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A decision made (09.06.08) to approve the revised rules and conditions of the Lord Portsea Gift Fund.

Decision Reference: MD-ESC-2008-0013
Decision Summary Title):	Lord Portsea Gift Fund Revised Rules and Conditions		Date of Decision Summary:	4th June 2008
Decision Summary Author:	D. Greenwood Assistant Director Culture & Lifelong Learning		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title:	Lord Portsea Gift Fund Revised Rules and Conditions		Date of Written Report:	4th June 2008
Written Report Author:	D. Greenwood Assistant Director Culture & Lifelong Learning		Written Report : Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: Revised rules and conditions of Lord Portsea Gift Fund
Decision(s): The Minister approved the above-mentioned report and proposition and determined that it should be lodged ‘au Greffe’, subject to the prior approval of the Royal Court, with a view to securing the earliest possible date for debate.
Reason(s) for Decision: The introduction of Ministerial government requires changes to the rules and conditions of the Lord Portsea Gift Fund. In addition, other changes have been recommended in order to maintain the relevance of the Gift Fund. Representatives of both the States and the Royal Court are involved in the management of this fund and therefore it is important that before being debated by the States, the draft proposition should be submitted to the Royal Court for approval.
Resource Implications: None
Action required: Minister to instruct officers to lodge the report and proposition with the States and refer the report and proposition to the Royal Court for approval.
Signature:		Position: Minister for Education, Sport and Culture
Date Signed:		Date of Decision:

Lord Portsea Gift Fund - revised rules and conditions

LORD PORTSEA GIFT FUND

REVISED RULES AND CONDITIONS

PROPOSITION

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

to refer to their Act dated 25th May 1971 in which they established rules and conditions with regard to the administration of the Lord Portsea Gift Fund, and to their Acts dated 3rd February 1981 and 13th May 1997 in which they amended the said rules and conditions; and, with the approval of the Royal Court, to agree that the Fund should henceforth be administered according to the revised rules and conditions –

Report

The Lord Portsea Gift Fund was established, with the approval of the Royal Court, by Act of the States dated 25th May 1971. The main purpose of the Act was to give effect to a bequest in the will of the late Miss Albina Bertram Falle, which was expressed in the following terms-

“I give and bequeath to the Royal Court and States of Jersey the sum of £17,000 to be known as ‘The Lord Portsea Gift Fund’, to help all young Jersey and Guernsey boys (of Jersey and Guernsey parentage) entering the Royal Navy, Army, Air Force, and Civil Services who are in need of Financial help. All payments to be made by the States to the to the (sic) aforesaid Fund shall be absolute and without any conditions, and I desire to place on record that both the aforesaid legacy and the conditions above conform to the wishes of the late Lord Portsea of Portsmouth”.

The Act also established rules and conditions with regard to the administration of the Fund, in accordance with the terms of the bequest. By the time the Act was adopted by the States the value of the bequest had risen to £27,000. The Act entrusted the administration of the Fund to a Delegation of eight persons – four Jurats of the Royal Court appointed from time to time by the Superior Number of the Royal Court and four members of the Education Committee for the time being. The President of the Education Committee for the time being would act as Chairman of the Delegation, with a casting vote. The Act also set out eligibility conditions for the receipt of grants. The rules and conditions of the Fund have subsequently been amended on two occasions to widen the scope of the original bequest. Grants may now be paid to females as well as males; the upper age of eligibility for a grant has been raised to 30 years; and the range of occupations that applicants have entered, or propose to enter, has been widened.

As set forth in the preamble, the purpose of the Proposition is to replace the original Acts and to revise the rules and conditions under which the Fund is administered. In view of the joint involvement of representatives of both the Royal Court and the States in the management of the Fund this draft proposition will be submitted to the Royal Court for approval before being debated by the States. The changes to the arrangements presently in force under the Lord Portsea Gift Fund Act 1971, as amended, are as follows –

The number of members of the Delegation is reduced from 9 to 6 (that is, one less representative of both the Royal Court and the States (paragraph (1) and the removal of the ex-officio role of Chairman which was previously held by the President of the Education Committee as explained below ).

References to the Education Committee, as was, are altered to refer to the Minister for Education, Sport and Culture. However, the role of the former Committee, now to be performed by the Minister, is altered so that the Minister shall not automatically be the Chairman of the Delegation. Instead, the Chairman shall be a person nominated by the Minister or, if that person fails to attend a meeting of the Delegation, a person nominated by the members of the Delegation attending the meeting (paragraphs (2) and (3)).

The quorum for meetings of the Delegation is reduced from 5 to 3 (paragraph (5)).

The upper age of eligibility for a grant is altered so that a person need not be 30 years of age when the grant is made, but rather when they apply for the grant (sub-paragraph (6)(a)).

The category of persons who are eligible for grants has been extended to include persons who have entered, or intend to enter the employment of a local authority in Jersey, Guernsey (including any part of that Bailiwick) or the United Kingdom (sub-paragraph (6)(c)(x)).

Financial and manpower implications

There are no additional financial and manpower implications for the States arising from this proposition.

06.06.08.

Appendix

(1) The income of the Fund shall be administered by a Delegation of 6 persons of whom –

(a) 3 shall be Jurats of the Royal Court appointed from time to time by the Superior Number of the Royal Court; and

(b) 3 shall be elected members of the States appointed by the Minister for Education, Sport and Culture.

(2) A member of the Delegation shall be appointed by the Minister for Education, Sport and Culture to be its Chairman.

(3) Despite paragraph (2), if the Chairman appointed under that paragraph is not present at a meeting of the Delegation, the members of the Delegation who are present at the meeting shall appoint, from amongst the members present, a Chairman for the purposes of the meeting.

(4) The Chairman shall have a casting vote at a meeting of the Delegation.

(5) A decision of the Delegation shall not be valid unless there are at least 3 members of the Delegation present when the decision is taken, of whom at least one is a member appointed under paragraph (1)(a) and one is a member appointed under paragraph (1)(b).

(6) The Delegation may, in its absolute discretion, from time to time, make grants out of the income of the Fund to persons who –

(a) at the time they apply for a grant, have not attained the age of 30 years;

(b) are Jersey or Guernsey persons or have one or more parents who are Jersey or Guernsey persons;

(i) the Royal Navy;

(ii) the Women’s Royal Naval Service;

(iii) the Army;

(iv) the Women’s Royal Army Corps;

(v) the Royal Air Force;

(vi) the Women’s Royal Air Force;

(vii) any of the Service Colleges;

(viii) the Merchant Navy;

(ix) the United Kingdom Civil Service;

(x) the employment of the States of Jersey or Guernsey or a local authority in Jersey, Guernsey or the United Kingdom; and

(d) are, in the opinion of the Delegation, in need of financial assistance.

(7) A grant to a person eligible under paragraph (6) shall be made for the purpose of assisting in the maintenance, further education, welfare or advancement in life of the person.

(8) A grant under paragraph (6) shall not provide financial assistance to a person for more than 3 calendar years after the year in which the person attains the age of 30 years.

(9) Every grant under paragraph (6) shall be absolute and free from any conditions, other than any or all of the following conditions –

(a) a condition that the grant shall be used for the purposes for which it is made;

(b) a condition that the grant shall be used in relation to the attendance, of the person to whom it is made, at a particular educational institution specified in the condition;

(c) a condition that if a grant is made to a person for successive courses of study, the grant for a successive course of study shall only be made if the person satisfactorily completes the previous course of study and has enrolled for the successive course of study.

(10) The Delegation shall at least once in each year present to the Royal Court and to the States an account, audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General, of its dealings with the Fund, but is not required to name in the account any individual to whom a grant has been made.

(11) Nothing in this Act shall prevent the Delegation from making grants out of accumulated income of the Fund, as well as current income, as it shall from time to time consider desirable or expedient.

(12) The Minister for Treasury and Resources may make the changes in the investment of the Fund that he or she shall from time to time consider necessary or expedient.