A ruck and maul is had by all at the States assembly

Thursday 16 June 2016

It was certainly a marathon and by no means a sprint, as States Assembly members took turns to pick apart the Education Minister Rod Bryans’ plans to introduce means-testing for free nursery childcare.

Boo, cried those who felt it was a direct infringement on the civil liberties of all, especially repressed families everywhere struggling to get by.

Hiss, said the opposite flank, as struggling to get by does not involve the good parents of Jersey on nearly six figures a year. 

With the battle lines drawn, it was down to the business end. First up came Deputy Montfort Tadier, with his bid to have Deputy Bryans’ proposals booted further out of touch than a Dan Carter clearance kick. 

Keeping to the rugby metaphor, Tadier scrummaged down, saying the Minister had had no right to put the plans in motion without proper consultation.

The Minister must have felt like a full back in his own 22, facing a marauding pack of All Blacks. At the beginning of a seven hour debate, members strode forth to outline their outrage at his proposals, claiming they had received no prior consultation.     

The assembly was often a fractious affair, as members debated the issue surrounding free childcare, but just as Deputy Bryans appears to be in danger of having his plans referred back to the Scrutiny Panel for a more thorough examination, he clinched the vote. Or more correctly, to remain on the sporting parallel, it was a draw. 

By all accounts an extremely rare occurrence at the assembly, as members voted 24:24 - an exact draw - not to refer the matter back to the Scrutiny Panel. 

As the result was a draw, it meant it was not carried, triggering a further debate which began mid-morning and ended at 4.50pm.

Deputy Judy Martin kicked things off, saying: “The Minister is absolutely missing the point. I listened carefully to the Minister’s speech and again, he is totally missing the point. No child under five knows if he has got a rich parent or not. They want to know they are going to someone who is going to care for them, that’s all.”    

On the opposite wing, Constable Michel Le Troquer said: “I actually am sorry the Minister has relented and taken the decision to raise the limit, but he is in the hot seat and I am not. He is trying to find savings that we have set his department to find.”

At 3.20pm, after hours of discussion, a degree of levity came into proceedings as a telephone rang in the assembly.

Senator Alan Maclean said: “That is a £20 fine for the offender please, with the money going to charity.”

It cued laugher all round, in contrast with the debate which was at some stages as heated as sharing a taxi ride with Boris Johnson and the Prime Minister, then throwing in the words “European Union anyone?”   

Shortly after the telephone intervention, Deputy Geoff Southern urged members to reject the Education Minister’s proposals.

He said: “The Scrutiny Panel have said this was a conscious decision by the Minister not to consult with the private sector but to impose this decisions upon them. This was done to balance the books. Therein lies the rub.”

From lying the rub, we somehow moved on to Lewis Carroll. 

Senator Philip Ozouf said: “This is an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ debate. The Education Minister should have been clearer about giving more clarity, but he was caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. The Minister has had a roasting. What should have been clear is that this was always going to be a proposal. Nothing more, nothing less.”  

Chairman of the Education Scrutiny Panel Deputy Louise Doublet was in a quandary, struggling to work out how to vote on the issue of means-testing free childcare. “The panel is not recommending ‘Don’t do this at all.’ It is very difficult to make a decision on this one.” 

The debate was wrapped up by Reform Jersey’s Deputy Montfort Tadier, who had earlier been accused of wearing an entirely inappropriate blue tie by Senator Ozouf - a reference to the traditional colour of the Conservative Party. 

Deputy Tadier said: “There are individuals who are putting in 60 hours a week and have got a solid base to try and improve their family. We think the Minister should withdraw this proposal completely. I ask members for their support so that we can get a proper, fit-for-purpose nursery policy in place, not what we have at the moment.”    

After the Chief Minister’s closing comments it was put to the vote following a debate which left many members feeling they had been through a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. 

Ho-hum, after seven hours it all amounted to the Ministers winning the day, as they booted universal free nursery childcare for all, into touch.