JERSEY CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU LIMITED MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING HELD ON THE 13 TH JUNE 2013 AT ST PAUL S CENTRE Present: Phil Austin, Chair Paul Harvey, Hon. Treasurer Tino Perestrelo Nicola Adamson Kate Jeggo Malcolm Ferey, Chief Executive The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked them for attending. He explained that yellow voting cards had been handed out to Members as only Members would be able to vote at the meeting. 1. Apologies Kate Jeggo read the list of apologies. 2. Minutes of the last Annual General Meeting held on 21 st June 2012 The Minutes of the last AGM were not read out as they had been available to the public on the Bureau s website for the previous twelve months. Copies had also been made available that evening. The Minutes were Proposed by Senator Francis Le Gresley Seconded by Deputy Andrew Green 3. Matters Arising There were no matters arising. 4. Presentation of 2012 Annual Report and Accounts Malcolm Ferey, the Chief Executive, presented the 2012 Annual Report and spoke on the following subjects - Client Contact the internet has changed the way in which business is conducted. Although the number of the Bureau s clients asking for face-to-face contact has decreased, the number of internet contacts is ever increasing and numbers rose by 38% during 2012. The funding that the Bureau had received from the Jersey Legal Information Board (JLIB) had been instrumental in allowing the Bureau to keep its information technology infrastructure up-to-date. The Bureau was extremely grateful to JLIB for its funding support and also for the professional guidance which it had given. Debt Sir Philip Bailhache had said that the social desastre legislation was no longer fit for purpose and a working party had been set up to look at what is known
as a Debt Relief Order in the UK. Out of these discussions had come proposals for a Viscount s Remission Order (VRO). This is an out-of-court settlement with two sets of qualifying conditions. Subject to a qualifying period of five years residency in the Island, individuals will be eligible for a VRO on condition that their debts do not exceed 25,000 they do not own a motor vehicle with a value exceeding 2,000 they do not possess other assets exceeding 5,000; and their disposable income does not exceed 100 a month (after deduction of tax, Social Security contributions and normal household expenses) Applicants must be able to demonstrate that they are in their predicament through an adverse set of life-changing circumstances, eg long-term illness, loss of employment, death of a partner etc. It was proposed that the Jersey Citizens Advice Bureau would be appointed as the authorised intermediary to analyse income and expenditure, ensure that the adversity test was passed and draw conclusions in order to make a referral to the Viscount s Department, which Department would have the final say on whether or not a VRO would be granted. No creditors would be allowed to contact the debtor and the debtor would have to make reasonable attempts to repay his debts in the twelve months before they were written off. VRO s would only be available to individuals who had no realistic chance of ever repaying their debts. The proposals had been put out to consultation and some very positive comments had been made. The next step would be to take the proposal to law drafting. In relation to VRO the Viscount had made the following comment I feel that it s a necessary and encouraging development. Necessary, due to the difficult and enduring economic situation which has engulfed some people in a spiralling poverty trap. Encouraging, because here we have an example of how the public sector can work in collaboration with the Jersey Citizens Advice Bureau in furtherance of the public interest. Discrimination Law the Bureau had been pleased to be involved in a working party which was helping to guide the implementation of the proposed Discrimination Law by providing statistics to illustrate the scope of the problem, discussing points within the draft Law and giving evidence to a Scrutiny Panel. Income Support the Chief Executive thanked Steve Jackson, the Income Support Manager, who had contributed to the Bureau s Annual Report this year. The Bureau had a good working relationship with Social Security and it was essential that this be maintained. He said that changes to the Income Support system in the form of delayed benefits for those who left their jobs for no good reason were, to some degree, supported by the Bureau, but felt that each case must be judged on its merits. The Bureau saw clients who were in extremely stressful situations in their employment where the only realistic way of moving on was to leave their employment. Provided the proposals allowed such cases to be considered as good reason the Bureau could see the merits of tightening up the benefits system in this manner.
The Bureau also supported the initiative to encourage locally qualified people to work in the hospitality sector provided this was balanced against the needs of the industry and provision was made to ensure that workers were adequately trained and willing to take these jobs so that customer service did not suffer. The Chief Executive thanked the Management Board, staff and volunteers for the way they had continued to support him throughout the year. He asked if there were any questions. There were none. The Chair introduced the second presentation which was with regard to the Bureau s finances. Don Connelly of Alex Picot advised that the accounts did not contain an audit report. This was a legacy of the Bureau becoming incorporated from the 1st July 2012 it had been unincorporated for the first six months and a limited company for the last six months. In the 2012 Annual Report the two sets of accounts had been put together to show the figures for the year but it could not be said that they were audited accounts. Both sets of accounts would be available on the website. 2013 would be a twelve month period for the company Both sets of accounts would be available on the website. 2014 would be a twelve month period for the company. It was noted that the separate six month accounts for the Company to 31 December 2012 would be put to members for approval in due course Paul Harvey, the Hon. Treasurer, introduced himself and said that he had taken over from Brian Siney in the second quarter of 2012. Turnover was down from the previous year, mainly due to the Bureau not having received as many donations. 88.8% of the Bureau s income came from Health and Social Services, and it would not be able to function without that support. The Bureau, however, had not been able to obtain an increase in this funding. Donations totalling 7,000 had been received from the majority of the Parishes during the year, together with a number of donations from private family trusts totalling 6,000. Lloyds TSB Foundation had also donated money. The Bureau had managed to contain its expenses to roughly the same figure as in previous years. There had been a few extra costs due to incorporation, eg stationery, and extra depreciation because IT had been renewed. There was an 897 surplus over expenditure and 145,648 held in the reserve fund. He asked if there were any questions. There were none. 5. Management Board The Chair advised that at the 2012 AGM it had been announced that Brian Siney, the then Hon. Treasurer, would be stepping down from this position. He had subsequently been replaced by Paul Harvey. There had been no other changes in the make-up of the Management Board. Vanessa Nash, the staff representative for the Bureau s volunteers, had also decided to step down and had been replaced by John Waters.
During the early part of 2013 the Board undertook a self-assessment project where each member of the Board was asked to complete a questionnaire about its operation. The Board would now work through some of the issues which had been raised. The Chair thanked the Board for the work it had done over the last twelve months. He said it was a very active Board and a number of initiatives suggested by the Fundraising Committee set up by Susie Robins had proved very successful, in particular the Breakfast Seminar which had been held at the Pomme d Or Hotel. This had been attended by 100/110 people, mainly from the business community. The Chair advised that all Board Members had put themselves forward for reelection. Proposed by Alan Breckon Seconded by James Lambert, proxy for Sue du Feu 6. Election of Honorary Auditors Alex Picot had kindly indicated that they were prepared to continue for a further year as Honorary Auditors and the Chair thanked them for this. Proposed by Kate Jeggo Seconded by Tino Perestrelo 7. Any Other Business Deputy Anne Pryke then thanked the Bureau for the work it undertook for the community and said she was pleased the partnership with Health and Social Services would continue. The Chair thanked those States Members who had attended the meeting and said that it was the biggest turnout of States Members he had seen at an AGM. Deputy Roy Le Herissier commented that the Bureau had always dealt with people who were down on their luck or unemployed. The Bureau now dealt with many people with reference to Income Support where this was not adequate for their needs and asked how it was dealing with that. The Chief Executive advised that the demographic of people falling into debt had changed. It was now people who had been in employment for a long period of time and who found their income and outgoings very tight and in this respect the Bureau and the Community Savings Bank worked closely together. Guest Speakers David Witherington The Chair announced that there would be two speakers that evening, the first being David Witherington of JACS who would talk on that organisation s perception of the impact of the current situation on working life in Jersey. David Witherington explained who JACS were and what they did. JACS had been set up in 2000 and was similar to ACAS in the UK. It was staffed by a team of four and funded by a grant from Social Security. In 2012 they had received just under
10,000 enquiries, 50/50 employer/employee. Enquiries were always turned round in a maximum of 24 hours. Following his talk the Chair thanked David Witherington and added that everyone was aware of the good work undertaken by JACS. He asked if there were any questions. The comment was made that maternity leave was behind that given in the UK and asked what the general public could do to help JACS change this. David Witherington advised that lobby groups were important. He would like to see more views coming forward from people on the other side of the fence JACS was merely an adviser, it was for the States of Jersey to legislate. Judith Edwards The Chair introduced the second speaker Judith Edwards, Citizens Advice UK Network Development Manager who was the Bureau s key contact in the UK. She visited the Bureau not only for discussion, but for assessment. Judith explained that she was the local representative from Citizens Advice and provided information, help, support and guidance on a whole range of issues. She was there to support the management team and Management Board in whatever issues may arise. She said that the Jersey Bureau was extremely well run and effective and she only needed to visit once or twice a year. She also conducted the annual risk assessment. Her other role was as the Bureau s advocate with Citizens Advice. She understood the unique situation that Jersey has and the differences between Jersey and Guernsey, and relayed this back to her masters in the UK to make sure they were aware of the unique circumstances they were working with. She thanked the staff of the Bureau, adding that across the country the net value of the time given by volunteers was 100,000,000. The Chair thanked Judith for her talk. He thanked the Chief Executive and his team, both paid staff and volunteers, and added that being involved with the Bureau was a very rewarding experience. The meeting ended at 7.25 p.m.
Minutes of the Extraordinary General Meeting of the Members Of Jersey Citizens Advice Bureau Limited held at St Paul's Centre, St Helier, Jersey, on 24 th October 2013 at 5.00 pm Present: Phil Austin, Chair Malcolm Ferey, Chief Executive Paul Harvey, Hon Treasurer Tino Perestrelo Susie Robins Stephen Clipp Kate Jeggo Senator Alan Breckon Trevor Le Roux Anne Herrod Angela Pigliacelli The Chair noted that the meeting was correctly convened and quorate. He proposed the approval of the accounts of Jersey Citizens Advice Bureau Limited from 1 st July 2012 to 31 st December 2012. The approval of the accounts was proposed by Senator Alan Breckon and seconded by Anne Herrod. The meeting noted the approval of the accounts and then closed. Signed: Phil Austin - Chairman
Minutes of the Management Committee of Jersey Citizens Advice Bureau held at St Paul's Centre, St Helier, Jersey, on 24 th October 2013 at 5.05 pm Present: Phil Austin, Chair Malcolm Ferey, Chief Executive Paul Harvey, Hon Treasurer Tino Perestrelo Susie Robins Stephen Clipp Kate Jeggo Angela Pigliacelli The meeting noted the resolution passed at the Special General Meeting on 21 st June 2012 whereby Jersey Citizens Advice Bureau was to be dissolved and after satisfaction of all outstanding debts and liabilities the balance of its property and funds be transferred to Jersey Citizens Advice Bureau Limited. It was noted that the effective date of cessation of business by Jersey Citizens Advice Bureau was 30 th June 2012 and that all assets were transferred to Jersey Citizens Advice Bureau Limited. The meeting then noted and approved the final financial statements from 1 st January 2012 to 30 th June 2012. Proposed by Stephen Clipp Seconded by Kate Jeggo It was noted that this was the final meeting of the Management Committee. Signed: Phil Austin - Chairman