans, V.3 but in all these matters, Your Excellency, there must be, or the Treasury feel there must be both financial responsibility and financial discipline and, as the hon. minister has already said, Douglas Corporation obtained only two competitive tenders, the lowest of which was 19 per cent. higher than phase 112 months ago and at £18,000 per dwelling the viability of refurbishment may be questionable. The Treasury would also ask the Corporation why they elected to obtain fluctuating tenders when Government departments obtain fixed-price tenders for projects of greater value and duration. Thirdly, the Treasury show concern that this project did not appear in the Corporation's estimates for '87/88 and is not scheduled to commence until the start of 1988, some three months' time, and we wonder why perhaps the Corporation would not, on second thoughts, seek new tenders on a fixed-price basis.