Reg's Skips Committee of Inquiry: Appointment of Committee Members.

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A decision made (22/09/2009) regarding: Reg's Skips Committee of Inquiry: Appointment of Committee Members.

Decision Reference: MD-C-2009-0075
Decision Summary Title :	Reg’s Skips Committee of Inquiry: Appointment of Committee Members		Date of Decision Summary:	22nd September 2009
Decision Summary Author:	Policy and Research Officer		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Oral		Person Giving Oral Report:	Policy and Research Officer
Written Report Title :	n/a		Date of Written Report:	n/a
Written Report Author:	n/a		Written Report : Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	n/a
Subject: Reg’s Skips Committee of Inquiry: Appointment of Committee Members
Decision(s): The Chief Minister approved the report and proposition nominating Mr John Mills as Chairman, with Mr Edward Trevor and Mr Richard Huson as members of the Committee of Inquiry into Reg’s Skips.
Reason(s) for Decision: Following the approval of P.50/2009, the Chief Minister was tasked with establishing a Committee of Inquiry to investigate all planning matters relating to the various relevant planning applications made by, or on behalf of Reg’s Skips Ltd. in connection with the activities of the company as skip operators.
Resource Implications: The costs will depend on the level of officer support required. A Committee of enquiry normally requires the appointment or secondment of an officer on a part-time basis, and it is estimated that the total cost should not exceed £15,000. The Minister for Treasury and Resources, as requested and in accordance with Standing Order 150(c), directs that the cost of this Committee of Inquiry, should it be agreed by the States, must be met from the cash limits of the Planning and Environment Department.
Action required: For the attached Report & Proposition to be lodged au Greffe and debated as soon as is practicable.
Signature:		Position: Senator Terry Le Sueur Chief Minister
Date Signed: 22nd September 2009		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed): 22nd September 2009

Reg's Skips Committee of Inquiry: Appointment of Committee Members.

Reg’s Skips Committee of Inquiry – Appointment of Committee Members(P.XXX/2009)

Lodged au Greffe on XXXXXXX 2009
by the Chief Minister

STATES GREFFE

PROPOSITION

THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion -

to refer to their Act dated 13th May 2009 in which they agreed that a Committee of Inquiry should be established in accordance with Standing Order 146 to investigate all planning matters relating to the various relevant planning applications made by, or on behalf of, Reg’s Skips Ltd. in connection with the activities of the company as skip operators and

(a) to appoint the following persons as members of the Committee of Inquiry –

(i) Mr. John Frederick Mills CBE (Chairman);

(ii) Mr. Edward George Trevor MBE;

(iii) Mr. Richard Huson.

(b) to agree, in accordance with Standing Order 146(5)(b) and (c) –

(i) that Mr. Trevor shall, if required, preside in the absence of the Chairman; and

(ii) that the quorum of the Committee shall be 2.

CHIEF MINISTER

Report

With the approval of P.50/2009, the States charged me with the responsibility to take the necessary steps to select a suitable Chairman and members to undertake the Inquiry and to bring forward to the States for approval the necessary proposition relating to their appointment.

Following this Proposition, an advert was placed in the Jersey Evening Post Gazette and we received a number of responses from interested parties. To ensure that we would have no conflicts of interest throughout the inquiry, I asked all individuals to provide me with a statement detailing any dealings they had had with the Planning and Environment Department. Subsequently, I was able to draw up a short list of individuals for interviews.

I am pleased to inform members that I have now completed the selection process and would like to nominate the following individuals:

Mr John Mills as Chairman of the Committee
Mr Edward Trevor as a member of the Committee
Mr Richard Huson as a member of the Committee

John Mills CBE has had a lengthy public service career, in the UK Civil Service and local government, and in Jersey, where he was Chief Executive of the former Policy and Resources Department from 199-2003. Mr Mills has experience of conducting a public inquiry; he was commissioned in January 2009 by Cornwall County Council to undertake an independent inquiry into the temporary closure of Newquay Airport in December 2008. His report was published in July and all his recommendations were accepted by the Council. He also has considerable experience of the planning system both as a 'provider' and a 'user'. As Chief Executive of Cornwall County Council in the 1990s he had oversight of the Council's functions as a planning and highways authority and was closely involved in many major decisions and their strategic implications. He is also Chairman of the Governing Body of a leading London school with an extensive estate within a conservation area, and accordingly has considerable understanding of a major user's perspective of the planning process.

Edward Trevor MBE has the benefit of being a Chartered Surveyor and has worked in Private Practice, for retail companies and finally as a Civil Servant. He was Chairman of the Planning Committee of the London Borough of Sutton 1968-71, Chairman of the Housing Committee from 1971-74 and again in 1980-86 and also the Conservative Group on the Association of Metropolitan Authorities Housing Committee from 1981-86 along with numerous other similar roles. In Jersey, Mr Trevor is a Rates Assessor in St Helier and Chairman of the Association of Jersey Rates Assessors, an appointee of the Rent Control Tribunal, Secretary of the Rotary Club de la Manche, a trustee of the Itex-Rotary Round the Island Walk, and many other honorary posts.

Richard Huson has run his own business for 35 years and has a degree in Hotel and Catering Management. He has a good knowledge of the workings of the Planning and Environment Department, having made many planning applications over the years and is fully conversant with working drawings and most current bylaws. He was also a member of the Jersey Round Table for 15 years.

As detailed above, I am confident that these individuals will be able to form a cohesive Committee who will be able to investigate this matter with the degree of intricacy that it deserves.

Financial and manpower implications

The costs will depend on the level of officer support required. A Committee of enquiry normally requires the appointment or secondment of an officer on a part-time basis, and it is estimated that the total cost should not exceed £15,000. The Minister for Treasury and Resources, as requested and in accordance with Standing Order 150(c), directs that the cost of this Committee of Inquiry, should it be agreed by the States, must be met from the cash limit of the Planning and Environment Department.

Chief Minister