Senator Le Gresley's Transformation and other worries...

DO SCRUTINY HEARINGS EXIST IF NOBODY ATTENDS TO OBSERVE?

This week there are some very important Scrutiny Hearings before the Health, Social Security and Housing Panel (or sub-panel).

Today (Monday 2 July), the Housing Transformation White Paper was being considered. This is the proposal to totally change the structure of the Housing provision, regulation and so on under the “Achieving Decent Homes…” banner.

The first witness today was supposed to be Colin Russell, Chairman of the Housing Tenants Forum Panel but he cancelled at short notice due to illness. No revised date had been published yet.

Next, Senator Francis Le Gresley and his Social Security team appeared before Deputies Moore, Reed and Senator Breckon for 1½ hours of polite interrogation but it was soon apparent just how little these people understand of the practical implications of housing provision and finance in Jersey with particular reference to “Income Support”.

This was especially surprising in view of Francis Le Gresley’s many years at the Citizens’ Advice Bureau – but there was a distinct feeling that nobody here had ever rented a home in their lives and certainly not in the “social” sector (whatever “social” means).

In fact it was soon explained that the Social Security priority was in trying to make some sense of the “private” sector only and there were some amazing attempts to justify why this was more expensive than “social” housing provided by the States or Housing Trusts.

Equally obscure was the need to increase “social rents” to be at least 90% of private ones and why this had failed (as the Fair Rents scheme) to be achieved although it already had been States policy for many years. Nobody knew how many years – but the policy was clearly already a failure – and there was no supporting evidence to justify its revival now.

It was typical of the ignorance and lack of data that lay behind the whole sham housing/Income support business and how the money was circulated between the various departments through the Treasury for no good reason except that it ensured complexity and obscurity.

Of course the whole reform plan is inspired by Senator Ozouf’s Treasury as an integral part of the USER PAYS policy – although the expression is rarely used in public.

Deputy Reed did mention the fatal words and how he agreed in principle with the “user pays” concept but he protested “these are people on income support who cannot afford to house themselves etc”.

The need for undue haste was also apparent. The whole thing – along with vast Health and Social Security reforms and new Population Office controls - is needed to be agreed by the States for November. But poorly briefed Senator Le Gresley and his team were not even sure which of their laws or regulations would have to be revised when their necessary proposition came before the Assembly…

…And so it went on with just two members of the long suffering public (one social and one private sector tenant) and no members of the “accredited press” present to hear or report on the discussion.

Evidently Francis Le Gresley has undergone a personal “Transformation” since becoming the Minister at Social Security and he is a self-confessed convert to the user pays philosophy and the obsession with the annual £90 millions “income support” bill.

If anybody wants evidence of Jersey’s divided and unfair society then attendance at such a Scrutiny meeting would serve as a good starting point - but for more practical reasons the public should take the opportunity to sit in to discover just what is being planned in 2012 by “our elected representatives.”

Tomorrow – Tuesday 3 July the Health Minister will be questioned from 2.30pm on her Health White Paper proposals.

On Thursday at 9.30am Malcolm Ferey the new chief of the CAB will be questioned about the Housing Transformation plans as will Peter Seymour of the “Mortgage Shop” from 1.30pm.

Senator Ozouf will be in the “hot” seat on Friday the 6^th  from 12.45 pm to answer regarding the Health White Paper and Francis Le Gresley will appear again in the afternoon from 2.30pm to respond to the same Health proposals which have been outlined under the “Caring for each other – Caring for ourselves” banner.

All hearing are in the Blampied or Le Capelain rooms of the States Building.

These are hugely important proposals and any members of the public are urged to attend if and when possible.

This writer cannot attend after Tuesday so it is unlikely that you will receive much more information here….

ALSO through the letter box the Housing Department has circulated that the “Customer Service Team” is being removed from the useless provision at Cyril Le Marquand House (one of Bill Ogley’s failed brainwaves we suspect) and returns to the ground floor at Jubilee Wharf, 24 The Esplanade as “a one stop shop.”

In fact, this must be on one of the coldest and most exposed corners in town and has no handy car parking facility (the car park opposite is always full during the opening hours of 9am to 5pm) and has traditionally been about as accessible as Fort Knox and as unfriendly as the tiger’s cage in a zoo….

No doubt this will all be changed…but shall the new housing information service be as welcoming as a “private estate agent’s shop,” shall it only cater for “social housing” applicants and enquiries, why cannot rents be paid here and will all interviews be conducted in comfortable and private offices – and how long before it is all moved yet again when the Housing Department ceases to exist next year?

If interested in any answers to these or other Housing questions SSTAG suggests phoning Mike Porter, Housing Director of Operations on 445510 or any of the 51 elected States Members who represent us.

Please keep SSTAG informed of any responses….