Comments - Draft Covid-19 (Amendments - Extension, Suspension and Repeal) (Jersey) Regulations 202 - 7 September 2020

STATES OF JERSEY

DRAFT COVID-19 (AMENDMENTS – EXTENSION, SUSPENSION AND REPEAL) (JERSEY) REGULATIONS 202- (P.103/2020): COMMENTS

Presented to the States on 7th September 2020

by the Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel

STATES GREFFE

2020  P.103 Com.

COMMENTS

1. P.103/2020 Draft Covid-19 (Amendments – Extension, Suspension and Repeal) (Jersey) Regulations 202- (hereafter the draft Regulations') was lodged by the Minister for Health and Social Services on 11th August 2020 in order to either extend,  suspend  or  repeal  legislation,  which  has  been  adopted  by  the  States Assembly to tackle the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak.
2. The  Children,  Education  and  Home  Affairs  Panel  (hereafter  the  Panel')  has undertaken scrutiny of a number of pieces of legislation contained within the draft Regulations  during  the  preceding  months.  For  clarity,  the  Panel is providing its comments only in relation to legislation, which falls within its remit and has been examined by it during the outbreak to date. In general terms, the Panel agrees with the proposals within the draft Regulations; however, it would like to make the following comments in respect of the following pieces of legislation contained within the draft Regulations for the consideration of States Members.

Covid-19 (Schools and Day Care of Children) (Jersey) Regulations 2020 Regulation 4 of the draft Regulations

These Regulations will be SUSPENDED on 30th September 2020.

• These Regulations allow for the Minister for Education to require the closure of school premises, or day care premises, to prevent the spread of Covid-19. They also  make  provision  for  the  Minister  to  implement  arrangements  for  the compulsory education of school age children whilst they are unable to attend school as a result of the closure of the premises;

• It is noted that any legislation that is suspended by the draft Regulations would remain on the statute book in an inactive form. Furthermore, by suspending this particular piece of legislation, it still retains an expiration date of 30th April 2021 in  line  with  the  date  being  recommended  for  extensions  within  the  draft Regulations;

• The Panel supports the proposed suspension to these Regulations. Since the Covid-19 pandemic began research has shown that, as children do not transmit the virus in the same way as adults, this, in itself, would make it highly unlikely that schools will need to be closed as they were earlier in the year. Even if there was a change to the advice issued by the Medical Officer for Health (MOH) the Panel would point to the evidence which exists in relation to the extreme harm caused to children by depriving them of an education. It would also highlight the considerable resistance that would occur were school closures to be considered again. The MOH further highlighted this point in a news release in respect of the return of schools:

"Most children who catch COVID-19 either have mild symptoms, or none at all. Additionally, research is still showing that they seem much less likely than adults to be the source of COVID-19 spread to other people. Locally, we know that the return of children to school before our school summer holidays did not result in any increase in COVID-transmissions. Conversely, being away from school has definite risks. School attendance is one of the most important factors in any child's health, current and future. School improves health, learning, socialisation and opportunities throughout the life course including employment. Lack of

schooling,  for  whatever  reason,  is  one  of  the  most  important  factors  in perpetuating socioeconomic and health inequalities."

• Whilst the Panel supports the proposed suspension, it would state that in light of the evidence presented above further consideration should be given to repeal the legislation prior to the 30th April 2020.

Regulation of Care (Standards and Requirements) (Jersey) Regulations 2018 Regulation 14 of the draft Regulations  

Amendments are made to this Law by the  Regulation of Care (Standards and Requirements) (Covid-19 – Temporary Amendments) (Jersey) Regulations 2020, which inserts new Regulations 3A, 17A, 32A and 34A. These inserted Regulations will be REPEALED on 30th September 2020.

• These amendments were intended to give registered providers of adult day care, care home and home care services greater flexibility to manage the potential impact of the outbreak of Covid-19 if their services were affected. The Regulation of Care (Jersey) Law 2014 provides a legislative framework for the independent regulation of health and social care in Jersey. It is underpinned by a series of Regulations,  covering  each  regulated  activity  listed  under  the  Law.  The aforementioned Law established the independent Jersey Care Commission (JCC). The 2018 Regulations, which provide for the regulation of home care, adult day care  and  care  home  services,  including  children's  residential  homes,  were adopted by the States Assembly in October 2018 and came into force on 1st January 2019;

• The  Panel  examined  part  of  these  Regulations,  specifically  in  relation  to the impact it would have on children's residential homes. At the time, the Panel received  significant  representation  from  Jersey  Cares  on  25th  March  2020, outlining  their  concerns  about  the  message  the  changes  adopted  by these Regulations would send out. Whilst it was understood that the need for an agile response was required, it was deemed that loosening the regulation and  inspection  of  children's  residential  homes  was  not  in  keeping  with  a number of strategic policies and guidelines of the Government;

• The Panel held a number of discussions with the Minister for Children and Housing  about  this  matter  over  April  and  May  2020.  Unfortunately,  these discussions, and discussions between the Minister and Jersey Cares, appeared to reach somewhat of an impasse when balancing the requirement of the Regulations against the concerns being raised. Noting now that the Regulations are due to be repealed, the Panel is pleased that this decision has been taken and expects that the regulation and inspection of children's residential homes will now return to what was in place prior to the Covid-19 outbreak. It will, of course, continue to monitor this particularly important area as things progress.

3. The Panel also agrees with the decisions made in relation to the following pieces of legislation that also fall within its remit:

Marriage and Civil Status (Jersey) Law 2001 and the Civil Partnership (Jersey) Law 2012

Regulations 20 and 23 of the draft Regulations

The Marriage and Civil Status (Jersey) Law 2001 is amended by the Marriage and Civil Status (Amendment of Law) (Covid-19 – Temporary Amendment) (Jersey) Regulations  2020,  which  insert  a  new  Article  49A.  That  Article  49A  is  partly overwritten by the amendments in the Marriage and Civil Status (Amendment of Law No. 2) (Covid-19 – Temporary Amendment) (Jersey) Regulations 2020, and those parts which remain will be SUSPENDED on 30th September 2020.

The  Marriage  and  Civil  Status  (Jersey)  Law  2001 is  further  amended  by  the Marriage and Civil Status (Amendment of Law No. 2) (Covid-19 – Temporary Amendment) (Jersey) Regulations 2020, which modifies new Article 49A. All of new Article 49A will be SUSPENDED on 30th September 2020.

Both the Marriage and Civil Status Jersey) Law 2001 and the Civil Partnership (Jersey) Law 2012 are amended by the Covid-19 (Civil Partnership and Marriage) (Jersey) Regulations 2020.

These amendments resulting from these Regulations will be EXTENDED until 30th April 2021 as, according to the proposition, they have proved to be an effective way of managing the process while minimising personal contact requirements.

Both the The Marriage and Civil Status (Jersey) Law 2001 and the Civil Partnership (Jersey) Law 2012 are further amended by the Covid-19 (Civil Partnership and Marriage  No.  2)  (Jersey)  Regulations  2020.  The  amendments  made  by  these Regulations will be partly EXTENDED until 30th April 2021 and partly SUSPENDED from 30th September 2020 as detailed below.

Orders

In addition, several Orders under those Laws are amended. These are subordinate changes that must be made to reflect the treatment of the amendments to their primary laws as detailed above.

Civil Partnership (Approved Premises) (Jersey) Order 2012: Regulation 21 of the draft Regulations  

• Amendments  are  partly  EXTENDED  until  30th  April  2021  and  partly SUSPENDED from 30th September 2020 to give effect to the treatment of the Covid-19 (Civil Partnership and Marriage No. 2) (Jersey) Regulations 2020.  

Civil Partnership (Forms, Registration and Fees) (Jersey) Order 2012: Regulation 22 of the draft Regulations  

• Amendments are EXTENDED until 30th April 2021.

Marriage and Civil Status (Jersey) Order 2018: Regulation 24 of the draft Regulations

• Amendments are EXTENDED until 30th April 2021.

These comments were presented after the 12:00pm deadline on Friday 4th September due to resource implications arising from the Panel's current workload.