W Record of the Meeting of the Legislative Council
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Authenhcgtj W RECORD OF THE MEETING OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL HELD IN STANLEY ON 28th JANUARY 2005 RECORD OF THE MEETING OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL HELD IN STANLEY ON 28 JANUARY 2005 MR SPEAKER (Mr Lionel Geoffrey Blake OBE) MEMBERS (Ex-Officio) The Honourable the Chief Executive (Mr Christopher John Simpkins) The Honourable the Financial Secretary (Mr Derek Frank Howatt) Elected The Honourable John Birmingham (Elected Member for Stanley Constituency) f The Honourable Mrs Janet Lynda Cheek (Elected Member for Stanley Constituency) The Honourable Mrs Norma Edwards (Elected Member for Camp Constituency) The Honourable Roger Anthony Edwards (Elected Member for Camp Constituency) The Honourable Ian Hansen (Elected Member for Camp Constituency) The Honourable Stephen Charles Luxton (Elected Member for Stanley Constituency) The Honourable Michael Victor Summers OBE (Elected Member for Stanley Constituency) PERSONS ENTITLED TO ATTEND t The Attorney General (Mr David Geoffrey Lang CBE, QC) Chief of Staff (Group Captain Gordon Moulds MBE) CLERK OF COUNCILS: Claudette Anderson MBE PRAYERS: Reverend Paul Sweeting APOLOGIES The Honourable John Richard Cockwell ^ absent through Illness (Elected Member for Stanley Constituency) The Commander British Forces Falkland Islands absent Overseas (Air Commodore Richard Howard Lacey, MA, CBE, RAF) 1 CONTENTS Prayers 1 Papers to be Laid on the Table 1 QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWERS Number 1 of 2005 by the Honourable Ian Hansen 2 Dental appointments and measures to cover emergencies and routine dental checks for people in Camp Number 2 of 2005 by the Honourable Mike Summers QBE 3 Steps taken to respond to petitioners on a change in the route of the road to the Murrell and likely costs to meet changes Number 3 of 2005 by the Honourable Mike Summers QBE 6 Safety Public Service Vehicles plying for public trade in apparently a very poor state of repair Number 4 of 2005 by the Honourable Mike Summers OBE 6 Cable & Wireless telephone and monopoly service, an particularly the Camp telephone service Number 5 of 2005 by the Honourable Jan Cheek 8 Consultancy and Legal costs incurred by FIG in relation to the negotiated reorganisation of Stanley Service Limited Number 6 of 2005 by the Honourable John Birmingham 9 How footpath widths are decided Number 7 of 2005 by the Honourable John Birmingham 10 Procedures that are followed for a medivac in the Camp via private aircraft ORDERS OF THE DAY: BILLS The Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2005 11 MOTION FOR ADJOURNMENT The Honourable Jan Cheek 14 The Honourable Ian Hansen 15 The Honourable John Birmingham 16 The Honourable Norma Edwards 17 The Honourable Roger Edwards 18 The Honourable Stephen Luxton 19 The Honourable Mike Summers- 20 Chief of Staff 21 ANNEX A WRITTEN QUESTIONS Number 1 of 2004 by the Honourable Mike Summers QBE 22 Written instructions are in place for the provision or denial of permission to pass through the Narrows into Stanley Harbour and/or dock at FIPASS during adverse weather conditions? # * Record of the Meeting of the Legislative Council Held on Friday 28th January 2005 PRAYERS Mr Speaker Honourable Members I bid you good morning. Clerk of Councils Confirmation of the record of the Legislative Council Meeting held on 26 November 2004 Mr Speaker Honourable Members, is it your wish that I sign these minutes as being a true record of that meeting? Agreed. Clerk of Councils Papers to be laid on the Table by the Honourable Chief Executive Copies of subsidiary legislation published in the Falkland Islands Gazette since the last sitting of Legislative Council and laid on the table pursuant to Section 34.1 of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance 1977. • Stanley Common, Commonage Fees Amendment Rules 2004 1 • Dogs Amendment Rules 2004 Pursuant to Section 57 of the Finance and Audit Ordinance for the year ended 30 June 2004: . Falkland Islands Government Financial Statement, Currency Fund, Pensions Old Scheme Fund, Insurance Fund, and the Sinking Fund. For the year ended 31 December 2003, the Retirement Pensions Equalisation Fund. The Honourable Chief Executive Mr Speaker, Honourable Members I hereby lay the aforementioned papers on the table Meeting of the Legislative Council Held on Friday 28 January 2005 1 Clerk of Councils Questions for Oral Answer Question number _1_of_20.0.5_by the Honourable Ian Hansen The Honourable Ian Hansen Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I am sure the Honourable Jan Cheek is aware that many people have been unable to obtain a dental appointment for over a year. Can she give an indication as to when there will be a resumption of a regular dentistry service and advise what measures have been taken to cover emergencies and routine dental checks for people in Camp? The Honourable Jan Cheek Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I was not actually aware that people had f been unable to get appointments for over a year, although at one time I was aware the wait was several months. And, I thank my Honourable Colleague for giving me the opportunity to update members and the public on the current position on the provision of dentistry to Camp residents. The Honourable Member will be aware that the last Camp Dental visit took place in October 2003 and the routine visit scheduled for 2004 had to be cancelled because of prolonged illness amongst dental staff, which affected not only appointments of Camp residents but also those for Stanley residents. At the same time, the dental surgery in the former Doctor’s house at Fox Bay and the dental equipment in it had deteriorated to the extent that it was regarded as no longer safe to undertake dental surgery there. That has led us to undertake a fundamental review of how we provide dental services to Camp residents. That review has suffered a delay in obtaining information from overseas but is now nearly complete. And, I expect the conclusions of the review to be discussed at the Health and Medical Services Committee meeting in February 2005, before referral to Executive Council. I am currently not in a position to advise what the outcome of the review will be and therefore cannot, at this stage, advise the shape of the future dental services in Camp. In the meantime, services to Camp residents have been provided at KEMH and dental staff have made every effort to accommodate the special needs of Camp residents by providing longer appointments so that treatment can be done at the same time as a check up. The Honourable Ian Hansen Mr Speaker, Honourable Members I thank the Honourable Member for her answer. May I enquire if she can give any assurance that those people that will not be able to attend appointments will not be subjected to any fee if or when regular services are resumed? Meeting of the Legislative Council Held on Friday 28 January 2005 2 The Honourable Jan Cheek I think I can safely say that if the failure to get an appointment was outside their control then they should not be charged. The Honourable Norma Edwards Could I ask the Honourable Jan Cheek how it came about that the equipment at the dental surgery at Fox Bay, which was supposed to be checked regularly, has suddenly become unusable? The Honourable Jan Cheek That, I cannot tell you in detail. All I know is that a decision was taken by the dentist that the equipment was unusable. Mr Speaker Does any other Honourable Member have a supplementary? The Honourable Ian Hansen I’d like to thank the Honourable Member for her answer and her support on this matter. Clerk of Councils Question number 2 of 2005 by the Honourable Mike Summers The Honourable Mike Summers Would the Honourable Stephen Luxton advise what steps have been taken to respond to petitioners asking for a change in the route of the road to the Murrell and what is the likely cost in meeting the changes? The Honourable Stephen Luxton Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, If you will bear with me, I would like to use my answer to this question as an opportunity to give the House a comprehensive update on this matter, which is of considerable public interest. I apologise in advance for the fact it will make us late for lunch. The steps taken to respond to petitioners asking for a change in the route of the road to the Murrell Farm have been as follows: An in-house review was conducted by the Public Works Department for the original reasons of recommending the current route, which would cross at the Mastin’s Point, which specifically included reconsideration of the availability of materials to construct the crossing and the likely impact on the cost, technical Meeting of the Legislative Council Held on Friday 28 January 2005 3 issues relating to the likely impact on Sea Trout, and the crossing at various locations where crossings might be made and the environmental and visual impact of the various potential routes, including the site chosen by the Environmental Planning Officer. A meeting chaired by myself and including Councillor Cockwell, representatives from the Public Works Department, Fisheries and the Environmental Planning Department was held with a representative group of the petitioners on the 14th of January to discuss the various impacts and the specific points made in the petition statement. Views and information were shared and this was followed by a site visit later that day to view and discuss options. An undertaking was made to evaluate the cost of the alternative route, viewed by the petitioners as offering less impact on fish, fishing, and amenities in the Mastin’s Point crossing, following which the matter will be reconsidered by Councillors. The petitioners were also concerned that a management plan be prepared and implemented for the Murrell area ahead of any further work being undertaken.