MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Greater transparency to Falklands' government workings

Significant changes making the workings of the Falkland Islands government more transparent and accountable were approved during a meeting Wednesday, of the new Legislative Council.

Among the main issues is the functioning of the General Purposes Committee giving individual Councillors entire freedom to make whatever decisions they consider appropriate, plus a greater information role for the media, thus helping address the perception of GPC by sectors of the community.

Portfolio responsibilities and the Committees system will be rationalized and restructured and Portfolio holders would be encouraged to take full responsibility for their areas of activity and keep the public informed of relevant developments.

Finally it was decided a member of the Executive Council will act as spokesperson for the Legislative Council and chair the GPC meetings. Councillor Mike Summers was nominated to cover the first period which will be reviewed in five months.

The official release follows:

Councillors met on Wednesday 23rd November at Gilbert House to consider a number of issues. Key amongst them were as follows.

1. General Purposes Committee (GPC). Councillors were conscious of a number of concerns expressed about GPC and its role in Government, and were keen to amend its role to fit more appropriately with the established system of Government, and also to take steps to deal with the perception of it by sectors of the community. The following decisions were taken: a) whilst GPC would continue to review Executive Council papers prior to their consideration by Exco, the purpose of this would be for Exco members to take account of comments or observations of other Members. No decisions would be taken and no instructions given to Exco members, who would remain entirely free to make whatever decisions they considered appropriate in Exco b) other business in GPC would whenever practicable be advised to the media with explanations of decisions taken c) the history of GPC and its role in the development of democratic Government was acknowledged; in light of this it was considered on balance not to be appropriate to change its name, but to ensure that its functions were transparent and clearly understood. It remains an informal meeting of Councillors at which a wide range of issues can be discussed.

2. Portfolio Responsibilities.

Councillors decided to adopt a new approach to portfolio responsibilities that will hopefully reflect future restructuring and rationalisation of the Committee system, and fit with possible amendments to the Constitution in due course. These changes do not however make any such changes inevitable. Portfolios have been grouped into eight areas of responsibility as shown on the attached chart, with the constituent parts of each. Also shown are the portfolio holders and those other members with responsibility for these areas. It will be for portfolio holders to now consult with the Chief Executive and Heads of Department on how best to organise their responsibilities and committee functions. It is envisaged that a number of Committees will be rationalised. Portfolio holders would be encouraged to take full responsibility for their areas of activity and keep the public informed of relevant developments.

3. Council Spokesperson and Chair of GPC.

Options were considered for who should chair GPC and whether there should be a spokesperson for Legislative Councillors. It was concluded that a) a member of Executive Council should be nominated by all members to be the spokesperson for Legislative Councillors for a six month period; and b) that person should also chair GPC for that period and co-ordinate routine business; and c) that this arrangement be reviewed in five months time to see how it should be continued. Councillor Mike Summers was nominated to cover this first period. This would in no way preclude or relieve portfolio holders of their responsibilities to deal with the media and the public on issues for which they are responsible. It was further agreed that public meetings would be chaired by either independent parties or by other Councillors; presentations and themes would be encouraged. The December meeting would cover these new working arrangements and January would be dedicated to minerals and hydrocarbons developments.

Mike Summers for Legislative Councillors 23 November 05

Legislative Council Portfolios:

Camp Issues: Agriculture, Tourism, FIGAS, Transport, Shipping, FLH, Fox Bay Village; Portfolio Holder: Ian Hansen, other Councillors Richard Stephens and Mike Rendell.

Health Services & Public Protection: Medical Services, Social Services, Police, Fire, FIDF. Portfolio Holder: Mike Rendell, other Councillors, Ian Hansen, Richard Cockwell.

Corporate Services: Administration, Human Resources, Public Relations, FIGO, Treasury & Taxation; Information Technology, EU Issues, SSL. Portfolio Holder: Mike Summers. Other Councillors: Richard Davies, Janet Robertson.

Regulatory Services: AG's Chambers, Registry, Customs, Immigration, CAA, Justice, Post, Telecommunications. Portfolio Holder: Janet Robertson, other Councillors Andrea Clausen and Richard Stephens.

Education & Training: Education, Training, Youth Development, Leisure Services. Portfolio Holder: Richard Stephens, other Councillors Janet Robertson, Andrea Clausen.

Public Works: Utilities, Waste Management; Municipal Services, Roads, Design, Plant & Vehicles, Quarry and Energy Conservation. Portfolio Holder: Richard Cockwell; other Councillors, Mike Summers and Ian Hansen.

Industries & Development:

Fisheries, FIDC, Port & Harbour, Minerals. Portfolio Holder: Andrea Clausen; other Councillors Richard Cockwell, Richard Davies.

Land Use: Public Land Management, Housing, Environment, Planning, Heritage. Portfolio Holder: Richard Davies; other Councillors Mike Rendell, Mike Summers.