Control of Housing and Work (Jersey) Law 2012 (Appointed Day) Act 201- / Register of Names and Addresses (Jersey) Law 2012 (Appointed Day) Act 201-

Information about the publication of Ministerial Decisions

A formal published “Ministerial Decision” is required as a record of the decision of a Minister (or an Assistant Minister where they have delegated authority) as they exercise their responsibilities and powers.

Ministers are elected by the States Assembly and have legal responsibilities and powers as “corporation sole” under the States of Jersey Law 2005 by virtue of their office and in their areas of responsibility, including entering into agreements, and under any legislation conferring on them powers.

An accurate record of “Ministerial Decisions” is vital to effective governance, including:

demonstrating that good governance, and clear lines of accountability and authority, are in place around decisions-making – including the reasons and basis on which a decision is made, and the action required to implement a decision
providing a record of decisions and actions that will be available for examination by States Members, and Panels and Committees of the States Assembly; the public, organisations, and the media; and as a historical record and point of reference for the conduct of public affairs

Ministers are individually accountable to the States Assembly, including for the actions of the departments and agencies which discharge their responsibilities.

The Freedom of Information Law (Jersey) Law 2011 is used as a guide when determining what information is be published. While there is a presumption toward publication to support of transparency and accountability, detailed information may not be published if, for example, it would constitute a breach of data protection, or disclosure would prejudice commercial interest.

A decision made 20 March 2013:

Decision Reference: MD-C-2013-0025
Decision Summary Title :	Control of Housing and Work (Jersey) Law 2012 (Appointed Day) Act 201- Register of Names and Addresses (Jersey) Law 2012 (Appointed Day) Act 201- and Accompanying Reports		Date of Decision Summary:	20th March 2013
Decision Summary Author:	Director, Corporate Policy		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/a
Written Report Title :	Control of Housing and Work (Jersey) Law 2012 (Appointed Day) Act 201- Register of Names and Addresses (Jersey) Law 2012 (Appointed Day) Act 201- and Accompanying Reports		Date of Written Report:	20th March 2013
Written Report Author:	Director, Corporate Policy		Written Report : Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Subject: Approval of the following draft Acts and Accompanying Reports: Control of Housing and Work (Jersey) Law 2012 (Appointed Day) Act 201- Register of Names and Addresses (Jersey) Law 2012 (Appointed Day) Act 201-
Decision(s): The Assistant Minister, Chief Minister’s Department, approved the following draft Acts and Accompanying Reports: Control of Housing and Work (Jersey) Law 2012 (Appointed Day) Act 201- Register of Names and Addresses (Jersey) Law 2012 (Appointed Day) Act 201- The Assistant Minister, Chief Minister’s Department, further requested that the above mentioned draft Acts and Accompanying Reports be lodged au Greffe as soon as possible for debate.
Reason(s) for Decision: The Control of Housing and Work (Jersey) Law, 2012 and Register of Names and Addresses (Jersey) Law, 2012, were debated and adopted by the States in July, 2011 and these Acts are required to be adopted before the Laws can be enacted.
Resource Implications: Nil
Action required: To ask the Greffier of the States to lodge the draft Acts and Accompanying Reports ‘au Greffe’ as soon as possible for a debate.
Signature:		Position: Assistant Chief Minister
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Control of Housing and Work (Jersey) Law 2012 (Appointed Day) Act 201- / Register of Names and Addresses (Jersey) Law 2012 (Appointed Day) Act 201-

Report

The Control of Housing and Work (Jersey) Law, 2012 was approved by the Assembly in July, 2011, and received Privy Council Assent in October, 2012. The Law seeks to control housing and work, recognising the need to protect housing for long established residents, and that the significant majority of new migrants – in excess of 90% for many migrant communities – work, and would not come to, or remain in Jersey, if they could not support themselves.

The key task with the new Law has been to radically improve on the effectiveness and efficiency of our controls, recognising, in particular, that the Housing (Jersey) Law, 1949, and Regulation of Undertakings and Developments (1973) Law, have serious deficiencies around their ability to detect and enforce compliance.

Financial and manpower implications

This Law simplifies the controls applied by the Housing (Jersey) Law, 1949, and Regulation of Undertakings and Developments (1973) Law, and thereby reduces the administrative costs of managing access to work and housing; against this, additional costs are now envisaged from maintaining data within the Population Register and a significant increase in investment in compliance resource to compliment the new powers of the Law. It is envisaged that the full costs will be funded from the fees introduced under the new Law.

The Register of Names and Addresses (Jersey) Law, 2012 was approved by the Assembly in July, 2011, and received Privy Council Assent in October, 2012.

The Law requires a register to be maintained and enables “public authorities” to share very basic information on Island residents, specifically, their name, address, date and place of birth, date of arrival, gender, and social security number.

No personal data, such as health or financial information, can be shared. The Law is first and foremost about helping Islanders – sharing basic data to provide services, and helping them meet their obligations, and is framed in this way. It will also mean we have good quality statistics.

Financial and manpower implications

This Law will not have any financial and manpower implications in itself. It requires the

Minister to maintain data that will be maintained in any event under the Control of Housing and Work (Jersey) Law, 2012, and enables Public Authorities to share this information.