Page 1429 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 26 September 1989
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The Bill has no financial implications because it only formalises existing consultancy and staff arrangements.
"No financial implications" is absolute nonsense. The financial implications come along with how many consultants can be hired - and we do not know this under the Bill - how long they can be hired for, and what pay they would receive.
In light of the reporting provisions, I will move as an amendment to clause 20, page 9, line 27:
That after subparagraph (1)(b)(iv) the following new subparagraphs be inserted:
(v) the total amount of money paid to the consultant and an estimated proportion of that cost between the various tasks;
(vi) a list of the reports or documents produced by the consultants and the dates on which they were produced;
These two amendments, firstly, would allow the Assembly to know exactly how much had been paid to the consultants and the apportioned amount of costs between the various tasks undertaken by the consultant. The second part of the amendment would give us in this Assembly an indication of exactly what was produced by the consultant or consultancy and when those things were produced. I commend the amendment to the Assembly.
Mr Duby: Mr Speaker, I am not too sure where we are up to in this debate.
MR SPEAKER: An amendment has been proposed. We can either take a vote or it can be spoken to.
Mr Duby: I do not wish to speak to the amendment, Mr Speaker. I have not got it. I was not going to talk about it.
MR SPEAKER: I am sorry; we have not yet reached the detail stage. The Assembly is still debating the issue.
MR DUBY (4.04): This is a Bill, which is overdue, to set in place the provisions relating to the employment of staff by members of the Assembly and, in addition, the conditions relating to the employment of consultants by the Executive, presumably, the Chief Minister and her fellow Ministers.
However, I think there is one point which needs to be raised in relation to this matter. I feel that the Act is deficient, Mr Speaker, in that it does not allow you, as Presiding Officer of this Assembly, the power and ability to hire consultants for whatever purpose the Speaker may see fit on the same basis as those benefits relating to
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