March 18, 2022

There is one Government Bill to be i ntroduced today and this Bill is in the name of the Mi nister of Social Development.
Minister, would you like to table your Bill?

Hon. Tinee Furbert: Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker.

FIRST READING

CHILDREN AMENDMENT ACT 2022

Hon. Tinee Furbert: Mr. Speaker, I am introducing
the following Bill for its first reading so that it can be
placed on the Order Paper for the next day of meeting, namely the Children Amendment Act 2022. Thank
you.

And we start with resumption in Committee of Supply for further consideration of the Est imates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year
2022/23.
Today, as always, there are eight hours set
aside for the period of the Budget Debate. Today the
first three hours are for the Ministry of Finance. The
next five hours after that will be for National Security.
As I have said each time, for the listening audience, once we start the debate, it is in Comm ittee of Supply,
which means that the Speaker cannot be in the Chamber. The Committee process will be in the hands
of the Deputy Speaker, who is the Head of the Panel
of Chairmen, and the respective Members who sit on
that panel.
Today’s first session for the next three hours,
under the Ministry of Finance debate will be chaired
by MP Famous. Before we turn the House over to MP Famous, can we have the Premier move us into
Committee?

Hon. E. David Burt: Greetings, Mr. Speaker.

Good afternoon, Mr. Speaker.
Honourable Members and listening public, we
are now in resumption of the Committee of Supply for
further consideration of the Estimates of Revenue and
Expenditure for the year 2022/23. Today we will be debating the Ministry of Finance. The Honourable
Premier will be leading that, and he will be discussing Heads 10, 11, 12, 28, 38, 39 and 58.


Bermuda House of Assembly Honourable Premier, Minister of Finance, you
now have the floor.

Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, I move that t he Committee of
Supply now take under consideration the following
Heads, 10, Ministry of Finance, Headquarters; Head
11, Accountant General; Head 12, Customs; Head 28,
Social Insurance; Head 38, Office of the Tax Commi ssioner; Head 39, Registrar of Compani es; and Head
58, Debt and Loan Guarantees.

So moved, Honourable Premier.

MINISTRY OF FINANCE

HEAD 10 —MINISTRY OF FINANCE
HEADQUARTERS
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, very much, Mr.
Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, the 2022/23 budget estimates
for the Ministry of Finance Headquarters, Head 10,
may be found in section B of the Estimates Book on pages B -104 through B -126, and in section C on pa ges C -4, Capital Development; and C -11, Capital A cquisitions; and C -18, Grants.
The Finance Ministry comprises six depar tments, led by the Ministry of Finance Headquarters, and includes the Accountant General, Customs Rev enue, Department of Social Insurance, the Office of the
Tax Commissioner and the Registrar of Companies.
Allocations to cover the interest on gov ernment debt
and contributions to the sinking fund and guarantee
management are also included in the Finance Mini stry’s budget.
The Ministry has the total staffing establis hment of 156 posts and an aggregate current account
budget of $239.6 million, and i s responsible for co llecting $928.3 million, or 86 per cent, of all gover nment revenue. A snapshot of key information for the
Ministry of Finance is shown on page B -104 of the
Estimates Book.
The Department Current Account allocations
are as follows:
• Head 10—Ministry of Finance Headquarters,
$6,943,000, a decrease of $9,946,000, or
59 per cent.
• Head 11— Accountant General, $87,289,000,
an increase of $15,028,000, or 21 per cent.
• Head 12— Customs. The Customs budget sits
under the Ministry of National Security , although the Ministry of Finance maintains r esponsibility for the customs tariff and revenue
collections.
• Head 28— Social Insurance, $3,942,000 a decrease of $669,000, or 15 per cent. • [Head 38] —Office of the Tax Commissioner,
$4,113,000, an [increase] of $428,000, or
12 per cent.
• Head 39—Registrar of Companies, $7,602,000,
an increase of $2,785,000, or 58 per cent.
• [Head 58] —Interest on Long- Term Debt,
$129,750,000, an increase of $200,000, or 2 per
cent.
The executive and senior officials in the Ministr y
of Finance Headquarters include the following:
• Acting Financial Secretary, Mrs. Cheryl -Ann Li ster;
• Assistant Financial Secretary International A ffairs and Regulatory, Ms. Pamela Burrows;
• Assistant Financial Secretary for the Treaty
Management and Admi nistration, Mr. Wayne
Brown;
• Director of Budget, Mrs. Tina Tucker;
• Acting Accountant General, Mrs. Dionne Morr ison-Shakir;
• Collector of Customs, Mrs. Lucinda Pearman;
• Tax Commissioner, Mr. Derek Rawlins;
• Director of Social Insurance, Mrs. Karen Daniels
• Registrar of Companies, Mr. Kenneth Joaquin.
The presentation of the National Budget Stat ement on Friday, February 25, marked the official start of
the Budget Debate in this Honourable House. It now gives me great pleasure to present the budget for the Ministry of Finance.
The Ministry of Finance plays a pivotal role in
the ongoing stability and prosperity of Bermuda, partic ularly in light of the serious local and global economic un-certainty currently faced by our country and other countries around the worl d.
Over the last five years since this Government
has taken office, you would have noticed a recurring
theme, that is, the Government’s resolve to a consistent strategy to diversify and strengthen Bermuda’s economy
while stabilising the Island’s debt. The key areas of focus
in the strategy are
• targeted investment and tax policy to enhance
economic growth by attracting investment that creates jobs;
• making Bermuda’s tax system more fair while reducing tax burden for workers;
• modernising Bermuda’s regulator y regime; and
finally
• maintaining fiscal discipline by meeting budget targets. We have a responsibility to the people of this
country to provide the best fiscal and economic management possible. And to this end the Ministry of F inance will continue to make the necessary decisions
required to grow Bermuda’s economy and reduce the tax burden on workers.
Mr. Chairman, on the heels of a lasting global
pandemic, Bermuda continues to be faced with signif icant challenges which if not appropriately managed can damage our economic security and stability. To that end,
the budget of the Ministry of Finance has been carefully constructed and appropriately built to ensure that the
962 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Ministry’s in -house team supported by various external
stakeholders are able to lead the Government’s fiscal
and economic policies aptly and responsibly.
In light of the ever -increasing threats facing
Bermuda, ensuring that the Ministry continues to be appropriately resourced continues to be a priority. To this
end, during the past year, revi ews of resources in key
areas were undertaken and active steps have already
been taken to address the identified gaps. The additional funds required has therefore been included in the cost estimates for relevant units and departments contributing to the si gnificant increases in some areas.
Moving on to the mission statement and key
goals and objectives. Mr. Chairman, the mission stat ement of the Ministry of Finance is found on page B -104
reads as follows: To supervise the economy of Bermuda
generally and to provide overall financial management
and control of all government activities.
In line with this, I highlight some of the Ministry’s
key objectives.
1) Formulate and adhere to sound and prudent fi scal policies to achieve financial stability and promote stable and sustainable economic growth.
2) Provide strategic direction and an overall framework for effective financial management
and control of government activities, and provide
an appropriate framework for effective compl iance to safeguard Bermuda’s economic inter-ests in the face of challenges and threats in a changing global economy.
3) Prepare, implement and closely monitor the national budget.
4) To safeguard the assets of government by ensuring adequate controls are established and
are being followed by all sec tors of government.
5) To administer the collection of taxes and stamp duties in accordance with the tax legislation and to provide professional advice to the Ministry of Finance.
6)
To ensure and support the fair, coherent and
predictable development of financ ial services
and other relevant legislation and appropriat ely monitor its implementation consistent with international standards.

7) To monitor the internationally agreed tax standards, seek to influence changes thereto, adhere
to its compliance requirements and be proactive
in treaty negotiations with respect to tax information exchange agreements and the exchange of tax information.
Mr. Chairman, I will now speak to the various
units which comprise the Ministry of Finance Headquarters.

HEAD 10 —MINISTRY OF FINANCE
HEADQUARTERS

Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, core functions of
the Ministry Headquarters are conducted under Head 10, Ministry of Finance Headquarters, which can be found on pages B -105.
The work undertaken by the Ministry HQ is
carried out thr ough following units: Policy, Planning
and Management; Fiscal Planning and Control; International Affairs and Regulatory; Domestic Affairs and
Economic Policy; Treaty Management and Admi nistration; Office of the National Anti -Money Laundering
Committee.
In discharging its functions under the overall
policy direction of the Minister of Finance, the Ministry
of Finance Headquarters seeks to achieve the follo wing outcomes: a Bermuda that maintains its position
as a domicile of choice for international busines s; a
Bermuda where citizens have confidence in the Go vernment’s stewardship of the public purse; a Bermuda
where funding and resources are available for key programmes and initiatives; a Bermuda where citizens
regard Government’s policy responses to econom ic
and financial challenges as appropriate and in the n ational interest.
Mr. Chairman, in seeking to fulfil this mandate, the Ministry of Finance Headquarters has a staff establishment of 22 permanent full -time posts, and its
total budget for 2022/23 is $6,943,000. This allocation
is reduced by $9,946,000 from the previous fiscal
year, primarily due to the lack of a dedicated COVID -
19 budget for which $10 million was allocated to the
Ministry of Finance in 2021/22. This omission is not an
oversight. Instead it supports the Government policy
of living with COVID -19 as Bermuda, very necessarily,
moves forward for both an economic and operational perspective to move beyond the pandemic.
Mr. Chairman, the budget for Ministry Headquarters includes an operational element for each of the six programme areas within Ministry Headquarters, plus grant funding to the Pension Commission
and the Bermuda Public Accountability Board. D etailed information on each of these Headquarter cost
centres, as well as the other departm ents who form
part of the Ministry of Finance are incorporated into
this submission.
Cost centre 20000, Policy, Planning, and
Management, $1,89 5,000, a decrease of $742,000, or
28 per cent. Mr. Chairman, the 2022 budget estimate
for the Policy, Planning, a nd Management Unit is under the leadership of the Acting Financial Secretary,
as I said before, and it provides overall strategic direction, oversight and management of Ministry Headquarters and the departments that comprise the Mini stry of Finance. In add ition, this unit manages the administration of activities associated with the daily operation of the Ministry of Finance Headquarters. The
decrease in proposed expenditure is primarily due to a
redistribution of costs of external consultants to assist the Ministry in accomplishing its mandate.
Mr. Chairman, the 2022/23 Fiscal Planning
and Control Unit budget, cost centre 20010, is $584,000, an increase of $60,000, or 11 per cent over


Bermuda House of Assembly 2021/22. This unit is known as the Budget Team. It is
primarily responsib le for the management, collection
and collation of the annual budget of the Consolidated
Fund, the monitoring and control of overall gover nment revenue and expenditures on both capital accounts and current accounts. This unit is also tasked
with the responsibility of reviewing and developing the
[Government’s] annual capital expenditure plan. The
budget for this unit is $584,000.
The Budget Team, under the leadership of the
Budget Director provides advice and guidance to de-partment heads and controllers on both the formul ation of ministry budgets and on budget monitoring and
control. As part of the budget monitoring and control
exercises, all ministries and departments are required to review expenditure performance and to confirm on
a monthly basis their cur rent and capital account expenditure performance with the Budget Office.
The Budget team continued to work diligently
with ministries and departments in 2021/22 to assist
and manage the financial impact of the COVID -19
pandemic expenditures, expected to be $35.1 million
in this fiscal year, while also ensuring that the deficit target of $124.7 million was not breached. As part of a
detailed mid- year budget review exercise, ministries
were able to identify savings in revenue increases to offset the COVID -19 expenditures and additional unanticipated expenditures projected for 2021/22. This
exercise has enabled a revised projection for the
2021/22 budget downward to $117.4 million, $7.3 mi llion below the originally projected deficit of $124 mi llion.
Mr. Chairman, I am about to bring up a very
important point, so I want to make sure you can hear
this one, because it is important.
Mr. Chairman, it should be noted that since
Budget Day it is projected that this deficit will narrow
further by an additional $5 million due to additional
revenue and a budgeted reduction in supplementary expenses tabled earlier today.

I did not quite hear that, Honourable
Premier. Would you repeat that please?

Hon. E. David Burt: I am happy to do that, Mr.
Chairman.
Mr. C hairman, it should be noted that since
Budget Day it is projected that this deficit will narrow
further by another $5 million due to additional revenue
and a budgeted reduction in supplementary expenses
tabled earlier today. It is important to remember, Mr .
Chairman, that the Government did commit to any
further saving being returned to taxpayers in the form
of reductions in energy taxes. So we are already on
our way to identify $5 million of savings that will take
us above our budget target.
Moving forward, Mr. Chairman, controlling
Government expenditure is a critical point of prudent fiscal management strategy and has been and still remains a commitment of the Government of Berm uda. In order to determine the high- policy priority pr ogrammes, the Budget Off ice has continued to utilise
zero-based budgeting methodology for the develo pment of 2022/23 estimates.
Policy prioritisation at the start of the budget
process facilitates a better alignment of the allocation
of limited resources with Government’s overal l policy
initiatives and objectives.
The ZZB (Zero -based budgeting) process enabled ministries and departments to re- examine their
services and the impact on service delivery with the
ability to deliver on the Government’s Economic R ecovery Plan and Throne Speech initiatives. The final
2022/23 estimates have enabled the Government to provide further relief to Bermudians and reduce the
budget deficit from the original $124.7 million in 2021/22 to a $17 million target in 2022/23.
Mr. Chairman, the salary prov ision of
$428,854 accounts for 70 per cent of the Budget
Team’s allocation for 2022/23 and provides for four positions for the fiscal year. For this fiscal year the department has set objectives to provide support for
the open budget process; enhance budget monitoring
and reporting; and the development of budget preparation methodologies.
Mr. Chairman, moving on to cost centre
20020. The 2022/23 budget estimate for the Interna-tional Affairs and Regulatory Unit, which I will refer to
as the Regulatory Unit going forward, is $468,000, an
increase of $33,000 over fiscal year 2021/22.
The Regulatory Unit is the lead policy division
in relation to the financial services sector within the Ministry of Finance and is led by the Assistant Financial Secretary for R egulation. In progressing the Government’s financial services policies agenda the unit
works with government teams, the Ministry of F inance, the Bermuda Monetary Authority, the Attorney
General’s Chambers, the National Anti -Money Laundering Committee, the Bermuda Public Accountability
Board, the Chartered Professional Accountants of
Bermuda, and specialist global partners.
For projects with multiple stakeholder groups
and issues, the Regulatory Unit also undertakes to
enhance context -specific engagement wit h various
categories of stakeholders at home and abroad.
The Regulatory Unit operates in response to a
broad range of opportunities and risks, which allows the Ministry to contribute actively to a continuous flow
of information on potential threats and opportun ities to
Bermuda and its reputation. The Ministry’s planned response to these challenges through various goals
focuses on advancing the unit’s priorities and reflec ting the outcomes the people of Bermuda de serve.
These goals are:
1. to ensure and support the fair, coherent
and predictable development of financial services and other relevant regulations
and appropriately monitor its implement a964 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly tion consistent with international standards;
2. to strengthen the capacity to secure regulatory solutions to eco nomic security i ssues;
3. to strengthen the public diplomacy and
support bilateral and multi -lateral engagement.
Mr. Chairman, in order to achieve its priorities
and pursuant to the business plan of the Ministry of
Finance, the Unit will undertake key strategic owne rship goals in 2022/23, which include matters related to
the Bermuda Regulatory Authority. The Regulatory
Unit will lead the policy component of the Ministry of
Finance in the areas of financial services. This work is presently expected to cover amendments to various
financial sectors to provide a framework across a
range of financial institutions and all supervisory
frameworks. In addition, the unit will continue to work
with various stakeholders on legislation that will expe-dite the expansion and reform of Bermuda’s banking sector.
Mr. Chairman, in the Budget Statement I mentioned that work will be progressed in relation to the
establishment of banking codes, a reduction of mortgage costs and the establishment of paramet ers for
banking fees. This wor k will be progressed in the upcoming year in conjunction with the Bermuda Monetary Authority and relevant stakeholders.
Continuing with goals, Mr. Chairman, matters
relating to the European Union, the Regulatory Unit will continue to work with the Bermuda Public A ccountability Board and the European Union Council to
coordinate the Board’s compliance with the European
Union Audit Directive. In addition, the unit will work
with the relevant parties as necessary in relation to
the EU engagement strategy of th e Ministry of F inance and the EU initiatives regarding financial services, tax transparency as well as other matters related to the exchange of information.
Moving on to matters related to the National
Anti-Money Laundering Committee and compliance
with t he Financial Action Task Force and international
standards on combating money laundering and the
financing of terrorism and proliferation.
Mr. Chairman, the Regulatory Unit will contribute to and support the implementation of Berm uda’s anti -money launderi ng strategy, together with the
National Anti -Money Laundering Committee and its
working group.
Moving on to other matters, Mr. Chairman, the
Regulatory Unit will also [when] appropriate provide
input into relevant United Kingdom matters, as well as
assist in advocacy and engagement initiatives. As has
been the case in previous years, the unit will continue
to play a key role in implementing the direct domestic engagement programme of the Ministry of Finance
with C -suite executives of Bermuda- based companies
together with financial services stakeholder groups such as our local union partners supplemented by
ministerial level meetings to support regulatory objectives.
Mr. Chairman, in 2021/22 the Regulatory Unit
was primarily focused on technical and strategi c assistance regarding the financial services sector in matters relating out of Bermuda’s 2020 AML/CFT (that is
anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism) Mutual Evaluation and international tax matters.
Additional milestones achieved by the Regulatory Unit
in 2021/22 included: maintaining regulatory stability by
ensuring completion of the Ministry of Finance components of various regulatory policy initiatives in the
area of financial services including, but not limited to,
insurance, banking appeals and investment business.
Further improved awareness and understand ing among C -suite executives in the financial
services sector of Bermuda’s economic model and the
Government’s COVID -19 response supported delivery
of the Government’s economic rec overy plan objectives. Working in collaboration with the Association of
Bermuda Insurers and R einsurers and the Association
of Bermuda I nternational Companies , the Ministry of
Finance completed 52 direct meetings with C -suite
executives. Throughout the year this work also inclu ded quarterly and/or monthly meetings with multiple industry stakeholders at home and abroad in collab oration with the National Anti -Money Laundering Committee, agencies achieving successful completion of amendments to the Proceeds of Crime framework
regarding the international financial services sector.
Mr. Chairman, the unit’s primary role going
forward in the next year will be to continue to work with the relevant finance teams, the Cabinet Office,
the Bermuda Monetary Authority to meet Bermuda’s
domestic and international commitments and to i mplement the structural adjustments to the Regulatory
Unit as outlined in the main body of the Statement.
Mr. Chairman, a salary provision of
$395,516.41 accounts for 85 per cent of the Regulat ory Unit’s allocation for the next fiscal year, which c overs three posts.
Mr. Chairman, moving on to cost centre
20030, the 2022/23 budget allocation for Domestic
Affairs and Economic Policy is $431,000, an increase
of $53,000 or 14 per cent over fiscal year 2021/22.
This unit provides research and analysis of economic
and financial conditions to help facilitate sound dec isions on public policy and fiscal management. R esponsibilities of the staff in the unit include economic
forecasts, economic modelling, projections of GDP, and the development of key economic indicators.
Analysis and commentary on economic and financial
statistics are provided, and an annual and mid- year
review and outlook are produced. The unit also manages the relationship with credit rat ing agencies.
Mr. Chairman, the unit constantly reviews our
debt management policy in order to take advantage of favourable market conditions. When financing the defBermuda House of Assembly icit, the Ministry’s most important objective is to pr ovide the government with stable financing at a minimal
cost, under the prevailing financial market conditions.
The Economic and Financial Intelligence Unit ther efore maintains a relationship with both domestic and
international banks to be kept abreast of capital market developments that wi ll provide an opportunity to
either refinance current government debt at less expensive rates and/or to provide the best opportunity in
which to finance the current year’s fiscal deficit.
As mentioned in the 2022/23 Budget [Stat ement] a key upcoming challenge is related to the need to refinance almost $1 billion (that’s billion, with a “b”)
in government debt over the next two years with approximately $500 million of that $1 billion maturing
during this current fiscal year of 2022/23. To that end,
the unit has already commenced important work to
refinance this debt in consideration of market rates
and terms.
Mr. Chairman, the unit also provides advice to
various government boards and quangos and is clos ely involved in the administration of numerous customs duty relief regimes, including duty relief provided to
hotels, restaurants and retailers, entertainers and ot hers. In addition, this unit oversees the public pension funds, along with the Bermuda Public Funds Inves tment Committee and works with the Pension Co mmission to achieve its mandate.
Mr. Chairman, other important initiatives to be
actioned by the Domestic Affairs and Economic Policy
Unit in the upcoming fiscal year include the following:
1. Playing a critical role in monitoring the
impact of Government’ s Economic R ecovery Plan.
2. Continuing to improve the sustainability of the Government’s funds, the Public Service Superannuation Fund and the Co ntributory Pension Fund. Work is currently
being done on strategies that will help to ensure the sustainability of the funds, and
this will be followed by stakeholder (this
includes employees, unions and taxpa yers) engagement to discuss the various
options and to collectively agree on a way
forward.
3. Continuing to work on the development of
econometric models for the forecasting of
key economic indicators in Government medium term fiscal data.
4. Progressing work in relation to the development of an unemployment insurance
programme.
5. Development of a plan and strategy to further reduce costs and efficiencies in rel ation t o provision of insurance for gover nment assets.
6. Conducting a review in regard to the setting of fuel prices at the pump with a view
to reducing the cost to consumers as much as possible, which I announced in
my Ministerial Statement today.
Mr. Chairman, t he salary provision of
$315,000 accounts for approximately 73 per cent of
the Economic and Financial Intelligence Unit’s alloc ation, and covers two posts.
Moving on to cost centre 20040, Mr. Chai rman, the 2022/23 budget for Treaty and Management Unit is $1 ,934,000. There is an increase of $935,000
to this budget allocation for this year.
Mr. Chairman, the Treaty Unit manages the
growing internationally agreed tax standards, such as
the global regime for automatic exchange of information for tax purposes, w hich exchange to the Mini stry’s tax reporting portal to over 100 countries that are
Bermuda’s tax information exchange partners. In add ition, the unit negotiates updates to Bermuda’s tax
treaty relationships when required and more appropr iately negotiates additional tax related agreements to
keep Bermuda current with changes to the OECD
standard for tax treaties and tax treaty relationships.
Mr. Chairman, a significant threat faced by
Bermuda’s international business sector in the last few fiscal years and in the coming fiscal year is the
G20, OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting initiative,
otherwise known as BEPS, and the work being done
in that regard. Mr. Chairman, there have been signif icant developments during fiscal year 2021/22 in rel ation to the in itiative which has been highly publicised
and resulted in significant work by the OECD and key
jurisdictions to progress this agenda.
The Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Pillar 2
calls for a minimum global tax rate of 15 per cent for
corporations and has now been endorsed and thus
mandated on the G20 to be effective by or before the
end of 2023 to operate in tandem with BEPS Pillar 1.
BEPS Pillar 1 involves the sharing of taxing rights between countries based on where the multi -national
company’s product or service is consumed. The Mi nistry of Finance team has had extensive involvement
in the OECD discussions and has been an active participant in all of the relevant working groups.
Mr. Chairman, while both the timing and i mplementation of any such measures remains highly
uncertain, the potential impact on Bermuda’s attractiveness as a base for international corporates is also
uncertain. Therefore, as Premier, I have over the current fiscal year joined the efforts of the prior Minister
of Finance in discussi ons with key jurisdictions at the
political level and otherwise on these critical matters. There has also been considerable communication with industry partners on these important matters.
Mr. Chairman, BEPS Pillar 1 alters the several
decades old international taxing rights so as to include taxing income on all business sectors and industries
earned from the digitisation of the global economies
whereby such income is perceived to presently fall outside the current international taxing rights fram ework. BEPS Pillar 2 seeks to implement a global mi n966 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly imum corporate income tax rate of 15 per cent, irr espective if the international companies are located in
jurisdictions that currently do not apply a corporate
income tax of at least 15 per cent, as in such cases
overseas countries will be able to take the 15 per cent
corporate income tax.
Mr. Chairman, a key benefit is that all non -
income tax jurisdictions have, under the BEPS Pi llar 2, to attain that BEPS Pillar 2 does not make it
mandatory for any jurisdiction to adopt the global mi nimum tax of 15 per cent into domestic tax law. Mr.
Chairman, therefore Bermuda does not have to adopt the 15 per cent corporate income tax, but if Bermuda
does not, then other countries are entitled to take the
tax from Bermuda inter national companies.
The framework also allows for jurisdictions to
adopt what is known as domestic top- up tax to collect
tax that would otherwise be paid by Bermuda companies to another jurisdiction. These provisions allow
Bermuda to carefully consider and consult with our
international business stakeholders as to how Berm uda’s tax regime can be revised in ways that work best
for the Government and industry as partners working
together to make Bermuda more fair while enhancing
Bermuda’s attractiveness as a leading and preferred
centre for international business.
Mr. Chairman, all Members will recall that last
year this Government proactively passed legislation to embody another tax reform commission. The legisl ation is there and I am poised to embody the ne w tax
reform commission. Once that commission tables its initial reports the Government will use it to inform our
ongoing work with our industry stakeholders to mod-ernise Bermuda’s economy to appropriately address
the changing international taxation standards and
Bermuda’s domestic tax structure in ways that will be
beneficial for the people of Bermuda and those ent ities that do business in and from Bermuda.
Mr. Chairman, special thanks must be extended to the Association of Bermuda International
Companies , the Association of Bermuda Insurers and
Reinsurers, and the Bermuda International Long- Term
Insurers and Reinsurers. Their senior officials and
their international tax experts have provided considerable expertise and support in this critical work.
Mr. C hairman, in addition to the extensive policy work noted, the Treaty Unit also administers
OECD assessment standards for tax information exchange agreements, better known as TIEAs, OECD
counter reporting standards, known as CRS, OECD
country -by-country reporting, known as CBCR, and
OECD cybersecurity also is necessary and interfaces
with the EU who developed extensive oversight and
compliance regime in OECD matters. Ensuring that
there is appropriate compliance with all of these r equirements is critical to B ermuda’s standing and reputation as a cooperative jurisdiction. And failures in this regard can have negative consequences for any
coun try and businesses registered here. Mr. Chairman, currently there are three Treaty
Unit posts which have been supported b y external
consultants to ensure that the increasing compliance
and exchange of information work is appropriately
managed. Mr. Chairman, the budget for the unit for 2022, as I said earlier in rounded numbers of $1.934
million will see a corresponding increase. This i ncrease to the unit’s budget is necessary to address
the activity that is anticipated in the fiscal year ahead
regarding international tax threats against jurisdictions
like Bermuda. As noted above, Bermuda must take the necessary action to remain in good standing with
both the OECD and the European Union.
The unit has a budgeted staff allocation of
four, and an aggregate budgeted salary of $438,769. An additional $450,000 is included in the Treaty U nit’s
budget to cover the cost of consultants t o support the
Ministry’s work. Additionally, $510,000 is allocated to the unit’s core administrative function related to the
necessary support and services for the international
tax reporting portal.
Mr. Chairman, the work to be carried out by
the Treaty U nit in the following year will include co ntinuation of the following:
1) Negotiating tax information exchange
agreements and other agreements relating to tax information exchange and associated agreements or negotiating rev isions to existing tax agreements to maintain Bermuda’s tax agreement relatio nships with member countries of the EU, G20, OECD, and any other countries.
2) Progress necessary initiatives to keep Bermuda compliant with the OECD tax standards particularly during a period of
possible revisions to Bermuda’s domestic
tax regime.
3) Administering requests for exchange of
tax-related information on the by -request
basis, otherwise known as EOIR, r eceived from Bermuda’s over 100 partner
countries.
4) Ongoing policy developments, negoti ation, advocacy in relat ion to international
tax matters.
Moving on to cost centre 20100, Mr. Chai rman. The purpose of the Office of the National Anti -
Money Laundering Committee [NAMLC] is to provide
secretariat support to NAMLC to enable the Ministry of
Finance to achieve the objective of advancing the
Government’s Anti -Money Laundering and Anti -
Terrorist Financing [AML/ATF] framework policy initi atives, monitoring for changes in the international
standards and for relevant legal developments that
will affect Bermuda, supporting legislative and policy
development to address such changes, and coordinat-ing measures to enhance Bermuda’s AML/ATF r egime. This requires the Office to be responsible for the
administration of NAMLC’s national activities, such as


Bermuda House of Assembly the assessment of Bermuda’s national money lau ndering and terrorist financing risk and managing the
reviews of Bermuda’s anti -money laundering anti -
terrorist financing regimes by external bodies.
Through its established coordination and c ooperation mechanisms, NAMLC ensures that Berm uda has a strong effective regime to combat money
laundering. terrorism financing and the financing of
proliferation. And these c ompetent authorities assist
international counterparts in the effort to help address
these i ssues on a global scale.
Mr. Chai rman, the Office of NAMLC’s budget
for the fiscal year 2022/23 is $931,000, a decrease of approximately $185,000, or 17 per cent, from fiscal
2021/22. The minimum funding required to achieve the provision of secretariat services to NAMLC including to meet Bermuda’s financial obligations to the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force [CFATF] is approximately $786,000, a marginal increase compared
to 2021/22. This increase is mainly attributable to public service salaries which returned to normal after they were reduced for part of the previous fiscal year due
to the pandemic -related austerity measures, as well
as the CFATF annual contribution being returned to a
normal level after a 2021 discount which was afforded
to all members due to the pandemic.
NAMLC cont inues to operate exclusively in
virtual mode resulting in the costing of NAMLC’s overall budget for operations being lower compared to prepandemic levels.
Mr. Chairman, over the last several years
NAMLC’s critical focus has been on the achievement of exc ellence in compliance with the Financial Action
Task Force technical standards and on ensuring the
effectiveness of Bermuda’s AML/ATF framework. The
benefits of this work were born out in Bermuda’s 2020
Mutual Evaluation Report which confirmed that Bermuda has built and is operating a technically compl iant and broadly effective framework, the goal of which
is to combat and minimise the occurrence of money
laundering and terrorist financing in Bermuda.
A significant component of the framework is
Bermuda’s excellent track record for maintaining a
sound understanding of our money laundering and
terrorist financing risks in which NAMLC plays the
primary role. Given the continued importance of Ber-muda’s ongoing economic success for sustaining this
achievement during financial year 2021/22 a key f ocus for NAMLC was the completion of Bermuda’s
2020 money laundering national risk assessment
(which I will refer to as the MLNRA). This follows
completion of the terrorist financing national risk as-sessment in June 2020, consistent with the requir ements of Bermuda’s national AML/ATF policy which
requires each of these assessments to be refreshed
every three years as part of a continued adherence to FATF requirements and best practice in this area. The
updated understanding of risk gained from these ex-ercises undergirds the national strategy to counter
both money laundering and terrorist financing.
The money laundering NRA which commenced in November 2020 was completed in July
2021. This was a substantial project which requ ired
extensive collaboration, data gathering and analysis,
as well as outreach and engagement to other public
sector and private sector stakeholders.
Mr. Chairman, during fiscal 2021/22 NAMLC
also carried out work to address Bermuda’s Mutual
Evaluation Re port as well as some technical compl iance deficiencies also identified there. Some of these
require legislative actions to be taken, others require
training and other operational measures to be executed. The offices coordinated one legislative initiative
during this year culminating in the enactment in Fe bruary 2022 of the Proceeds of Crime Amendment Act 2022. NAMLC has also commenced the preparation
of Bermuda’s first report to CFATF o n our progress in
addressing the asses sor’s recommendations and
identified deficiencies. The first report is due to be
submitted to the CFATF secretariat in March 2022 for discussion at the May 2022 CFATF plenary. Work to
prepare this report began in July 2021 and is still ongoing.
Mr. Chairman, as previously noted through
the work of NAMLC, Bermuda has achieved an excellent mutual evaluation rating. In their report of 2022,
where Bermuda ranked [with] some of the highest in
the world, was a success for this country. However,
Bermuda cannot now sit on its laurels as FATF,
CFAT F and the European Union impose stringent
penalties for failure to achieve required levels of co mpliance in these areas. Therefore, NAMLC’s focus continues to be to ensure that Bermuda maintains its
position as a global leader in the fight to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation [f inancing], especially in the face of periodic changes
made by FATF to the international policy standards.
Therefore, in accordance with the n ational
AML/ATF policy, action plan and strategy Bermuda’s
AML/ATF programme will continue to be advanced
during this period. The key initiatives for which the
Office will provide support to NAMLC during this fiscal
year are as follows:
• Coordinating Bermuda’s preparation for the
May 2022 plenary. As part of this process, all
submissions from Bermuda will be facilitated through the Office of NAMLC.
• Finalising preparation of publication of the
consolidated report on the findings of Berm uda’s most recent national assessments of
money laundering and terrorist financing r isks.
• Finalise the work to update the National antimoney laundering and counter financing of terrorism [AML/CFT ] action plan and strategy
as well as the national AML/ATF policy to mi tigate the money laundering and terrorist f inancing list and any outstand ing deficiencies
968 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly identified in the recently conducted money
laundering and terrorist financing national risk
assessment.
• Identify, organise and facilitate training for
NAMLC member agencies in accordance with
the emerging risks and in accordance with
agree d priorities to generally enhance
NAMLC’s knowledge and awareness in the
areas of proliferation financing risks, money
laundering involving the misuse of cryptocurrencies and to strengthen technical understanding of Bermuda sectors and products.
• Commence the process of consultation on
proposed legislative initiatives and develo pment of policies and strategies to address
outstanding technical compliance deficiencies
identified in the mutual evaluation report and
to address new requirements set out by FATF or specific FATF recommendations during
Bermuda’s second follow -up reports.
I now move on Mr. Chairman, to additional d etails of the 2022/23 budget for the Ministry of Finance Headquarters.
Mr. Chairman, the Salary provision for the
NAMLC is $498,000, an i ncrease of approximately
$40,000 relating to the ending of austerity measures.
Local training has been increased to $50,000,
up from $15,000. The overseas training budget has
been reduced to $25,000 down from $35,000, due to
the increase in virtual offeri ngs in this area.
The other major recurring item of costs in this
unit remains largely unchanged.
Sincere thanks to Ms. Paula Tyndale who led
the department as national coordinator and continues to provide support for this unit.
Mr. Chairman, I will now move on to cost centre 20097, National Health Emergency. The Ministry of
Finance has not included a budget allocation for
COVID -19 expenditure in 2022/23. While the Go vernment Ministry has been tasked with including any
ongoing relevant expenditures within t heir budgets,
this is in line with the Government’s focus of living with COVID -19.
Cost centre 20070, Pension Commission
grants. The Pension Commission is a corporate body established under the National Pension Scheme (O ccupational Pensions) Act 1998 and i ts functions i nclude:
• administration of the Act and the Regulations including monitoring and enforcing compl iance;
• verification of the payment benefits under
pension plans;
• promotion of public education of pension plans and their benefits;
• advise the Minis ter and provide required i nformation on any matter related to pensions including development of laws related to pension plans. Mr. Chairman, the Commission also has r esponsibility for the administration of the Pension Trust Funds Act [1966] and pension tr usts established and
administered under this Act.
Mr. Chairman, the proposed Grants on page
B-106 under Head 10, for the Commission for 2022/23
is $700,000, a 12.5 per cent decrease from the prev ious $800,000 grant in the 2021/22 budget. Like many
organisations in Bermuda, the Commission’s oper ations continue to be significantly impacted in 2021 by the pandemic. The Commission had to introduce ef-fective mechanisms to continue to provide uninterrupted services to plan members, employers, plan
administrators, plan trustees and members of the pu blic. In addition, priority was given to ensuring that the
safety of its employees was maintained with both safe
office -working space, as well as remote working c apability.
The Commission was also tasked with additional COVID -19 financial relief responsibilities that
were introduced by the Government. This comprised primarily providing both temporary and permanent access by active and retired plan members to their
pension fund balances. The Commission also had to
increas e oversight of plan administrators to ensure
that they were processing and paying refund applic ations within the required time frames.
Mr. Chairman, in particular, the following r efunds were granted:
• temporary refunds up to $12,000, which en ded on 30 June 2021, and a further $6,000
which began in July 2021 for persons under
age 65;
• small pension refunds for those reaching r etirement age of 65 of $50,000 and under from
their pension fund account balances;
• lump sum refunds for those reaching normal
retirement age up to 25 per cent of an appl icant’s pension fund account balance.
Mr. Chairman, these additional refunds pr ovided timely and substantial financial support to Ber-mudians who needed it. And I am pleased to provide
the following summary of the approved r efund pa yments up to 31 December 2021.
• temporary refunds —$188.7 million;
• small pension refunds —$5,680,000;
• 25 per cent lump sum refunds —$35,010,000.
Mr. Chairman, in relationship to other areas of
activities and responsibilities, I am pleased to advise
the following:
• During 2021, the Commission wound up 21
pension plans compared to 28 in 2020.
• Registered 63 plan amendments compared to 57 in 2020.
• Approved 27 plan trustees in comparison to
four in 2020.
• Initiated 21 civil actions against delinquent
employer s and their directors and officers
compared to two in 2020.


Bermuda House of Assembly • Conducted 19 compliance meetings with employers and plan members compared to 30 in
2020.
• Held one compliance meeting with plan a dministrators compared to two in 2020.
• Participated in four public and advisory committee meetings compared to 15 in 2020.
• Completed 31 transactions under the Pension Trust Fund Act 1966 compared to three in
2020.
As of 31 December 2021, based on estimates
and actual data received from plan administrators, the
National Pe nsion Scheme contained 49,324 plan
members and former members. There were a total of 3,203 employer plans and 3,188 of these were defined as contribution plans and 15 were defined as
benefit plans . The total value of assets under the N ational Pension Schem e was $3.8 billion, consisting of
$2.6 billion in employer plans and $1.2 billion in a pproved retirement products.
There are 544 self -employ ment plans, and
$267,000 of plan assets were transferred to overseas
retirement vehicles compared to $1,040,000 in 2020.
Mr. Chairman, moving on to a summary of f inancial hardship application statistics provided by the
Commission from its inception up to 31 December, as follows :
In relation to financial hardship applications:
• total applications received since August 10, the start date, were 3,710;
• approved applications 3,011;
• declined applications were 524;
• applications pending or withdrawn, 147;
• total amount approved $36.45 million.
The applications by type:
• eligible educational expenses were 1,169;
• imminent thre at of loss of principal residence,
were 477;
• imminent eviction for rent in arrears was
1,166;
• eligible medical expenses, 195;
• funeral expenses, four.
Mr. Chairman, looking ahead to the upcoming
year the Commission has a number of goals.
1. Complete the work to give individual plan
holders the ability to invest 5 per cent of their
pension directly in approved local inves tments.
2. Undertake a series of review of critical issues and challenges facing the Occupational Pension plan sector in Bermuda in order to make
recommendations to the Minister of Finance
on necessary legislative and/or policy adjus tments.
3. Introduce a financial awareness campaign on the importance of saving for retirement planning and the significant role that occupational pensions play in achieving successful retir ement outcomes.
4. Update its information technology applications
and resources, including revamping its we bsite to more effectively and efficiently communicate with plan administrators, employees,
employers, and members of the public.

Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Mr. Chairman, can the
Premier speak to the line you are referring to please?

Hon. E. David Burt: I am speaking to the grants to
the Pension Commission. I can go back a few pages if I may. The grants are on page B -106 under Head 10.

Yes, please proceed, Mr. Premier.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, the Commission’s projected t otal revenue for the year is $2,050,000 which consists
of a government grant of $700,000 and regulatory
fees of $1.35 million.
The Commission’s total budget expenses f or
the year are $2,045,000, consisting of $1,515,000 for
salaries and related benefits; $186,000 for office expenses, $114,000 for office rent; $60,000 for prom otion, education and advertising; $130,000 for legal and consulting; and $40,000 for professional development.
The resulting projected position in net income is up
$5,000.
Mr. Chairman, as I close out Head 10, I would
like to extend my thanks to the staff at the Ministry of Finance Headquarters for the work of the past year. It
encountered significant difficulties and challenges as
you can imagine putting together a budget dealing
with all of the international challenges of which we are
facing and making sure that we meet and exceed our budget targets. But they made sure to work with the
Minister of F inance and to achieve these goals and
they should be applauded for their tireless work and
efforts. As I say, civil servants get a bad rap often and
I have no idea why. But for Ministers who have the
privilege of working with these public officers , their
contributions are nothing less than exemplary and
should be applauded, led by the Acting Financial Secretary. It is difficult to find a more dedicated group of
public officers. So I extend to them my gratitude.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Yes.
Just as a matter of housekeeping, Honourable
Members if you wis h to speak to a Minister you have
to go through the Chairman first, and not simply butt in
and speak directly to the Minister in that regard.
For the listening public, Honourable Members,
we are now in resumption of Committee of Supply for further consideration of the Estimates of Revenue and
Expenditure for the year 2022/23. The Honourable
Premier, who is also the Minister of Finance is giving
a presentation on his Ministry of Finance. He has just concluded Head 10. When he returns he will resume
and do H eads 11, 12, 28, 38, 39 and 58.
For those who are listening by airwaves, you
can also listen online at parliament.bm. Just go to the
audio listening section and there you can find the current audio and all audio of previous sessions.
Honourable Premier, thank you for your words
about the civil servants as they often get forgotten.

Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. May I
now proceed?

Yes, Honourable Premier, you can
now proceed with Head 11.

Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr.
Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, moving on to Head 11.

HEAD 11 —ACCOUNTANT GENERAL
Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, it is my pleasure
to present the budget for Head 11, the Accountant
General’s Department found on pages B -109 through
B-[113] and C -11 of the Budget Book.
Mr. Chairman, the Accountant General’s D epartment was established under section 4 of the Pu blic Treasury (Administration and Payments) Act 1969.
The department’s mission statement is To develop
and maintain quality financial reporting, e mployee
health insurance, Treasury function, internal control
and effective use of technology to aid in decisionmaking.
The core functions of the department are as
follows:
• accounting and reporting of the Consolidated Fund along with various other Governm ent
controlled funds;
• cash management and forecasting, admi nistration of investments including monitoring of
pension funds under investment, approx imately $3.3 billion;
• reconciliation of government’s bank accounts; • execution of payments for purchased good
and services;
• receiving of government revenues including fees and taxes;
• administration of G overnment Employees
Health Insurance scheme;
• risk management and insurance;
• management of government’s accounting platform;
• represent ing the Minister of Finance on the
Government Employees (Health Insurance)
Management Committee and Bermuda Public
Funds Investment Committee.
Mr. Chairman, the Accountant General’s cu rrent account estimates can be found on pages B -109
and B -[110] of the Estimates Book. Comparing the
2021/22 original estimates versus the 2022/23 est imates show the following:
• The 2022/23 current account estimate is
$6,014,000, or $477,000 or 9 per cent i ncrease over the original 2021/22 estimate of
$5.43 million.
• The 2022/23 Fund administration estimate is $87.29 million, a $15.02 million increase over
the original estimate of last year [ 2020/21] of
$72.26 million.
• The 2022/23 Capital estimate is $348,000, a $248,000 increase over the 2021/22 original
estimate.
• The 2022/23 Revenue estimate is $1.2 mi llion, an $800,000 decrease from the 2021/22
original estimate.
Mr. Chairman, the department’s employee
numbers are shown on page B -111, and include a
staff complement of 41 full -time equivalents.
Mr. Chairman, the functions and responsibil ities of the Accountant General’s Department are crit ically important to the role of governance. The depar tment is key in helping to undergird financial controls
and processes that are in place with respect to the
management of the public purse. While the depar tment does not itself carry out or receive procurement,
systems measures have been implemented to assist
the ministries and departments, and controls continue
to be refined. Financial Instructions and applicable legislation are regularly reviewed.
Mr. Chairman, the dep artment is divided into
two programme centres, as follows:
• 1101, Consolidated Fund Administration, which oversees all of the activities of the Consolidated Fund; and
• 1102 Fund Administration, which represents
the government’s share of employee benefits
programmes, namely, Public Service Superannuation, Social Insurance Contributory
Pension, Government Employee Health I nsurance, and Ministers and Members of the
Legislature Pensions.


Bermuda House of Assembly Moving on to explanation of significant pr ogramme expenditures and changes f or unit 1101, on
page B -109, the budget allocation of $6.01 million represents an increase of $477,000, or 9 per cent, which
reflects the ending of the payroll austerity measures which expired for most public sector employees in
July 2021. The department persists in efforts to ident ify efficiencies within its approved organisational structure.
It should be noted that the items that drive the
department’s overall expenditures are salaries, tec hnical support, maintenance fees, and rent.
[Line] 1102, Benefits and Fund Administration
programme which represents the government’s cost of employee benefits. These costs are a function of the number of government employees and the rates
relating to the respective benefit details of which will
now be provided.
Superannuation fund: As the employer, the
government ordinarily matches its employees’ contr ibutions to the Public Service Superannuation Fund (PSSF). The rates of contribution are 9.5 per cent of
salary for uniformed services personnel, and 8 per
cent of salary or wages for all other government employees. The increase in the 2022/23 estimates is
primar ily due to the expiration of the suspension of
gover nment’s matching contribution as the result of
the tem porary austerity measures that were put in
place due to the pandemic.
[Line] 21020, on page B -109, Contributory
Pensions. As I said, Mr. Chairman, the government,
as the employer, matches its employees’ social insurance contributions and the increase in 2022/23 as mentioned before is primarily due to the expiratio n of
the suspension of government’s matching contributions as a result of the temporary COVID -19-related
austerity measures.
Moving on to [line] 21030, as the employer,
the government matches its employees’ contributions under the Government Employees Hea lth Insurance
scheme, with the exception of police, corrections and
the regiment, for which government pays both the
employer and employee share. The 2022/23 est imates are comparable with both the current year’s
actual expenditure and the 2021/22 original estimates.
And finally, Mr. Chairman, the government as
the employer , [matches the] rate of contribution for
Ministers and Mem bers. [The rate of contribution] is
12.5 per cent of sala ry. And the i ncrease again relates
to the expir ation of the sus pension of gover nment’s
matc hing con tributions.
Moving on to Capital estimates, which can be
found on page C -11, [line item] 76805, JD [Edwards]
EnterpriseOne project. Technical support and ongoing maintenance will be required in the 2022/23 fiscal
year as t he JD Edwards [EnterpriseOne] resource
planning system is continually enhanced and upgraded to improve the business processes and other i mportant services provided. During 2021/22 fiscal year, the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne 9.2 system was upgraded to the lat est toolkit which included the necessary features to rewrite and update the Customs automated processing system interface and begin the
human resources information system interface.
Mr. Chairman, in plain terms what that means
is that the government’s ERP system itself, which is
JD Edwards, we upgraded it to make sure that we continue to tie in other systems such as the Customs
system and also our HR system. That is one of the
things the directives of which we looked at while ex-amining all of government’s IT. We looked at what
current items we had and how could we actually u pgrade the current items to make sure we tie all of the
systems together. And this was one of the things that
was identified a few years ago and is being executed.

Mr. Pre mier, that will be more civil
servant ingenuity, correct?
Hon. E. David Burt: Absolutely, Mr. Chairman.
The 2022/23 capital allocation will be used to
progress the following projects:
• completion of the HRIMS, or human r esources information management sys tem i nterface;
• development of the application processing i nterface functionality for online payment pr ocessing; and
• implementing vendor self -service which will
give selected vendors the ability to interact
with more of government departments, speci fically the Accountant General’s Department
online.
Mr. Chairman, I will now provide an analysis
of the various object codes of the department. The
key changes are found on page B -110. The current
year’s budget allocation is reflected in the increased
cost in s alaries and employer overhead resulting from
the expiration of the payroll austerity measures. This has resulted in a $15.02 million, or 21 per cent i ncrease over the prior year’s funding level.
Other personnel costs mainly include Mini sters’ and Members ’ pension benefits that were earned
pre-1988, before the Ministers’ and Members’ funds
were established, and ex gratia pensions that are also
paid from the Consolidated Fund. The 2022/23 est imates are comparable with the current year’s actual expenditure, the current year being 2021/22.
Moving on to accomplishments of fiscal year
2021/22: Working closely with the Office of the Auditor General and Ministries, the financial statement audit
of the Consolidated Fund was completed and signed
off in January 2022. While this was outside the timing for the borrowing covenants, it was in compliance with
extensions approved in advance by noteholders. I mportantly, this year the Office of the Auditor General
issued an unqualified audit opinion which is a positive
devel opment after the previous year’s qualification.
972 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Treasury functions and operational service
levels were maintained during the year. Vendor pa yments were paid timely and accurately, notwithstanding staffing challenges during the year. And the final
accomplis hment is that the Accountant General’s D epartment worked with the Ministry of Finance Headquarters to ensure that timely payments were made
under the unemployment benefit programme.
Moving on to objectives for 2022/23. Mr.
Chairman, the key initiatives pl an for the Accountant’s
General’s Department for fiscal year 2022/23 are as
follows:
• Complete the audited Consolidated Fund F inancial Statements for the year ending
March 31, 2022, no later than November 18,
2022.
• Continue to work to clear the backlog of ou tstanding financial statement audits of the public funds.
• Continue to deliver scheduled Financial I nstructions training in conjunction with the D epartment of Employee and Organisational D evelopment.
• Completion of the Human Resources information management system interface, development of the online payment application pr ocessing and development and implementation
of the E1 vendor self -service module.
And just to elaborate, Mr. Chairman, the vendor self -service module is . . . you know you often get
compl aints from vendors that it takes a long time to
get paid. Sometimes vendors get signed up . . . right
now, if someone needs to get paid or is a new vendor, they have to fill out a paper form, and that paper form
goes and is entered into the system. If ther e is a
change of bank account, a change of information a nother paper form has to be filled in and all the rest. This will now allow vendors to go ahead and update
their information. What is key as well is that this self -
service will enable us to provide be tter reporting on
the fulfilment of the government in meeting its objectives of making sure that small business, [ INAUDIBLE ]
businesses and businesses that employ people with
disabilities are in preferred contracting terms and are
able to report on those accurately. So it reduces the
burden by making sure that we allow the vendors to self-report these items.
• Finally, as part of the Government Health R eform Plan, GHI will be merged with the other two government health plans, FutureCare and
HIP to streamline administration expenses
leading to more savings.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to extend my a ppreciation for the work undertaken by the managing staff at the Accountant General’s Department who
have certainly had a challenging year. But they have met the c hallenge and look forward to the great work
that they are going to do next year as we continue to upgrade government’s financial and information sy stems.
Mr. Chairman, with your permission I will now
move on to Head 12.

Yes, you may proceed, Premier.

HEAD 12 —BERMUDA CUSTOMS DEPARTMENT
REVENUE
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, I will now speak to Head 12,
which is Bermuda Customs Department Revenue, which is included under the Ministry of Finance. Customs expenditures are included along with the Ministry
of National Security which will be debated on Monday
by the Honourable Minister of National Security.
Total Customs revised projected revenue
shown on page B -121 of the Estimates Book for
2021/22 is $228.96 million, and the proj ection for
2022/23 is $232.16 million.
Analys es of the major revenues are as follows: Customs duty is $227 million, an increase of $27
million over the original estimate, or 14 per cent.
The revised forecast of duty collections for
2021/22 an increase by $22.5 million when compared
to the original estimate for 2021/22. The original for ecast for 2021/22 was conservative since there were so
many unknown economic factors surrounding the i mpact of COVID -19 and global supply chain challenges.
However, duty col lections during the first nine months
of 2021/22, this current fiscal year, of $170 million were the highest for the first nine months of a fiscal
year since 2017/18.
Part of the explanation for the increase ce ntres on pandemic -inspired price increases. Notwit hstanding the role played by the aforementioned fac-tors these duty collections are a testament to the resi lience of the economy of Bermuda. It is expected that
the trend in increased duty collections will continue
during the 2022/23 fiscal year as Berm uda’s economy
continues to grow and recover from the effects of the
pandemic. And consequently, the forecast for 2022/23
shows an increase of $5.2 million, or 2 per cent above
the revised forecast of 2021/22.
Moving on to other revenue sources, Mr.
Chairm an, forecasted revenue sources other than
custom duties are expected to contribute a total of $4,457,000 during 2022/23, which, based on our for ecast, would equate to 1.9 per cent of revenue collec ted by Customs. There is little indication that receipts in these areas will change significantly from the rev enue levels achieved during the 2021/22 fiscal year.
Forecasted revenue for sources under Customs duty are as follows:
• Customs duty G .P.O., $516,000
• Yacht arrivals, $53,000
• Services to ships for Customs, $876,000
• Wharfage, $844,000


Bermuda House of Assembly • Container fees, $270,000
• Customer service charges, $378,000
• Courier package fees, $1,196,000
• Light dues, $23,000
• Licences in general, $104,000
• Penalties , $75,000
• Sundry receipts, $118,000
Mr. Chairman, I would like to extend my sincere thanks on behalf of the Ministry of Finance and
myself as Minister of Finance to the Collector of Customs and to the Customs team for their work and support of Bermuda’s economy in this area.
And now, Mr. Chairman, with your permission,
I would l ike to move on to Head 28.

You may proceed, Mr. Premier.

HEAD 28 —SOCIAL INSURANCE DEPARTMENT

Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, I will now move to the Depar tment of Social Insurance, Head 28, which can be
found on page B -115 of the Estimates Book.
The Director of Social Insurance along with
the staff is responsible for the day -to-day administr ation of the Bermuda Government’s contributory pension scheme, as well as for benefits to war veterans of
the Second World War. The departm ent’s mission
statement is To ensure that every beneficiary receives
a benefit that meets their basic needs.
The core function of the department is r esponsible for the administration of the government’s
social insurance programmes in accordance with the
Contributory Pensions Act [1970]. Under this Act all
employed and self -employed persons over the age of
18, or the age of 26 in the instance of full -time st udents, who work more than four hours per week are
required to pay contributions.
There are two major classes of benefits paid
out of this scheme: contributory benefits for old age
pensions and gratuity, widow and widowers allowance
and gratuity, and disability pensions; and the other major class is non-contributory benefits. This is for old
age pension and disability pension benefits.
Mr. Chairman, under the Pensions and Gratu ities (War Service) Act 1947 benefits are payable to Bermudian war veterans and their survivors who
served during World War II. Currently there are 108
persons enrolled in this pro gramme.
Moving to the 2022/23 budget, the Depar tment of Social Insurance current account expenditure of $3.942 million is shown on page B -115 of the Est imates Book.
Mr. Chairman, the contributory pension oper ations within the department are 100 per cent funded
by the Contributory Pension Fund. Expenditures are paid through the Consolidated Fund and recharged to
the Contributory Pension Fund in accordance with
section 3(3) of the Contributory Pensions Act 1970. War pensions and gratuities are 100 per cent funded
by the Consolidated Fund.
Mr. Chairman, moving to cost centres and
programmes, the department operates under five main cost centres.
Cost centre 38000, Senior Management and
Administration. The Administration section provides
overall direction and management of the Department
of Social Insurance. The budget estimate for this cost
centre is $1.907 million and is unchanged from the
2021/22 budget estimate.
Cost centre is 38010, War Pensions and Gr atuities. The War Pension section is responsible for the
administration of benefits to war veterans under the Pensions and Gratuities (War Service) Act 1947. The
budget estimate for the 2022/23 financial year is approximately $3.9 million, which is $668,600, or 15 per
cent, less from the previous year. The budget is based
on 92 war veterans. Pension awards and medical expenses are therefore reduced by approximately 15 per
cent for 2021 /22.
Currently the major benefits under the pr ogramme include a monthly pension, medical benefits,
palliative care and contr ibutions towards funeral expenses.
Cost centre 38025, Benefits. The Benefits
section is responsible for the administration of benefits
to members of the Contributory Pension Fund under the Contributory Pensions Act 1970 and the Contrib utory Pensions and W orkmen’s Compensation (Reci procal Agreement) Act 1970. The budget estimate for this cost centre is $444,400, which is an increase of $8,000 over the 2021/22 original budget of $436,000.
For the year ahead, salaries are up by
$15,000, this is a result of the ending of the gover nment’s salary reduction, while other overhead costs
are down by $6,600.
Total benefits paid from August 2020 to July
2021, which is the Contributory Pension Fund’s financial year, was $183 million. This was compared to
$178.7 million in the previous year, which is an i ncrease of $4. 6 million, or 26 per cent. This is just below our average annual expected growth rate of 3 per cent.
In 2020/21, of the total benefits paid
$150.7 million, or 82 per cent, was paid for contribut ory pensions ; $12.7 million, or 7 per cent, was paid for
widow’s allowances, and gratuities of $8.6 million, or
5 per cent, were paid, and $5.1 million or 3 per cent
were paid to non- contributory pensions. The other
categories of benefits made at the remaining 3 per
cent of benefits paid for the period.
Cost centre 38040, Compliance. The Compl iance section monitors the compliance of employers and employees according to the provisions of the
Contributory Pensions Act 1970. The budget estimate
for this cost centre is $ 974.2 thousand which is
$92,000 less than the 2021/22 original estimate of
$1.1 million. Reduction is due to the scaling back of
974 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly budgeted expenditure for the proposed debt collection
unit as work is being progressed to have a more coordinated approach within the Ministry to increase effectiveness. And speaking to that, Mr. Chairman, there
are individual debt units inside of various Ministry of Finance departments, Tax Division, Social Insurance,
et cetera, and there is a view to consolidate those for
more e ffective management and collection of overdue
funds.
From August 1, 2020 to July 2021, total debt
for the private sector and self -employed persons decreased by $325.3 thousand from $46.3 million to $45.9 million. Though this is only a 1 per cent reduction, Mr. Chairman, the debt did not increase as in
previous years, reflecting the efforts of compliance
officers during the year and is a turning point of progress.
The department continues to work with companies to establish practical ways of reducing their
outstanding debt and the Attorney General’s Debt E nforcement Unit works in close collaboration with the
department to assist in the collection of outstanding
contributions for Social Insurance.
Outstanding contributions collected for contr ibution year 2021 amounted to $3.97 million compared to $2.78 million in the previous year, which is an i ncrease of over $1 million.
Cost centre 38045, Contributions. The Contr ibution section is responsible for the administration of
member records and accounts for employ ers and employees participating in the Contributory Pension Fund
under the Contributory Pensions Act 1970. The budget estimate for this cost centre is $484,000, which is an increase of $18,000 over the 2021/22 original
budget of $466,000.
The increase as mentioned by many Ministers
and many Heads is due to the expiration of the temporary salary reductions, and there is a further reduction
of other overhead costs which will reduce by $3,000.
Total contributions, government and nongovernment, received from August 1 to July 31,
amounted to $60.98 million, compared to $106.5 mi llion in the prior fiscal period, which is a decrease of
$45.7 million or 43 per cent. This decrease resulted
from the suspension of contributions for one year, commencing on July 1, 202 0.
Analysis of the Current Account estimates for
2021/22 versus 2022/23, found in the Budget Book
page B -116.
Salaries and wages increased $87,000. We
know what that is for, so I do not have to repeat it.
Professional Services decreased $683,000
primari ly due to a decrease in war vet medical claims.
And I say that , Mr. Chairman, because it is classified
under professional services because it is funds paid to
external persons, but it should be noted that many
times we like to talk about all professional s ervices are
consultants which was recorded there but it is clear that war vets are not consultants, but it is under the
professional services line item.
Receipts credited to the programmes: This
amount represents the cost to operate the Contribut ory Pensio n Fund [CPF] initially paid through the Consolidated Fund. A recharge to the CPF is made in accordance with the Contributory Pensions Act [ 1970] .
The recharge for 2022/23 is budgeted at $3.18 million
which is an increase of $65,000 of the total budget of
the CPF over the prior year. Again, that increase is
due to the reinstatement of full salaries.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to move on if I may
to touch on highlights for 2021/22. The 2020 Actuarial
Review of the CPF was completed and the report was
tabled in the House of Assembly on 4 February 2022.
The review is required every three years, as per sec-tion 35 of the Contributory Pensions Act of 1970. The review aims to indicate the financial conditions and
long-term sustainability of the fund and to investig ate
the potential financial implications of future contribu-tions and benefit increases to the fund.
There was no increase in paid benefits in
2021, a situation we will make sure we fix as we
prom ised to ensure that pensions increased by the
rate of infla tion for seniors. And that, Mr. Chairman,
will be rectified immediately by the Ministry of F inance.
Suspension of contributions ended for the pr ivate sector on June 30, 2021, and on July 31 for all but four of the departments, the last of which ended
betwe en August and November 2021.
The final thing, Mr. Chairman, and it highlights
that the department continues to maintain effective
working relationships with the Debt Enforcement Unit
in the Attorney General’s Chambers, the Department
of Public Prosecutions, the Department of Immigr ation, the Office of the Tax Commissioner and the Transport Control Department with respect to efforts
to assist in debt collection. And quite plainly and sim ply, Mr. Chairman, that is that persons who are deli nquent in their obl igations or in violation of their obligations to the Contributory Pensions Act can even be taken to court by the DPP called out by the Debt E nforcement Unit, or have their ability to have work per-mits not issued or vehicles that are corporate vehicles not be licensed by the Transport Control Department.
Mr. Chairman, moving on to proposals for
budget year 2022/23, the department has set the fol-lowing objectives to
• utilise government portals to service public i nquiries;
• increase the public relation’s campai gn to
raise awareness of rights and responsibilities under the Contributory Pension Fund, the UK
Reciprocal Agreement and the war veteran’s
legislation;
• continue to conduct orientation sessions for
newly registered employers, as these have
proven to be inv aluable; and


Bermuda House of Assembly • complete the work related to the upgrading of
the computer systems to increase the effectiveness and efficiency and allow customers better access to their records on a timely basis.
Moving on to significant process changes, the
work of the Ministry of Finance to create an overall
strategy to specifically target the collection of outstanding contributions owed to the CPF and the government as a whole and participate in entrepreneurial workshops to educate the public about the benefits
and rights as employees and employers.
Just moving on to some other matters of i nterest, Mr. Chairman. Completion and implementation
of the new pension administration system, the
PX3000, the Department of Social Insurance will maximise economies of scale and provid e more accurate
and efficient processing for employers and emplo yees. The resource [faced] challenges during the time
of the pandemic. This is now planned for implement ation in the summer of 2022.
The department will embark on a print and
radio media campaign to engage the general public
and raise awareness of rights and responsibilities. This campaign will also be used to highlight the major
changes resulting from the implementation of the
PX3000. Also, a key objective of the department will be the ongoing staff training on both current compl iance monitoring and enforcement techniques as we endeavour to collect the long- outstanding balances
which are owed to the fund.
Mr. Chairman, as I complete Head 28, with
the above initiatives firmly in place within t he Depar tment of Social Insurance, the following are expected to be accomplished by the end of fiscal year 2021/22:
• enhancement of the customer service prov isions and participation in e- government customer service initiatives;
• provide accurate, timely and relevant info rmation to stakeholders;
• continue the professionalism from our staff in
a culture of applying best practices; and
• effective use of electronic archiving processes to make sure that we meet the Government’s
objective of a paperless office.
In closing, Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank
the Director and team of the Department of Social I nsurance for their continued work, professionalism, and
certainly for the progress of which they have made in
the collection of outstanding balances.
And with y our permission, Mr. Chairman, I will
now move to Head 38, unless you want a station ID.

No, Honourable Premier, we will do
station ID in approximately 20- some minutes when I
hand over to the next Chairman.
You may proceed with Head 38, Premier.
HEAD 38 —OFFICE OF THE TAX COMMISSIONER

Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, very much, Mr.
Chairman. Mr. Chairman, Head 38, is the Office of the
Tax Commissioner [OTC].
Head 38 relates to the Office of Tax Commi ssioner whose budget estimates begin on p age B -118
of the Estimates Book. The total expenditure estimat-ed for 2022/23 is $6.041 million. This is comprised of
$4.113 million of current expenditure and $2.28 million
of capital expenditure. The OTC’s current expenditure
budget for 2022 has increased $428,000 compared to
the prior year.
The total projected revenue for 2022/23 is
$627 million, or approximately $30 million more than the current year’s estimate of $597 million.
The key areas anticipated to contribute to this
increase are, land tax, stam p duty revenue and payroll
taxes.
The OTC capital expenditure budget for
2022/23 will increase by $839,000, which will be used
for the Tax Administration and Modernisation Pr ogramme.
The primary responsibility of the Office of the
Tax Commissioner is to effectively administer the timely and accurate collection of all taxes and stamp
duties in accordance with applicable legislation.
Mr. Chairman, here is the following statement
regarding the Office of the Tax Commissioner. The
OTC is responsible for the largest portion of gover nment revenue and is estimated to generate $596 mi llion or 58 per cent of government’s total estimated
revenue for 2021/22. Page B -120, 119, the OTC is
estimated to generate $184 of revenue for every cur-rent account dollar spent in 2021/22. The initial est imate for 2022/23 is $150 of revenue generated for
every current account dollar that will be spent. And
this, of course, is in the department, not necessarily
throughout the entire government. I wanted to make that clear for the Shado w Minister of Finance.
Payroll tax is the single largest source of revenue for the country generating approximately $439 million or 43.9 per cent of total revenue in fiscal
2021/22. The revised estimate for 2021/22 for payroll
tax revenue is $450 million or 43.6 per cent of total estimated revenue. This represents an approximate
increase from the previous year actual of $439 million.
Financial services taxes estimated to generate $11.8
million in tax revenue in 2021/22 and $13 million is
projected for 2022/23.
Mr. Chairman, the Office of the Tax Commi ssioner’s vision is to be a significant contributor to Bermuda’s prosperity and stability by being a progressive, modern tax administration committed to provi ding superior customer service, continued improvement
and collaboration. The OTC’s mission is to leverage
modern technology to ensure taxpayers’ compliance with quality service and effective enforcement. The
core objectives are t o administer the collection of tax976 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly es and stamp duties in accordance with the t ax legi slation and to provide professional advice to the Mini stry of Finance; to conduct responsible and effective
enforcement activities, creating an environment which
promotes compliance and ensures that all taxes are collected in accordance with their r espective Acts; and
to educate and advise taxpayers on matters relating to
their statutory obligations under tax legislation.
Mr. Chairman, the OTC is strategically divided
into four cost centres as follows:
• Cost centre 48000, Administration Team, pr ovides the overall direction and management of
the office which includes strategic planning,
staff development, training and general office
support.
• Cost centre 48050, Stamp Duties team, r esponsible for the administration and collection
of stamp duties under the Stamp Duties Act 1976. This includes the adjudication and pr ocessing of a variety of legal instruments i ncluding but not limited to conveyances , tran sfers, leas es and mortgages, as well as admi nistering the Primary Family Homestead E xemption pr ogramme.
• Cost centre 48070, Audit and Compliance
Team, responsible for ensuring that taxpayers are complying with the Tax Acts throughout
the life of the taxpayers starting with their in itial registration. The team conducts audits and
inspections of the taxpayer’s book s and records and is responsible for knowledge management and taxpayer education.
• Cost centre 48080, Operations Team, oversees collecting and reporting on all taxes under the remit of the Office of the Tax Commi ssioner. The team maintains taxpayer ac-count s, receivable balances, levies penalties
for late and insufficient payments and is r esponsible for debt collection and enforcement.
The OTC’s overall direction defines its strat egic priorities as follows: Top quality taxpayer service, modernisation through technology, enforcement and
debt collection.
Mr. Chairman, as already mentioned, the Office of the Tax Commissioner’s departmental operat-ing expenditure budget for 2022/23 has been i ncreased by $428,000 over the previous year. Salaries
increased by $272,000 to fund positions that are currently vacant, but which are required for increased compliance and timely collection of payments. The
total staff complement is 30 full -time positions. Pr ofessional services has been increased by $171,000
providing additi onal resources to support the oper ational schemes. Moving on to revenue analysis, Mr. Chairman,
payroll tax revenues are projected to increase by $5.91 million over the original 2021/22 estimates.
It is important to note, Mr. Chairman, that
there will b e no overall increase in payroll tax rates in the 2022/23 fiscal year. And, of course, Mr. Chairman,
later today we will be discussing a reduction in payroll
taxes for those persons making under $96,000.
We will also, of course, extend payroll tax r elief to sectors experiencing financial hardship which
was implemented in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. And those exemptions will be extended at least
through September 30, 2022. Payroll tax relief covers
sectors such as hotels, bars, restaurants, clubs and
entertainers.
Key achievements in 2021/22. In fiscal year
2021/22 the Office of the Tax Commissioner improved
its business intelligence reporting capabilities ther efore enabling the department to have a more accurate
view of taxpayer compliance. By i mproving its access
to and use of information from legacy systems the OTC has substantially increased its efficiency and effectiveness in tax administration. This includes i mproving debt management services, facilitating i ncreases in voluntary taxpayer com pliance and overall
service levels provided by the department to taxpa yers.
The OTC Debt Management section staff continue to focus their efforts on debt collection and tax
enforcement and encouraging a change in the tax culture of Be rmuda. From April 1, 2021 to January 31,
2022, the Debt Collection Management team had
been r esponsible for collecting approximately $4.2
million of ou tstanding taxes. A breakdown is, payroll
taxes of $3.7 million and land taxes of $459,000.
The OTC will continue with the Tax Admi nistration Modernisation Programme in 2022/23. The
Tax Administration Modernisation Programme is a
total reform of the OTC. Sometimes it is mistaken, Mr.
Chairman, that this is just an IT initiative, but it is far
broader than just an IT initiative.
The Tax Ad ministration Modernisation Pr ogramme, shortly known at TMP, provides for a total
reform of the OTC and its four key objectives are communications and change management; organis ational structure and processes; IT systems; and legal
framework project.
The O TC is near the completion of implementing the data warehouse as an interim solution on the
IT side that will allow for data extraction from OTC’s existing legacy database system. After successful i mplementation, the department will have expansive r eporting capabilities that do not presently exist in- house
that will be better able to direct enforcement activities.
The key benefits that the Office of the Tax
Commissioner looks to gain from the single data warehouse are to provide and to operate more eff iciently and effectively, to increase compliance with tax
requirements and increase revenue for the Gover nment of Bermuda. The transformation of the Office of
the Tax Commissioner to modern tax administration
will embrace the following:
• changing from a tax -type function (right now
the department is split up into land tax, stamp


Bermuda House of Assembly duty and payroll tax) to a function- based organisation;
• modernisation of business processes and the
use of best practices in cutting- edge tax administration information system; and
• broad ening the tax base and identifying and
registering individuals that have eluded paying
taxes;
• tracking compliance and enforcement efforts
to new technology as per education audits;
and
• recommend amendments to existing stamp
duty legislation.
With the succ essful implementation of the
modernisation programme, the OTC intends to pr ovide better service to the government and to the people of Bermuda as well as external stakeholders.
In closing, Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank
the staff of the Office of the Tax Commissioner, the
Tax Commissioner Mr. Derek Rawlins, and all of the
team for their outstanding work to date.
And with your permission, Mr. Chairman, I
would like to move on to Head 39.

Yes, y ou may proceed to Head 39,
Honourable Premi er.

HEAD 39 —REGISTRAR OF COMPANIES
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, I now present the budget for
Head 39 the Registrar of Companies which is found
on pages B -122 to B -125 of the Budget Book.
Mr. Chairman, the Registrar of Companies is
government’s third largest revenue generating department and is projected to collect approximately $68 million of revenue in fiscal 2022/23. Its operations are regulated by several legislative mandates, including
but not limited to the Companies Act 1981, the Limited
Partnerships Act 1883, the Exempted Partnerships
Act 1992, the Limited Liability Company Act 2016, the
Overseas Partnerships Act 1995, and the Government Fees Regulations of 1976. These provide the fram ework for maintaining the Regist rar of Companies and
the timely collection of associated registration fees.
The department is also responsible for the
administration of liquidations and personal bankruptcies as well as the regulation of Bermuda’s real estate
and dealers of high- value goods sectors. High -value
goods sector, meaning jewellery and other sectors
which, Mr. Chairman, are found to be a place and an
avenue for money laundering. Therefore these things
must make sure they are regulated, real estate and
high-value dealers.
The legislative framework for the Registrar’s
mandate in this capacity is the Companies (WindingUp) Rules 1982, Bankruptcy Act 1989, Bankruptcy
Rules 1990, Real Estate Brokers’ Licensing Act 2017, Real Estate Brokers’ Licensing Regulations 2017, and Registrar of Com panies (Supervision and Regulation)
Act 2020, respectively.
Mr. Chairman, in recent times Bermuda has
been impacted by the ever-increasing pressures and
imposed requirements from other jurisdictions or r egions. Mounting challenges from our competitors and
increasing scrutiny from global and regional standards
setting and oversight bodies such as Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development, the OECD ;
the Financial Action Task Force, FATF ; Caribbean
Financial Action Task Force, CFATF ; and the Europ ean Union, EU, oversight bodies.
Featuring most prominently is the increased
scrutiny by the EU and the OECD required implementation of the economic substance regime by no or
nominal tax jurisdictions. Similarly, FATF and CFATF
have looked to the Registrar of Companies to en-hance its AML/ATF compliant framework with respect
to legal persons as well as to real estate and dealers
in high- value goods sectors as the competent and
supervisory authority charged with their oversight.
Beneficial ownership is anot her evolving
space with directives emanating from the United
Kingdom , the European Union, the OECD, IMF and
FATF, with beneficial ownership featured prominently
in Bermuda’s AML/ATF and economic substance r egimes of which the Registrar of Companies has been designated to oversee.
As a result of these requirements, regulatory
enforcement legislation has been introduced, notably
the Registrar of Companies (Compliance Measures)
Act 2017, Economic Substance Act of 2018, and sub-sequent amendments to the Compani es Act 1981 and
the Proceeds of Crime (Anti -Money Laundering and
Anti-Terrorist Financing Supervision and Enforc ement) Act [2008], have given the Registrar of Companies regulatory, supervisory or compliance oversight
of every entity on the Corporate Regist er, which numbers approximately 15,000.
This Registrar of Companies is pivotal to the
continued success of the international and domestic
business sectors in Bermuda and stemming from risks
related to the EU’s Annex I non- competitive jurisdi ctions, the E U’s AML’s list and the FATF high- risk juri sdictions , subject to a call for action of the FATF list .
Bermuda, consistent with its reputation as a
high-quality international centre is committed to having a robust and comprehensive risk -based compliant
frame work with the adequate resources to give it full
effect. This budget proposes to provide the increased resources for the effective implementation of the de-partment’s expanded mandates, and to appropriately
address the significant threats that Bermuda is facing.
The Registrar’s designated objectives can be
found on page B -122, and include the following:
• maintaining the Regist er of Companies ensuring timely provision of current and accurate
registry information;
978 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly • ensuring compliance with the Companies Act
of 1981 and related legislation, and all of the
legislation under the department’s remit, in a
consistent, fair and judicious manner;
• collecting company fee revenue pursuant to
the Companies Act 1981 and other associated
legislation in accordance with financial instru ctions in a timely, accurate and efficient manner; and
• provide technical assistance to the Ministry of
Finance and other government departments in
a timely manner.
Mr. Chairman, the total number of new companies and partnerships on the Register showed marginal growth in 2021, ending with the year at just over 15,000.
I will now move over an expenditure overview,
including an analysis by cost centre. The budget for
the Registrar of Companies is set out under six cost
centres. They are
• Policy Plan ning and Administration;
• Finance and Revenue;
• Entity Registration;
• Insolvency and Liquidations;
• Real Estate and Licences; and
• Compliance.
The total current account expenditure, found
on page B -123, is estimated to be $7,602,000 for
2022/23. This repres ents an increase of $2,785,000,
or 58 per cent more than the original budget of
2021/22. This is not about [ INAUDIBLE ] a transfer,
Mr. Chairman, this is additional money and resources.
This increase is primarily due to the additional
resources required by the Registrar of Companies in
support of its extended role to enforce compliance
under the Economic Substance Act and other relevant
Acts.
Cost centre 49000, Policy Planning and A dministration, an estimate of $4,251,000, up
$2,842,000, or 202 per cent over the previous year.
Mr. Chairman, the Policy Planning and Administration
cost centre includes planning, strategic direction, a dministration and other activities associated with the daily operation of the Registrar of Companies D epartment. Information technology, financial and ad-ministrative support, budget development, accounting,
personnel administration and general office admi nistration are also included in this cost centre. Expens-es under this cost centre include the salary of the Registrar and all oper ational costs of the department,
including communications, training, transport and travel, contractor payments, office supplies, repairs and maintenance, consulting services, bank fees and
storage expenses.
The budget increase of $2.842 million for this
cost centre for the fiscal year will be primarily used to
boost the human resource needs of the department in
order to facilitate the Registrar’s expanded mandate.
The department is currently in the process of impl e-menting the recommendations of a comprehensive
review of its operating structure and staff needs. The
increased budget represents an investment of r esources to provide the required manpower needs while establishing additional permanent posts.
Moving to cost centre 49010 [Finance and
Revenue], $8 45,000, up $374,000, or 79 per cent over
the previous year. Revenue for this section is $67,396,000 on page B -124, and there are full -time
equivalents of nine.
The Finance and Revenue cost centre is r esponsible for the collection of the annual fees submi tted by companies in accordance with the Companies
Act 1981, the Segregated Accounts Companies Act
2000, the Partnership Act, the Limited Liability Company Act [2016] and the Real Estate [Brokers’] Licensing Act 2017. The Registrar of Companies collects approximately $68 million in annual revenue. To ensure adequate controls around completeness, accur acy and timeliness of collecting revenue, the section staff [and processes ] come under the direct oversight
of the departmental comptroller.
The increased cost s will fund the salaries r elated to two additional roles that are required to address the IT and revenue management requirements.
The estimated revenue of this cost centre, reflected
on page B -[124], is $67,296,000 or 99 per cent of the
total revenue antic ipated for the department. The balance of the revenue of $329,000 is derived from l icences general in the licensing and insolvency cost
centre, which I shall discuss in due course.
Moving on to c ost centre 4902 0, Entity Regi stration unit on page B -123. The estimate for 2022/23
is $767,000, up $21,000, or 3 per cent from the prev ious year. Full -time equivalents, 10.
This cost centre which includes 10 persons
involve the registration of companies and the pr ocessing and maintenance of statutory and legal documents which must be registered and available for public inspection in accordance with the prevailing
legislation. The cost increase under this centre is mi nimal.
Moving on to cost centre is 49040, Insolvency
and Liquidations, page B -123. Estimate $360,00 0,
down $164,000 or 31 per cent from the previous year.
The revenue as stated before is $320,000 with three
FTEs, or full -time equivalents.
Mr. Chairman, this cost centre is responsible
for the execution of court orders to administer liquid ations in accordance with the Companies Act 1981, the
[Companies] (Winding- Up) Rules 1982 and the prov ision of the Bankruptcy Act 1989 relating to personal
bankruptcies, and Bankruptcy Rules 1990.
Cost centre 49050, [Real Estate and Licences], estimates, $290,000, down $83,000, or 22 per
cent from the previous year, with FTEs of three. Mr.
Chairman, this section is responsible for the pr ocessing and issuance of licences and permits to exempted local and overseas companies who carry on


Bermuda House of Assembly business in Bermuda; the processing and issuing of
licences to and the regulation of real estate brokers
and agents and ensuring industry compliance through
active monitoring and enforcement. Expenses under
this cost centre include the salaries of three persons.
Cost centre 49080, [Compliance], estimates
$1,083 ,000, down $20 5,000 or 16 per cent from the
previous year, with 11 persons in this cost centre. Mr. Chairman, the Compliance cost centre is responsible
for ensuring and encouraging compliance under the
Registrar of Companies (Complianc e Measures) Act
2017, and other relevant Acts, most notably the Ec onomic Substance Act 2018, including ensuring adherence to the filing, registration and other corporate
governance requirements of the relevant Acts, to i nspect registered entities for the aforementioned purposes and to investigate instances of a registered entity’s failure to comply with the provisions of the Regi strar of Companies (Compliance Measures) Act of
2017 and/or any other relevant Acts.
The Compliance Unit is being enhanced as a
consequence of requirements placed on Bermuda by
the European Union and the OECD. It is the expect ation of these international bodies that Bermuda not only has sufficient people resources to fulfil its compl iance requirements, but that these people resources
have adequate prerequisite skills and training. Cons equently, the existing compliance posts have been
amended to recruit an increased number of technically
proficient individuals. And, Mr. Chairman, you have
heard me say that without question the one gro wth
area in Bermuda when it comes to employment is
compliance. It is certainly there.
Expenses under this cost centre include 10
persons. The human resource need in this section will
initially be further supplemented through the use of
short -term consultants with the required skill set prior
to the positions being filled substantively. We are gi ving more money to staffing of the Registrar of Companies to make sure that we meet our international
commitments. Moving on now to —

Honourable Members and the liste ning public we are in Committee of Supply for further
consideration of Estimates of Revenue and Expend iture for the year 2022/23. The Honourable Premier, who serves as the Minister of Finance, is giving his brief on the Ministry of Finance. He has covered
Heads, 10, 11, 12, 28 and 38. I have had the privilege
of being the Chairman and I now hand it over to the
Honourable Susan J ackson who shall be the Chai rman for the remaining hour of this debate, and one hour of the debate for the Ministry of National Secur ity. Honourable Susan Jackson.

[Ms. Susan E. Jackson, Chairman]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Minister, you m ay proceed when you are
ready.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much Madam
Chairman.
Madam Chairman, I now refer you to page B -
123. As a result of planned restructuring there is a
decrease of $206,000 in salary -related costs. This is,
however, offset by the planned expansion of the department’s compliance function, and professional services has therefore seen a net increase of approx imately $3,685,000. These funds will be utilised to expand the manpower needs of the compliance section
and the funding of the increased policy development
costs associated with the interpretation and impl ementation of activities related to the Registrar of
Companies’ compliance regime.
As I indicated before, Madam Chairman, this
is while we [ INAUDIBLE] to permanently place t he
required resources that are so urgently needed for the
Registrar of Companies.
Madam Chairman, there are no other signif icant changes between the budget estimates for
2021/22.
Moving on to Revenue, which is page B -124. I
would like to touch on the revenue generated by the Registrar of Companies [ ROC] . These figures can
also be found on page B -124. The department is for ecasting overall revenue just over $67 million. This is a $5,697,000, or 8 per cent decrease in projected rev enue over the original rev enue estimate for 2021/22, of
$73,430,000. I will explain why this is not a result of
[the number of] companies being reduced because
the number of the companies on the register actually
increased. But I will get to that.
In 2020 the Registrar undertook a review of
the department’s corporate fee structure and identified potential fee changes that would expand this revenue
base. The department proposed to introduce these
fees in October 2021; however, as a result of consultation with key stakeholders the pr oposed fees conti nue to be reviewed and modified and their introduction
was supposed to take effect during this current fiscal
year as reflected in those projected increases that we
saw in the 2021/22 Budget Book have been deferred.
This decreas e that I mention in the change of estimate
from the original estimate for 2021/22 to the estimate
for 2022/23 is directly related to the deferral of the
proposed fee changes.
The department continues to consult with key
industry stakeholders and to conduct the due diligence to assess the reasonableness of these pr oposed changes , and it is anticipated that appropriate
key changes will be introduced shortly. But no est i980 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly mates have been introduced and included in the
budget. So, Madam Chairman, if these increases are
put in place this year or fee changes are put in place
this year then they will be brought and there will be
revised estimates that will be presented at the end of
the year . But right now the budget has not budgeted
for those, because we want to make sure that we get
consultation right and proper.
Moving on to manpower, the department’s
budget supports an establishment of 37 full -time
equivalent positions, page B -124. The importance is
the need to further increase in revenues to meet the
increasing external threats has already been hig hlighted. Addressing these threats is critical to protec ting a key source of revenue for the Bermuda Government which, in turn, allows us to provide services
to the public. The department must have the r esources to ensure that B ermuda’s corporate citizens
are in compliance with Bermuda legislation related to
the carrying on of business in Bermuda and from wit hin Bermuda. Additionally, roles that were previously
performed by consultants in managing consultancies
and liquidations w ere converted into substantive
posts, generating greater operational oversight, eff iciency and cost savings.
I wish to now turn to capital funding, which is
on page C -11. Madam Chairman, I would now like to
turn to the new electronic registry system. In s tep with
this Government’s modernisation efforts across government, and you will remember from the Budget
Statement that I said that 44 per cent of capital acquisition costs across the Government of Bermuda is an
investment in information technology, the government
introduced its online economic substance declaration platform in May of 2020 and implemented its full
online registry system in June 2021. This system now
provides real time access to publicly accessible company data and has streamlined the regis tration pr ocess.
The Registrar of Companies has been all ocated $2.2 million in capital funding for expanding the
functionality of the system to include the beneficial
ownership register and to provide for other improv ements in system efficiencies. These changes are envisioned to provide the following:
• increase the Registrar’s ability to monitor and
enforce compliance with Bermuda’s legislation
related to the carrying on of business in and
from within Bermuda;
• facilitate the collection and analysis of data
required for economic substance;
• improve online business service offerings;
• new and improved reporting options for regi stry users;
• simplify and streamline business interactions
for electronic registry users;
• enable registry staff to devote more time to enforcement and regulatory activities; and • increase customer satisfaction with an easier and faster framework to comply with regulat ory filings.
Madam Chairman, the new system is similar
to those already in use in other jurisdictions and will
assist in retaini ng Bermuda’s competitiveness with
offshore registries.
Madam Chairman, I will now move on to m ajor achievements within the Registrar of Companies’
departments.
The department has been active in this current fiscal year and some highlights include the fol lowing: First, when it comes to registration, as mentioned, the department launched its e- registration system,
[INAUDIBLE ]. The system allows for the paperless
environment for corporate registration and filing of
legal entities in Bermuda and enhances the user experience and generates internal efficiencies. The pr ocess also included amendments to the Companies
Act, the Limited Liabilities Companies Act and Par tnerships Act to facilitate the transition from paper -
based filing system and issuing the system to the
Registrar of Companies’ new electronic registry sy stem.
What is imp ortant to note is that the assi stance of the launch of the e -registration system helped
to switch the virtual environment to ensure a conti nued seamless facilitation of Bermuda’s corporate sector playing our part in keeping Bermuda open through
the pandemic.
The accomplishments of the real estate section through the global pandemic successfully facil itated two outreach sessions to the real estate sector
in the areas of AML/ATF compliance which was well
represented in excess of 90 attendees, each session thereby ensuring continuity of the compliance regime
as required by FATF.
Development and implementation of virtual
compliance inspection plan for real estate sector to
ensure that Ber muda met its international AML/ATF
obligation during the global pandemic.
Compliance: Began the implementation of
economic substance compliance programme in keeping with Bermuda’s commitment to cooperate with the
EU and OECD in the implementation of inter national
tax governance standards.
Successfully completed the monitoring assessment conducted by the OECD ’s FHTP [Forum on
Harmful Tax Practices ] secretariat.
Successfully participated in the OECD cybersecurity assessment and began the implementation of
corporate governance compliant programme.

I got you. Thank you.

Hon. E. David Burt My sincere apologies.
Madam Chai rman, moving on to plans for the
upcoming year, the department has now become a
bona fide regulator, having evolved from its primary
purpose of being a repository for cor porate filings. I nternational pressures being exerted on our jurisdiction
from the various aforementioned regulatory bodies
(and other bodies which I will not repeat at this time)
has been . . . the department has had a need to r eview its organisational st ructure and resources with a
view of staying ahead of the various international
sanctions that may have detrimental impact to our
economy.
The initial planning instruction work has been
completed, and over the year we expect to see the implementation of t hat plan with a significant bolstering of resources and an appropriate amendment to
the organisational functions to facilitate the depar tment’s ability to be able to be a robust regulator capable of meeting international standards.
In the revisionary revi ew of how the depar tment will deliver services to not only address the i nternational regulatory body, but also the need for
Bermuda to be a more responsive jurisdiction in which
to do business, the department is reviewing the legi slative framework around s everal key initiatives with a
view to making enhancements to make doing bus iness in Bermuda easier and more efficient.
These include, first, amendments to section
129A of the Companies Act 1981 to remove the r equirement for a licenc e for a Digital Asset B usiness
Act licensed company so as to hasten the incorpor ation process for selecting FinTech companies for them to fulfil the Government’s mission of ensuring that
Bermuda is used as a tech space for digital asset services. Exempted companies, of course, M adam
Chairman, require a 129A licenc e, so it is just an additional step. So we are removing that step so they do
not have to have the 129A licenc e to demo their pro ducts and services in Bermuda and to make sure that
they can be used as the tech space.
Second phase—modernisation amendments
to various pieces of legislation administered by the
Registrar to accommodate the electronic registry so
as to ensure that the legislative framework reflects the
partners’ ability to work in a paperless environment. Third, with respect to Bermuda’s economic
substance regime, the department’s plan is to conti nue their engagement with both the OECD and the EU
with respect to level -setting amendments to the Ec onomic Substance Act. Additionally, as a compliance
regime for ec onomic substance developments, the
department is reviewing possible amendments to the
Registrar of Companies (Compliance Measures) Act
2017 with a view to streamlining the enforcement pr ocess.
Next, reduction of red tape. By replacing ant iquated legal processes that require companies to i ncur legal fees for routine interactions , such as corp orate leasing of office space, Madam Chairman, it
would surprise you if any company needs to get permission from the Minister of Finance in order to sign a
lease for offi ce space. That is something that has
been going on. I was actually surprised when I found it
when I came back here to the Ministry of Finance, and
I certainly sent that on to be eliminated, as it is a pr ocess that has to go through a lawyer, adds additional
time on the process and is certainly something that is very simple. And as we are committed to reducing red
tape across the Government of Bermuda and getting
rid of antiquated systems, this is just one of those examples that the Registrar of Companies wi ll do this
year.
Moving on to plans this year in the space of
technology. Technology has now become an integral
part of how the department operates. Consequently,
over the year further enhancements are expected to
be rolled out in the department with an i mproved design of the e- registration system, landing incorporating
navigational links and guidance to optimise the user experience and the development of electronic pla tforms for receipts of real estate licenc e applications to
enhance efficiencies and to s treamline this process.
Madam Chairman, as I close out on this head,
I would like to extend my sincere appreciation for the work undertaken by the team at the Registrar of Companies. Appreciation goes to the Registrar of Companies, Mr. Kenneth Joaquin, who has worked under
significant stress and working with limited resources to
ensure that Bermuda met its international profiles.
They had gone above and beyond this year, and I am pleased to carry on I would say the legacy of which
has been set by the forme r Minister of Finance, ma king sure that we give the required resources to the Registrar of Companies so that the department can
meet the requirements and that staff do not be
stretched and over -stressed to make sure that we
face off on the challenges which the country exhibits.
So I wish to extend my sincere thanks to that depar tment.
And I will now move on, with your permission,
Madam Chairman, to Head 58.

[Pause]

982 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Madam Chairman. I
may proceed? Yes?

[No audible response]

Hon. E. David Burt: Okay. Thank you.

HEAD 58 —INTEREST ON DEBT AND
GUARANTEE MANAGEMENT

Hon. E. David Burt: With cost centre 5801 —Interest
on Debt, $129.75 million, an increase of $2 million, or
2 per cent. Madam Chairman, the 2022/23 budget
allocation for interest on debt, Head 58, is $129.75
million. Of this estimate, $127.2 million represents ongoing debt service costs with the various debt i nstruments held by the Government of Bermuda, while $550,000 is allocated to facility fees and other related
costs. The remaining $2 million is for the costs ass ociated with management of Government’s guarantees.
Madam Chai rman, considerable work has had
to be invested for more than two years to address the issues arising from the call of the $165 million guarantee that was issued by the previous Administration to
support the Morgan’s Point project. There are a number of factors that contributed to the fate of this pr oject, and the remediation work required and the costs
associated with having to come good on thi s guarantee have been significant. A key lesson learned has been the importance of ensuring that critical risks to
the Government of Bermuda in any guarantee arrangement are comprehensively identified, assessed
and then appropriately mitigated with adequat e resources.
This experience has reinforced that it is essential to use experienced subject -matter experts to
appropriately assist in the evaluation of potential pr ojects and ensure outcomes that are beneficial to Bermuda and consistent with Bermuda’s prudent and
considered fiscal and economic strategy.
Madam Chairman, in that regard significant
work was done in fiscal 2021/22 in relation to the as-sessment of proposals for the redevelopment of the Fairmont Southampton Princess. For 2022/23, add itional funding has been allocated to support the ong oing actions required to facilitate work commencing on
that pr oject as early as possible this upcoming fi scal
year.
Madam Chairman, all such actions will be
done consistent with this Government’s commitment
to ensuring appropriate and effective risk management, maximisation of economic benefit, and prudent
economic and fiscal management.
Madam Chairman, additionally, funds are being set aside to continue the work required to ensure that the Morgan’s Point proj ect is developed in a
manner that will be cost -effective and of maximum
economic and social benefit to the people of Berm uda. As noted previously, it has already been neces-sary to expend considerable resources, financial r esources —the guarantee amount was $165 million.
There was certainly interest on top of that, contractors
that were not paid and funds that had to be spent in
order to remediate it to accomplish the goal which would satisfy the Government of getting our money
back. So there have been signif icant resources that
have been expended on this project, and additional
funding is required to progress matters to the point
where alternative sources of funding can be utilised.
Madam Chairman, there is one further thing
that I would like to make sure that I clarify while speak ing about this particular head. And I think that it
is important as there is a significant amount of misinformation flying around about the Bermuda Hospitals Board guarantee and whether or not the Government
secretly increased it by $500 million and signed a
guarantee without coming to the House, et cetera.
I think that it is important to make sure that it
is clarified. And as has been highlighted already, there
has been no new additional increase in the guarantee
for the Acute Care Wing. The figures that were repor ted in the annexes to this year’s Budget Statement are
now consistent with the disclosures in the Annual F inancial Statements for the Consolidated Fund. Ther efore, persons who are saying This is new are not correct. All th ey have to look at is what was tabled in the
House on February 4, which was the Annual Financial
Statements of the Consolidated Fund.
Previously, the Budget Book only reflected the
principal amount due. And this year we have updated
the numbers to reflect the full extent of the Gover nment’s guarantee of the payment obligation of Berm uda Hospitals Board to Paget Health Services including principal, interest, life cycle, and hard facilities
maintenance expenses as required by the lenders.
And we think that i t is important that the government’s
lending book matches up with the government’s financial statements. The total of Bermuda Hospitals Board’s remaining contractual obligation to Paget
Health Services (which is too much) , 2044, as at
March 31, 2021, is $7 87 million, which certainly repr esents a reduction of just under $30 million from the 2020 figure of $816.6 million.
That concludes my presentation on Head 58.
What I would like to say, Madam Chairman, in concl usion of the heads . . . the first thing that I would like to
do is I would like to thank all of the teams who are part
of the Ministry of Finance for their dedication and pr ofessionalism. I would also like to thank the considered hard work and efforts that were given by the Honour-able Member for constituency 21, the former Minister
of Finance, over the past year navigating the signif icant challenges, whether it was the coronavirus, whether it was dealing with Morgan’s Point or Carolina
Bay, whether it was dealing with making sure that we
were able to go to the markets to refinance our debt
and his significant accomplishments to the Ministry of
Finance. There have been many challenges that were


Bermuda House of Assembly faced over the past year, but the Ministry has succeeded, has persevered and should be applauded for
their work and efforts.
This submission today has highlighted the
various threats and challenges facing Bermuda, but it is noted that the Government of Bermuda has put additional resources into making sure that Bermuda’s
reputation is protected and to ensure that we can
keep up with all of the various threats which we are
facing. We will continue to proactively address these
matters to ensure this country’s continued stability and security. And the Ministry of Finance remains commi tted to serving and protecting the people of Bermuda
through fiscal prudence and effective management of
resources. And that can be demonstrated by the fact that the Government of Bermuda has exceeded its
budget targets and is able to return money to the taxpayers.
With that, Madam Chair man, that concludes
my presentations, and I thank you.

Thank you, Minister.
If I may just take a moment to remind Members and the listening public that we are in Committee of Supply for further consideration of the Estimates of
Revenue and Expenditure for the year 2022/23. This
afternoon we have been listening to the Premier and
Minister of Finance read Head 10—the Ministry of F inance; Head 11 —Accountant General; Head 12 —
Customs; Head 28— Social Insurance ; and Head 38—
Office of the Tax Commis sioner ; Head 39—Registrar
of Companies; and Head 58—Debt and Loan Guaran-tees. We began this debate at 1:53 pm. This debate
has run for four hours and is due to end at 5:53.
Would anyone like to speak?

Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Yes, Madam Chairman.
This debate, I believe, is a three- hour debate
and not four.

Oh, sorry. It is three hours. Apologies.
So, 4:53.
And Opposition Leader, please proceed.
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Thank you.
I would like to take up where the Finance Mi nister left off in regard to the debt and loan guarantee.
For the Bermuda Hospitals Board, which went from
$287 million to $785 million. I have heard his comments. I understand what he is saying in regard to
adding the interest and all incurring expenses. I think
we are a bit unsettled— and it is not a reflection on
[the Finance Minister]. Historically we have had approximately $280- something million as a guarantee for
BHB [Bermuda Hospitals Board] for 2019, 2020, 2021.
And then it increases to $787 million. And the Premier said that last year it was $816 million, a reduction of
$30 million. My question is, If this was not correctly recorded in the past, what was the impetus? Did the A uditor General or did the bond holders ask us in 2020 for the 2022 budget to change this guarantee? Is it
because of the rise in interest rates that are ex-pected? Or is it because the expenses need to be
covered? I just want to know what the impetus was for
how we recorded it, given that we have had the Aud itor General look at this from 2019, 2018, 2020, from
the beginning of the completion of BHB to date. And
all of a sudden we change how it is recorded.
So I would like further amplification on what
was the impetus for the change, and why had it not
been recommended earlier if it was not very reflective
of how the guarantee was correct? I just find it all
very, very interesting. And I do not want to be tough,
but I think it was kind of misleading , or . . . as I said
we did go from present value with just the principal or to the full total cost of maintaining the debt and that
we needed to provide a guarantee to the bond holders for the total debt that is planned for this institution over
the next number of years and not just the principal.
So I just want to know why we made that shift
from rec ording the $280 million to $787 million. And I
respect what the Premier said, but something had to be the impetus or the lynchpin that drove this new
method of reflecting the new amount for BHB.
Now, let us go to my questions. The next
question that I wou ld like to speak to is the common
reporting standards. I see the fees went up, on page
C-11. (Bear with me while I go to that page. I am going to page C -11.)

[Pause]

If you can also just give us the line
item.

Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: I will be happy to. The
OECD common reporting. That is line item 76867,
OECD common reporting, and that is capital acquis itions. And so [the Honourable Minister] basically said,
if I remember correctly, these were new systems and
new electronic methods of all owing for common r eporting. So, basically online reporting and infrastructure that supported that. And that cost us some $360,000.
I had a question on JD Edwards Enterprise
One and the Premier addressed that.

Hon. E. David Burt: I am sorry, Madam Chairman. If I
may just for a second?

Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Yes.

Hon. E. David Burt: If the Shadow Minister will yield,
go for it. Sorry, Shadow Minister.
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: That is fine.
984 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. E. David Burt: Do you have a question on the
common reporti ng thing? Or are you saying the que stion was answered so you do not have one?

Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: The question was a nswered.

Hon. E. David Burt: Okay. Got it. Thank you. No
problem.

Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Okay.
Office of Common . . . that was addr essed.
The Registrar of Companies , e-initiative , went
from 1.6 to 2.2. And that again is page C-11, 76182.
Again, just some more details on that $600,000 because the e-initiative was in place last year. And is
this a second module that costs $600,000?
On grants on page C-18. That is line item
68751, Bermuda Public Accountability Board. That
decreased from 340 to 300. I am not so concerned about the decrease, but I am not sure of what the r esponsibility of the Bermuda Public Accountability
Board is. So if [the Honourable Minister] could provide
some more information on that responsibility and what
functions they play in regard to fiscal governance.
Okay. The unemployment benefits went from
$11.18 million to zero. So I just wanted confirmation
that the Government will not be paying any unemployment benefits, distribution from the unemployment
benefit fund in 2022. I just want a confirmation that
[the Honourable Minister] will not be paying anything
from that fund and there will be no supplementals
coming to that fund. Okay. Page B -106, Policy Admi nistration . . . Oh, okay, he answered that question .
Page B -106, 20020 —International Affairs and
Regulatory . Can you give an update on the public register for the beneficial ownership of our companies? This has be en an ongoing issue for a number of
years. And I would like for the Minister of Finance to provide details on our relationship with the UK. Are
they still pressuring us? Just where are we? And what
work do we have to do to be compliant?
Head 11, the Accountant General.

Page?
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Page B-109, for the admi nistration line item 21020, Contributory Pension. I note
that they gave the value of the assets. In 2019, the
value of the assets of $1.95 billion. In 2020, the PSSF
[Publ ic Service Superannuation Fund], the value of
the assets in 2019 was $622.1 million for 2019, and
$689 million in 2020. I was hoping that this year the
Minister would also give what is the outstanding liability for these two funds, these two pension funds. Because I think we need to show a balanced picture. If
we are going to show the assets, let us be balanced
and also show the equivalent liabilities.

Okay. Thank you.

Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Okay.
I am going to page B-107, Economic Policy
and Domestic Policy, 20030 line item. Other than
drawing funds from the Sinking Fund, what is the F inance Minister’s strategy for the deficit?
Now I move to grants. I think we may have
covered some of this, so just give me a second to go
through my grants notes for Head 10.

All right. We will wait. Just give u s a
page number when you are ready.

Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Okay.
Okay. Head 10, line item 20070, and the
Premier said that members (i.e., pension members) are allowed to withdraw 5 per cent of their pension
holdings for investment in approved instrument s or
approved investment opportunities. Does the Ministry
have a list of approved investments that people can refer to for guidance to help some of these unsophist icated members from an investment point of view to
provide them guidance? So if you are allow ing them to
withdraw 5 per cent from their pensions to place in
approved investments, do we have a list that we can
share with the pension members to provide them with
guidance? Because we want to make sure that the
investments in which they participate ar e appropriate.
Okay. Head 11.

Page?

Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Head 11, page B -109,
Revenue Receipts. And it can also apply to Head 38
with Tax Collection, line 4800, page B -118. And I
raised this issue before. There was the issue of the acco unts receivable due because of the overpayment
of the unemployment benefit, and this totalled $3.5
million. What is the current status on the recovery of
this $1.35 million overpayment in the unemployment
benefit? How much have we recovered to date to r etire this account receivable?
Okay. Now I am going to page B -114, Head
12, Customs. The Minister indicated that the customs
revenue went from $200 million to $222 million in re venues. I would like to ask this question: I mentioned it a bit in my Budget Response. Could the increase in
revenues be attributed to the increase in wholesale
costs of imported items declared when they are pr esented to Customs? And I am talking about increase
in wholesale costs because of the challenges that we


Bermuda House of Assembly faced in COVID -19, bec ause of the challenges we
faced in the war in the Ukraine with Russia and because of the challenges we find because of the supply
chain disruption. All in all, it is pushing up the cost of
goods and it is causing inflation.
And is this just a knock -on eff ect of global i nflation that is working to our benefit from a revenue
point of view? I mean, we can keep the tax rates as
they are. But if the wholesale cost of goods reported
when they hit our shores increased because of global
inflation, that is a windfall for our government from a revenue perspective. So I am just wondering if that
increase is not of our doing, but because of global
inflation when it comes to importation of goods to
Bermuda.
Okay. I am going on to Head 39. Registrar of
Companies, 3901, Policy and Planning Administration,
49000. The Minister of Finance indicated that as far
as the Registrar was concerned, the total number
companies and partnerships on our corporate register
stood at 15,000. And the projected amount for
2022/23 again was 15,000. When I heard that I put my business hat on, my banker hat, or just my business
hat, period. And I am surprised that he left it at the
15,000 as a projected amount.
To me, this is a benchmark of performance, a
benchmark of how well our national sales team, our
national sales agency are doing in promoting Berm uda as a jurisdiction and as an international business offshore centre. And if we are to basically manage the
effectiveness of all of those agencies that sell Berm uda as a jurisdiction, to me thi s is a wonderful benc hmark. And to have 15,000 companies and partnerships on our register from year to year shows that
there is no growth expected on the register.
I would like for the Minister of Finance to
speak to why he did not include a growth featur e of
even 5 per cent for the number of companies on the
register. We can increase the 15,000 by 5 per cent
more to raise the bar so that we can see some growth on the register.
I know that year -in and year -out we have new
companies going on and companies going off. But
that is the nature of the beast. What is important to us and what is sustainable to us is the ongoing level of
companies that remain on the register. So I think we need to see what we can do to raise the standard and
projection for 2023.
Those are my main questions. Allow me, if
you do not mind, to go through some other issues that
I had on another piece of paper and I will go through
those quickly. I want to give the Premier time to r espond to some of these questions, but I just want to
make sure that I have all of the questions . . .

While you are looking I will just update the listening public that we are in Committee of
Supply for further consideration of the Estimates of
Revenue and Expenditure for the year 2022/23. Right now we are covering heads within the Ministry of F inance and they are Heads 10, 11, 12, 28, 38, 39 and 58. This debate is due to end at 4:53.
Member, would you like to continue?

Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Yes, I would like to conti nue.
The other interesti ng thing, and I would like to
refer to Head 11, Accountant General, under admi nistration, and that is on page B -109. We have had
problems with reconciliation of the government’s bank
account. Can the Minister provide an update on where
we are in the reconc iliation of the government’s bank
accounts and how we are managing those differences
that result from the reconciliation challenges?
I think those are my . . . Oh, right here. I would
like to refer the Minister to cost centre 38045 under Head 28, Social I nsurance. The Minister talked about
his plans going forward for the year. I have noted on a
number of occasions when he has spoken to the
plans for the upcoming year a number of those same
items were listed in last year’s budget. I will give an example.
“Mr. Chairman, with the aforementioned initi atives firmly in place within the Department of Social Insurance, the following are expected to be accomplished by the end of fiscal year 2021/22:”
I picked a few items that were mentioned last
year, and then the y were mentioned again this
year:
1“enhancement of the customer service prov isions and participation in e -government customer service initi atives;” (That was the same as last year. To
attain high- level professionalism and that is ongoing.)
. . . “to e ffectively use electronic archiving processes
to create a more paperless office.” I would like to have
seen more details on this, because this was in last
year’s report as well. So can I get an update on that?
I think we are almost there . . . last year the
Registrar of Companies , under Administration, had
commenced a review of the department’s corporate
fee structure and identified potential fee changes that will expand its revenue base. Can the Minister give us
an update on that as well?
And I think that is it . . . Oh, in regard to interest . . . let’s go to the interest on debt, Head 58, and
let me get that page, because that’s important —

Page B -126.
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Page B -126.

1 Official Hansard Report, 10 March 2021, pages 753754
986 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Madam Chairman, we are talking about interest and financing and the general administration of
Head 58 under debt. I will just refer to 5801 [Interest
on Debt]. This coming year we had approximately
$140 mi llion of private placement notes maturing on
December 4, 2022. And the interest rate was 5.73 [per
cent] and the annual interest cost was $8 million. And
a month later, on January 3, 2023, there is
$353,905,000 of unsecured senior notes maturing,
with an i nterest rate of 4.138 per cent, which is an a nnual interest cost of $14.6 million.
I am very concerned that if we wait until the
maturity of these bonds that we are going to find that
interest rates may be much, much higher. Can the
Minister tell us what strategy he has in place to poss ibly go to the market earlier while we have these lower
interest rates and is it possible that we can go earlier
and capitalise on the lower interest rates than wait
until the end of the year to go to market, especially
when the Fed is considering raising interest rates
maybe four or five times in this coming year. What kind of debt management strategy do we have for the
loans which are maturing in 2022 and early 2023? I
think we can mitigate some of these costs if we went
to market, and I would like to hear his comments on
that as well. If we went to market sooner rather than
later, given that we expect a number of interest i ncreases and we do not want the cost of financing to
increase accordingly.
With those few comments I also want to, like
the Minister, thank the employees of all of the depar tments within the Ministry. I know first- hand that they
are very professional, they are very capable and they
are very diligent. And I know without a doubt that they
always have Bermuda’s economy and Bermuda’s
success at the forefront of their mind. So, again, thank
you to the staff of the Ministry of Finance and all of the
departments related thereto, i.e., the Accountant
General, Social Insurance, Tax Commissioner, Regi strar of Companies, and et cetera (if there is anybody that I missed). Thank you everyone. And those are my
questions and comments.

Thank you, Member.
Before the Minister answers those questions,
does any other Member wish to ask questions?
I am receiv ing no response. Minister, would
you like to address the questions that have been pr esented please?
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Madam Chairman. I
will do my best to answer the questions posed by the
Shadow Minister and Opposition Leader.
The Shadow Mi nister started on this matter of
the change in the hospital guarantee. I know that the Member sits as Shadow Minister of Finance and therefore he also chairs the Public Accounts Commi ttee, so he should very well familiar with the audit r eports which come f rom the Auditor General and are tabled in the House. I know that the Chairman of the
Public Accounts Committee works closely with the
Auditor General.
So, from this perspective I will just refer the
Honourable Member to the 2018 Audited Financial Statements that were tabled in the House, and the
2018 Audited Financial Statements of the Consolidated Fund the guarantee amount was listed at $276.8
million. That was the figure that was reflected in the
subsequent Budget Book of the following year.

Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Right.

Hon. E. David Burt: In the Audit Report of 2019 for
the Consolidated Fund the guarantee amount was
listed at $845 million, and the Auditor General restated the 2018 figure of $873.3 million, which was up from $276.8 million.
Again I want to reiterate, because I know it
has been reiterated a number of times, I cannot necessarily speak to the Auditor General’s reasons for
that. That would certainly be something that will be for the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee to
further as k questions on. All we can speak to is the
fact that what we have done, and the decision of
which was made by a previous Minister of Finance,
and this was what was printed inside that matters was
to reflect in the Budget Book the same thing that was
reflected inside of the Audited Financial Stat ements of
the Consolidated Fund.
The Auditor has decided to put down a different figure inside of notes and we reflect that figure
inside of notes. There is a principal balance which
was previously reflected, the s ame principal balance
that was reflected when the Honourable Member was a Member of Cabinet, the same principal balance that
was reflected under the former Minister of Finance, and we are just going by what was inside of the Audi ted Financial Statement and it is an issue of transparency.
So there is no impetus, there is nothing irreg ular. The Auditor General made a change in the interest of consistency. It was a decision made by the former Minister of Finance to make sure that things were
reflected the sam e in all places.

Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Thank you.

Hon. E. David Burt: So, I know that there is a whole
lot of trying to be made out of this, but that is all it is.
The Auditor General made a change and we reflected that change inside the items. There is no change to
the guarantee, no new agreements were signed.
Nothing new was done, nothing else out of that.
Moving on to the next question, if I may Madam Chairman, Who is the Bermuda Public Account ability Board? The Bermuda Public Accountability
Board is formed by the Bermuda Public Accountability
Act 2011. This was as a result . . . if the Honourable


Bermuda House of Assembly Member will remember during the financial crisis
where there were some challenges with accounting
firms possibly doing things which were not supposed
to be done. There were increased global moves to
make sure that these firms are regulated and to make sure that they are held accountable to certain standards.
The Bermuda Public Accountability Board, the
Act itself sets out measures [for] public interest ent ities and in that case and instance it basically says that
a public interest entity is any entity that is audited by a public interest accountant or is listed or trade secur ities on any stock exchange in the European Union
member states or other structure or restrictions.
And, of course, in the UK now, after the UK
withdrew from the EU, just to ask who are these public
interest entities . . . public interest entities are defined
in the Act by “Public Interest Entity . . . means a public
accountant or audit firm that is registered under section 18 [of the Act] to audit the financial statements of
a PIE [Public Interest Entity].” And the examples are, of course, unsurprisingly, EY, KPMG, PwC, Deloitte
and there is a full list of registered entities that can be
found on the website of the Bermuda Public Accountability Board, which is www.bermudapab.com
. You
can look and see all various things under that matter.
There was a question in regard to Head 12,
Customs. The question asked was in regard to I think
was I copying my brief where the Honourable Member
asked whether or not the increases he was seeing in
custom duty collections were based upon increasing
rates of inflation. As I said in my brief, certainly some
of thos e things are attributed to that. Clearly whenever
there is an increase in costs . . . I also levelled that
you will see an increase in those matters. But that is not all of what it is. There is also significant activity
which is taking place with construct ion in real estate
sectors which we have seen. There are additional i mports in those places and in those measures. So it is
not purely . . .
Also, anecdotally, I will say that because there
are more people shopping online and fewer people
traveling and fl ying away, they actually have to declare everything that comes through those port s of call
whereas persons may be hiding a few things in their suitcases and not declaring them all. So, there is less
stability for that. So that is something else.
I see you smiling, Honourable Member. But
that is something else that the Customs D epartment
has seen in regard to the uptick in that. So those are the two items. The Customs D epartment, of course,
has implemented new things. People were complai ning about why everyo ne has to have a customs decl aration number, and all of those things. [This is] to
make sure that we are capturing all of the collections
which are due. So the increase is twofold and that is what we are seeing.
There was a question in regard to the curren t
state of Bermuda’s commitment to the EU and UK with respect to beneficial ownership. Bermuda’s
committed to both the UK and the EU to implement a
legislative framework for beneficial ownership. One
year after the European Union has issued the revised
fifth anti -money laundering directive it was anticipated
that they were going to issue in December last year.
To date that has not happened, which is not unusual.
People set timing and things do not particularly get
met. But it has not happened, so it is anti cipated that
the revision may come out by the latter part of this year at which point Bermuda will move toward putting the legislative framework for beneficial ownership in
place.
Certainly the Honourable Shadow Minister did
list something on [Head] 28 and said there were a
number of things that were listed last year, which may
be carried over into this year. Sometimes things ca nnot get completed. But I think it is certainly important
to recognise that Head 28, which speaks about Social
Insurance, that Soci al Insurance has made progress
in making sure that they are keeping up with compl iance in implementation of the new system. We will
certainly assist the department even further in making
sure that these types of self -service applications can
be there so people can have greater access to their pension fund balances and, not pension fund balances, but their contributions as is the Contributory Pension Fund.
There was a question on the Registrar of
Companies, why was growth of the register not for ecast to grow by at least 5 per cent. In response, the
Registrar used a conservative approach to forecast
the registered growth based on historical trends over the last two years, as well as taking into consideration
the current regulatory environment particularly ec onomic substance, which has resulted in some attrition
to the registry despite a marginal increase we might see in enrolment. So, one of the things we do is try
not to over project in the Ministry of Finance.
Of course, the Shadow Minister will note if we
end up with higher revenues and we manage to keep
a check on our expenses the Government has stated
that we will return 50 per cent of any surplus to the
public in the form of tax reductions.
Moving on, the Shadow Minister asked
whether or not I could provide an update on the ROC
revenue fee base and those matters. The Registrar of
Companies identified the opportunity to look to augment fees. There is a significant increase in the amount of resources needed for the Registrar of
Companies and we are currently looking to how we
can make sure that we balance the fees and make
Bermuda competitive, or make sure Bermuda remains
competitive while also seeking to gain a slight additional uptick in revenue to fund what has been a si gnificant increase in the needs for our Registrar of
Companies.
The Honourable Member asked about the
debt management strategy that exists with the bonds
988 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda House of Assembly maturing in 2022 and 2023. As was stated inside of
my Budget Statement, and as I think was stated inside
of here, but I will make it clear so that there is no doubt. The former Minister of Finance put in place a strategy to accelerate our debt offering. Originally it was scheduled for November 2022. We are now scheduled to go to the markets before the end of the
second quarter. The meetings have already taken
place. Those things have been issued. We already have various items in regard to pricing. As you would be aware, Honourable Member, 10 years continued to move very quickly. So we are trying to make sure that we put those things in place.
I know that you asked for a breakout of the
PSSF and CPF balances. I do believe that I have those inside, but if not, the $3.8 billion of assets is ap-proximately $2.8 billion for the Contributory Pension Fund and $1.1 billion for the Public Service Supera nnuation Fund. That is what I am reading in front of me.
It might have changed, so I will make sure to get
those accurate figures for you as quickly as I can.
Of course, you know there are no legislative
provisions for the shortfall of the Consolidated Fund for the CPF. There is one for the PSSF but not for the
CPF. However, it is envisioned that the Government
will not allow that to go. But there are significant rev isions that are taking place on the PSSF side and I am happy to speak to the Honourable Shad ow Minister
about that, or to the Public Accounts Committee which happens to call technical officers which are happy to
speak to him on those matters.
There was a question about the ROC capital
initiative, $2.2 million. Those $2.2 million are to expand the functionality of the system to include the
beneficial ownership register and to provide for other upgrades to the system.
I have answered all of the questions that I
have up to this point in time. I am happy to yield if there is any further time, Madam Chairman.

We have one minute. So I believe,
unless you have a quick one . . . Oh, excuse me, we
are at 4:53. So, Premier, I please request that you now move your Heads.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Madam Chairman.
I am very grateful for the questions from the
Shadow Minister of Finance. Despite the fact that we spar politically we have a good relationship. And, of course, we try to maintain a good relationship. So, Shadow Minister, I tell you all the time if there are any questions about anything in the Ministry of Finance do not hesitate to reach out. And, as you know, the team
here will certainly assist.
So, with that being said, Madam Chairman, I
move the following Heads: Head 10, Ministry of F inance Headquarters; Head 11, Accountant General;
Head 12, Customs; Head 28, Social Insurance; Head 38, Office of the Tax Commissioner; Head 39, Regi s-trar of Companies; and Head 58, Debt and Loan
Guarantee be approved as printed.

It has been moved that Heads 10, 11,
12, 28, 38, 39 and 58 be approved.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection, agreed to.
[
Motion carried: the Ministry of Finance Heads 10, 11,
12, 28, 38, 39 and 58 were approved and stand pat of
the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for 2022/23]
The Chair man: Thank you Premier, Minister of F inance. That marks the end of the Finance brief.
Good afternoon Honourable Members, we are
now in Committee of Supply for further consideration of Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year 2022/23. We are now going to listen to the Heads of
the Ministry of National Security. The time is 4:54, and
we are going to listen to Head 83— Ministry of National Security Headquarters; Head 6 —Defence; Head
7—Police; Head 12— Customs; Head 25—
Department of Corrections; and Head 45 —Fire Se rvices .
Minister, good afternoon. You may proceed.
MINISTRY OF NATIONAL SECURITY
Hon. Renee Ming: Good afternoon, Madam Chairman, and listening audience.
I move that the following Heads: Head 83—
Ministry of National Security Headquarters; Head 6 —
Defence; Head 7—Police; Head 12— Customs; Head
25—Department of Corrections; and Head 45 —Fire
Services now be taken under consideration

All right, I am going to mark that as
4:55. Thank you.
HEAD 83 —MINISTRY OF NATIONAL SECURITY
HEADQ UARTERS
Hon. Renee Ming: Madam Chairman and Honourable
Members, I am pleased to present the current ac-counts estimate for the Ministry of National Security Headquarters, Head 83, which can be found on pages
B-263 to B -265 of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure Book. Madam Chairman, I will briefly discuss the Ministry as a whole followed by the infor-mation for Head 83, Ministry Headquarters, and then in detail for each of the Heads under the Ministry,
namely: Head 6—Defence; Head 7— Police; Head
12—Cus toms; Head 25 —Department of Corrections;
and Head 45 —Fire Services.
Madam Chairman, five hours have been allotted for this Ministry and I intend to give sufficient time
for the Opposition to ask any questions or seek clarif iB ermuda House of Assembly cation on the financial year 2022/23 Estimates of
Revenue and Expenditure.
Madam Chairman, the mission of the Ministry
of National Security Headquarters is Working together
to keep you safe. Madam Chairman, the mission
statements, programmes and budgets within the Mi nistry are aligned w ith this overriding mission.
Madam Chairman, I will briefly set out some of
the priorities of the Ministry for the next financial year which includes a number of p olicy initiatives that I will
be delivering on .
•A Police Authority to facilitate an open and
collaborative forum to support the Bermuda
Police Service and the communities theyserve.
•A National Crime Prevention Plan that will f ocus on deterrence, rehabilitation and reint egration.
•The Ministry of National Security will support
Bermuda’s economic recovery by ensuring
that the people in our neighbourhoods feelsafe and that the local businesses in ourcommunities are protected.
•As part of the focus on crime prevention andthe concentrated efforts to reduce the numberof road traffic offences, this Ministry will a dvance a new Island- wide CCTV system. An
upgr
aded CCTV system will result in increased safety for our community, as a func-tional CCTV system will also serve as a deter-rent to potential criminals. The system will aidin the identification of suspects in the event of
criminal activity.
•As part of our commitment to ensuring thatBermuda’s cybersecurity defences are ade-quate to protect our Island from dangerous
online actors, a Cybersecurity Act will be t abled which will establish minimum standard
s
f
or cybersecurity for critical assets such as
energy supply, telecommunications, water i nfrastructure and government data.
•The increase in cyber crime, which has no
borders, is an ongoing threat and requires
modern cybercrime legislation that meets i nternational standards. Bermuda’s Cybercrime
legislation will be modernised and provide for
the Bermuda Police Service to investigate c ybercrime in cooperation with other jurisdi ctions.
Expenditure Overview
Hon. Renee Ming: Madam Chairman, I would now
draw yo ur attention to page B- 262 of the Estimates
Book where you will note that the Mi nistry of National
Security budget for the financial year 2022/23 is $124,713,000, an increase of $2,086,000, 2 per cent,
which will be discussed in more detail in the individu al
heads. This increase is mainly owing to the austerity measure salary reductions coming to an end and the
budget for salaries being increased to reflect this.
Madam Chairman, page B -262 shows a rev enue estimate for the Ministry of $1,054,000, a $25,000
decrease or 2 per cent over financial year 2021/22
which will also be discussed in more detail in the ind ividual heads.
Madam Chairman, page B -262 also details
the current account expenditure of the departments that make up the overall budget for the Minist ry by
Head as follows:
HEAD Department FY 2021/22 FY 2022/23 Estimate
83 Ministry Headquarters $1,995 million $2,018 million
6 Defence 7,282 million 7,857 million
7 Police 61,298 million 62,158 million
12 Customs 16,086 million 16,575 million
25 Corrections 22,829 million 22,893 million
45 Fire Services 13,137 million 13,212 million
Ministry Total $124,713 million
HEAD 83 – MINISTRY HEADQUARTERS
Hon. Renee Ming: Madam Chairman, I now turn to
the current account estimates for Head 83, the Minis-try Headquarters which can be found on page B -263.
Madam Chairman, the objectives of the Mini stry Headquarters are to ensure the Minister’s policy
objectives are met ; ensure that the Ministry and D epartments deliver services effectively and comply with relevant legislation, policies and procedures ; plan,
mitigate and respond to threats to security ; reduce
crime and anti social behaviour ; and promote public
safety.
Madam Chairman, the Ministry of National
Security Headquarters’ budget allocation of $2,018,000 for the 2022/ 23 year represents an i ncrease of $23,000 or a 1 per cent increase over the
2021 /22 budget allocation. This is primarily due to
agreed salary reductions by employees as part of the
austerity measures for one year coming to an end and
the full salaries being reinstated.
General Summary
Hon. Renee Ming: M adam Chairman, on page B-263
of the current account estimates you will note that there are eight business units within the Ministry
Headquarters.
The estimate for business unit 93000 A dministration is $1,207,000, an increase of $176,000 or
17 per cent. This increase is offset by the reduction in
business unit 93007, Disaster Risk Reduction and
Mitigation, of $193,000, or 91 per cent. The realloc ation of the funds reflect s that most of the c osts associated with DRRM are administration and should be
budgeted under 93000.
Madam Chairman, the estimates for business
units 93002, 93003 and 93004 are for the Parole Board, Treatment of Offenders Board and Police
990 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda House of Assembly Complaints Authority , respectively , and are unchanged from the original and revised estimates for
financial year 2021/22.
Madam Chairman, business unit 93008 r elates to the Gang Violence Reduction Programme with
an estimate for financial year 2022/23 of $621,000. This represents a $40,000 increase, or 7 per cent,
over financial year 2021/22 in order for the team to expand programmes to tackle the scourge of gang violence in our community.
Madam Chairman, the final two business units
in the general summary on page B -263 are for two
business units that are not being funded this year.
These are 93009, the Immigration Appeals Tribunal, which no longer falls [under] the Ministry and 93997,
the National Health Emergency which was created for
COVID -19 response including the Quarantine Hotel
costs w hich are not anticipated in financial year
2022/23.
Subjective Analysis
Hon. Renee Ming: Madam Chairman, I would now
like to address page B- 264 of the current account estimates. This page includes the subjective analysis of current account estimates and the employee numbers or full- time equivalents.
Madam Chairman, six of the object codes see
no change in estimates for financial year 2022/23 over the original budget of 2021/22, and I will therefore limit
my comments to the other six that have been changed.
Salaries , as I mentioned earlier , are being i ncreased by $38,000, or 5 per cent , to reflect the end of
the austerity measures. Training has been increased by $20,000, or 125 per cent, to reflect the increased
need for training for cybersecurity prepara tion and
response and other national security risks.
These i ncreases are partially offset by a
$22,000, or 27 per cent, decrease in estimates for
travel as COVID -19 has not only reduced the ability to
travel but allowed meetings and trainings to take place
remotely. Further savings have been made in profes-sional services t otalling $14,000, or 2 per cent , whilst
materials and supplies have increased by $39,000, or
7 per cent, to provide additional materials for the
Gang Violence Reduction Team (GVRT) and ant icipated inflation, this is offset by a reduction in other expenses of $38,000 , or 18 per cent that relate to a
reduction in maint enance fees for radio and tower
equipment.
Madam Chairman, the employee numbers or
full-time equivalents is unchanged at eight and I now
will move to page C -15 and capital acquisitions. The
estimate for 2022/23 for Ministry of National Security Headquarters is $1,037,000 for the new Island- wide
CCTV system that I spoke to earlier. 2021
/2022 Accomplishments
Hon. Renee Ming: Madam Chairman, I will now
speak on some of the accomplishments that the Mi nistry had in 2021/2022 before moving to the other
Heads under the Ministry.
Cybersecurity
Hon. Renee Ming: Madam Chairman, we are all
heavily dependent on information and communicat ion
technology but with this reliance comes significant risks. We must continue to be vigilant and enhance
our collective ability to protect systems and data and
keep ahead of the ever evolving and borderless scourge of cyber threats. Our cybersecurity str ategy
provides the appropriate framework for the Gover nment of Bermuda to ensure that Information and Communications Technology (ICT) systems are int egrated across all segments of our society and econ omy, in a safe and secure manner. In turn, this will promote economic diversification and augment Ber-muda’s prosperity and safety.
Madam Chairman, Cybersecurity key accomplishments during financial year 2021/22 include the
following :
•As part of the Bermuda Cybersecurity Strategy,the Ministry of National Security conducted extensive consultation with Bermuda stakeholders including the Cybersecurity Governance Board, th
e
Privacy Commissioner, and the Regulatory A uthority, to develop Cybersecurity legislation . This
legislation will establish clear requirements a nd
r
esponsibilities for the protection of government
and other critical national information infrastruc-tures against cyber threats.
•Following a roadmap to implement a Cybersecur ity Incident Response Team and Security Oper ations Cent re to protect the Government and Bermuda against cyber threats, the Ministry has de-veloped an expanded structure for the Cybersec urity Unit. The planned structure has been r eviewed and approved by the Cybersecurity Governance Board and is in alignment with the rec-ommendations made by the International Tel ecommunications Union under the 2020 asses sment of Bermuda’s needs and capabilities.
•National Security continues to lead the development of a comprehensive Information Systems
Risk Management Programme. Working as part ofthe cros s-ministry Cyber Risk Management team
that includes the Chief Information Officer, Head
of
[the] PATI \PIPA Unit, representatives from Libraries and Archives, and other key stakeholders ,
the team identifies cyber risks impacting Gover nment information and systems, and developsstrategies, policies, and standards to ensure therisks are adequately addressed.

B ermuda House of Assembly •The security manager during financial year
2021/22 provided cybersecurity training for heads
of departments , government staff, vendors, and
contractors. This training is tailored to specific j ob
f
unctions and includes cybersecurity governance,
management, secure systems planning, secure
systems design, and threat model ling.
•National Security also provided support to go vernment departments in securing thei r IT systems
and information, providing guidance for appropr iate planning, design, and documentation to com-ply with approved policies and standards, andmeet security requirements and defined securityobjectives. Identifying threats to information, ITsystems, components, and processes , identif y
vulnerabilities impacting IT system s, architecture,
components, and data flows. Identify attack vec-tors and assess the likelihood and impact of at-tacks. This work included providing recommenda-tions for secure design and appropriate admini strative, operational, and technical safeguards tomeet security requirements for protecting infor-mation and IT systems , and preventing, detecting,
responding to, and recovering from cybersecurityincidents.
•The Ministry participated in a cybersecurity conference with other overseas territories in Februaryto discuss a range of critical areas of cyber secur ity understanding, risk management and mitigation
measures. The key aims of the conference wereto build a community of support across all of theOverseas Territorie s and to understand the current cybersecurity postures for each territory, national requirements and priorities for improvingcyber security.
Gang Violence Reduction Team
Hon. Renee Ming: Madam Chairman, I made a
statem ent to this H onourable House on 4 February
2022 , where I advised my honourable colleagues that
gangs and violence are a scourge on our community.
The root causes are painful reflections of generations
of economic and social inequality in Bermuda and the mindset it creates. This, combined with a number of
other factors, including the breakdown of the family
unit, lack of or limited education and employment opportunities make it very difficult to break this cycle and enable meaningful social mobility. However , we can
and must address these root causes to stop this cycle of youth turning to gangs.
Madam Chairman, the Ministry Gang Violence
Reduction Team led by Pastor Leroy Bean has
worked tirelessly throughout the year to provide a number of programs includi ng:
•The Redemption Farm Program me, a program me
aimed to be socially restorative and encouragethe desistance of criminality. The R edemption
Programme trainees receive a weekly stipend fortheir work and C ase Management Services, Educational Services and Post Training Support are
part of the program me.
•Work Placement and Mentoring Program . This is
a job placement program me that employs and
targets at -risk youth who participated in the H igh
School I ntervention P rogram mes
.
•School program mes and services . Early intervention programmes include the Hype Kings andQueens programmes at the primary level that tar-get at -risk boys and girls. The Gang Violence R eduction Team also conduct weekly visits to prim ary school and middle schools; daily visits to highschools to be on hand to offer guidance and assist
with interventions.
•The Excellence Program me, a partnering pr ogram me with Cedar Bridge Academy. This 10- to12-week programme focuses on incident medi ation and encouraging self -reflection. The G ang Violence Reduction Team help students reali se their
self-worth.
•Street level outreach work and case management
.
The Gang Violence Reduction Team continues to
lower community tensions, with a focus on prison,
school and street level outreach.
•The Coordinated [Crisis ] Response Team is avai lable following crisis response to restore peace in
the community and assist family members, rel atives or witnesses to violent crimes. There is a
hos
pital team that attend the hospital to support
family and close loved ones during the peak c risis.
The community team provide crisis counselling toresidents following a violent incident. The teamgoes door -to-door offering support and offering
guidance on services to area affected residents.
•Mediations and negotiations . The team assist
s
w
here needed to bridge gaps and foster relationships.
•Community service are available to support youn g
peop
le in obtaining their court mandated comm unity service hours.
Madam C hairman, the team also provides
non-traditional counselling sessions and family group
sessions ; monitors court sessions and provides client
advocacy support during court ; connects clients to
various social supports including Financial Assistance, Legal Aid, and food support ; provides clients who are
seeking employment with assistance in devel oping
résumés and applying for jobs ; and provides conflict
resolution service and mediat es between clients to
prevent further incidents.
Madam Chairman, in our schools the G ang
Violence Reduction Team provides incident management support , which includes facilitating multi- agency
department meetings to strategi se the development of
violence mitigation plans where there is high tension or incidents between students . It deliver s ongoing
mediation sessions , [conducts] daily school lunch vi sits in high schools , deliver s individual youth sessions ,
992 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda House of Assembly and launched the Excellence Program me, which I
spoke about, Madam Chairman.
Madam Chairman, the G ang Violence Reduction Team’s key accomplishments include:
•The Gang Violence Reduction Case Management
and Outreach Services have supported hundreds
of young men in our community. Clients areplaced with a case manager who assists themwith securing housing, food, employment, courtservices and making healthy life choices. The
Gang Vi
olence Reduction Team operates with cl ient-led, strength- based programmes that meet
client’s individual needs and provide a sense ofbelonging, consistency and impartial guidance.The G ang Violence Reduction Team directly supported over 85 at -risk clients between the ages of
18 and 35 within our Case Management and Outreach Services.
•The G ang Violence Reduction Team delivered
another successful full Redemption Program me in
2021 /22. Some 16 trainees completed the 30week program me. The program me is a specialised therapeutic, incentivi sed program me for at -
risk individuals between the ages of 18 and 35.
The Redemption Program me Trainees received a
weekly stipend to participate in a training pr ogram me that includes Case Management Services, Educational Services, and Post TrainingSupport.
•The Gang Violence Reduction Team continues to
focus resources on School Outreach to preventgang and antisocial behaviour in school children.The Gang Violence Reduction Team provides
a
num
ber of services and supports to schools which
include individual student case m anagement,
mentoring, speciali sed small group meetings,
speciali sed program mes, mediation and negoti ation, and incident management support services.
•The Gang Violence Reduction Team provides
post-incident support which includes, security
meetings, school administration strategy meetings, creation of mitigation plans, and coordinatingand leading multi -agency meetings to assess and
disseminate information pertaining to gang- related
incidents .
•The Gang Violence Reduction Team delivered
another successful full Work Placement and Men-toring Program me in 2021/22. Sixteen Students
completed the eight -week training program me.
The Work Placement and Mentoring Initiative is a
job placement [program me] that selects and employs targeted at -risk young people who have pa rticipated in the intervention programme and targeted students in a lternative education program mes. The program me provides students an 8
to 10 week paid [work ] experience within different
local companies and mentoring support to ensur
e
t
heir success in wo rk placement . The students are
paid $350 per week.Madam Chairman, the work of the team also
included :
•Thirty to 40 mentoring/casework sessions permonth.
•Ten Family meetings per month along with
over 40 direct contacts with families.
•The team attended court daily and advocate
d
f
or between 15 to 20 clients monthly.
•The team provided 15 to 20 individual clients
each month with employment training, job
coaching, and personal development sessions.
•The team held between 5 to 10 mediations
and negotiations monthly.
•In 2021/22 the team was called out 40 timesto various violent incidents in the community.
•The Hospital Team was activated 22 times to
provide support to family and close loved
ones and provide post -incident support.
•The Community Team was activated 12 times
to provide immediate crisis counselling to residents and post -incident door -to-door neig hbourhood check -ins to offer affected residents
further support.
•The team has delivered 160 individual case
management/job coaching sessions with R edempt ion Program me trainees.
•The team has also supported trainees through
24 crisis situations.
•The program me delivered 52 sessions covering key areas which include job readinessskills, life skills, career exposure, goal setting,and general personal development.
•Nine trainees were offered a full -time or part -
time job during their training placement andhave recently transitioned into their new role.
•Six of our current trainees are actively seeking
full-time employment and/or part -time e mployment. The team is supporting these trai nees to prepare resumes and apply to variousbusinesses for jobs.
Madam Chairman,
•Sixty -three young people from various services were directly supported by Gang Vi olence Reduction Team Services in 2021 /22.
•The team [held] between 400 to 600 general
check -ins and quick touchpoints with youth in
targeted schools.
•The team monthly provided 40 to 60 individual
and small group employment support ses-sions, education sessions, personal develo pment sessions, youth leadership and monthly
check -in.
•Eight to 10 small group sessions with targeted
young people in various schools each month.
•Ten to 15 meetings monthly with outsideagencies including the Bermuda Police Ser-vice, Court Services, Workforce Development,

B ermuda House of Assembly Financial Assistance, Department of Child and
Family Services, CFS, Legal Support, Counselling Services, Food Service support, Em-ployers, and Immigration.
•On average, 10 family meetings each mont
h
al
ong with the 20- 25 contacts with families.
•Three to four mediations and negotiations
each month.
•Three to four Restorative Circle Groups with
young people and meetings with young pe ople and their parents monthly.
Madam Chairman, of note is that :
•One hundred per cent of these students completed the Work Readiness Workshop. Thi rteen of the 14 students completed the entire
6-week pr ogramme.
•Ten of the 14 students never missed a scheduled workday.
•Business partners demonstrated their en-gagement with the program me with 93 per
cent completing work evaluations and coac hing meetings with students.
•A tot al of 147 job coaching sessions were
held by the programme manager.
•Eighty -five per cent of the business partners
have indicated they would participate in the
programme again.
•One hundred per cent of students would recommend this program me to others.
•One hundred per cent of parents saw personal growth in their child over the 8- week period.
•Eight students were offered an additional two
weeks of paid work based on their weekly per-formance reports and supervisor satisfaction.
•Four of the students have subsequently been
hired in part -time or full -time positions on the
companies’ own accord.
•An additional two students were offered summer jobs for the 2022 season.
•Gang Violence Reduction Team made three
referrals to additional emotional and social
support services and supported studentsthrough five crisis incidents.
•One hundred per cent of students in the pr ogramme stayed clear of anti social behaviou
r
or
criminal activity for the length of the pr ogramme.
Disaster Reduction Risk Management
Hon. Renee Ming: Madam Chairman, in 2018 the
Ministry of National Security formed the Disaster Risk Reduction and Mitigation Team (DRRM). The DRRM is responsible for bringing together all of the disaster
plans for Bermuda and ensuring that all agencies and
government depar tments are engaged and fully committed to continuously updating these plans and trai ning their staff in the execution of those plans to ensure that when the need arises, they work. The DRRM
consists of employees who are temporarily reassigned
from various departments.
The key accomplishments for the Disaster
Reduction Risk Management team include t he team
setting up and managing all logistics for the Ministry of
Health designated quarantine facilities from 20 March
until 30 September 2021 . This saw two DRRM Team
members being seconded full -time for this task. They
were assisted by individuals hired through the D epartment of Workforce Development. The services managed were: greeting the arriving passengers at
each hotel and providing them with the COVID -19
documentation; personnel providing the liaison b etween the government and guests while in hotel ; care
package drop off facilitation ; recreational activities ; onsite COVID -19 testing; and coordinating the security
detail .
Madam Chairman, in addition to the quarantine hotels, the DRRM Team supported the Public Health Regulations by processing approximately 98 applications for large group gatherings until 17 June when the Ministry of Youth, Culture, and Sports took over these applications. Madam Chairman, the DRRM
Team also supported the Public Health Regulations with processing approximately 1,000 night -time curfew
applications.
Madam Chairman, the DRRM Team suppor ted the following activities and contingency planning exercises in 2021 and 2022:
•The Tsunami Exercise, held in March 2021. Bermuda participated in the annual regional tsunamiexercise called Caribe Wave, which was a strat egic communications exercise for Bermuda that i nvolved the EMO Executive. This exercise was d ialed back due to the staffing demands caused byCOVID -19.
•Cruise Ship planning. I n 2021, the DRRM Team
was involved with the successful homeporting vis-its of the Norwegian, Viking, and Crystal cruiselines. The DRRM Team coordinated the multi-agency tabletop discussions based on the cruisi n
g
f
ramework that was developed by the Minister of
Transportation and Minister of Health to identifyany issues and maximi se the success of thes
e
i
mportant visits.
•Hurricane Season 2021 saw another active an d
abo
ve-average hurricane season. Three EMO executive meetings were held for Hurricane Larry on
9 September and three more EMO Executivemeetings were held for Hurricane Sam.
•At the Airport exercise in December 2021, the
DRRM Team , working with Skyport Corporation,
assisted in coordinating the multi -agency live exercise involving a scenario of a plane landing andcoming to rest in the water s in Annie’s Bay. A live
exercise of this type is required to take place every three years in order for the airport to keep itsaccreditation.
994 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda House of Assembly •In September 2021, the DRRM Team coordinated
training with two instructors from the Disaster Vi ctim Identification (DVI) Department, at [ New] Scotland Yard who trained 15 students which consis ted of 12 police officers and three regiment solders
in the discipline of Disaster Victim Identification.
This training course was three full days in duratio n
and c
umulated in a practical exercise and resulted
in all 1 5 students being qualified. In addition, a pproximately 40 commanders and managers from24 different departments and agencies at the str ategic level received an overview of what is needed
to facilitate a DVI incident.
•This training has filled a gap that existed in the
current contingency plans at the airport, for cruise
ships, for large international events, for largescale industrial accidents and other national con-tingency plans, should the worst -case scenario
ever unfold in Bermuda. This puts Berm
uda on a
good
footing when these plans are audited by i nternational bodies, and in agreement with interna-tional best practices as laid out by INTERPOLwith trained investigators using accepted practicesin line with international standards.
•The DRRM T eam has also chaired the monthly
supply chain meetings with the private sectorwhich have been meeting since the beginning ofCOVID -19. They have proved important, providing
Government with an understanding of the global
supply chain challenges and how it is affecting local businesses and the goods that Bermuda is so
reliant on.
Madam Chairman, event coordination occurred this past year in a reduced capacity owing to COVID -19, but the following events were held, and
agency contingency planning was coordinated by the DRRM Team:
•Sail GP that was held in April
•the May 24
th Half Marathon
•Cup Matc h
•And the PGA event held in October
2022
/23 Plans
Hon. Renee Ming: Madam Chairman, in keeping with
our mission of “Working together to keep you safe.” we will for the next financial year:
Cybersecurity
Hon. Renee Ming: Madam Chairman, the Cybersec urity plans for 2022/23 in addition to the legislation a lready mentioned will include:
•the Security Manager working closely with the
Chief Information Officer and Head of t he
PAT
I/PIPA Unit to provide the Government’s
ability to identify, protect, detect, respond, and
recover from cyber threats.•National Security will also continue to work
with the Cybersecurity Governance Board,supporting the implementation of the Berm
uda
Cybersecurity Strategy. This will include establishing Cybercrime legislation and Cybersecurity legislation.
Gang Violence Reduction Team
Hon. Renee Ming: Madam Chairman, the mission of
the Gang Violence Reduction Team is :
•to aid in the transition of at -risk individuals
away from delinquent peer groups and toxic
environments with the aim of reducing violent
crime in Bermuda;
•to change the pattern of behaviour of individuals involved in group and gang violence an d
r
eintegrate them back into mainstream soci ety;
•to prevent preteens and adolescents from
joining gangs and engaging in anti social behaviour by re- establishing positive socia l
bonds ;
•t
o create opportunities of employment for
young people and individuals who have prev iously not been employable due to antisocialbackgrounds ;
•to connect at -risk youth, men and women with
the necessary helping agencies that will aid inaddressing mental and social health issues ;
•to place more focus on fostering and sustaining positive interpersonal relationships.
Madam Chairman, it is important to understand that our clients carry life histories marked by poverty, family violence, marginali sation and interge nerational abuse and neglect. Many have incarceration experiences or have pending charges and cases. The
young people we support face additional challenges
presented by institutionalisation, discrimination, com-munity judgment, major educational gaps, negligible work history, and criminal records or criminal proceed-ings which preclude even the hopes of employment. For many of our clients, substances are a way of coping with the pain of gang involvement, homelessness,
and mental health issues.
Madam Chairman, the Gang Violence Reduction Team will continue to work in our community to reduce gang tensions and provide a way out of gang life as well as provide children with alternative life
choices to gang life. We must give the next generation
a viable alternative to gang life.
Madam Chairman, we will launch the Safe
House programme; continue to provide the Redem ption Programme, a 30- week therapeutic, incentivised
programme for the next group of 15 trainees ; continue
to provide services and supports to schools and school children; launch of the fourth cohort of the
Work Placement and Mentoring Programme, a 10-week structured work experience providing selected

B ermuda House of Assembly targeted at -risk youth men and women targeted with
opportunities for career exploration and sk ills deve lopment employs who have participated in our High
School Intervention Programmes .
[We will] launch the BackPax app in partnership with the Ministry of Education. The app is a 100 per cent percent anonymous bully prevention and
intervention app. The bullying app will provide valua-ble services to school administrators including infor-mation about conflicts and resolutions, training and promotion services, monitoring school incidents, and investigation tools to manage risks
[We will] re -launch of the Hype Kings and
Queens Programme to six targeted primary school groups around the I sland. The programme is built up
of a specialised 14- week experiential curriculum which
is unique to each 15 student cohort. The initiative was designed to reduce risk factors, enhance protective factors, increase academic motivation and increase
developmental factors in young people participating.
[We will] work with other government depar tments and the third sector to collaborate and coordinate early intervention efforts for those vulnerable
children at risk of becoming involved in anti social behaviour and gangs or have started to be drawn to this lifestyle.
Disaster Reduction Risk Management
Hon. Renee Ming: Madam Chairman, the DRRM
Team will assist Government Ministries i n developing
business continuity policies and plans for implement ation post impact of a disaster.
The DDRM Team through the Emergency
Measures Organisation will coordinate the Gover nment’s response to a disaster (whether natural or
man- made) where the local community has been i mpacted greatly. This will require the DRRM Team to
meet with both Government Ministries and external stakeholders in developing and exercising emergency plans such as:
•cruise ship plans ;
•airport emergency plans ;
•marine contingency plans for oil pollution;
•major event safety and security plans ;
•testing interagency command, control an
d
c
ommunications ;
•hurricane plans ;
•mass casualty plans ;
•chemical facility plans ;
•pandemic plans ;
•cybersecurity plans ;
Madam Chairman, the DRRM Team w ill co ntinue to work on the following exercises and planning
processes:
•Cruise Ships planning —With the cruise ship
season intended resumption in 2022, Berm uda expects to see up to 190 cruise ship visits.The DRRM Team will engage the five regular callers t o develop their contingency plans i nvolving multi- agency tabletop planning exercises.
•Airport exercise planning —The DRRM Team
will assist all the airport agencies in 2022 wit
h
t
abletop and live modular exercises that are
required by the Bermuda Civil Aviation Admi nistration .
•Cybersecurity planning— The DRRM Team
Sits on the Cybersecurity Governance Board
and will assist with the development of t he
Bermuda National Cyber security Strategy,
especially in the area of legislation and the
penetration exercise that is being planned for
2022.
•Marine Pollution planning —Contingency pla nning for marine pollution was lacking in 2021
due to COVID -19, but in March of 2022, the
DRRM Team are assisting the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources with c oordinating a live oil spill exercise in Whal ebone Bay.
•Tsunami Exercise —Bermuda will again parti cipate in this annual event in March 2022. Thisexercise is organised by UNESCO under theumbrella of the United Nations and NOAA and
is a regional multi -country tsunami exercise
involving approximately 30 countries.
•Chemical facility planning that is required un-der the International Health Regulations, will
continue for Ferry Reach so that plans aredeveloped for the residents of this communityand also those that work and travel in this ar-ea in case a serious incident occurs at the fuelfarm.
•Critical national infrastructure planning for allkey locations on the Island.
Madam Chairman, the DRRM Team will work
with sports organisations in developing event safety
plans for large international spectator events including
the following:
•Sail Grand Prix scheduled for May, with Ber-muda now hosting this event for the second
time;
•Bermuda Day and weekend events ;
•Heroes or carnival weekend events ;
•Cup Match;
•PGA Golf ;
•Rugby Classic in October ;
•Gold Cup sailing week also in October ;
•International Triathlon Event in November
(this was just announced);
•International Race Weekend in January .
Madam Chairman, I will now move to Head 06
Defence. I am just going to take a sip of water.
996 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: At this time, I would just like to remind
Members that we are in Committee of Supply for further consideration of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year 2022/23. We are listening to the Heads for the Ministry of National Security, which include [Head] 83 the Headquarters, [Head] 6 the D epartment of Defence, Head 7 Police, Head 12 Customs, Head 25 Department of Corrections and Head
45 Fire Service. This debate began at 4:55 and it will run for five hours.
Minister, you now have the floor.
HEAD 06 —DEFENCE
Hon. Renee Ming: Madam Chairman, I am pleased to
present the E stimates of R evenue and E xpenditure for
Head 6, Defence, which can be found on Pages B -
266 to B -270 of the current account estimates book.
Madam
Chairman, the mission of the Depar tment of Defence is T o protect Bermuda’s Interests .
Madam Chairman, their objective includes:
•Force Protection— Measures and means to
minimise the vulnerability of personnel, facil ities, equipment, material, operations and ac-tivities from threats and hazards in order to
preserve freedom of action and operational ef-fectiveness thereby contributing to missi
on
su
ccess.
•Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief —The
or
ganised response to alleviate the results of
a catastrophe, the consequences of which put
lives and livelihoods at risk, and exceeds the
responsible agency’s ability to cope using its
own resources.
•State Ceremonial —Provide state ceremonial
and musical support for the G overnment an d
t
o promote Bermuda, through ceremonial p arades, na tional events and musical displays.
•International Assistance —Upon request, the
Regiment will provide military skills and r esources to assist the UN, NATO, regional, or
international peace support operations ortraining , thereby enhancing Bermuda’s reputation in the international community.
•Enhanc e Bermuda Society —The Regiment
will continue to provide and important role insupporting the integration and development ofBermudian society.
•Coast Guard —In order to secure Bermuda’s
territorial waters out to 12 nautical miles anddefend the EE Zone [EEZ] (which is 200 na utical miles), and in compliance with the D efence (Coast Guard Unit) Amendment, theRegiment will expand its full -time Coast Guard
capability.Madam Chairman, Head 06 comprises t
he
Defence Department, the Royal Bermuda Regiment,
or “the Regiment .” The Regiment’s irreplaceable role
is to provide operational and surge capacity to support Bermuda, the Government, and its people, in routine
matters or in times of emergency.
Mand
ate
Hon. Renee Ming: Madam Chairman, under the authority of the Defence Act 1965, the Royal Bermuda Regiment’s mandate is to be a military force maintai ning the necessary standards of manpower, training,
and equipment, and to enable it to protect Bermuda’s
interests at home and overseas. It conducts its trai ning and operations whil e also acting as a centre of
excellence for all Bermudians to be able to personally
and professionally develop whilst serving their country.
Personnel
Hon. Renee Ming: Madam Chairman, the Regiment
currently has 37 full -time staff , of which three are civi lian. There are five Coast Guard posts approved but not funded and two RBR FT E posts currently frozen
and unfunded. This bring the total of FTEs to 44 which
is reflected i n the Budget [Book] on page B -269. In
addition to the full -time staff the R oyal Bermuda Regiment part-time strength is 315.
Current Account Funding
Hon. Renee Ming: T he Regiment’s top line finances
for 2021/22 versus 2022/23 are as follows, and can be
further explained on page B -268: Original estimate
2021/22, $7,282,000; estimate 2022/23, $7,857,000 ;
increase of $575,000 ; per cent of change, 7.3 per cent
Current Account Estimates —B-269: Madam
Chairman, the original budget for 2021/22 was
$7,282,000. Due to the continued support of CO VID19 and health measures the approved revised budget
[2021/22] is $8,815,000. T he main contributors to this
increase are staff wages, personal protective equi pment, and logistical support. The budget estimate for
2022/23 is $7,857,000 which in an increas e of
$575,000 or 8 per cent. The increase is attributable to
salaries, wages, transport and travel all having increased owing to the end of austerity measures and
the R oyal Bermuda Regiment receiving their cost -ofliving increase from 2017. The decreases i n training,
rentals, and repair and maintenance are part of the relocation of funds to achieve our current budget cei ling. The R oyal Bermuda Regiment are growing their
operational footprint with the addition of Scenic House and potential satellite R oyal Bermuda Regiment Coast
Guard location in St. David’s.
Cost Centre 16000—Finance: $312,000: T
he
Finance cost centre covers the Defence Department which holds the civilian full- time staff and the accounting function for the Royal Bermuda Regiment (RBR).
The 2022/23 Budget estimate is $312,000,
which is a decrease of $13,000, or 4 per cent , from

B ermuda House of Assembly the 2021/22 financial year. This is the difference in
salary due to the reallocation of two FTEs.
Cost Centre 16005— Recruitment: $90,000 :
Madam Chairman, the Recruitment Cost Centre c overs the advertising, promotion, and local training expenses. The 2022/23 Budget estimate is $90,000, which is a decrease of $51,000 or 36 per cent from
the 2021/22 financial year. Primary contribution to this decrease is reallocating $11,000 in part -time salaries
to cost centre 16010 and a reduction in local training by $40,000.
Cost Centre 16010—Regimental Headquarters, $3,786,000: Madam Chairman, the Regimental
Headquarters cost centre covers all of the Regiment FTEs for Defence Head 06, liabilities such as emplo yee related expenses, marine fleet, vehicle fleet, and public liability insurances.
The 2022/23 Budget estimate is $3,786,000
which is an increase of $449,000, or 13 per cent , over
the 2021/22 financial year. This increase is due to the
austerity measures of wages for full - and part -time
soldiers no longer being accounted for as of April 2022. You will see this reflected on Budget page B -
269.
Cost Centre 16020—Quartermaster ,
$1,343,000: Madam Chairman, the Quartermaster
cost centre covers all the operational and procur ement services for the R oyal Bermuda Regiment in
relation to facilities land forces. The 2022/23 Budget estimate is $1,343,000, which is an increase of
$40,000, or 3 per cent , over the 2021/22 financial
year. This is due to an increase in the part -time wa ges.
Cost Centre 16030—Ceremonial: $243,000 :
Madam Chairman, the Ceremonial cost centre covers
the ceremonial and the humanitarian and disaster r elief training expenses. The 2022/23 Budget estimate is
$243,000, w hich is an increase of $6,000 or 3 per cent
over the 2021/22 financial year. This is due to an i ncrease in the part -time soldier ’s wage.
Cost Centre 16040 —Internal Security
(MACA) , $183,000: Madam Chairman, the Internal
Security [(MACA) ] cost centre covers the training expenses related to internal security and Military Aid to
Civil Authority. The 2022/23 Budget [ estimate] is
$183,000, which is an increase of $3,000, or 2 per
cent, over the 2021/22 financial year. This is due to an
increase in the part -time soldier ’s wages.
Cost Centre 16060— Bermuda Cadet Corp:
$52,000: Madam Chairman, the Bermuda Cadet Corp
cost centre covers the training and youth engagement of the Cadets. As part of the curriculum staff of the Royal Bermuda Regiment facilitate adventure training,
drill, camp craft and similar military activities to young Bermudians below the age of military enlistment. The Corps’ main aim is to enhance the leadership and de-cision -making skills of school age cadets in order to
make them better citizens. The programme runs weekly throughout the school year and incorporates weekly meetings, weekend camps and an annual exercise.
The 2022/23 Budget estimate is $52,000,
which is an increase of $22,000, or 73 per cent , over
the 2021/22 financial year. This is due to an increase
in the part -time soldier ’s wages as additional staff
have been allocated to support the growing cadet
program me.
Cost Centre 16075— Overseas Camp,
$794,000: Madam Chairman, the Overseas Camp
cost centre covers the expenses related to the R oyal
Bermuda Regiment overseas training exercise due to
be held at Camp LeJeune in May 2022. Since the
formation of the unit, the Overseas Camp has been
the culmination of the annual training cycle and r emains a mandated requirement by the Governor.
The exercise provides tangible evidence that
the R oyal Bermuda Regiment is fit for role and able to
operate at the scale and intensity required to complete their missions and tasks. The complexity and range of
activities conducted, on the land and at sea, are not
possible to achieve within the confines of Bermuda; therefore, it is essential that the camp is conducted overseas. It is also a primary component in the r ecruitment and retention of the Royal Bermuda Regiment personnel.
The 2022/23 Budget estimate is $794,000, a n
increase, or 40 per cent , over the 2021/22 financial
year. This is due to the reallocation of funds during the COVID -19 health response as the Regiment was unable to hold its annual overseas training exercise in 2021. You will see this reflected on Budget page B -
269 under Travel.
Cost Centre 16080 —Training and Validation,
$538,000: Madam Chairman, the Training and Validation cost centre covers the expenses related to the
training of recruits and promotion courses. To ensure
the R oyal Bermuda R egiment has manning that is
current, qualified and competent, it is essential that the selection and training pipeline provides the development and assessment opportunities at all levels, for
all specialis ts. The Training and Validation budget e nsures these courses and qualifications are delivered in
the most appropriate and cost -effective way possible,
only seeking external instruction when it is not poss ible in -house. All training and up to Regimental level
exercises are subject to the UK Armed Forces r ecognised assurance system, the Defence System A pproach to Training, to ensure safety and consistency.
The 2022/23 Budget estimate is $538,000,
which is an increase of $30,000, or 6 per cent. This is
due to an increase in the part -time soldier’s wages
and additional courses including the R oyal Bermuda
Regiment Coast Guard.
Cost Centre 16085 —Marine Operations ,
$516,000: T he Marine Operations cost centre covers
the costs associated with the R oyal Bermuda Regiment’s Coast Guard’s operating expenses and part -
time wages. The unit has eight full -time soldiers and
998 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda House of Assembly one officer. They are supported by part -time staff who
train and operate on weekends and public holidays in
order to provide safety and security on and in Berm uda’s waters 24- hours a day throughout the year. The
2022/23 Budget estimate is $516,000, which is a de-crease of $139,000, or 21 per cent from the previous
year—

Thank you, Honourable Member Jackson.
Just as a reminder to the Members and the
listening audience, we are continuing in the Commi ttee of Supply for further consideration of the financial
year 2022/23. We are debating the Minist ry of Natio nal Security . The Minister has already done Head 83, is
presently on Head 6 and has 7, 12, 25 and 45 to go. This is a five -hour debate.
Minister you may continue.
Hon. Renee Ming: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
This is due to reallocating funds to 16020
which will cover land and buildings, vehicles, security, feeding, and uniforms.
Mission and Roles
Hon. Renee Ming: M r. Chairman, under the direction
of the Governor as Commander -in-Chief and in consultation with the Minister of National Security, the Regiment’s finances are used to execute its mission
of Protecting Bermuda’s Interests . It achieves this
Mission by conducting the following mandated tasks:
Coast Guard
Hon. Renee Ming: M r. Chairman, I am pleased to
report that as of Monday , 21 February 2022, the R oyal
Bermuda Regiment Coast Guard has completed its
first full year. It represents a meaningful commitment
by the Government to provide safety and security on and in Bermuda’s waters for recreational users and those who depend on our Blue Ec onomy. During their
first 12 months they conducted 977 patrols, observed over 20,500 vessels, conducted over 100 search and rescue missions, and enforced COVID -19 and Saf eKey regulations 144 times. These are significant
achiev ements from a relatively small capability. Wor king with internal and international partners, including
UK law and environmental agencies, US Coast
Guard, UK Coast G uard, and Royal Navy, they continue to pr ovide the following services:
•search and rescue or recovery ;
•interdiction of mari ne smuggling operations ;
•deterring criminal activity on the water ;•enforcement of natural resource regulations ;
•enforcing maritime regulations and ensuringmaritime border and port security.
The intention is to increase the scope an
d
br
eadth of the Royal Bermuda Regiment Coast Guard
tasks to beyond their current 12 nautical mile remit.
Mr. Chairman, the Regiment is also mandated
to conduct the following duties:
•Force Protection. These are the means andmeasures to minimise the vulnerability ofpeople, infrastructure, and high- value assets
from threats and hazards. This ranges from
military security and public order to explosive
ordnance disposal.
•Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief. This is
the organised military response to alleviate
the results of a man- made or a natural catastrophe, the consequences of which put lives
and livelihoods at risk. Ranging from hurr icanes to oil spills and fires, the priorities ar
e
s
aving life, relieving suffering, limiting damage, restoring essential service, and settingthe conditions for recovery.
•Ceremonial. The Regiment provides the onlylocal professional standard Military Band and
accompanying troops to conduct national ceremonial and civic events.
•International Assistance. Upon request, the
Regiment can provide m ilitary skills and r esources to assist the UN, NATO, and regional
peace support operations or training which
enhances Bermuda’s reputation in the interna-tional community.
•Enhancing Bermudian Society. Since its i nception, the Royal Bermuda Regiment hasprovided an important role by supporting the
integration and development of Bermudian
society in the form of:
oa common military experience for vo lunteers from across Bermuda’s soci ety;
othe opportunity to enhance life and
vocational skills through direct prov ision of training or providing funding
support for specific qualifications ;
oinvolvement in regimental and widercommunity sporting and social activ ities;
oyouth engagement through Junior
Leaders, and in partnership with the
Bermuda Police Service the facilit ation of the Outward Bound AdventureTraining Centre.
Mr. C
hairman, the R oyal Bermuda Regiment
conducts the majority of these tasks in partnership or
in support of other government departments, specif ically the Emergency Measures Organisation, the
Maritime Operations Centre, Department of Enviro nmental Protection, HM Customs Bermuda, Disaster

B ermuda House of Assembly Risk Reduction and Mitigation Team, Bermuda Police
Service, Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service, and Bermuda Hospitals Board.
Output Measures and Objectives
Hon. Renee Ming: M r. Chairman, the Regiment successfully completed its preparations and training for the past hurricane season. In February, the Regiment had a successful recruit camp with 16 volunteers par-ticipating building on the intake from earlier in the f inanc ial year . There will be an additional recruit camp
in July 2022. Although COVID -19 restrictions have
seen the Regiment conduct the majority of its training in Bermuda this year, they intend to send a detac hment of instructors to Belize in May as part of Ex ercise Tradewinds 2022, to develop 14 other Cari bbean
countries’ public order training. The Regiment is also
intending to send 120 soldiers to Camp LeJeune,
which I mentioned early on, an Overseas Camp to
develop basic and advanced soldiering and tactical
skills.
Mr. Chairman, through a targeted recruiting
and retention plan the Regiment has been able to r ecruit 43 volunteers and in June 2022 is forecasting to retain at least 80 per cent of their long serving soldiers. Although statistics for soldiers pass ing annual
training tests appears static or as a decline, this is due to an increase in testing standards.
Maj
or Achievements for 2021/22
Hon. Renee Ming: M r. Chairman, the Regiment and
Coast Guard provided support for the Ministry of Health in responding to the COVID -19 Pandemic.
Over the course of the entire year, the Regiment conducted quarantine enforcement, management of vaccination sites, and assisted at testing centres. The Coast Guard provided on water enforcement with I sland Boats ensuring compliance with regulations i ncluding SafeK ey.
Mr. Chairman, in addition to its COVID -19
response and development of the Coast Guard, the Royal Bermuda Regiment has:
•committed to realising the Government’s
commitment to Blue Shield;
•commissioned two new Officers, including its
second female officer in 30 years ;
•provided personnel for the management of
COVID -19 testing sites and vaccination centres;
•provided health management and security
during the Cup Match weekend;
•developed Adventure Training instructors who
will provide working at heights and cliff rescue;
•hosted a review by Air Vice Marshal Smeath,
the UK’s two- star Defence Attache to theUnited States with a portfolio including Ber-muda.
Mr. Chairman, in the past year, it has conti nued to distinguish itself as a professional, dependable
and adaptable resource on land, at sea in Bermuda and with Caribbean partners. The Regiment has con-tinued to assist in enforcing COVID -19 regulations,
achieved full operating capability of the Coast Guard Unit, provided significant personal and professional
development opportunities for soldiers.
This past year has once again proven that the
Royal Bermuda Regiment remains a proud, dependa-ble and professional organisation that continues to
provide an essential service to Bermuda in routine
matters and during times of emergency, both on land and at sea.
Mr. Chairman, I am thankful to the Commanding Officer, Lt. Col. Benjamin Beasley and the team at the Royal Bermuda Regiment for their commitment
and dedication.
Mr. Chairman, I will now move to Head 07, the
Bermuda Police Service.

Continue, Minister.
HEAD 07 —BERMUDA POLICE SERVICE
Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman and Honourable
Members, I am pleased to present the current account
estimate for the Bermuda Police Service Head 7,
which can be found on pages B -271 to B -275 of the
Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure Book.
Mr
. Chairman, the Bermuda Police Service’s
mission is: Making Bermuda safer . The objec tives of
the Service are to:
•maintain the confidence of the community ;
•treat all persons fairly, with dignity and r espect ;
•protect vulnerable victims ;
•reduce crime, particularly focusing on serious
crime and gang- related criminality ;
•reduce anti social behaviour ;
•enhance road safety .
Mr. Chairman, the Service carries out its objectives by aligning its organi sational structure to
maintain its community safety agenda and the preve ntion of criminal risk locally and internationally through
a funded establishment of 487 employees. This can
be found on page B-274.
Mr. Chairman, the Bermuda Police Service
continues to advance its 2021 to 2026 Strategic and
Operational Plan, although progress has been i mpacted by COVID -19. The two back -to-back years of
the COVID -19 pandemic have resulted in the BPS repositioning itself within a pandemic economy. We are optimistic there are green shoots that suggest a d egree of normality is returning. This will allow a number
of key initiatives to progress.
1000 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly The Bermuda Police Service Gang Targeting
Team continues to work with the Minist ry of National
Security’s Team to reduce the threat in this area and
seek to divert persons from gang- related criminality.
However, significant risk remains from gun and gangrelated violence to which the BPS continues to deter
such acts through effective use of intelligence and
specialist policing.
Staffing of the previous marine section, on a
temporary basis, continues to support the Coast
Guard as it journeys towards its full complement of staff.
The Bermuda Police Service continues its
work regarding s tandards of professional behaviour
and anti -corruption policy and procedure, to which
relevant best practi ce is being utilised by the National
Anti-Corruption Committee in support of other Go vernment departments and the United Nations Anti -
Corruption Self -Assessment for Bermuda.
The Bermuda Police Service also continues
its work in support of the National Anti -Money Laundering Committee (NAMLC) to prevent financial crime,
money laundering and counter -terrorism funding, with
a strategic focus to maintain its excellent Caribbean
Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) grading.
The Bermuda Police Service further continues
its work in support of the National Cybersecurity Go vernance Board to prevent and respond to cybersecur ity matters and maintain Bermuda’s reputation as a
premier international financial jurisdiction.
The Bermuda Police Service is working to i mplement a framework for greater multi -agency collaboration on the problem of domestic abuse. We seek to advance communication and improve training with a
view to improving service and reducing victimisation.

Expenditure Overview

Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, I would now draw
your attention to the current account estimates for
Head 7, which can be found on page B -272. A total of
$62,158,000 has been allocated for Head 7 for the
financial year 2022/23. This represents an increase of $860,000, or a 1 per cent increase, of the original
budget for the financial year 2021/22.
Mr. Chairman, in order to meet these responsibilities, the Bermuda Police Service operat es six
programmes :
• 0701 —Commissioner’s Office
• 0702 —Corporate Services Division
• 0703 —Community Policing Division
• 0704 —Support Services Division
• 0708 —Serious Crime Divisions
• 0710 —Bermuda Reserves Police
Mr. Chairman, I will now address each pr ogramme and business unit as set out on page B -272.
Programme 0701— Commissioner’s Office:
Mr. Chairman, the Commissioner’s Office is in bus iness unit 17000 and has an estimate for the fiscal year 2022/23 of $47,422,000. This represents an i ncrease of $724,000, or a 2 per cent increase from the
fiscal year 2021/22. The increase is due to the a uster ity measures salary reductions of 10 per cent from the
Bermuda Police Association (BPA) members coming to an end as of 31 October 2021, and the budget for
salaries being increas ed to reflect this change.
Programme 0702—Corporate Services Div ision: Mr. Chairman, the Corporate Services Division
has an estimate for the fiscal year 2022/23 of
$6,585,000. This represents an increase of $278,000,
or 4 per cent , from the fiscal year 2021/22. The i ncrease is due to the Professional Conduct Unit located
under business unit 17005 paying rent at the new office location in Dockyard. Human Resources located
under 17010, Finance and Administration located under 17020, Information Management Ser vices located
[under ] 17025, and Training and Development D epartment located under 17190, all received increases
as a result of the Bermuda Public Service Union
(BPSU) members no longer contributing to the a usterity measures 10 per cent salary reductions. Info rmation Management Services also experienced an increase in radio maintenance fees, which was under
budget in 2021/22. Vehicles Stores located under
17300 and Uniform Stores located under 17310 saw
no change in budgets.
Programme 0703—Community Policin g Div ision: Mr. Chairman, the Community Policing Division
has an estimate for the fiscal year 2022/23 of
$2,088,000. This represents a decrease of $16,000,
or 1 per cent , from the fiscal year 2021/22. The d ecrease was due to the employees stationed at the
Central Area Command located under business unit
17040 of $17,000 , and the Western Area Command
located under business unit 17042 of $10,000, and
the Eastern Area Command located under business
unit 17041 no longer contributing to the austerity measures 10 per cent salary reductions, offset by the
decrease of $43,000 from the Eastern Area Command
located under business unit 17041 due to the reduction in one staff member.
Programme 0704—Support Services Division :
Mr. Chairman, the Support Services Division has an
estimate for the fiscal year 2022/23 of $3,428,000. This represents a decrease of $145,000, or 4 per
cent, from the fiscal year 2021/22. The decrease was
due to an increase in salaries for employees stationed at the Operational Support Department loc ated under
business unit 17090 of $21,000, and the Garage and
Workshop located under business unit 17130 no longer contributing to the austerity measures 10 per
cent salary reductions, in addition to an increase in
vehicle insurance of $102,000. This was offset by the
decrease of $227,000 in the Marine and Roads Policing Unit located under 17120 no longer operating a marine unit and the correct allocation of a post under Forensic Support located under business unit 17160
of $41,000 to the Intelligence Divis ion located under


Bermuda House of Assembly business unit 17170. The Tape Transcribing unit under business unit 17055 saw no change in the budget.
Programme 0708— Serious Crime Divisions :
Mr. Chairman, the Serious Crime Division has an estimate for the fiscal year 2022/23 of $2,303, 000. This
represents an increase of $19,000, or 1 per cent , from
the fiscal year 2021/22. The increase was due to a
decrease in the consultancy fee for the Special Investigations Department located under business unit
17140 of $61,000 offset by an increase in salaries of
$4,000 for the Drugs and Financial Crime Department
located under business unit 17150 , and $76,000 for
the Intelligence Division located under business unit
17170. The Police Support Unit located under bus iness unit 17105 saw no change to t he budget.
Programme 0710— Bermuda Police R eserves : Mr. Chairman, the Bermuda Police Reserves
have an estimate for the fiscal year 2022/23 of
$332,000 and saw no change in the budget.
Mr. Chairman, I would now like to address
page B -273 of the current account estimates. This
page includes the subjective analysis of current ac-count estimates and revenue summary.

Subjective Analysis of Current Account Estimates

Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, nine of the object
codes see no change in the estimates for the fi nancial
year 2022/23 over the original budget of 2021/22 and I
will therefore limit my comments to the other eight that illustrate changes.
Salaries have increased by $1,191,000, or
3 per cent , to reflect the discontinuation of the G overnment’s austerity mandate of 10 per cent reduction
in payroll.
Wages have increased by $19,000, or 3 per
cent, and as stated earlier for salaries is a reflection of
the discontinuation of the government’s austerity
mandate of 10 per cent reduction in payroll.
Other personnel costs have decreased by
$227,000, or 8 per cent , to reflect the department’s
mandate to reduce overtime.
The professional service decreased by
$47,000, or 2 per cent , as a result of the reduced use
of consultants.
Repairs and maintenance have decreas ed by
$45,000, or 2 per cent , due to the adjustment to the
radio maintenance fees.
Insurance increased by $80,000, or 43 per
cent, in order to anticipate an increase in motor insurance.
Energy has decreased by $102,000, or 9 per
cent, in anticipation of the savings reali sed through
the renegotiated government -wide fuel contract.

Revenue Summary

Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, the Bermuda Police
Service has estimated to collect $698,000 , or a 1 per cent increase from 2021/22 in revenue due to the i ncreas e in Government fees and an increase in secur ity guard licences under revenue source code 8525 of
$1,000.
Employee Numbers (Full -Time Equivalent
[FTE] ): Mr. Chairman, the employee numbers or full -
time equivalents increased by nine over the original
amount from 2021/22 to include seven police officers
and two support staff allocated to Human Resources
and Finance and Administration.
Mr. Chairman, whilst the FTE numbers have
increased, these also represent FTEs that were unfunded last year in order to make s avings. Although
they are not funded for the 2022/23 year, the Service
can fill the posts if they are able to make savings to cover the posts costs.

2021/22 Accomplishments

Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, I will now speak to
some of the accomplishments the Bermuda Police
Service had in 2021/2022.
Policing and the COVID -19 Pandemic : Mr.
Chairman, the COVID -19 pandemic led to significant
changes in policing. Government legislation was i ntroduced to reduce the risk of COVID -19 transfer i ncluding shelter in pl ace, curfew, physical distancing
measures and regulations directing COVID -19 prevention procedures within the retail and leisure sector,
which the BPS continues to police. Approximately 200
persons were served summonses , and over 2,000
COVID -19 compliance checks were performed by the
Reserve Police and the Bermuda Police Service with
a view to making Bermuda safer.
Operation Vega: Mr. Chairman, it is also noted that during the immediate periods preceding curfew compliance the community experienced an i ncrease in road traffic incidents. To calm traffic, deny
criminals the use of our roads, and encourage better driving choices the Bermuda Police Service responded with Operation Vega. Since the inception of Oper ation Vega over 5,000 traffic tickets and 840 m otorist
advice notices have been issued. Additionally, the
Bermuda Police Service has increased its communications with the public through mainstream media and social media platforms. The department looks forward
to seeing how this level of engagement will positively
affect driver behaviour.
New Recruit Foundation Course: Mr. Chai rman, February 2022 saw the start of a police Recrui tment Foundation Course with 21 new student officers.
These officers should take to the streets in earnest
this summer and the new officers will bring welcomed
relief to their colleagues and reduce demands on the
overtime budget.
Mr. Chairman, I will now provide this Honourable House with some sobering statistics on what the
Bermuda Police Service dealt with over the fiscal year 2021/2022.
1002 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Chairman, in making Bermuda safer, between 1 April 2021 to mid- March 2022, the Bermuda
Police Service responded to 13,571 events/incidents
of which 2,111 were liquor premises COVID -19 compliance checks.
Mr. Chairman, there were 1,619 arrests during
the period and whilst this is noticeably down from the
norm of around 2,300, it is unfortunately largely due to
the impacts of COVID -19 related restrictions including
curfew on the community.
Mr. Chairman, 3,327 crimes were recorded
and investigat ed, that include 8 murders and 16 attempted murders. Six persons were tried and convic ted in the Supreme Court of murder, attempted murder
or manslaughter.
Mr. Chairman, the Service dealt with 1,113
road traffic collision s, of which 15 were fatalities and
86 involved serious injury.
Mr. Chairman, 8,627 tickets and stop and
search forms were issued that helped to change driver
behaviour and reduce opportunities for violence.

Gang Violence

Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, as reported to this
Honourable Hous e in February, the Bermuda Police
Service is the law enforcement entity responsible for
preventing and detecting crime and has adopted a
robust approach to tackling gang and gun violence. As early as 2009, the Bermuda Police Service recognised
the signific ant challenge of tackling gangs and g uns
and that it required a high level of community engagement, as enforcement alone could not address
the systemic issues.
Mr. Chairman, since 2009 the BPS has made
a number of adjustments in response to the gun and
gang problem and continue d to evolve with a focus on
leveraging community support and technology to assist in bringing offenders to justice.
Mr. Chairman, the BPS has implemented a
gang violence reduction strategy with a core focus on
partnership. It consi sts of three pillars:
• Prevention (Education and Awareness) ;
• Catch and Convict —Police focused (Targeting
and Suppression) ;
• Resettlement and Rehabilitation collaboration.
Mr. Chairman, the strategy of Prevent and
Deter is to stop young offenders escalating into prolific
offenders and to prevent children and young people
from becoming involved in criminality in the first place.
The Bermuda Police Service deploys a schools r esource officer, primarily to the senior schools, who
meets with school guidance counsellors, teachers,
and students to build relationships and share information that is used to ease tensions. Additionally, o pportunities to mediate disputes and model effective problem solving are implemented.
Mr. Chairman, with Catch and Convict, the
Bermuda Police Service deploys a Police Support Unit and a Gang Targeting Unit that are primarily focused
on disruption and enforcement activity specifically as it
relates to those involved with gangs. Further , the a pproach with our partners is to focus on the s ame key
group of offenders who are causing the most crime. The Bermuda Police Service chair s the inter agency
gang enforcement team that provides an opportunity
for information sharing and joined- up enforcement
efforts.
Mr. Chairman, with Rehabilitate and Resettle,
the Bermuda Police Service chairs the multi -agency
offender management team that provides ongoing
assessment and supervision for high- risk offenders in
an effort to encourage effective rehabilitation and r esettlement of persons leaving prison ser vices.
Mr. Chairman, the BPS continues to adapt
and evolve in tackling the issues of gangs with the
necessary emphasis on an evidenced- based approach to policing. This includes the use of information, intelligence and lessons learned. This has
resulted in multiple arrests for murder and firearms
related offences, as well as significant seizures of ill egal drugs and firearms. Multiple persons have been prosecuted with over 40 men incarcerated, receiving
life or long- term sentences for murder, attempt ed
murder and firearms related offences.

2022/ 23 Plans
Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, in keeping with our
mission statement of Making Bermuda safer the Bermuda Police Service will engage in the following:
Policing issues for 2022/23 : Mr. Chairman, the
scourge of gang and gun violence continues to play
out in our community. Sadly, more recently we have
seen males and females as young as 14 involved in
violent exchanges , often using knives to resolve their
disputes. The Bermuda Police Service is currently and
will continue to temporarily divert resources from
community policing to bolster its enforcement efforts
to catch and convict those involved in these crimes.
However, this cannot be sustained. Until we as a
community examine and act on the issues that would
cause our young people, some as young as 15, to
think that arming themselves, stabbing, or shooting
another person, is an appropriate way to solve a di spute, we will continue to experience tragic and unnecessary violence and death in our community.
Mr. Cha irman, given the challenging economic outlook and the differing community views on
COVID -19 restrictions for the I sland, the BPS is atte ntive to the potential for social unrest and associated
public protests. The Bermuda Police Service Special
Branch unit continues to mitigate these concerns with
effective monitoring of social media, intelligence pr ocesses and early engagement to address areas of
concern.
Mr. Chairman, the summer months will bring
challenges to community safety across the Island as

B ermuda House of Assembly residents and visitors seek to socialis e in larger numbers on beaches, on the water and within bars and
restaurants. These challenges will include, but are not limited to, increased tensions and risks between gangs, anti social behaviour, residential and beach
parties and drink driving. Additionally, organis ed
events that do take place may present greater policing
challenges in comparison to previous years as
COVID -19 restrictions continue to be lifted.
New initiatives in the Service
Hon. Renee Ming: Mr Chairman, the Bermuda Police
Service has a Strategic and Operational Plan for the period 2021 to 2026 with five key priorities:
•reducing serious crime;
•protecting vulnerable persons ;
•raising confidence in the police;
•reducing harm on our roads ;
•developing digital policing.
Additionally, seven new Strategic Ambitions have
been set to support members of the Bermuda Police Service in achieving their full potential and assisting their professional development. The plan will be gov-erned by the Bermuda Police Service Strategic E xecutive Group and shared with the public.
Capital Projects
Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, I now move to page
C-7 and capital development. The estimate for
2022/23 is $250,000 for Police Headquarters Pr ospect. The Bermuda Police Service has been e ndeavouring to reduce spending by reducing rents paid in the private sector. To achieve this, the Bermuda Police Service has been working towards developing
the old headquarters building with a view to relocating
officers from private sector rents to the usage of its
own facilities. This year’s funding will allow us to en-close the building in preparation for the next step of renovating it for use.
Mr. Chairman, I now move to page C -15 and
capital acquisitions. The estimate for 2022/23 is $300,000 for Operational Vehicles. In terms of usage, the Bermuda Police Service operational fleet is aged. The fleet provides twenty -four hour a day , seven days
a week operations throughout the Island These veh icles experience a tremendous amount of wear and
tear in a short span of time This year’s funding will
allow for some of the uniform patrol vehicles to be r eplaced.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to congratulate Mr
Darrin Simons on his appointment as Commissioner of Police. Mr. Simons has some 28 years in the Service and has been Acting Commissioner for over six
months. I have enjoyed working with him and I am
confident that the c ommunity will benefit from his
leadership. I would also like to thank the members of the Bermuda Police Service for their continued hard work in accordance with their m ission statement, Making Bermuda safer .
Mr. Chairman, this now concludes the current
and capital account estimates for Head 7, and I will
now move to Head 12, Customs.

I will just have one little sip of w ater.
HEAD 12 —CUSTOMS DEPARTMENT
Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, Honourable Members, I am pleased to present the current account estimate for the Customs Department Head 12, which
can be found on pages B -276 to B -279 of the Esti -
mates of Revenue and Expenditure Book.
Mr
. Chairman, the Customs Department’s
mission is Protecting Bermuda’s border and promoting
economic development . The objectives of the D epartment are to:
•assess and collect customs duty and fees on
imported goods ;
•enforce customs laws and administer other
statutes controlling the international mov ement of goods ;
•prevent the smuggling of drugs and other ill egal commodities, enforcing international conventions for environmental protection and
money laundering, and agency work for Imm igration, Health, Transport Control, and Env ironment ;
•provide information and assistance to the public regarding customs laws and regulations .
Mr. Chairman, the Customs Department’s
vision is to be a modern, effective and ef ficient Cu stoms administration offering professional service to all stakeholders, using international best practices, maximising revenue collection and protecting the borders of Bermuda. Mr. Chairman, to make this vision a reality, specific strategic goals have been set for Customs .
Strategic Goal 1: Staffing, Stability and Trai ning. Mr. Chairman, in order for the Customs Depar tment to carry out its mission, the department will need to focus on providing a stable work environment that is free from corruption and bribery. Maintaining the department’s integrity as a respected law enforcement arm of the government is vital to performing our en-forcement functions.
Strategic Goal 2: Legislation and Operational.
Mr. Chairman, the department recognises its respo nsibility to manage and monitor daily operations in or-der to achieve our mandate of facilitating legitimate trade, assessing and collecting the government’s revenue and interdicting drugs and other contraband.
The ability to operate in an environment free f rom o bstacles and barriers while complying with Bermuda Customs Laws is the ultimate goal. Hence this goal is
1004 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly to provide new legislation which would support the
department’s operational needs for both the present
and the future.
Strategic Goal 3: Policy, Procedures and F uture. Mr. Chairman, while the department’s Policies
and Procedures are a vital portion of its foundation,
the consistent revision of these documents will pr ovide a more positive work environment. Revision of
the Memoranda of Understanding within the depar tment’s law enforcement counterparts will also provide a shared understanding of the department’s compar able duties, aims and objectives.

Expenditure Overview

Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, I would like to draw
your attention to the current account estimates for
Head 12, which can be found on pa ge B -276. A total
of $16,575,000 has been allocated for Head 12 for the
financial year 2022/23. This represents an increase of
$489,000, or a 3 per cent increase of the original
budget for the financial year 2021/22.
The Customs Department operates one pr ogramme listed as 1201 General with seven business
units. Mr. Chairman, I will now address the business
units as set out on page B -276.

Business Unit 22030 —Airport Arrivals —Travellers
Hon. Renee M ing: Mr. Chairman, Airport Arrivals -
travellers has an estimate of $4,396,000. This repr esents an increase of $204,000, or 5 per cent. The net
increase is due to an increase in salaries of $261,000
as a result of the discontinuance of the austerity
measure salary deduction of 10 per cent ; increase in
overtime of $17,000; decrease in [other] allowances of
$70,000; and rounding difference of $4,000.
The most significant driver of the cost i ncrease is, therefore, basic salary, which includes i ncremental salar y increase.

Business Unit 22050 —Investigations/Audit

Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, Investigations/Audit
has an estimate of $878,000. This represents an i ncrease of $1,000 or less than 1 per cent.

Business Unit 22070 —
Hamilton Commercial Operations
Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, Hamilton Commercial Operations has an estimate of $979,000. This represents an increase of $82,000, or 9 per cent. The
increase is due to a salary increase of $67,000 and
overtime of $15,000. The most significant driver of the
cost increase is, therefore, basic salary costs exclud-ing overtime. The increase is primarily due to the
10 per cent BPSU salary reduction for four months
April 2021 to July 2021 and pay increment increases. Business Unit 22080 —Administration

Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, Administration has
an estimate of $4,599,000. This represents an i ncrease of $215,000 , or 5 per cent. The Administration
business unit is deemed the headquarters of the department and a majority of the operational budget is
allocated to this unit. The variances of materiality that
impact the increase are:
• Decrease in salaries of $34,000, increase in overtime of $9,000.
• Decrease in long service awards of $9,000.
• Decrease in contractors by $27,000
• Increase in membership fees by $25,000.
• Increase in building rent of $9,000.
• Increase in repair and maintenance for equipment
of $149,000 and pertains to an increase in
maintenance fees for the Hamilton Dock Gantry
X-ray scanner. The scanner is close to the end of
its expected useful economic life and requires a
major overhaul and the increase in cost is reflective of that .
• Increase in software maintenance by $9,000.
• Increase in electricity by $30,000.
• Increase in office supplies by $58,000 , which pe rtains to office supplies, stationery, cleaning su pplies, personal protective equipment, computer
supplies, consumables for detection equipment
and other miscellaneous items. The estimate is
reflective of the actual expenditure and the i ncrease is due to budgeting shortfalls in the comparative period.
• a Decrease in bank charges and commissions by
$9,000.

Business Unit 22090 —Vessel Clearance

Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, Vessel Clearance
has an estimate of $941,000. This represents an i ncrease of $4,000, or less than 1 per cent. The i ncrease is due to an increase in salaries of $65,000,
again as a result of the discontinuance of the austerity
measures 10 per cent salary deductions, offset by a
decrease in overtime by $20,000 and other allowances by $40,000. The decreases are due to Vessel
Clearance h aving a much- reduced workload since the
pandemic with most of the officers assisting in other
areas.

Business Unit 22100 —Interdiction

Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, Interdiction has an
estimate of $3,717,000. This represents a decrease of
$29,000, or 1 per cent. The increase is due to an i ncrease in salaries of $25,000 again as a result of the discontinuance of the austerity measures 10 per cent
salary deductions, offset by a decrease in overtime of
$25,000 and other allowances by $30,000. The antic ipated cost reduction is mainly due to a reduction in


Bermuda House of Assembly the expected overtime and other allowance costs. We
have found these to have been lower than in prior
years due to the reduced activity the pandemic had on
interdiction. This is especially the case for the c ruise
ship Team element of Interdiction.

Business Unit 22110 —Seaport Enforcement Team

Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, Seaport Enforc ement Team has an estimate of $1,065,000. This represents an increase of $12,000, or 1 per cent. The
increase is due to an increase in salaries of $20,000
as a result of the discontinuance of the austerity
measures 10 per cent salary deductions, offset by a
decrease in overtime by $8,000.

Subjective Analysis of Current Account Estimates
Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, turnin g to page B -
277, on the table headed “Subjective Analysis of Current Account Estimates,” we see how the allocated funds are intended to be spent: 87 per cent of the
budget, just $14,408,000, has been allocated to pay for salaries. The allocation for this expense line has
increased by $347,000, or 2 per cent. If we momentarily turn our attention to the table headed “Employee
Numbers (Full -Time Equivalents),” we observe a r eduction in the number of estimated Customs staff from
the 2021/22 original of [186] to the 2022/23 estimate
of 184. However, it should be noted that 174 positions
have budgetary funding in the 2022/23 budget. This is a difference of 12 FTEs from the original budget in
2021/22.
Mr. Chairman, given the currently reduced
demands upon the department to process arriving
travellers, it has been determined that the recruitment
to fill those positions can be postponed. The increase
in salary budget allocation is required, however, b ecause, during the 2021/22 fiscal year salary costs were reduced due to the temporary negotiated
agreement between the Government of Bermuda and
the Bermuda Public Services Union which effectively
reduced staff costs by 10 per cent for a four -month
period. Since the agreement has now ended, we must
anticipate that salari es expenses will be notably higher during 2022/23.
Mr. Chairman, of the remaining expense lines
the more significant changes are as follows:
• Other Personnel Costs show a reduction of
$155,000. This represents a bookkeeping adjustment with respect to the budget preparation process. The
other personnel costs in question are, primarily, allowances provided for Customs Officers being on- call.
As you will be aware, the Customs Department has to
be prepared to respond around the clock to provide its
border cont rol service. From time to time, unscheduled flights and vessels arrive into Bermuda and,
therefore, the Customs Department pays an on- call
allowance to retain a skeleton crew to respond to emergency out -of-hours calls. For the 2022/23 fiscal
year, these ex penses have been budgeted within the
overtime costs which falls under the heading Salaries.
• Travel Costs show a reduction of $53,000.
One of the impacts of the pandemic has been the i ncreased availability of teleconferences and online
training courses. It is anticipated that this way of conducting meetings will continue for the 2022/23 fiscal
year and the reduction of travel allocation is a reflection of this.
• Professional Services show an increase of
$67,000. The estimate includes projected fees of
$35,000 for membership of the Caribbean Customs
Law Enforcement Council and the World Customs
Organi zation. Both organisations provide valuable
guidance, training, intelligence networks and software
systems to the Customs Department. The remaining $51,000 consis ts of projected payments to contractors. Most of the increase is due to the increased util isation of retired Customs Officers as contractors
providing part -time support to the department.
• Repair and Maintenance shows an increase
of $156,000. This increase is due to a planned overhaul of the Hamilton Dock X -ray scanner. The scanner
will have been in operation for 10 years in September and is approaching the end of its expected useful
economic life. The overhaul is expected to provide Bermuda with a renewed scanner.
• Materials and Supplies shows an increase of
$63,000. This category of expense is broad and d iverse and includes office supplies, cleaning supplies, personal protective equipment, food and supplies for
canines, computer supplies, consumables for dete ction equipment and other miscellaneous items. The
estimate is reflective of the actual expenditure.

Capital Expenditure

Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, on page C -15, you
will note that the 2022/23 Capital Acquisition amount
of $8,000 has been allocated to the Customs Depar tment on line 76473 Office Furnishings/Fittings. This is
an amount provided to purchase 10 point -of-sale r eceipt printers. The amount allocated on line 76500
Detection Equipment, $15,000, is slated to purchase a
Cash Detection Canine. As part of its Anti -Money
Laundering measures, it has been identified that Ber-muda has a need for such an animal to patrol our bor-ders and to identify anyone carrying large amounts of
currency and the increase is due to budgeting shor tfalls in the comparat ive period.

2021/22 Accomplishments

Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, the pandemic has
placed a strain upon a number of businesses within
Bermuda. In recognition of this, the Customs Depar tment, following direction from the Ministry of Finance, has continued to make available a program me of duty
1006 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda House of Assembly payment deferment for local businesses experiencing
financial hardships.
The program me allowed a temporary deferral
of duty for up to six months for qualifying businesses .
However, in exceptional cases arrangements could be
made for an even longer deferment period. The Cus-toms Department is proud to be involved in this pr ogram me which will give a helping hand to the bus iness community.
Mr. Chairman, during 2020/21 the World Customs Organi zation provided, free of charge, [the]
Global Travel Assessment System (GTAS). GTAS plugs Customs into a real time global database of advanced passenger information and allows the Customs Joint Intelligence Unit to review details about arriving visitors into Bermuda. That information is an alysed and has proved highly useful to Customs in bor-der control.
Initiatives for 2022 /23
Hon. Renee Ming: It is our intention to continue to
work to provide support to the National Anti- Money
Laundering Committee in its important work of pr eventing money laundering and terrorist financing. Customs plays a highly important role in this area as the enforcement body responsible for the cross -border
movement of cash and goods. The intended purchase of a Cash Detection Canine is in direct response to a recommendation from NAMLC arising from the N ational Risk Assessment. It is also our intention to de-velop an export control process which will further mit igate the risk to our reputation and society arising from money laundering.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to take this time to
thank the Collector of Customs, Mrs. Lucinda Pearman, and her entire team, for their continued service
to Bermuda.
This concludes the current and capital est imates for Head 12 and I will now move to Head 25, the Department of Correct ions.

Minister , can I just pause you there
just to give an update. I wish to remind Members and the listening audience that we are in Committee of Supply for further consideration of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year 2022/23. We
are under the Ministry of National Security, and the
Minister has done Heads 83 , 6, 7, 12 and is about to
go into Head 25.
Minister, you may proceed.
Hon. Renee Ming: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
HEAD 25 —DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
Hon. Renee Ming: Mr . Chairman, it is my pleasure to
present the fiscal year 2022/23 estimates of expenditure for Head 25: the Department of Corrections, which can be found on pages B -280 to B -282 of the
Estimates Book.
Mr
. Chairman, the Department of Corrections
mission is To protect the public and provide rehabilit ative services. The department’s objectives are to:
•strive to maintain high standards of security
as this is essential to the safe operation of our
facilities;
•provide a humane but demanding regime,
aimed at reducing re- offending by presentin g
i
nmates with a range of opportunities in whic h
r
eward is linked to effort (incentives and
earned privileges), to prepare for life after r elease;
•have robust and disciplined regimes and sy stems in place in order to achieve operation efficiency at all levels.
The department carries out its objectives by
providing rehabilitative services across its three in-mate facilities, employing a high level of security to ensure the safety of its staff, inmates, and the co mmunity.
Mr. Chairman, the current account estimate
for Head 25 begins on page B -280 of the Estimates
Book. A total of $[22,893,000] has been allocated for Head 25 for the financial year 2022/23. This repr esents an increase of $64[,000] over the original budg-et for financial year 2021/22.
Mr. Chairman, at present there are 188 fulltime staff with an authorised strength of 250. In addi-tion to full -time employees, the budget will fund facil itators and teachers for inmate programmes.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Corr ections
faced many pandemic -related challenges during fiscal
year 2021/22. Public health restrictions have required
innovation in the delivery of the department’s rehabil itative programmes and services. During fiscal year
2021/22, the department’s Pandemic Response team
met on a regular basis to ensure the continued safe operation of the facilities. The department’s efforts to safeguard staff and inmates have resulted in the performance of over 3,822 COVID -19 tests and the administration of 376 doses of the Pfizer -BioNTech
COVID -19 vaccine over the past 12 months. I am
pleased to note that despite the high- risk environment
for transmission of the coronavirus, the department’s management of its Pandemic Policy has been successful, with minimal cases, and no hospitalisations over the past year.
Mr. Chairman, fiscal year 2021/22 saw the
substantive appointment of the first female Commi ssioner of Corrections. Additionally, the recruitment
process for basic officers to alleviate chronic staff
shortages within the department began. Four con-tracts for nursing officers were completed, as well as recruitment for the department’s psychologist post.
Mr. Chairman, as the Department of Corrections moves toward living with the COVID -19 pandemic, there have been several adaptations in the delivery

B ermuda House of Assembly of rehabilitation programmes. The department i ncreased its use of the computer labs at the facilities. A
pilot online GED programme was introduced, and i nmates were able to work towards PACE [certification] through distance learning with the Bermuda College.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Corrections
continues to maintain a high level of security at its f acilities. In fiscal year 2021/22, the department co mpleted upgrades to the CCTV systems at The Farm, Westgate and Co- Educat ional Facilities with funding
from capital acquisitions. Razor wires were installed and repaired at Westgate and Co- Ed. Two newly a ppointed K -9 officers have been formally trained and
upgrades to the Black Creek system ensure that offi cers are able to maintain internal communications.
Mr. Chairman, there were some operational
efficiencies created in fiscal year 2021/22. The Animal and Gardening programme at the Farm and Co- Ed
Facility produced eggs and produce for consumption
within the facilities, result ing in a reduction in food
purchases. Equipment necessary for COVID -19 sanitation was purchased so that the sanitation process could be completed in- house. Professional cleaning is
still carried out in some areas of the facilities as nee ded.
Mr. Chairman, physical plant upgrades over
the 2021/22 fiscal year included water tank and roof cleaning and repairs at the Westgate Facility. Worn carpets at Westgate have been replaced with tile. R epairs and replacements have also been made to the
air conditioner units at Westgate, and the cell and s ecurity doors at Westgate and Co- Ed.
I would now like to draw your attention to
page B -280 of the Estimates Book, which sets out the
current account estimates for 2022/23. Here, under
the general summary, you will note that there are 13
business units within the Department of Corrections.
Business unit 35997 National Health Emergency was set up in fiscal year 2020/21 to fund the COVID -19
pandemic -related response. That unit will not be funded in the 2022/23 year. Four business units are u nchanged from fiscal year 2021/22: 35108 Educational Services; 35109 Vocational Services; 35110 Recrea-tional Services; and 35111 Chaplaincy. I will address each of the remaining units in turn.
Headquarters and OTS
Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Ch airman, the estimate for
business unit 35000 Headquarters and OTS is $16,944,000, an increase of $12,826,000, or 311 per
cent over the 2021/22 budget allocation. This bus iness unit is 74 per cent of the department’s budget
allocation. The allocation will fund salaries and operat-ing expenses for Corrections Headquarters and cus-tody staff.
The major increase in this business unit is a ttributed to the reallocation of funding of custody staff from business units 35020, 35030 and 35060. Ther e-fore, you will note decreases in those business units.
In fiscal year 2021/22, more than 96 staff members attended training provided by the United Kingdom Ministry of Justice in conjunction with the Foreign
Commonwealth Office. These trainings included
•Introduction to Mental Health Awareness ;
•Personality Disorders ;
•Defensible Decision Making;
•Food Hygiene;
•Counter Corruption Conditioning and Manip ulation ;
•First on Scene and Hostage Taking; and
•Introduction to IntelligenceMr. Chairman, additional training opportunities
saw
•twelve staff members complete Fire Marshal
Training;
•sixty staff members participate in a Webinar
“Vaccines: How They Work” ;
•“Workplace Bullying Stops with You” attended
by 35 staff members
•seventeen persons attend the “ABC’s of S upervising Others and Divis ional Officers Supervisory Training” ;
•Managing Performance attended by seve
n
s
taff; and
•nineteen sessions held for the Promotion
Qualifying Exam (PQE) refresher
Mr. Chairman, in fiscal year 2022/23, the Corrections senior management team will implement a
strategic plan aimed at restoring morale throughout
the department through clear communication and i mproved work environments. Staff development will be encouraged and supported as opportunities arise.
Farm Facility
Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, the estimate for
business unit 35020 Farm Facility is $440,000. This represents a $2,922,000, or 87 per cent, decrease on
the 2021/22 budget allocation. As I mentioned earlier,
this reduction is primarily due to the transfer of sal aries for custody staff to business unit 35000. The
Farm Facility is an adult male minimum security facility with a capacity to house 90 inmates. Inmates must have completed their core sentence plan requir ements and be classified as minimum (low risk) to be
housed at this facility.
Mr. Chairman, in fiscal year 2021/22, the
Farm Facility garden supplied all of the facilities with
fruits and vegetables. In total, the garden has pr oduced 6,246 pounds of produce, which has contribut-ed to cost savings, with surplus being donated to rest
homes throughout the Island. The Animal Programme
was also successful, producing nearly 7,000 eggs for consumption.
Mr. Chairman, in fiscal 2022/23, the Farm
[Facility] intends to restart its work release and charity
1008 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly programmes. Additionally, the ageing Car pentry Shop
will be upgraded.

Co-Educational Facility

Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, the estimate for
business unit 35030 —Co -Educational Facility is
$300,000, or 1 per cent of the total budget. This re presents a $2,352,000, or 89 per cent, [decrease on]
fiscal 2021/22, again attributed to the transfer of sal aries to business unit 35000. This facility, with a capac ity of 56 cells, has separate and distinct provisions to house 40 adult females and six young male offenders
between the ages of 16 and 21. In addition, it houses
the department’s residential substance abuse treat-ment programme/therapeutic community, the Right
Living House. Educational and vocational pr ogrammes are offered based on the needs of the i nmates and trainees that are identified through the
case management process.
Mr. Chairman, in fiscal year 2021/22, the CoEd Facility offered carpentry classes to male and f emale inmates. Inmates at the Right Living House assisted the carpentry instruction with the construction of
desks for the Westgat e refurbishment project. The
Right Living House residential substance abuse
treatment programme continued to provide core treatment interventions/service elements.
Mr. Chairman, in fiscal year 2022/23, the [CoEd] Right Living House facility will offer Gr aphic D esign classes to all inmates, create furniture from pallets, re -introduce the sewing classes and introduce a
new fishing initiative. In addition, it is anticipated that
the therapeutic yoga classes will resume for both the
Right Living House and fem ale inmates.

Westgate Correctional Facility

Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, the estimate for
business unit 35060— Westgate Correctional Facility
is $1,120,000. This represents a [$6,880,000,] or 86
per cent, decrease attributed to the transfer of salaries
to the business unit 35000. Westgate Correctional Facility is an adult male establishment with the capac ity to house 208 inmates classified as maximum, m edium and minimum security, as well as males on court remand. The majority of assessment and treatment
programmes for male inmates take place at this facil ity.
Mr. Chairman, in fiscal year 2021/22, several
programmes traditionally offered at Westgate conti nued to be modified due to COVID -19 restrictions.
Notwithstanding, GED, sewing, art and motor m echan ics classes were offered at the facility. The facil ity’s computer lab was utilised to offer distance lear ning courses from the Bermuda College. Life Skills
classes continue to be offered at the facility. There
was an increase in individual cognitive- behavio ur therapy offered, as group therapy was limited due
pandemic restrictions.
Mr. Chairman, in fiscal year 2022/23, Wes tgate will offer certification through the National Centre
for Construction Education and Research Pr ogrammes (also known as NCCER), whic h will lead to
the trade- specific certified instruction and develo pment. Public Speaking, Business Studies, Cultural Studies, computer classes (Word, Excel and Power
Point), as well as the CISCO [systems training] and
Carpentry classes will also be offered. The Culinary Arts class will continue through the Bermuda College.
It is intended that in- house work opportunities for i nmates will be increased through adding horticulture
and barber training programmes.

Therapeutic Community Centre

Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, the estimate for
business unit 35090—Therapeutic Community Centre
is $1,036,000. This represents a $269,000, or 21 per
cent, decrease from the year 2021/22. The Therapeu-tic Community Centre, also known as the Right Living
House, is located at the Co- Educational Facility. The
Right Living House is a substance abuse rehabilitation
programme that is segregated from the remaining
prison population. The programme has the capacity to
house 18 adult male offenders with a history of sub-stance abuse and associated criminality. The pr ogramme aims to transition residents to the broader
community with an increased potential for a life free of
drug abuse and criminal activity through providing tools and opportunities for change. The budget alloc ation funds s taffing, operational costs and the inmate
programmes.
Mr. Chairman, in fiscal year 2021/22, the
Right Living House navigated through the challenge of
the suspension of inmate work release due to the
pandemic. The stoppage has affected the ability of some of the inmates to meet parole requirements.
Despite this challenge, seven residents completed the
residential portion of the treatment continuum and
transitioned to the Aftercare component in 2021/22.
Mr. Chairman, inmates who participate fully in
the pr ogramme benefit tremendously both while incarcerated and post -release during the Aftercare component of the programme. In fiscal year 2022/23, it is
anticipated that work release will be reinstated. The
Right Living House staff will continue with their commitment to be innovative and flexible in service deli very.

Psychological Services

Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, the estimate for
business unit 35105 (Psychological Services) is
$337,000. This is a 23 per cent, or $99,000, decrease from the 2021/22 alloc ation. This funding provides for
salaries for two psychologists who provide psychologBermuda House of Assembly ical services to offenders at each of the three facilities.
The psychologists complete various assessments on
offenders including assessments of criminogenic need
(areas of risk associated with offending), emotional
well-being and adjustment, and personality factors
and cognitive functioning. In addition to assessments,
the psychologists focus on the provision of evidencebased interventions to meet offender needs; this can
be both group and individually based. Interventions
can include but are not limited to the following: substance misuse programmes such as drug and alcohol education, drug and alcohol treatment and relapse
prevention; Violence Reduction Programme; and
Sexu al Offender Programme.
Mr. Chairman, in fiscal year 2021/22, COVID -
19 protocols prevented the development of larger
group interventions. In response, individual risk -
focused interventions were conducted with 14 i nmates. Individual well -being focused inter ventions
were conducted with eight individuals. As of December 31, 2021, twenty -two psychological risk asses sments had been completed by in- house and vendor
psychologists.
Mr. Chairman, in fiscal year 2022/23, Psych ological Services will continue with its assessment and
intervention programmes. Group sessions will be rei ntroduced as it becomes safe to do so.
Social Services and Case Management

Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, the estimate for
business unit 35106— Social Services and Case Management is $553,0 00. This represents a $92,000, or
14 per cent, reduction attributed to the defunding of
one Social Worker post. This budget allocation pr ovides for staffing of one Social Worker and four Case
Managers/Assessment Officers and contracted speci fic service pro viders.
Mr. Chairman, the department’s Social Wor ker is a member of the department’s multi -disciplinary
team, and assists inmates and trainees with offencespecific associated problems in order to address behavioural, social and financial problems. The Social
Work team provides a variety of services to the i nmates and trainees including the following:
• Thinking For a Change;
• Parenting Programmes (Fathers/Mothers and
Children Together) ;
• Grief Counselling; and
• Risk Assessments.
The Social Worker also assist s inmates in
securing employment and housing prior to their r elease. Additionally, the Social Worker facilitates family support and intervention meetings. Four Case Managers/Assessment Officers provide proper asses sment and classification for the inmate pop ulation.
They are responsible for the development of a case
plan, which drives the rehabilitation process for all
inmates Mr. Chairman, in fiscal year 2022/23, Social
Work and Case Management Services will continue
with its inmate support services. A new reintegration
programme to assist inmates in returning to the com-munity will be developed. The team will also introduce the Circles of Support and Accountability programme
to community network partners.

Health Services

Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, the estimate for
business unit 35107 —Health Services is $1,469,000.
This represents a $148,000, or 9 per cent, decrease
from the budget allocation of 2021/22. This budget
allocation will provide funding for nursing staff and
health care services for inmates. When fully staffed,
Health Services is managed by a senior nurse and
five registered nurses responsible for providing services to the inmate population at all facilities. There is
currently one vacant post.
Mr. Chairman, during the fiscal year 2021/22,
Health Services conducted COVID -19 testing for staff
and inmates, and provided care to COVID -19 positive
cases. The Health Services team also administered COVID -19 vaccinations to staff and inmates. The
team managed all doctor’s clinics, including dentistr y,
medical, psychiatric, chiropody and physiotherapy.
The team provided health education for inmates on a variety of chronic illnesses and COVID -19.
Mr. Chairman, in fiscal year 2022/23, the
Health Services team plans to implement an inmate Health Service s handbook and increase inmate health
education sessions by 50 per cent. It is anticipated
that the increased education will increase participation
in flu shot and vaccine clinics. The Health Services
team will continue its long- term project of implementing an electronic medical records system.

Subjective Analysis of Current Account Estimates

Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, I would like to draw
your attention to page B -281 of the Estimates Book,
which is the subjective analysis of the current account
estimates and the employee number, or full -time
equivalents. I will briefly comment on those items
which have a notable variance from the original est imates from the 2021/22 estimate. As I have mentioned in the discussion of the other Heads under the
Ministry, salaries are being increased by $108,000, or
1 per cent, to reflect the end of the austerity measures by the BPSU and the BIU [salaried] staff of the d epartment. Training has been increased by $20,000 to
reflect the need for senior management training and
mandatory training throughout the department. The
2021/22 revised training budget reflects a new recruit
training undertaking in the fiscal year 2021/22. The
budget for Professional Services is being increased by $133,000 to reflect an external salaries r eview which
has been agreed by the Prison Officers Association
1010 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly and the Government. These increases are partially
offset by a $223,000 reduction in the budget allocation
for rentals. This is a result of the completion of necessary refurbishments at the department’s headquarters.
Mr. Chairman, the employee number of full -
time equivalents [FTEs] is 215, an increase of 11
FTEs. Mr. Chairman, whilst the FTE numbers have
increased, these represent FTEs that were unfunded
last year in order to make savings. Although they are
not funded for 2022/23, the department can fill the
posts if they are able to make savings to cover the posts’ costs.

Performance Measures

Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, I would now like to
draw your attention to page B -282 of the Estimates
Book, which outline the Performance Measures of the
Department of Corrections. The forecast for 2022/23
is as follows:
1. The average daily inmate population is for ecasted at 158, with 33 of the admissions being
first-time offenders who received custodial
sentences .
2. The number of inmates to be released on pa-role is forecasted to be 15.
3. In fiscal 2021/22, 55 percent of eligible i nmates are enrolled in development and treat-ment programmes aimed to address the offending behavio urs, address educational and
voca tional needs and improve skill development. The department has a target enrolment
of 59 per cent for 2022/23 .
The Department of Corrections calculates its
recidivism rates according to internationally accepted
practices. Based on these standards, the rates include
persons who have a conviction for a new offence wit hin one, two or three years of their release. The actual
outcome for 2020/2021 was 16 per cent.

Capital Development and Acquisition

Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, I will now move to
page C -7 and capital development. The estimate for
2022/23 is $850,000. The allocation will be used for
the replacement of cell and security doors at the Co-Ed and the Farm Facilities, and general repairs to the
facilities as necessary. Page C -15 shows that the
2022/ 23 estimate for capital acquisition is $376,000.
The department will purchase riot gear, two new
trucks to replace the ageing stores and dump trucks,
and components for major upgrades to the CCTV sy stem.

2022/23 Plans

Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, I wi ll briefly set out
some of the priorities of the Department of Corrections
for the fiscal year 2022/23, as follows: • The department will continue with recruitment
to fill various vacant posts including civilian
and custodial staff. A new shift schedule will
be implemented to promote the best balance
between the department ’s staffing levels and
workload.
• The department will continue the implement ation of the policy recommendations from the
2018 to 2020 Strategic Plan. A new three- year
Strategic Plan will als o be developed.
• As part of a plan to engage the community,
the department will partner with community
stakeholders to support the successful reint egration of inmates into the community. The Department of Corrections will also work with
community partners t o develop projects that
can benefit both the inmates and the wider community.
• Finally, the department will continue to work
with other government agencies on criminal justice -related initiatives. Examples include
the Child Safeguarding Committee, the Anti -
Corruption Committee and the Offender High Risk Management Team.
Mr. Chairman, on March 8, we recognised
International Women’s day , and I would like to take
this opportunity to rec ognise the appointment of Ms.
[Keeva] Joell -Benjamin, the first female Comm issioner
of Corrections. I would like to thank the Commissioner
and her staff, who throughout the pandemic have pr ovided exemplary service and delivered on their mi ssion to protect the public and provide rehabilitative
services.
Mr. Chairman, this conclud es my remarks on
Head 25. I will now move to Head 45, the Bermuda Fire Services.

Not a problem.

HEAD 45 —BERMUDA FIRE AND
RESCUE SERVICE

Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to
present the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for
Head 45, the Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service,
which can be found on pages B -283 to B -285 of the
Current Account Estimates Book. The mission stat ement: Mr. Chairman, the miss ion of the Bermuda Fire
and Rescue Service is “To protect and serve.” Mr.
Chairman, the service has committed to partnering
with the community to provide quality education and
fire prevention programmes to identify risks of fire and
life safety and to resp ond to all emergencies in an effective, efficient and professional manner. The de-partment’s objectives are as follows:


Bermuda House of Assembly • continue recertifications in Aircraft Rescue
Firefight ing for the Airport Division;
• continue leadership training courses for mi ddle managers; continue succession planning
for training courses for senior managers;
• adapt the UK operational guidance standards
for professional firefighting practices;
• restructure the Volunteer Firefighting Pr ogramme to support service delivery;
• develop communit y risk profiles through the
fire certification application process;
• provide the community with access to public safety education information; and
• continue to support key stakeholders during
emergency and COVID -19 responses.

General Summary

Hon. Renee Min g: Mr. Chairman, the total budget
estimate for the Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service for the year 2022/23 is $13,212,000. This reflects an i ncrease of $75,000, or 1 per cent, over the 2021/22
financial year. This includes the re- funding of four v acant posts that were previously defunded.
Mr. Chairman, I will now address the main
business units which can be found on pages B -283.
This is unit 55060—Central Emergency Fire Service,
$6,281,000. The Central Emergency Fire Service cost
centre covers the provision of fire and emergency services from Hamilton, Eastern and Western Fire St ations. These stations respond to fire, road traffic acc idents and hazardous material incidents when r equired. This business unit has a budget estimate of $6,281,000, which is a [decrease] of $97,000, or 2
percent, over the financial year 2021/22. This decrease can be attributed to the reduction of one full -
time employee due to retirement and defunded vacant
[funded] posts and other cost -saving measures.
Business Unit 55080—Other Servi ces Ce ntral, $554,000. Mr. Chairman, Other Services Central
contains the Vehicle Repair Services and Maint enance personnel. This unit has a budget estimate of
$554,000, which is a decrease of $29,000, or 5 per
cent, from the 2021/22 financial year. This decrease is
attributed to a reduction in the vehicle maintenance
budget.
Business Unit 55100 —Emergency Medical
Services, $107,000. Mr. Chairman, the Emergency Medical Services business unit is responsible for
equipment and supplies associated with the depar tment’s emergency medical response throughout the
Island. The unit has an estimated budget of $107,000, which is a decrease of $50,000, or 32 per cent. This
reduction reflects that the service has a full compl ement of certified Emergency Medical Technicians,
which eliminates the need to conduct another course
for new firefighters during the 2022/23 financial year.
Business Unit 55110 —Eastern Volunteer D ivision, $20,000. Mr. Chairman, the Eastern Volunteer Fire Service, renamed the Bermuda Fire and Rescue
Volunteer Fire Service, has a budget of $20,000,
which is a decrease of $12,000, or 38 per cent. The
new name reflects the volunteers’ expanded oper ational role to provide an Island- wide response. The
volunteers will be receiving firefighting training to op-erate safely at incidents and training to operate specialist trucks to support the efforts of the full -time staff
especially during hurricanes and protracted emergency incidents. Approximately 15 volunteers train every
Tuesday night at the Hamilton Fire S tation. The volunteer service offers an opportunity for individuals to
make a positive contribution to the community. The
volunteer service will actively contribute to the follo wing:
• supporting the Bermuda Fire and Rescue
Service Island- wide;
• conducting support with water supplies and
foam during major incidents;
• supporting the refilling of air cylinders for sustained firefighting or hazardous -material inc idents;
• rendering welfare refreshments and food sup-plies at protracted incidents; and
• supporting fire prevention and safety inspections.
Business Unit 55150—Training, $172,000. Mr.
Chairman, the responsibility of the Training Section is
to create an educational schedule that will ensure that
Emergency Medical Technician training and certific ation, structu ral firefighting training and certification and
leadership training courses are in line with local and
international standards. The budget estimate of
$172,000 for this unit reflects an increase of $21,000,
or 14 per cent. The increased funding will suppor t the
services’ operational preparedness and succession
planning through the acquisition of professional qual ifications obtained locally and overseas. Fire officers
will complete the following courses during the 2022/23
financial year
• Advanced Emergency Medical Technician
Course (In- House)
• CPR Recertification (In- House)
• Middle Managers Course (In- House)
• Senior Management Course (Overseas)
• Airport Firefighters revalidation (Overseas)
• Allied Hea lth Continuing Education Units
(CEU) (Local)
Mr. Chairman, tr aining during the 2021/22
financial year included the following:
• National Registered Emergency Medical
Technicians
• Airport Firefighters revalidation (Overseas)
• Advance Incident Command Course (overseas)
• Fire and Arson Investigation certification
(Overseas )
1012 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly • Aircraft Watch Commander Certification
(Overseas)
• In-House Incident Command Course
• Middle Managers Course
• Emergency Driving Courses
• Emergency Medical Technician Allied Health
Recertification
• CPR Recertification
Business Unit 55170 —General Administr ation, $3,12 6,000. The General Administration cost
centre is responsible for the funding and support services of the Administration Section of the department.
The budget estimate for this unit is $3,126,000, which
is a decrease of $98,000, or 3 per cent, from the f inancial year 2021/22. This decrease can be attributed
to costs savings within telephone supplies for
$17,000, book and periodicals for $20,000, wages for
$56,000 and uniforms for $5,000, applied within this
business unit.
Business Unit 55190 —Emergency Dispatch.
Mr. Chairman, the Emergency Dispatch cost centre is
responsible for answering both fire and medical 911
calls from the community and for dispatching the appropriate fire and medical resources. The budget es-timate for this business unit is $865,000. This increase
of $132,000, or 18 per cent, is attributed to the addition of four full -time equivalents. During the 2021/22
financial year, the Emergency Dispatch answered a pproximately 7,409 calls for service.
Mr. Chairman, Emergency Medical Dispatc hers coordinate resources required for firefighting operations and provide life- saving medical instructions to
the community during a 911 call. The Emergency Di spatch is operated by a team of 12 highly skilled Emergency Medical Dispatchers. They are the voice of
calm and reassurance when a person is experiencing
an extreme event.
Business Unit 55200— Airport Fire Station. Mr.
Chairman, this business unit provides Aircraft Emer-gency Rescue and Fire Fighting Services at the L. F.
Wade International Airport , as prescribed by the
Overseas Territories Aviation Requirements (OTARs),
part 140. The L. F. Wade International Airport oper-ates as a Category 9 Airport. The category of an ai rport determines the maximum size of aircraft that
lands at the airport, the manpower requirements for
the airport fire station, the equipment requirements for
the airport fire station, and the extinguishing medium
used by the airport fire station.
Mr. Chairman, the Budget estimate for this
unit is $1,921,000, an increase of $241,000, or 13 per
cent. This is attributable due to the funding of one additional full -time equivalent previously defunded, var ious operational costs and the discontinuance of the austerity measures salary reduction. This business unit has 19 active full -time equivalents.

Subjective Analysis of Current Account Estimates
Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, Funding allocation
for Salaries for the financial year 2022/23 is $11,045,000. This is an increase of $346,000, or 3 per
cent, from the financial year 2021/22. This increase is
attributed to salary increment increases for 22 full -time
equivalents, and the discontinuance of the 10 per cent salary deductions for BPSU [Bermuda Public Services
Union] employees.
Mr. Chairman, Funding allocation for wages is
zero dollars for 2022/23. This represents a reduction
of $56,000, or 100 per cent, from the financial year 2021/22. This reduction is attributed to the department
not hiring a temporary administrator.

Budget Reductions

Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, to align with budget
allocation for the 2022/23 financial year, funding the
following Object Codes have been reduced when
compared to the 2021/22 financial year:
• Training allocation of $158,000 is a decrease
of $32,000, or 17 per cent .
• Communications allocation of $346,000 is a
decrease of $39,000, or 10 per cent .
• Repair and maintenance allocation for the
2022/23 financial year is $377,000. T his is a
decrease of $37,000, or 9 per cent .
• Clothing and Uniform allocation of $63,000 is a decrease of [$35,000, or] 36 per cent .
• Materials and Supplies allocation of $255,000 is a decrease of $71,000, or 22 per cent.
Mr. Chairman, the Bermuda Fire and Rescue
Service budget will see an increase of 1 per cent for
the 2022/23 financial year for a total budget of
$13,212,000.

Revenue—Fire Protection and Airport Operation

Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, the estimates for
the service can be found on page B -284. The revenue
estimate for the 2022/23 financial year is estimated at
$356,000. All commercial buildings and large residential pr operties undergo Fire and Life Safety [Risk] A ssessment and submit an application for a Fire Certif icate. Fire Certificates are valid for a period of one to
five years based on the level of risk. Relicensing occurs over the lifespan of a building. Revenue generated from Fire Certificate application fees for the
2021/22 financial year was budgeted for $139,000.
Mr. Chairman, you will note the revised est imate of $21,000 for 2021/22. This decrease is attributed to a decrease in new business start -ups
caused by the pandemic. Revenue estimates for the
financial year 2022/23 are, however, estimated to i ncrease to $161,000 in anticipation of more economic
activity.
Mr. Chairman, revenue generated from l icence fees for 2021/22 was budgeted at $39,000 and a revi sed budget of $64,000. This increase is attribu tBermuda House of Assembly ed to the expansion of fire safety inspections of bus inesses using remote video inspection technology.
This technology allowed Fire Inspectors to conduct
virtual fire safety inspections using a mobile device
during the pandemic . Revenue estimates for the f inancial year 2022/23 are estimated to decrease [ to]
$46,000, or 18 per cent. The estimated decrease is
attributed to the fire safety inspections completed in
2021/22 resulting in an expected lower demand in
2022/23.
Mr. Chairman, revenue generated from the
Airport Operations providing fire protection to after -
hour aviation flights at the L. F. Wade International
Airport. This includes commercial and critical care air
ambulance flights. Revenue for the 2021/ 22 financial
year was budgeted at $204,000 and a revised est imate of $67,750. This reduction is a result of reduced flights owing to the COVID -19 pandemic.
Mr. Chairman, revenue estimates for the f inancial year 2022/23 are projected to be $149,000, with a nticipation of an increase in the fire safety certi ficates and issuance fees.

Employee Numbers (Full -Time Equivalents)

Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, the employee numbers or full -time equivalents can be found on page B -
284 and reflect an increase of 4, f rom 123 in the f inancial year end 2021/22 to 127 in the financial year
2022/23. The four re- funded posts are two Emergency
Medical Dispatchers, one Lieutenant, and one Watch
Commander.

Capital Acquisition Funding
(page C -15)

Hon. Renee Ming: Mr. Chairman, the Ministry of N ational Security has budgeted $609,396 of Capital A cquisition funding for the Bermuda Fire and Rescue
Service. This funding will allow the Bermuda Fire and
Rescue Service to purchase a new appliance to help
toward our ageing fleet. Fund ing of $92,214 is also
provided for the procurement of a new emergency
alerting system.
Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to inform the
House that on February 22, 2022, the Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service accepted delivery of its new Aerial Ladder Platform fire truck commonly referred to as
the “ Bronto .” This new generation of the emergency
vehicle provides the Fire Service with enhanced rescue and firefighting capability for those incidents r equiring safe working at extreme heights. With a safe
working height of 148 feet, the new “Bronto” increases
firefighters’ capabilities to access the tallest structures
in Bermuda. The new vehicle will be located at Hami lton Fire Station and will serve the community for many
years to come.

Community Risk Reduction Hon. Re nee Ming: Mr. Chairman, to address the risks
associated with private residences, the Home Fire Safety Visit Programme was started in 2019. This
programme saw Fire Inspectors, fire officers and volunteers visiting homes to give fire safety advice and
litera ture. The COVID -19 pandemic required an alternative approach to continue the programme. The
Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service utilised mobile
technology and transitioned to a Remote Home Fire
Safety Visit Programme. Fire Inspectors are able to
complete virtual walks through homes and give fire safety advice as if they were there in person. This allows the Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service to extend
fire safety awareness to every member of our community.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to take this opportunity to t hank Chief Fire Officer, Mr. Reginald Lloyd
Burchall, and his team for their service to the comm unity, particularly during the pandemic. They continue
to remain on the front line, providing exemplary service protecting Bermuda.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the services that fall under the Ministry of National Security and the Ministry Hea dquarters proper.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my submission
for the Ministry of National Security, Heads 83, 06, 07,
12, 25 and 4 5. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Honourable Member Dunkley, I recognise you.

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And let me thank the Honourable Minister for provi ding the brief. I know , as a former full -time Minister of
National Security , that the staff w ithin the various d epartments , and certainly the leadership in those var ious departments , are always very comprehensive and
concise in providing briefs. And once again they have
done it. And the Minister has done a pretty good job of
going through the numbers one after another. I know
that it gets a bit tiresome at times, but I appreciate the
explanation. So, having said that, I do have some comments and questions in regard to various heads.
And let me, Mr. Chairman, start out where the
Honourable Minister finished off in thanking all the
personnel throughout all the departments in the Mini stry—the National Security, Defence, Police, Customs,
Department of Corrections and Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service. Certainly, it is a crucially important
department , the Ministry of National Security. And with
1014 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly the pandemic being on our shores for over two years
now, we have seen the critical importance of that d epartment manifest itself even more.
In spite of the challenges that we face with the
pandemic, we still have entrenched issues that these
various departments have to do deal with, such as
violence and road safety. And I want to take this opportunity to thank all the staff for working in very diff icult conditions . While many people were sheltered in
the safety of their home or going to work in relative
safety , those individuals were out and about doing
what they had to do. It was a call of duty. But I am
sure that many of the professionals in those depar tments were not aware of just what that call of duty
would hav e been in the years 2020, 2021 and now in
2022 and the dangers that would take place.
Let’s reflect back. I am sure the Minister r emembers very acutely the two Regiment o fficers that
were injured during a roadblock very tragically and
sadly, not far from where I live, and the responding
personnel who had to respond to violent issues or
emergency issues in the middle of COVID -19. So, we
thank them. And through this the Customs o fficers
and Corrections continue to do their very important
and vital work. So, I want to be with the Minister in
thanking all of those professionals for the work that
they have done, often behind the scenes and certainly seven days a week, Mr. Chairman. We always feel
comfortable calling when we need that service whet her it is an emergency call or something out of the ord inary that needs attention of those departments, and they are there.
Mr. Chairman, looking back at the Budget on
page B -262 for the Ministry of National Security , it is
interesting. And being in politics for a number of years
and being in business for longer than that, numbers
are critical and important. I think you must always recognise the numbers and take a look at them and r eview them in various ways.
So, the Government budget was just over $1
billion
. . . well, close to $1.1 billion. And the budget
for the Ministry of National Security was $124.7 mi llion, which was 12 per cent of the total budget. The
Ministry of National Security is the fourth largest Mini stry. Obviously, Finance is first. And a great deal of t hat
are the guarantees. Health is second. And a great
deal of that is supporting the hospital. Education is
third. Obviously, resources to our young people and their education are important. But National Security is
fourth. And it is critically important t hat we fund N ational Security in an appropriate way. We get efficiency in the funding in National Security. And we take care of the various challenges that, unfortunately, will
arrive in these critical departments. And so, the fourth largest Ministry in Go vernment has served us fairly
well through COVID -19, and I hope we can continue
to be well served through the next year and years to come. Mr. Chairman, let me speak specifically to
Head 83, Ministry of National Security Headquarters. The Minster took som e detailed time to go through the
initiatives that were in the Ministry from last year and also for the coming year. And my colleagues and I are very supportive of many of those initiatives because
we are well aware of how important they are, whether
it is gangs and violence, whether it is cybersecurity or
any of the issues that the Minister dealt with or which I
would deal with when we go through the various line
items. And so, I start my comments here today in Mi nistry Headquarters in support of initiativ es to combat
cybercrime.
Mr. Chairman, as you know cybercrime is a
relatively new aspect of criminal activity that can be
really damaging to communities, to businesses and
certainly to governments . Cybercriminals target many
areas of our community. And unfortunately, gover nment organisations and businesses all over the world
need to devote funding to cybercrime because you
have to protect yourself against those events as they
happen. We have heard a lot about cybercrime
through the years. Much of it we do not hear because
individuals do not bring it up. Organisations do not
bring it up. They want to try to rectify it. But I recall,
Mr. Chairman, just last October one of the pipelines in
the United States was shut down by cyber hackers.
And it was very diffi cult for them to open up that line
again. In fact, they had to pay a ransom to the hac kers to get the line open. And that is how serious it can
be. In fact, we should expect this type of trend to continue because technology can be hacked.
So, we support t he Government’s initiatives to
deal with cybercrime. And certainly, when we were the Government, we were cognisant of it and we dealt
with it. And we have to continue to deal with it because just as we put a system in place to deal with it ,
those who want to try to do things that are against our
laws will try to find ways to work around it. And so, we
support any attempts by the Government to deal with
cybercrime.
But I have a couple of questions for the Honourable Minister: How much is being spent in this financial year to deal with cybercrime? I just want to get
an understanding of how much is being spent. The
Minister went through a lot of the activities that are
involved in dealing with cybercrime. But I would like to
get an understanding of how much is being spent
specifically this year in dealing with cybercrime. My
second question to the Honourable Minister is: Have
there been any attacks on Government systems within
the last year? And if there have been attacks on Government systems, how have they been rectified?
And, Mr. Chairman, has the Government paid
any ransom for any of these attacks on the systems to
get them up and running? Mr. Chairman, I think it is
critical for us to understand so we can buy into su pporting the cybercrime approaches that the Gover nment takes as we move forward.


Bermuda House of Assembly The Minister did talk about accomplishments
for the year. One of them was cybersecurity and that
there was consultation with stakeholders. There is an
Incident Response Team. And there is an expanded
structure of r isk management programmes. And so,
another question to the Honourable Minister: While
cybersecurity and cybercrime are always evolving—
there are new threats that are always taking place —
how do we know that we are in a relative position of
safety when it comes to cybercrime?
And the last question that I will ask the Honourable Minister is: What outside agencies are helping us with cybercrime, and what are their terms of engagements for this very important work (which I have
already said that we support)? Mr. Chairman, the Minister did give a big
overview of gangs . And I appreciate that. In preparing
for the debate, I obviously reviewed all the documents
that the Government has put out, certainly the Minist erial Statement from a couple of weeks ago, and the
focus of the debate from last year. The One Bermuda Alliance supports the efforts to combat gangs, guns
and violence. And I want to thank the team for the
work that they do. At times we are critical of the work.
But that criticism is more so to draw attent ion to areas
where we believe we can improve on.
Certainly , as a former Minister, I am well
aware of a lot of the work that is done because we
had the same challenges. As the Minister alluded to (I
think specifically referring to 2009 during the present ation), those challenges really reared their heads in
2009. And, Mr. Chairman, one of the things that really aggravates me as we wrestle with this challenge, be-cause it ebbs and it wanes . . . recently we have had
violence that has rocked the community. I th ink it was
last night that there were shots in the Deepdale area.
Not too long ago—I think it was last weekend—cyclists pulled up to Devonshire Recreation
Club and discharged a firearm. There are incidents
that when we were younger we certainly never
thought we would see in our community. So, unfort unately it is becoming all too prevalent in our community. And we are having to put policies in place to try to combat this violence —this gang violence. And we
know what many of the challenges are. And the Mini ster has expressed those here today in the Budget D ebate and in the Statement just a couple of weeks ago.
But one of the things, Mr. Chairman, that we
need to continue to do is get the community to be more involved in these challenges that we face in gun
violence, because what aggravated me greatly when I
was a Minister and now as a Member of Parliament
and a Shadow Minister is that for every incident there
are people who have valuable information that choose
to say nothing. While the resources that we devo te
through gang initiatives through the Bermuda Police
Service are used to try to find people, try to bring the
offenders to justice and to try to close the case, pe o-ple just go quiet. And sadly, too many people are becoming somewhat numb to this type of behaviour.
We see the hundreds of thousands of dollars
that we have to now put into violent reduction pr ogrammes. There was $581,000 spent in this financial
year and $621,000 will be spent in the next financial
year. Those line items are now engrained in t he
Budget because, sadly , too many in the community
are just becoming numb to it. Families and friends
accept it. And it is not the Bermudian way of life. It is
certainly not the Bermudian way of life. So, we su pport these initiatives, and the Government i s having
some success with getting some of those people out
of the gang lifestyle, which is a dead- end street.
I wish that we could get more people to understand that it is a dead- end street. But through all of
this we still need to get more people involv ed. We
can’t just say , Well, the Government is doing stuff and
that is pretty good work , because those are our chi ldren that are getting involved. Those are our children
that are going down a dead- end street and, unfort unately , coming to harm’s way. So, wh ile we support
the gang violence reduction programmes on line item 93008, we as a community need to take some ownership of it , because while the Government is short on
money and operates in a deficit, we can do something
about it ourselves.
I mean, our children go out with knives in their
pocket, why are we not calling order on that? How can
young people be going out with knives in their pocket, and we do not know about it? I have said enough on
that. But I think it is important to support the Gover nment’s initiatives on this and also to support a call [for]
the communities to get more involved, because that is
where it will start to end. And a lot of these initi atives—while we support them, we believe some of
them can be done in a better way.
We are trying to get people back into the
mainstream of society and we should let no excuse go unchallenged on why we cannot do that , because
there are people who are willing to help if people
would turn their attention to it. So, I look forward to
continued updates b y the Minister on the success of
the gang violence reduction programmes, and I look forward to the police continuing to do what they have to do. And sadly, Mr. Chairman, if you turn to page B -
265 on the Performance Measures —

I am looking to my relief to come on. I
will call on the Deputy Speaker. Honourable Burgess,
are you there?

[Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr., Chairman]

1016 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman : Yes. Thank you, Mr. Tyrrell.
Honourable Members, we are now in C ommi ttee of S upply for further consideration on the E stimates of R evenue and Expenditure for the year
2022/23. And we are doing Heads 83, 6, 7, 12, 25 and
45. This debate is scheduled to finish at 9:5 3 pm.
Mr. Dunkley, you have the floor. And let me
just remind any speakers that the general debate has
completed. We are talking about budget line items,
heads, that sort. So, Mr. Dunkley, continue.

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. [Chai rman] . I will continue. I was just going to go to page B -
265,—

Yes.
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: —the performance
measures and our discussion about gangs , if you will
look at the last performance measure on that page,
percentage survey questionnaire data showing i mprovement in knowledge and skills development
among at -risk youth participation of prevention pr ogrammes. I would ask the Honourable Minister if that
survey could be tabled in the House. Because I think it
is important for us as Members to have a better u nderstanding of it, Mr. Chairman.
And a question to the Honourable Minister : If
you look at the measures in the four columns there,
the first column is the actual outcome for 2020/21,
which was 90 per cent. The original forecast for this
current year is 85 per cent. It is not available in the
Budget Book. I ask the Honourable Minister for the
reason why it is not available in the Budget Book. I
assume that COVID -19 would have something to do
with it, but I am not going to assume it totally until I
hear from the Minister.
Next, the targeted outcome for 2022/23 has
dropped to 75 per cent. So, we started at 90 [per cent ]
and are coming down to 75 per cent. And the reason
why I highlight that, Mr. Chairman, is for the simple
fact that a survey of at -risk youth participants is crit ically important for us to lay the foundation for the work
that we must do. And so, certainly in our education
system this is where we need to try to identify those
people, get the information so we can deal with them
in a comprehensive way. And we can make sure that
we continue to push back on those who want to dev iate from what we expect to be the way that we conduct ourselves in our community.
Mr. Chairman, jumping back to page B -263,
the general summary. In giving the bre akdown for line
item 93000, administration, the Honourable Minister
said that in relation to that line item 93007, DRRM, a
lot of the funding from DRRM had gone up into the
administration line. And you can see that because the DRRM number has dropped from $213,000 to
$20,000, and the administration has increased from
$1,030,000 to $1.2 million. So, I have two questions to the Honourable Minister. The first question is: Why
has that been moved to administration? I know DRRM
always operated out of the main of fice, but why has it
been decided to be moved back into administration? And the second question to the Honourable Minister: The $20,000 left in the DRRM line item 93007—how
will that money be used?
I am still on p age B -263, Mr. Chairman, Deputy Speaker. T he Honourable Minister referenced
93002, Parole Board , 93003, Treatment of Offenders
and 93004, Police Complaints Authority —that there
was no change in the numbers. So, a question to the Honourable Minister: Can the Honourable Minister
please explain the d ifferent rate of fees that are paid
to Members of the Parole Board (for example, in comparison to the Treatment of Offenders Board) and the
number of meetings that each one of those two boards held in the last year? And the final question is:
Can we expect their annual reports to be tabled soon
in requirement with legislation that stipulates the dates that they have to be tabled?
I am just looking at my notes on that page, Mr.
Chairman. I note that the Honourable Minister, when talking about the department objectives (which is in
the middle of that page), mentioned that the “ bully”
app would be moved forward on this year. And my
question to the Honourable Minister .
. . Basically it is
the same thing that the Honourable Minister said last
year and there does not appear to be much progress
in that app, which seems to be a good tool that could
be used. It remains to be seen because it has not
been rolled out. But what was the delay in this current
financial year in progress to that application?
Turning my at tention, Mr. Chairman, to page
B-264 (right on the next page), the professional services. You will see the line item there, Mr. Chairman, for 2021/22, was budgeted at $894,000. It was revised
to $1,626,000 and it is now budgeted for this year at
$880,000. Can the Honourable Minister please pr ovide a breakdown of the professional services for this
head in the last financial year and the reason for the
increase and then a comparison for the professional
services for this current financial year of $880,000, Mr .
Chairman?
I might have missed it when the Honourable
Minister provided her brief. I was jotting down notes as we went along so my attention might have been
going through my chicken scratch. But in the line item
for rentals, there was a line item for $339,000, which
was on budget. It was in the 2021/22 revision. So, if
the Honourable Minister can just help me out with
what the expense of $339,000 was.
Mr. Chairman, materials and supplies (the
second from the bottom expenditure line item) seems to fluctuate quite wildly with $346,000 in 2021 and budgeted at $53,000, finished at $54,000 for the current financial year and jumps to $92,000 in the next
financial year. Can the Honourable Minister please


Bermuda House of Assembly explain the increase of $39,000 for the next financial
year?
Mr. Chairman, with those comments, I will
now turn my attention to defence. And I appreciate the
Honourable Minister’s overview. And you can see on pages B -266 and B -267, the department objectives
that the Minister went through. And certainly, I think
we can all support those. And one of them that is crit ically important, Mr. Chairman, you can see on the top
of page B -267, enhancing Bermudian society. That is
certainly an area that often goes unstated or understated, and I think it is an important par t of what the
Royal Bermuda Regiment can do.
I am pleased to see that the [Bermuda] Coast
Guard is still starting to develop in this financial year.
From what the Minister said in the brief, [in] the current financial year, there are still members of the Bermuda Police Service helping with that Coast Guard
service. And next year they will be hiring I think it was
five more officers to get involved. Yes, five officers
have been approved, but not filled as yet, to get i nvolved with the Coast Guard. And certa inly, I think that
is critically important. Mr. Chairman, let me thank the Commanding Officer and the team at the Regiment
because they often jump up in at a time of need, for
example through COVID -19 and through any emergency circumstances that we have [l ike] hurricanes.
We all see them out there. They are very pr ofessional and very dependable, and they always take
a can- do approach, which I think is very important. It
is a good skill set for our young people to learn—to
have a can- do approach, and the Regiment teaches
that. And so, I say that because I want to just focus a
little bit on the volunteer numbers, Mr. Chairman.
I think the Honourable Minister said in looking
at the performance indicators on page B -270 that
there was a recruit camp in February of this year with
16 volunteers, and then the Minister further stated that
in total there will be 43 volunteers for this year. So, a
question to the Honourable Minister: Is the Honour able Minister comfortable with this current level of volunteers joining the Regiment —between 40 and 50?
That seems to be the trend over the past couple of
years. Because if you look at the first line item, bus iness unit 16000, finance and recruitment, the number of volunteers for service in Royal Bermuda Regiment, the actual outcome for 2021 was 53; original forecast,
50 and now 43 and the targeted outcome for the next
year of 50. So, does the Minister and the Government
believe that 50 is a good number to help keep the ser-vice up to the strength that they need?
Having said that, Mr. Chairman, I would like to
seek some clarity. I hate to make you go back and
forth, but if you go back to page B -267, Mr. Chairman.

Yes.

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: If you look at recruiting,
you can see on the line it says that the Roy al Berm u-da Regiment is to recruit (and I believe that should
say retain ) a standing deployable force of 420 personnel in order to meet its legal mandate and standing
obligations. So, that 420 is written there, Mr. Chai rman. Now, if you go back to page B -270, the performance measures in the business unit 16010, you can see number 2, the operational strength of the Regiment as a percentage against the Regiment establishment of 380. So, can the Honourable Minister
please clarify the difference in the 420 and t he 380
and what that actually means? Or if the operational
strength is being changed down to 380, and if the Mi nister and the Government believe that is an appropr iate number? Sticking with the performance measures, Mr.
Chairman, right in the middle of the page under bus iness unit 16020, 16030, 16040 and so on , item number 2, number of soldiers listed as long- term absentees. The actual outcome for 2020/21 was 77. The
original forecast for the current financial year is zero.
But the revised forecast is 62. And then the targeted
outcome from 2022/23 is zero again. So, can the Honourable Minster please explain why the numbers
jump around between a number there like 77 to zero
and then 62 back to zero? Is there a plan in regard to
long-term absentees or is the Government moving on
from those long- term absentees? It was not mentioned in the brief so I would like some clarification on
what the numbers actually mean and what the intention is going forward with that category , long-term absentees.
Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to see the Honourable Minister give some explanation in regard to Bermuda Cadet Corps. I think it is a very good pr ogramme and it is a critical programme that we need to continue to support. If the Minister could please give
some clarification , I did not pick it up when she spoke
during the brief, but if you go back to page B -268 and
you see the Bermuda Cadet Corps line item for last
year is $30,000. It changed to $36,000 and then the
budget for this financial year is $52,000. So, it jumps
by $22,0 00. Can the Honourable Minister please give
some understanding to the increase of that line item for the Bermuda Cadet Corps?
The Honourable Minister did take some time
in looking at the various expenditure programmes with
the Bermuda Regiment. And in the training and valid ation line, the Minister did give an overview of some of the work that has been done. And then on the performance measures on page B -270, Mr. Chairman, it is
written that the percentage of soldiers who pass overseas courses is at 100 per cent, and that is certainly
great to see. This means that those who are selected
are certainly qualified, certainly have met the stand-ards to go to those courses , and they have taken
those courses successfully and 100 per cent [have
passed] . So, a question to the Honourable Minister is:
How do officers become eligible for these courses?
And how many officers can take courses in a year? Is
1018 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly it dependent on funds within that line item? Because
we do see flexibility in that budget. In 2020/21, it was
$789,000. This current financial year it is $506,000
and next year it goes back up to $538,000, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, the Minister did mention quite
often in the brief that the salary lines have increased
because austerity measures have ended. And in r egard to the Regiment, the Minister did also mention
that part -time soldiers’ wages have increased. If the
Minister could give some explanation on how it arrived
at the number for the increase for part -time soldiers ,
how that number, the remuneration was arrived at I
would appreciate it.
Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the Minister’s di scussion in regard to the [Bermuda] Coast Guard. And
if I caught the presentation clearly, for this next financial year it is the aim and intention to hire five personnel—five professi onals —to be attached to the Coast
Guard and (my words, not the Minister’s) to wean off
the officers from the Bermuda Police Service. Can the Minister please [confirm] if that is the correct way for
me to read it?
The Minister did say that it is the intent ion to
increase the scope and the breadth of the [Bermuda]
Coast Guard and did give an outline of about 1,000
patrols and about 100 search and rescues and a little over 100 COVID -19 and safety interventions through
the year. So, can the Minister please pro vide some
understanding on the Government’s intentions on how
they will increase the scope and the breadth of the
Coast Guard ? And when will it be done?
Obviously, I do not see much in the b udget so
I do not think it will be done in a drastic way this year other than hiring the five new staff —the five new pr ofessionals —to go out there. So, what is Government’s
plan this year and the next couple years to increase
the scope and the breadth of the [Bermuda] Coast
Guard? The Minister did say that there would b e a
station that would be used down in St. David’s. So, I will look for more detail on that.
The Minister did say in looking at the capital
acquisitions that the Regiment would acquire I believe
. . . and I am turning to the page now. Sorry. The defence w ould acquire $91,000 worth of boats and vessels. And you will find that on page C -15, Mr. Chai rman. Certainly $91,000 will not buy us a boat, but it
might buy us some engines. So, a question to the
Honourable Minister is: What is the current fleet of the
Royal Bermuda Regiment? Does the fleet meet the
current requirements of the R egiment? And how will
the fleet have to be expanded to match the increase d
scope and the breadth that the Regiment of the Bermuda Government would like to have going forward?
Mr. Chairman, staying on page B -269, if you
look at the wages line for the financial year 2021/22, it
is $1.8 million. And there was an increase of $3.239
million, and it drops back down to $1.836 million. And
I believe this is because of the extra work that had to be done by the Regiment professionals through
COVID -19. So, if the Honourable Minister could
please confirm that and confirm how many different
individuals have taken part in that. And does this increase in the budget of about $1.4 million apply to f ulltime staff as well as to part -time staff, Mr. Chairman?
Mr. Chairman, going down two line items . . .
sorry, one line item to other personnel costs. Mr.
Chairman, $68,000 was the budgeted number. It is
going to come in to $46,000 this year, but it goes back
up to $68,000 again for the next financial year. So,
can the Honourable Minister please explain why the
budgeted number dropped to $46 [,000] , and now it
goes back to $68[ ,000]?
Sorry. Jumping back up one line again, employer overhead, the fluctuatio n in the original budge ted item of $112,000 to $83,000 and back to $123,000.
I am curious as to why employer overhead would drop
down from the budgeted number but then rise up
again when clearly their staff numbers did not change
much, but there was a great deal of extra work done
through COVID -19. So, if the Minister could give some
explanation on that.
I would like confirmation, Mr. Chairman, on
that line item for training. For the current financial
year, it is $73,000. It dropped to $27[ ,000] and goes t o
$35[,000]. And just confirmation exactly what the drop
was due to. I assume it has something to do with COVID -19, but I would just like to get some confirm ation on it , because in the next financial year, which the
actual budget will be approved for, it only goes back up to $35,000.
Mr. Chairman, staying with that, the next line
item, transport , doubled from the budget for last year
from $16,000 to $39[ ,000], and stays at $34[ ,000] . I
am just curious —[during] COVID -19 when travel is
curtailed, why has that number risen up to $39,000
and stay at $34,000? Sorry, I meant to say transport .
Travel is the next line item which I focus my
attention on. That is budgeted for $259,000. It actually
will be $446,000 and it is budgeted for $478,000 this
year. Can the Mi nister please give an explanation on
that? I would assume that the $478,000, Mr. Chai rman, would be because of the Overseas Camp. But I
do not know what the attribut ed $446,000, which is
over the budgeted amount of $259,000, would be for
the current financ ial year.
Mr. Chairman, the last thing I will focus on in
the expenditure subjective analysis is the second line
from the bottom . Material and supplies were budgeted
for $384,000 this year. It is now estimated to be
$426,000 and then drops to $386,000 again. Can the
Honourable Minister please give an explanation for
the increase? And I assume this would be for PPE
items associated with COVID -19. But then I would ask
the question: If that is the case, then how did we get
the budget wrong at that time? How did we underes-timate that budget?


Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Chairman, I think that covers it on that
page. I am just looking at my notes as we go through
that, looking at the performance indicators. I have
covered all of that.
So, now Mr. Chairman, I turn my attention to
the next head, Head 7, the Bermuda Police Service.

Seven?

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Yes, Mr. Chairman.
I want to start out by congratulating the new
Commissioner of Police, Commissioner Darrin S imons, on his appointment as C ommissioner. I certai nly have a great deal of respect for Mr. Simons, having
worked with him, having known him for a long period
of time. He is, what I would consider, a man of character and integrity. And I think he will bring all of that to
the table in this very important responsibility.
I think, Mr. Chairman, many of us were surprised by the sudden resignation of the former Co mmissioner, so I have a question to the Honourable Minister: Did the resignation have any payout or settlement taking place at that time? And if it did, which
department was it paid out from? I know, Mr. Chai rman, as you know, the resignation would have gone to Government House, but we pay all the bills at Government House, and we certainly fund the police. So, I
would like to know if there was any pa yout at the time
of the resignation and which department it comes from
and what the amount was, if there was any.
Mr. Chairman, I touched on violent crime in
my conversations earlier, and I am pleased to see the
commitment by the Government in Ministry Headquar-ters in dealing with it. I am also comforted to hear the
brief that the Minister read in regard to the Bermuda
Police Service in dealing with violent crime. And certainly, the department objectives are I think fairly
comprehensive and bring some comf ort as well —that
the Bermuda Police Service has their eye on the ball in what is required. Obviously (and I refer to those
department objectives on page B -271, Mr. Chairman),
to maintain the confidence of the community is always
very important. To treat al l persons fairly and with di gnity and respect is very important, to protect the vulnerable, to reduce crime, to reduce antisocial beha viour, and to enhance road safety.
Now, Mr. Chairman, let me deal with the road
safety aspect because I note on page C -15 under the
police that there is an allocation for $300,000 in vehicles. And I note, Mr. Chairman
. . . and I know you are
pretty good with numbers so you can jump around with me a little bit.

[Laughter]

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Because you have your
glasses on.

I have i t.

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: The insurance line is
$164,000 for the last financial year. It is $186,000 for
this year. So, there was a $22,000 increase for this
year. And then we see $266,000 [in the budget] for
the next financial year—so, an $80,000 increase or
43 per cent. When the Minister gave her brief, the
Honourable Minister said this was due to an increase
in motor insurance. Now, I know that prices are i ncreasing in Bermuda, but this seems out of line to me. And so, I ask the Honourable Minister: D oes that i ncrease in motor insurance that is shown on that insurance line have anything to do with the state of the v ehicles and the ageing fleet of the vehicles within the Bermuda Police Service?

That should decrease it, would it not?

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: No, because . . . It might
decrease it. But with liability insurance, Mr . Chairman,
liability insurance could increase it.
I remember in preparing for this debate and
reviewing the conversation s we had last year and the
numbers we looked at, the Minister herself made the
remark that she was concerned about the condition of
the vehicles, but there was no money in the budget.
And so, I would like the Honourable Minister to pr ovide some more clarification. I intend to give the Mini ster some time to speak because, Mr. Chairman, I do not think it does any good to ask a lot of questions
and leave no time for answers, because it makes this
process not worth it.

It makes it worthless.

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Yes. And maybe, you
know, we can improve this process, but that is for another day.
But in regard to Government’s commitment for
road safety and the police’s commitment to road saf ety and the programme that they have been following
over the past couple of months (in which w e have
seen I would say some improvements along the way),
this insurance line concerns me. And $300,000 for
police vehicles concerns me, as you would under-stand, Mr. Chairman.
You have been a Member of Parliament for
some time. You have seen budgets come and go. You know the workings of these departments. Those vehicles are on the road probably more than any other
vehicles in this Island, other than maybe ambulances, because they work 24/7, seven days a week. They
really never get an off time. So, my concern is that if
1020 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly we are going to state that we are focusing on road
safety . . . and we need to. Because the driving habits
on the road and the lack of paying attention to the
rules of the road are just ridiculous.
And it is frustrating. Like you, Mr. Chairm an, I
have driven for decades now. But what I see now is worse than I have ever seen in my time, from speeding, from reckless behaviour by everybody. And it is
not just any one segment of our society, whether it be
young or old or Black or White or whatever. A lot of
people do it now. And it is dangerous. And we wonder why we have so many accidents.
I applaud the police for getting out there. And I
do not want to hear anyone say, Well, they should stop hiding in the bushes and pointing the radar at
me. We need to calm our roads down. Because what
do I hear from visitors? They are afraid to get on the
bikes anymore because of the dangers on the road,
the speed on the roads, the people going through stop
signs and stop lights. Whether it is Collectors Hill
which I go through a lot, whether it is town, people are
going through them without any regard and speeding
through them. It is just out of hand, and it is straining
our resources, not only within the Bermuda Police
Service, but within the hospitals, with our doctors who
have to come in on call to deal with these victims at
night. And it is ruining lives —the guilty and the inn ocent.
So, when we deal with road safety (which I
will support the initiatives), it should be a 365-day-ayear programme . It cannot be just start it for a month,
end it for two months, start it again when people com-plain. We need to calm the speeds and we need to get rid of the reckless driving. And we all do it som etimes and we all need to do better than we are doing
at the present time. But we need to give the police the
resources. And if they do not have the vehicles that
are safe to drive all the time that they are on the road,
we are having a challenge, Mr. Chairman.
So, I ask the Honourable Minister if she can
just give some elucidation to the insurance number ,
and also if the Honourable Minister can give some
background on the fleet, on how many cars they can put on the road and how many cars are off the road
and beyond repair , because that is where the crunch
is.

You probably want the lifespan of
these cars.

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Well, that is correct. I a ppreciate you jumping in there. The reason why I have
not jumped in and asked about the lifespan is because I would like to know the size of the fleet, how
many vehicles are on the road. Because I think that
with a good workshop, even in Bermuda’s rough cl imate with salt and all that type of stuff, vehicles can last past their regular lifespan. But we do not want to
keep emergency vehicles out there too long because they are going at speeds in which it is very difficult to
control a car, and we want to make sure that things are working in an appropriate way. And I am not just
referring to the cars themselves. I am referring to the
bikes themselves.

Right .

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Because I have heard i ncidents with some of the cycles that there have been
challenges from time to time.
Now, cars actually respond to incidents. But
when it comes to road safety, it is cycles that are
used, quite appropr iately, for that type of work. And
so, let’s make sure as we challenge the police to do
better, as we challenge the community to do better
that we make sure that they have the cars and the bikes that they need to actually do better. And so, I
have dealt wi th road safety, Mr. Chairman and those
insurance questions. So, I appreciate the Minister , if
she can answer those when she has an opportunity.
Now, Mr. Chairman, you will see also on page
C-15, the Minister of National Security Headquarters,
CCTV systems . And pardon me for jumping around.

That is all right.

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: The CCTV systems will
really be under the police gamut, but the Government
purchases them. You will see that number of
$1,037,000. And certainly we in the loyal Opposition
support improvements to the current CCTV system. In
fact, when I was the Minister, the PLP Government
had started the work on that system, and we took a
good programme and we finished it off. So, a good
part of that system has been in place now for probably
six years. And obviously with our harsh climate it
started to deteriorate. And technology can be used in
a more efficient way. And we know that from time to time a number of cameras have been out of service,
and I am sure that some cameras ar e inoperable now
and maybe there are some that cannot be repaired
because we cannot get the parts.
So, I ask the Honourable Minister: Was an
RFP done for this system? I ask specifically to the Honourable Minister: What will this system do? Will it
replace the existing system or is it upgrading our sy stem, fixing what is capable there and adding new
cameras? I also ask the Honourable Minister: Will
(and these are my words) any add- on technology be
available, such as licence plate recognition, red light
came ras, speed cameras, and any other technology
that might be important for us in prevalent trouble ar eas such as ShotSpotter technology?
In some incident areas around the world,
there are cameras and detection devices put up that, when a gunshot goes off, t hey can figure out where it
came from and help them to do that. So, I ask the


Bermuda House of Assembly Honourable Minister: Because $1 million is a lot of
money , will that extra technology be available?
But based on the number of cameras that I
know we currently have and based on what I know are
spots that the Government and the police would like to
have more coverage in, I would have to believe that
there are probably 40 or 50 more spots where we
could put in cameras to help us, not only prevent
crime, but to detect crime and als o, Mr. Chairman, to
help with collision reconstruction, especially when you look at serious road traffic accidents and fatalities. This is important technology we are missing right now.
Speed cameras can help us greatly.
And speed cameras can be put up at various
locations and moved from one location to the next
according to what you might need. Now, I know that
we have licence plate recognition in some of the cameras and I think it is used by TCD, but this technology
is something that I have to believe th at the Bermuda
Police Service would love to see incorporated. So,
while we applaud the Government for the $1 million and on some change to a new development on the
CCTV system, we would like some more information
provided on . . . I think I have given you the outline of
what we are looking for.
Mr. Chairman, I am looking at page B -272,
and the Minister gave an overview of all of those line items in there. And some of the—a lot of the—
increases were due to the austerity measures that
have been completed or finished. And I thank the departments for getting on board and helping where we
can. Too often, this is a political football between poli tical parties, but we know the dire situation we are in
and the Opposition are not going to play politics with
this one. We certainly have a long way to go to come
out of the mess , and we certainly appreciate all the
public officers for the support that they would give.
So, in line item 17120, Mr. Chairman, marine
and road policing unit, you will see that the budget for
2021 was $268,000, far left. It was originally budgeted
for this financial year at $351,000 but it was reduced
to $124,000 and it stays at $124,000. Can the Hon-ourable Minister please explain why the budget was increased and then reduced? I believe it would have
to be because the marine function was taken out and that would explain it. But I thought the Honourable Minister did say that the Bermuda Police Service was
helping with some of the [Bermuda] Coast Guard patrols in the current financial year. So that would not
explain the drop of the money in this financial year,
but it might explain it for the next financial year.
Mr. Chairman, in the intelligence division . . . I
heard the Minister give an explanation in the special investigations department in 17140 that one contract
was not funded. So, I accept that explanation there,
but if you go down two more line items to 17170, inte lligence division, you will see that this number has slowly risen through the past couple of financial years
at $550,000 for 2020/21 to $597,000 for 2021/22 and now to $673,000 for this year, so a 13 per cent i ncrease, so $76,000. Can the Honourable Minister
please provide some elucidation on that $76,000 and
how it is being spent?
Mr. Chairman, Bermuda Reserve Police —I
am pleased to see that it has a strong allocation of
funding to it. My question to the Honourable Minister
is: Can the Honourable Minister please provide the
number of reserves that are currently in the pr ogramme this year and if that number will be bolstered
in the next year or will have to have training to keep it
at that number because of attrition?
When we look at manpower numbers, Mr.
Chairman, the Honourable Minister said that the
Commissioner’s Office would be bolstered by eight
new officers and that the full -time equivalents were
underfunded last year , and to fill those equivalents
this year they would have to make savings in other areas to fill those posts. And the question to the Honourable Minister is: How would we expect the Berm uda Police Service to make savings in other areas
when calculations will show that of a $62 million
budget, almost $51 million goes to salary, wages and
other personnel costs, which is 82 per cent. So, out of
18 per cent, you have to do all the other work within
the department. How can we find savings to hire those
additional officers out of that 18 per cent , and would
that not put in jeopardy some of the very important
programmes that we have to run?
Staying with the full -time numbers, the Mini ster did allude to a recruitment cours e being done, but
the Minister did not say what the actual count for po-lice officers was as of today or within a short period of
time from today. So, can the Honourable Minister
please say what the strength of the Bermuda Police
Service is now ? And with the recruitment courses that
have taken place, or if there will be another [recrui tment] this year, what they are trying to get it up to? I
assume it would be to the 411 number that you see in
the Commissioner’s Office, which is the funded number for this year.
Mr. Chairman, back on page B -273 again, the
Minister mentioned in dealing with other personnel costs that the number had risen from two years ago
from $2.3 million to $2.7 million and now it was back to just under $2.5 million and that is because a re duction in overtime is budgeted. So, a question to the
Honourable Minister is from my time as the Minister of National Security, overtime within the Bermuda Police
Service is a need—critical incidents, staff shortages.
So, it is a critical need. So, if we are reducing overtime that budgeted number might actually not become the
real number when we look at these again next year
and the year after, because it all depends on the
needs of the Service, what happens with crime, what
happens with safety throughout the Island.
I think we are skating on thin ice to believe
that we can reduce the overtime budget when at the same time we have told the Police that there are eight
1022 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly unfunded posts, that if you want to fill them to get
more manpower you have to cut in other areas. And
we have seen the Police operate within the constraints of their budget over the past couple of years,
which has been much less than previous budgets, but when you have 365 days of a year where violent
crime can rear its ugly head and we have got the ot her challenges that we had, I think we need to be very
careful how we do it.
I commend the Bermuda Police Service for
getting it done, but we have to understand that in some instances, certainly in the Bermuda Police Service, overtime is something that has to be done. And a
cut of that budget could put us into a very difficult position. So, I ask the Minister to provide some more
information on that.
Staying on Head B -273, Mr. Chairman?

Yes, got it.
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Sorry page B-273 Professional Services. If the Honourable Minister could pr ovide a breakdown of the Professional Services, b ecause we saw a big increase in the financial year two
years ago from $1.9 million to $2.6 million, which will
end at probably just under $2.5 million, and again
budgeted for over $2.5 million this year. [Can] the Honourable Minister can give a breakdown of the Pr ofessional Services?
We saw a big increase in Repair and Maint enance last year in the budget and we see that this
number is retained this year, Mr. Chairman, of $2.295
million. If the Honourable Minister can give some explanation on why in two financial years we have seen
that number go up by over $320,000?
I have dealt with the Insurance line item and I
have a question in regard to E nergy, energy prices.

Mm-hmm.

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: The energy line item has
risen from $981[,000] to $1.1 million and then it is going to finish at just over $1 million this year and it is the same budget item, budget number for the nex t
year which is down $102,000. In light of the increasing energy costs, how realistic is that number, Mr. Chai rman?
Clothing and Uniforms —the budgeted number
is $160,000 which is the same as last year but down drastically from the year before. [Can] the Honourable
Minister can please provide some feedback on that?
And my last question would be in regard to
employee numbers. [Can] the Honourable Minister
give some overview on the number of officers on longterm sick leave and suspension? We heard just r ecently, I think, that two officers came back from suspension, so we would like to get some information on the number on long- term sick leave and those on suspension, and if they are paid and unpaid and how those issues are being resolved. I know from my time
as the Minister those were very difficult cases to deal
with, so I would like some understanding of where we
stand at the present time on those.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to devote just a bit
of my time to the Performance Measures on page B -
275. And if you recall where we started to maintain the
confidence in the community, the first Performance
Measure is Percent change in community satisfaction
with the Bermuda Police Service. And we have seen
that 62 percent was the number for this financial year.
It has dropped to 55 and they want to get it back to
60.
The next line is Percent change in public perception about how fairly the BPS treats all citizens —
52 is a low percentage number. Next line, Mr. Chai rman, the Percent change in the public’s perception abou t the Bermuda Police Services’ response to crime
and anti social behaviour 52; 50 is the outcome, a low
number.
Percent change in the public’s perception of
safety about Bermuda’s roads. We see 70 percent
has dropped to 60 percent.
So, Mr. Chairman, I ask how these Performance Measures are actually arrived at. What survey has been done to get those, because these numbers
certainly have a lot of upward mobility in them? And I
would like some elucidation on how we got to those, because I do not think those numbers are acceptable
in any way, and that is not the way I look at the Bermuda Police Service.
Actually, with road safety, I certainly support
the 60 per cent —it might even be lower than that because there is not one day that goes by that I do not
see a couple of instances if I am on the road of bad
driving habits or you know, I have to swerve or hit
brakes about it, Mr. Chairman. So, I would like the Minister to develop those as well.
Now, Mr. Chairman, before I move off police,
there are just two other areas I would like to touch on.
I am going to go back to the Ministry of National Sec urity as well, because I missed that when I was talking
about it earlier. The Minister gave a brief overview of
the Police Authority and research they have been do-ing and the introduction of a National Crime Prevention Plan. Now, both of those would have to go handin-hand with the Bermuda Police Service, but unfort unately, it appears that in the last year we have seen
little movement on the Police Authority and the intr oduction of the National Crime Prevention Plan by the
Honourable Minister.
So, can the Honourable Minister please pr ovide an update on when we will see some conclusive
steps on both of those projects that the Government
committed to a couple of years ago but we have not
seen much movement on recently?
Now, Mr. Chairman, I will take your guidance
on this —



Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: Mm-hmm.

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: —but I have a question to
the Honourable Minister. I believe that the Bermuda
Police Service is probably the largest contributor to
the Confiscated Assets Fund, by the assets that they
confiscate through the course of their work. And so, a
question to the Honourable Minister when she has an
opportunity to respond is how much have the Police
confiscated in the last year that has been put in the
Confiscated Assets Plan?
One of the things that I have always been
keen on, Mr. Chairman, is that if we need more funding for security and safety that some of those assets
that are confiscated by the Bermuda Police Serv ice
should go back into that budget. So, I am interested to
see what progress we are making on confiscated assets. I know there was a raid just the other day and
some money was taken, but that is certainly not totally
confiscated assets; it would just be a pprehended. But
I know in my time as Minister the confiscated assets
by the Bermuda Police Service was significant, and I
do not know what the balance in the Confiscated A ssets Fund is but that is a question for another debate
at another time. But certainl y, I would like to know how
much was confiscated this year, and I think it is i mportant that we never forget that this might be, a small
portion of that could go to the Police to reward them
for their good work to supplement the budget in areas
that they n eed.
Mr. Chairman, the last thing I will say on the
Bermuda Police Service is the Honourable Minister did say that $250,000 was being put to the old Head-quartered building in Prospect, and while I have been
a big supporter of revamping that facility in Pr ospect,
because I think it [has] a footprint that is certainly in a
central location and they have got towers up there,
[but] they have got a great deal of work, it certainly is
also in need of a great deal of improvement.
Two-hundred and fifty thousand dollars is not
going to go a long way, so the question to the Honourable Minister is, What is the long- term plan for that
facility? So, we put $250,000 this year, what is going
to be the plan for next year and the years after to
make sure that this facility can be more user -friendly
for the Police, that more of their resources can be
used from that area and that —as the Minister said
and we support —rentals can be diminished so we can
use our own footprint.
It is no good putting $250,000 in this year and
not have a vision of the plan that we [working] to [fi nish]. And I say that, Mr. Deputy Speaker and Chai rman, knowing full well that expenditures on capital
development are going to be somewhat limited because of the dire situation we are in. But at least if w e
have a plan, we can work to that plan.

Continue, Mr. Dunkley.
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Honourable
Chairman.
I turn my attention to Customs, Head 12. And
I want to thank the good officers in the Customs D epartment for their professionalism and work, and the
Collector for her work through the year. And I make
this comment, Mr. Chairman, and no focus in on the
current Collector, but one of the things you will know,
Mr. Chairman, I am sure [you know] as well in your
time in politics, one of the things that we often fall a bit short on is succession planning, and I am not talking
about political parties. I am talking about in Gover nment, heh.

Yes, I understand.

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley : And so, you know, when
you look at key departments such as Customs, the Collector has been there and is doing a good j ob, I
enjoyed my relationship. I found her to be very profes-sional and on top of things. But I would like to know from the Minister, what is the thinking about a succession plan within Customs? Because obviously, Customs is going through changes because it is a critical
department and has to keep up with the latest tec hnology to deal with the challenges to be faced, it has
to patrol our borders, it has to keep our borders safe,
it has to collect the Customs duty, and it has to pr event smuggling and other il legal commodities coming
in, money laundering and things like that.
But, Mr. Chairman, there are 174 funded pos itions in that area and with attrition that number could slip and we want our economy to rebound—

Okay.

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: There are 184 positions
but only 174 are funded. There are 12 unfunded pos itions. And I think the Minister said that it is the s ame
as before with the Police. If they can get some savings, they can fund those positions. But 87 per cent of
the department’s expenses are salary, so they will
never find the savings there.
So, it is important to consider succession
planning because wit h 174 funded and the depar tment is under the 184 which is the mandated number
for it, with attrition through the year, if and when the
1024 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly economy picks up . . . forget the if. Say, when the
economy picks up, because we want it to pick up.

That’ s right.
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: We want the cruise ships
to come. We want more planes to fly in. We want
more action on our borders, good action, that depar tment is going to be taxed again like they were before
to meet the needs of the cruise ships, to meet the
needs down at the airport and all the other interdiction
stuff, right? And so, succession planning and strength
of that department in their employment numbers is
important. So, I raise that to ask the Honourable Mi nister that question.
I appreciat e the Honourable Minister giving us
some overview on the gantry X -ray scanner and the
amount of money that is going to be spent on it. I believe, Mr. Chairman, I am on page B -277, it is Repair
and Maintenance there, the line item there was an
increase of $156,000. The Minister did say that a lot of
that was for overhaul of the scanner. So, I ask the
Honourable Minister, knowing that this is a critical part
of our interdiction system here, and knowing that now
we have all the containers going through it, the cars
imported to the Island go through it, boats go through
it, it is used. The Minister did say it is coming to the end of its economic life.
Now, how many more years does the Minister
believe we can get out of the gantry X -ray scanner,
because the Mini ster did say it would be ten years old
in September? How many more years can we get out of that scanner with the overhaul that is taking place? And can the Minister break down the cost involved in
the overhaul? Is the total $156,000 the increase to the
budget? Or is it more from that Repair and Maint enance budget? Further question to the Honourable
Minister on the gantry X -ray scanner: Do we have a
current contract for maintenance of that scanner? And
if we do, what is the yearly cost of that contract? And if we do the yearly cost of that contract . . . I assume
that the increase for the overhaul of the scanner is
money on top of that maintenance contract?
Did I make myself clear, Mr. Chairman?

Yes, I have got it.
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you. And so, once
this work is done, how much longer do we think this
machine will last and be effective, bearing in mind it is
a critical piece for us?
And how long will it take for the overhaul to
take place? And will the machine be out of service
when the overhaul takes place or will they do it after
hours? That covers my questions on the gantry X -ray
scanner.

Yes.

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Interesting, the Travel
numbers two years ago was $1,000, last year was
$56,000 and this current year is supposed to be
$3,000. So, why so much last year that it has dropped
down to almost nothing this year with $3,000?
The Minister did give some overview of Pr ofessional Services , said it was $35,000 for memberships and $51,000 for contractors, which was for r etired officers coming back and being paid. And that
goes back to my other point about succession planning and being able to have the right manpower to get
the job done.
Mr. Chairman, Materials and Supplies . The
second to last item on that subjective analysis of expenditure—

Okay.

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: —but just, I say it year in
and year out, and when I was the Minister, I wanted to
change these things all the time because I think they
should mean more than what they mean. You know, I
will just pick out a simple one on page B -278. It says:
“Seizures of illicit items to exceed 40.” Well, what is so
magical about 40, right? So, if you get 40 you do not have to do work for the rest of the year? Now, I know
that is not the approach; but shouldn’t it be Seizures
of illicit items? We have got, you know, there were 70
this year, there is 80 next year. That would be m ore,
but do not set the bar at a level and say a number.
And then I go to the next page: “ Total number of seizures of all types to exceed 75.” Well, no! That is not a
Performance Measure. That is just filling paper, Mr.
Chairman.
So, I think we need to take a closer look at
those. “Number of cases dealt with to be greater than
100.” Well, we failed this year because it was only 50. Let’s not have a number there. Let’s tell how many
cases were dealt with and what the main cases dealt
with were. That type of stuff is more important for a
budget. It helps us have a better understanding, and
could help the department improve their ability to get
funds going forward if there is more understanding.
Now, Mr. Chairman, the last thing I will say to
Customs is ( heh, heh, heh ) . . . and I say that with a


Bermuda House of Assembly little chuckle, because if you do not have humour in
the world we live in today, you can become a grumpy
person, Mr. Chairman. But I was very interested when
the Honourable Minister said that there was money
put aside and I think it was listed . . . yes it was, I believe as $8,000 for a cash detection canine. Now, Mr.
Chairman—

Mm-hmm.

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Seriously, canines form a
critical part of our safety infrastructure, whether they
are in the Bermuda Police Service, whether it is in
Customs, whether it is in Corrections. And I would
hope that all those canine units work together be-cause we have a number of dogs, specialist dogs tied
up in various areas. So, I am pleased to see there is one that can be a cash detection canine.
The interesting thing is, Mr. Chairman, I have
been fortunate enough to travel recently and one of the things that stuck out to me like never before was no matter where I was, what border I crossed they
said Are you carrying cash more than $10,000? I never remembered them saying that before. And I think
that is because the world now is focusing more on
illicit trade and, you know, how you got your money in
compliance . So, a cash detection canine is important.
I would like t o understand a bit about how this
dog will work, and how it will know how much to sniff out? Because if it just sniffs out cash well, heh, heh,
heh, you know, it is going to be busy down at the ai rport, because you know, people still travel with cash.
Peop le still come home with some cash. But how will
this dog work and perhaps on a lighter note, Mr. Deputy Speaker maybe we should all find one to go
around and see what we can find, some cash for ourselves in Lost and Found, right? You know how they
go on the beaches and they have those gold detectors?

Yes.

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: —as long as the handler
has the expertise and as long as they are cared for
properly. I am not saying that because I think they are
not. I know in Bermuda that the trainers love them,
you know, like their own family. They take them home with them quite often, right? They are working with
them 24/7. I would like to know more about how this cash detection canine will work, and make sure that it
is not overly intrusive on people because we do need
to police and patrol our borders, but the last thing we
want to do is to offend people when they come in and
knowing, Mr. Deputy Speaker, many people are afraid
of dogs a nyway. So, we have to be very careful about
that. So, I support this initiative, I would just like to
know more about it. Mr. Chairman, cognisant of the
time because I said I would give the Minister some
time to speak, I have got two more Heads, Corrections.

Yes. You have 57 minutes left.

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Yes, Mr. Chairman.
Corrections —I want to thank the Department
and the Commissioner and congratulate the Commi ssioner on her appointment as [the first female Commissioner]. I have to state, Mr. Chairman, and I would
like the Honourable Minister to provide some clarific ation when she has an opportunity to respond, but
there has been a great deal of disquiet in Corrections
for a number of months. I think we all recall there was a court case against the government which they won,
and I think that was pertaining to health insurance
premiums. And I think in the budget line here it shows
now that government is paying the health insurance premiums again.
I think there was a petition given to the Pre mier where there was a motion of no confidence in the
leadership. And so, I want to ask the Honourable Mi nister what is her view on the morale within the D epartment of Corrections? Because they obviously
have a critical role, often behind the scenes in dealing with some of the toughest people to deal with, the
people who we incarcerate.
Mr. Chairman, I am a bit concerned here because if you look at the budget for the Department of Corrections, that department budget has been cut for
a number of year s. There is a $2.7 million cut from
two years ago. And the Minister did say the same
thing again in regard to the budget. (I am trying to look
at my notes as I talk to you, Mr. Chairman.) How many
posts are funded? But they cannot make up the full
number of 215 because the budget is not available, so
they have to make savings to fill those posts.
Now, just like the Police, 73 per cent of the
Corrections budget is in salaries, the Police is higher
and Customs even higher than that. But obviously,
Corrections has a lot of programmes they run which
are critically important [which] we cannot cut. And so, I
ask how we are going to make sure that we have the manpower to do the job that is required there if the
funding is not available? And a specific question to the
1026 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Honourable Minister is what was spent on overtime in
2021/22 and what was spent on overtime in 2020/21?
Because what I understand is that if you look at the
budgeted numbers, it is interesting because . . . Mr.
Chairman, I am on page B -281—

The Chairm an: Yes, I got you.

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: It says the original alloc ation was 204 [staff] for Corrections.

Mm-hmm.

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: But the [staff] allocation at
the end of the year was 181.
Now, I think the Minister said 188, because I
wrote that number down at the bottom. So, you have
got a difference Mr. Chairman, of 16 staff, right? And
the budget —if you look at the money spent —you have
got a reduction of 16 staff from the budgeted number
but the money spent is $16,218,000 and the revised is [$16,217,000.] So, with staff numbers being down,
that tells me the rest of that money is being soaked up
by overtime.

Mm-hmm.
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: So, if I am correct, or if I
am wrong the Minister can answer some questions and let me know, but if the overtime is a problem up
there it has got to be because of staff shortages,
scheduling issues, Mr. Chairman, or a combination of
both.
I know when I was a Minister I wrestled with
the overtime because in one year it was $2.5 million
and we cut it down to nothing in the next year. So, I
want to know, is it a combination of staff shortages
and scheduling that is [causing] the overtime budget
to be so high? And how do we think we are going to
reduce it if we are not making any changes that are
required?
Mr. Chairman, the same question I asked with
the Police is can the Honourable Minister please pr ovide the number of people on the extended sick leave or on suspension leave within the Department of Corrections?
Looking at page B-280, Mr. Chairman—

Yes.

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: I am very concerned b ecause the budget for Psychological Services was
$436,000, it was cut to $337,000, and two years ago it
was $157,000. Now, I know why two years ago it was
so low at $157,000, because there was only one ps ychologist on staff when there was an allocation for
three. So, now the allocation has been changed to
two. The budget for that Department has risen to $436,000 and then next year it has dropped to
$337,000.
So, if the Honourable Minister can give some
understanding of that. It is critically important that we
have psychologists there to do their job. Now, I know some of the challenges faced in hiring that type of expertise, but we must make sure that we get those
people there because when any person is incarcerated one of the first things that has to happen is they
have to have a health assessment. And if they cannot
be seen in a timely fashion or if they are not seen at
all, that is a critical failure for us. And I say “us” as a
community in trying to get that pers on back on their
feet. And so, we need to focus more time not only on
making sure the manpower is right, but [that] the I nmate Services are right as well. And so, I would ask
the Honourable Minister those quest ions.
If you look at Health Services , Mr. Chairman,
we see that the number was $1.444 [million] two years
ago, it rose up to $1.6 [million] in this budget current
year, dropped to $1.5 [million], and is now $1.469 [mi llion] in this next financial year. Ho w will those savings
take place, Mr. Chairman? Is that strictly because a
matter of the lower number of people incarcerated?
And I assume this would be the case, but I would like
to hear it from the Honourable Minister.
Just looking at my notes really quic kly, Mr.
Chairman, a question to the Honourable Minister as stated on page B -280. If you take a look at the
2021 /22 original estimates for Headquarters, Farm
Facility, Co -educational , Westgate, all the staffing was
budgeted in there, and then all of a sudden in this cur-rent financial year, the vast majority you will see $16.6
million was moved into Headquarters . So, I ask the
Honourable Minister why this change has taken place ? And what is the funding that is left in the Farm
Facility, the Co -Ed Facility, t he Westgate Facility, if the
staff has been reallocated? What was the justification
for that change? And what is actually left in those cat-egories at the present time?
Mr. Chairman, I am just looking at those pa ges before I can turn over. Oh yes, Mr. Chai rman, the
Honourable Minister did mention in referring to page B-281, salaries, that there was an agreement between
the Prison Officers Association and the leadership to
have an external salary review. So, can the Honour able Minister please inform this Honourable House:
Who is doing the review? What is the cost of the r eview? And how long will it take?
And, finally on that, is there any agreement on
what happens once that information comes? Has
there been any agreement between the Prison Offi cers Associati on and the leadership of Corrections on
what will be the next steps after that? Because I would not want to see a review and then nothing take place
from it.
Mr. Chairman, I am just going to briefly touch
on performance measures again on page B -288. B ecause every year I say it, because it bothers me—


Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: [Page] 282?

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Yes, page B -282. The first
one, business unit 35000, Headquarters, says, “Total
expenditure divided by capacity —372.” The cost per
inmate. It is a meaningless number really, Mr. Chai rman. We know how much it costs to run the prisons.
We see it in the Budget. But divided by the total c apacity really does not do anything for us, Mr. Chai rman. So, how is that a measure or an indicator of an ything that is important? Now, it is a good measure to
see the average daily number of inmates. I am
pleased to see that it is still at low levels. I think those
others are very important.
Looking at item number six there, and this r efers specifically to courses. I think we sti ll have an
acute weakness in courses. Because we need to
make sure that as many inmates get involved in ed ucational, vocational courses as proper. I ask a question to the Honourable Minister. All of the monies that
are expended to vocational services and e ducational
services —$604,000 for this year, can the Honourable
Minister give a guarantee that all those monies will be used for those services and not frozen in any way and
vired to any other part of Corrections? Because
$600,000 is a reasonable sum of money. But when
you look at the challenges that some of our inmates face, we need to do all we can to make sure that they
are getting the support and the opportunity that they
need.
So, specifically looking at number six, it says,
“Number of inmates obtaining General Education D iplomas.” I think a good performance measure in there
would be number of inmates who do not have a GED
and what we are doing to try to get them enrolled in
those courses. Because for us to just say, Okay the targeted outcome is one nex t year . . . But if we have
20 or 30 people in need, why are we not targeting all
those people and trying to have success? Because
eventually they are going to have opportunities to get
into our community. Even some lifers do at times.
We should do all we can to lift the men and
women up rather than just try to keep them . . . And I
know that many of them may be reticent or shy about
getting involved in these courses because it is a def iciency that they have, and they are probably embarrassed about it. But I know the professionals there are
very good at getting the best out of the men and
women we have. And I would like to see more e mphasis being put into that area, Mr. Chairman.
So, Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the work of the
men and women in Corrections. And one of the areas
I was most concerned about during COVID -19 was
Corrections because I thought if it got into those walls, we could have serious challenges. So, I am pleased
to see they mitigated those in a very appropriate way and had some success.
So, I turn my attention now to the Bermuda
Fire and Rescue Service, and I have an affinity for them. And I applaud the Government’s commitment to
volunteer firefighters. As one from a few years ago, I
think it is a very fulfilling experience and it is a good
way for people to give back to the community. So, I support that. I reflect fondly on my trainings on Tues-day nights. I support that 100 per cent.
But, Mr. Chairman, as I start my comments on
Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service tonight, I would be remiss if I did not provide my condolences, and I am
sure you and all Members of the House want to be associated, to the family and the friends of the ge ntleman who passed away [after] being pulled out of a
fire last night. It is certainly tragic. And thank you to
the Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service for all they
could do to try to save a man. It is certainly not som ething you see every day and it rocks you to the bone.
And I certainly send condolences to them.
I want to thank Chief Burchall and the staff for
the work they do, often behind the scenes. And certainly, if you look at the responsibilities they have that
have increased over time, we put this Head down for
debate. It is not always debated every year. But it is important that they get the limelight on what the y do
and how their budget is allocated.
Emergency dispatch had 7,400 calls last year.
That is critical. That was an initiative of putting ambulances in the east and the west in the Island to sup-plement what the hospital could do to get calls an-swered much quicker was an issue that we started
under the One Bermuda Alliance, and it continues on.
It is very critical to take care of the East and the West
Ends as quickly as we can.
But it comes with challenges because we see
that their resources get strained. So, we support the
Government in the additional re- funding of four vacant
posts. I think two were going to the dispatch and one
would be a lieutenant, and I think the Honourable Mi nister said one would be a shift leader. So, we fully
support that.
I ask th e Honourable Minister to give an update on the grievances that the Bermuda Fire and
Rescue Service had. The Honourable Minister did not touch base [on them] in her comments at all. I would
like to know an update on the grievances they had.
I would also lik e the Honourable Minister to
give an update on the number of long- term sick and
suspensions that might be in the Bermuda Fire and
Rescue Service, Mr. Chairman.
The Minister was clear in explaining the
budget, especially as it relates to salaries and wages,
so I understand and accept that. One of the areas that
I did not catch, or the Minister did not give enough
explanation on was on page B -283, line item 55200,
Airport Fire and Rescue. We see in that budgeted
number from two years ago $2.3 [million] to $1. 7 [mi llion], now back to up to $1.9 [million]. So, we see an increase of $214,000 or 13 per cent this year. Can the Minister just give a breakdown of the $214,000 i ncrease and what that is attributable to?
1028 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly In addition, the training budget is up by 14 per
cent this year, Mr. Chairman. Can the Minister give
some elucidation on specifically what that is pertaining
to?
Mr. Chairman, it is very clear if you look at the
output measures on page B -285 that we have signif icant challenges on our roads, percentage of road traffic accidents for total number of calls for c entral fire
emergency. The actual outcome two years ago was 17 per cent, and this current fiscal year it was est imated to be 25 per cent and it will actually be 28 per
cent, and next year is going to be 30 per cent. Percentage of road traffic for the total number of calls for
St. George’s —same thing. It has risen up from 4 per
cent to 8 per cent to 10 per cent. So, we see these
numbers rising and that is why it is important that we
not only deal with road safety, but we make sure that
the emergency dispatch have all the tools that they
need to be very effective in what they do.
I know the Minister did talk about how they
handle themselves on the calls and certainly I can
support that 100 per cent. They are very good at the
job that they do. They get the vehicle on the road in very difficult circumstances.
Mr. Chairman, cognisant of time and there is
about a half an hour left, I want to give the Minister ample time to answer the many questions that we have posed. I thank the Minister for the brief. And I will
finish where I started by thanking those unsung he-roes for the work that they do. And know that it is very
appreciated by my colleagues and I am sure all colleagues in the House and by the people of B ermuda.
So, stick to the wicket and keep making Bermuda a better and safer place.
Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity.

Thank you, Mr. Dunkley.
Are there any further questions? I would not
think so. Minister Dunkley covered them al l.
But, Minister, you have the floor.

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you for that compliment, Mr. Chairman.

Hon. Renee Ming: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And
thank you, Member for not just your questions but
your support for actually a really good percentage or
high percentage of the things that the Government
was actually doing. I am going to start with . . . because you do have several questions, I am going to
try my best to answer as many as I can before the
time [is out].

Minister, you hav e 33 minutes.

Hon. Renee Ming: Okay. Thank you, Mr. [Chairman].
Member, you asked the question about cybercrime. You asked a few questions, so I am going to
provide you with the answers. You asked: How much has been spent and do
you have any outside agencies assisting? Because cybercrime is ever evolving, we have to be able to put
legislation in place to meet those challenges. And our
plan is to bring forth legislation that will update our cybercrime legislation and also the 13 Acts that we
currently hav e that speak to cybercrime, to kind of
amalgamate them into one thing. And that is our goal
in terms of just whatever the minimum standard would
be.
That is something that if you refer to the B udapest Convention, you will find it in there. We have to continue to educate our public and the businesses on
cybersecurity and being careful in how we just even
operate a basic computer, and even in terms of ma king sure that you do your updates, that you keep your devices protected and your software patches updated.
And also, just think about how we get loads of
emails sometimes, and educating the public to not just
press or click on any link or any attachment because it
could be detrimental to your device. And also, even in
the public space over the last few weeks . . . I mean,
just this week we actually had a notification, a stat ement out to say to be careful because there is a
fraudulent thing going around for helping in the
Ukraine.
So, a lot of what we are going to be doing in
these cybercrime spaces is, yes, we want to put the
legislations in place, and we want to amalgamate the
13 pieces of legislation we currently have out there.
But in those [areas] there needs to be a huge public
awareness campaign to ensure that it works with the legislative side of it wh ich is for cybercrime and cybersecurity.
Some of my [answers] may not be in order,
Member, but I hope you can appreciate that. I am just
trying to answer as many of your questions as I can.
You asked: How much is being spent on cybercrime?
And the staff of the BPS Financial Crime Unit is responsible for the investigations of cybercrimes as well
as the education. So, the Department of Business and
community groups . . . So, we actually do not have a
value on what is being spent, but we do have persons
within the Bermuda Police Service who are working
on that.
You asked about the bullying app that we
have been working on for some time. I am happy to
say that we expect to see that it will be rolled out in
very short order. It is a collaborative effort that works
with the Ministry of Education. And so, I am sure you
can appreciate, with some of the COVID -19 priorities,
some things we were not able to work on as fast as
we would have liked to. But the fact that we will roll
this out in the next few months is an accomplishment
and something that we look forward to doing.
You asked about the resignation of the former
Police Commissioner. That would actually be a matter
for Government House to answer. The Minister is not
privy to any of the appointments.


Bermuda House of Assembly With regard to the police vehicles, the insurance costs do fluctuate. And you asked about why we
have it, if it is because we have ageing vehicles. And
the actual answer to that is no, in that insurance is for
liabilities [because] government does not [carry] com-prehensive [insurance]. So, that would be why those
costs were going up.
You asked about if there had been any
cyberattacks on the government’s systems in the last
year and has any ransom been paid. The responsibil ities for government IT fall under another Ministry. I am
just not aware of any of the attacks or any ransom
being paid.
In regard to CCTV, you asked if an RFP has
been done and what it will replace or upgrade and if
will there be any additional add- ons. I can confirm that
the RFP is actually in development. The replace or the upgrade is actually going to be depending on the r esponses we receive from the RFP. And add- ons are
being considered and explored.
With regard to the Customs gantry scanner
overhaul, the overhaul is included in the price whi ch is
of . . . the standard maintenance came with the orig inal contract. The increase is anticipated as this is
considered t o be a major overhaul. So, that is in addition the actual current contract that is in place which spans over three years at a cost of $964,000 for obv iously 2019 to 2022. And 2022 to 2025 has a total cost
of $1.7 million. The increase represents the cost of the
overhaul. And with the overhaul the system is expected to extend the life of the scanner for an additional ten years. It is ex pected that there will be di sruptions to operations, but they will be minimal. Ho wever, it does require some down time to have the maintenance done.
You asked about the boards. In 2021/22 the
Police Complaints Authority has not had any meetings. The TOOB , which is the Treatment of Offenders
Board, from April to December had 32 meetings, but we do not have the stats for January to March right
now. And the Parole Board had 24 meetings. We can
provide you with the January to March ones at a later
date, should you need it.
I think you also asked if the reports would be
submitted in a timely fashion. If you want to refer to last year, I think you recall when I joined the Ministry, we had some reports that were submitted late. And
you had a comment about them being late, but you
know there were many extenuating circumstances
around it. But if you recall last year the reports were
submitted on time. And I anticipate that the reports will
be submitted in the same timely fashion this year.
You asked about the Polic e Authority and the
National Crime Prevention plan, and you wanted to
get an update. Both of these projects are underway
and jurisdictional reviews have been completed with a number of overseas models. So, you can look at what
this actually does look like for Bermuda and ensure
that anything that we put in place is cultural and speaks to what we would do in Bermuda. These were
Throne Speech items and we anticipate that we will
have them completed for this year.
With regard to defence (because I have that),
you asked about the current level of volunteers. At this time, the Royal Bermuda Regiment enjoys a good
retention rate of 86 per cent. So, there you are seeing
a discharge of 30 to 40 soldiers a year. So, this is a
comfortable level. But obviously we woul d always like
to see more coming through the gates to serve the country.
And you asked about the difference between
420 Royal Bermuda Regiment Officers and the 380
that are in the current Budget. And the Royal Berm uda Regiment has gone through a regimental review.
And after the review was completed, the number of
380 was agreed as the right number of troops needed for the Royal Bermuda Regiment to carry out the
drills.
You asked if there was a plan to address
long-term absentees. A long- term absentee [LTA] is a
soldier who is absent without an excuse over three
training periods. Under the current year there has
been no increase in LTAs , and the legacy matters
continue to decrease.
You asked about the Cadet Corps and the
increase. The reason why we see an increase in that
is because the actual Cadet Corps is becoming popular again. So, we need additional staff to be able to
run the programme to meet the demand of our young
people that would like to get involved in the cadet pr ogramme.
In regard to your questions on how do officers
become eligible for courses and how are they selec ted—officers undergo a selection weekend to see if
they are suitable for any of the overseas courses.
You asked what Government’s intention is to
increase the Coast Guard capabili ties and what the
plan is. The proposed expansion is actually to be able
to patrol all 200 nautical miles, which is the EEZ zone for Bermuda. We are looking for options for the future
in how we can most effectively do this. So, [ INAUD IBLE] our Coast Guard, we have looked at ways to
make sure that we are effective, that we are efficient
and also to be able to have the expansion to our EEZ zone.
You asked about the current fleet and do we
meet the requirement and how will the fleet be ex-panded to expa nd the roles of the Coast Guard. We
currently have ten vessels that range in age from 6 to 29 years with the average age being 18 years. Five for patrol operations, two for environmental protections (so like oil spills), one for diver training, two for
training a nd support to Outward Bound, which is facil itated by the Regiment and the BPS. Most of them are
small vessels that came from the BPS or the Royal
Bermuda Regiment Boat Troop.
Over the next three years, the Regiment will
need an influx of capital to purchase new vessels. The
1030 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly current establishment in the operational budget is acceptable for the in- shore safety. But as we grow and
we look to expand to the 200 nautical miles zone, we
will need to purchase equipment and boats that could
safely manage that dista nce. So, what we have currently, just to summarise, is okay for the areas that we
currently do with just a 12 mile [space], but as we look
to expand into the 200 nautical mile space, yes, we
definitely need the equipment to be able to do so.
You asked abo ut the $1.4 million for FTE
wages, the $1.4 million covered ones in regard to the national health emergency in relation to the pandemic.
And so, that would have been the wages associated
with that. And you also asked about the other personnel costs. This i s related to part -time wages to support
the National Health Plan.
You asked a question with regard to (I am still
on Defence at this time) why the transport changed
from the $16,000 to $39,000. In 2020/21 the Regiment
was able to replace some of its very old vehicles, and
they saw a decrease in the maintenance expenses as
a result of that.
You also asked why the travel is changing to
$478[,000] from the $259[,000]. And I think you may
recall in my brief, I said that in the previous years as a
direct resul t of the pandemic, the Regiment had not
had any overseas trips. And this year they do plan to
return to the overseas charter that they previously
had.
You asked about the capital and what was the
$91,000. And the $91,000 represents two boat en-gines that t hey would like to purchase.
You asked a question on the purchase of the
canine and the detection equipment. You asked how the dogs work. The cash detector dogs only detect
cash. They are trained only to detect large amounts of
cash. So, I think you can understand where that could
be useful especially in our country. They can be controlled to be alert to cash passively, so they are not
unduly intrusive to arriving travellers.

[Laughter]

Hon. Renee Ming: So, I think that you and the Deputy
Speaker’s plans to take the dogs onto the beaches
and find some loose cash may not be effective b ecause it sounds like these are specially trained dogs
who are not looking for change. I think they are looking for large quantities of money, maybe the kind that
folds, not the kind that jingles.

So, Minister. If they have less than
$10,000, the dogs will not sniff you?

Hon. Renee Ming: I do not know if the criteria have
been set yet for the dogs but I do not think they want
us laying around on the beaches.
There was one other question with regard to
Customs. A Member asked what the succession plan looks like for Customs. And Customs has a well -
established rank structure. They currently have three Assistant Collectors of Customs who on a rotational
basis act on behalf of the Collector. So, even throughout the service they have persons who act for periods
[of time]. So, in essence the succession planning for
them is in effect and they use that all the time to pr ovide acting opportunities for persons who may be lo wer in rank. And they also have their annual training classes for promotion as well as qualification of exams
for promotion. So, that speaks to the actual strategic plans for Customs.
With regard to the BPS, this is just to give you
a breakdown of the num bers, because you asked
about that. So, they have a total officer number of
392. They have a total support staff number of 68.
And they currently have 21 persons who are recruits and are expected to be able to join their regular ranks
in early summer.
In regard to our reserve officers, we currently
have 49 reserve officers and they expect that there
will be an intake sometime this year. And while we are talking about reserve officers, I would just like to give
them a special thank you because a lot of times we
forget about the people who are behind the scenes.
But they were the ones who maintained the curfew
checkpoints for us after the Regiment part had been
completed.
And you may recall that they had . . . I cannot
give you the exact number, because I do not want to
get it wrong off the top of my head. But I know that there were several persons who appeared before the courts. It was approximately around 200, so I will not
get into too much trouble if I say it that way. But they
appeared in court as a result of the curfew breaches.
And once they finished the curfew task, they moved to
doing some work in terms of the COVID -19 regulation
checks at the various liquor licence establishments.
So, I do want to take this opportunity to thank
those reserve officer s who did those things. Though
they have partial embodiment they do it whilst in some
cases maintaining their [other] jobs.
You asked about the $250,000 that was all ocated to the renovations for the Prospect building. And
the plan is to renovate the build ing and move the senior command and the serious crime department. That
is the long- term goal to move the senior command
and the serious crime department into that building.
So, whilst it may be one phase happening now, it will
be phased into having those officers all returning into
the building.
You asked about long- term sick and the suspension of officers at Corrections. And I am so happy
to confirm that there currently are none.
In terms of the MOU f or Corrections at the
salary review , there will be an external salary review
so any agreement on what happens once completed,
who is doing it, the cost and how long will it take? To
the MOU in terms of having the salary re view has


Bermuda House of Assembly been signed with the POA. This other question that
you asked we have not determ ined yet, but we expect
though that it will be completed within 2022. The i nformation will be used to provide the department to
engage [INAUDIBLE] management team in procur ement process for the next fiscal year. So right now,
the information will be used t o . . . it is more explorat ory to be able to see what they would like to consider in
upcoming budgets.
Under Corrections again, you asked about the
morale there. If you remember, in the brief we said that the management are looking to actually concentrate on working to improve the morale, and they have
many ways they would like to do it. They want to work
collaboratively with the unions to address the staff concerns and ensure that the facilities are safe and
secure for the staff and the inmates. And that is why
we have upcoming repairs. I think I spoke about them in the brief. And overall, they would like to recruit more
staff to minimise some of the overtime.
Just to let you know, the Ministry meets
monthly with the Prison Officers Association and that
is to ensure that we have dialogue and communic ation with the Prison Officers Association. And so, the
fact that I think that they know that there are several
things that can be wrong, but from a Ministry stan dpoint we are chipping away at anything that we are
able to. You saw in my brief we mentioned about the
replacement of the doors. We talked about the new
Black Creek upgrade that is due to go in as well. So,
there are things happening where we are doing what
we can with what we have and chipping away.
But the main thing is that we are trying to
keep our dialogue and communication open so that we have less items that we either do not know or do
not agree with. Actually, in the next few weeks I will
be—actually next week and the following week —
doing a vis it at the facilities so that we can go in and
have a look as well. And we hope that the staff will
have opportunities to have discussions with the POA
and also the inmate representatives that they have
there as well.
Moving along. With regard to Bermuda F ire
and Rescue services, you asked how many people
that they have on long- term sick and suspension.
They currently have three people on long- term sick
and these persons are managed in accordance with
the sick leave policy in the collective bargaining
agreement. The Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service is
also working closely with the Human Resources team
to manage each case and there are currently no staff
members who are out on suspension at this time.
In regard to Corrections and the understan ding of the psyc hologists’ budget, the department has
funding for these posts currently. So, they have two full-time psychologists as indicated in the Budget and
they are responsible for facilitating the offender b ehaviour programmes and assessments. This cost ce nter is extremely important as these psychologists pr o-vide interventions to reduce the risk of inmates reoffending. So, I think again you can understand the
importance of having the psychologists.
In terms of . . . I am still on Corrections, they
have . . . yes, you asked if the Budget has been cut
and how do we make sure that the manpower for the
allocated budget and what was spent on overtime in
2020/21 and 2021/22. So, the overtime for 2020/21
. . . I want to make sure I am saying this clearly. My
apologies. [2020/21, that] was in excess of $4 million, and the 2021/22 was in excess of $4 million as well. When you speak about manpower, we recognise that
there is a shortage of staff, and I think that if you recall
in my brief, we said that we are working to reduce the
overtime and [we are looking] into even modifying the
shift patterns to be able to accommodate that.
I have another response here for Customs.
You asked about the travel —what is the fluctuation in
travel and why so much, like [$50,000]? The revised
budget was compiled in November of 2021. At that
time, it was hoped that the travel restrictions and
COVID -19 impact would ease up and that the training
courses could be resumed. That has not come to
pass. For the year 2021/22, the actual expenditure on
travel is 3170. I think you should remember, Member,
that in the Customs budget, they spoke about the various agencies that they work with. And they mentioned that because of the pandemic and over the last few years there are several of their training courses ,
especially the ones with the World Customs Organiz ation that could be done virtually.
And so, I think that is something that you will
see even across the services, where years ago you
may have had to travel overseas for the various trai ning things. But now as a result of COVID -19 especially
you are able to do the same training courses from
Bermuda where possible and where applicable. I can
recognise that there is some training that you would
have to be on site to be able to do.
You asked us to provide an update on the
grievance with the FSA. The FSA and the management team continue to have discussions. And hopefully we are close to having an agreement and to resol ving any issues. Again, Member, you will recall I said it is really about having dialogue an d being able to
communicate effectively.
With regard to Corrections —why was the staff
moved to the HQ and what funding remains? The staff was moved to the HQ center for administrative purposes. Staff often transfer to and from the facilities.
This requires processing which can be time consu ming. The funding that remains includes funding for operating costs, utilities, supplies, admin staff, inmate
clothing, uniform for staff.
The other question you asked was again
about the staff shortages with regard to Corrections,
and if that is the reason for the overtime. Human R esources can be attributed to the overtime. But there
are also things that Corrections have that are un1032 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly planned and t hey have to be able to do, and that
would be escort s, whether they be to KEMH. And in
addition to that, you have to remember that you may
have someone who is unwell and has been admitted
to the hospital. Then that would mean that officers have to remain with that person during that time, during any [time an] inmate is in special observations.
And so even as a result of COVID -19 you would have
seen overtime. As well as the facilities still have to be
manned, or these things may be going on. Like I said
to you, the schedule is currently under review.
You asked with regard to the Ber muda Fire
and Rescue Services: What is the increase in the
training budget to be used for? The increase in the
training budget will be used to support the local and overseas professional trainer required for succession
planning and mandatory certification for the airport
firefighters.
A few more. You asked a few questions on
. . . one of them was in regard to Customs. You asked
about the materials and supply, that was the $63,000
and you asked what it is used for. This particular
budget item is used for of fice supplies, cleaning supplies, personal protection equipment, tools, food and
supplies for canines, computer supplies, and consumables for the detection equipment and some miscell aneous items as well.
You asked about the $214,000 for Fire and
Airport F ire and Rescue. And I said that was a place
that was previously unfunded which has now been funded. And there were also funds for the airport operations which were in the brief.
With regard to Corrections, you asked about
the Health Services side of it and if there will be sa vings in place. And the decrease actually can be a ttributed to the number of inmates who are currently
incarcerated.
In regard to Corrections, again on page B -
282, you asked about how it is measured, the cost of
incarceration, and if a guarantee can be given that the
funding will go toward education and vocation and not
go somewhere else. The method used to calculate the
cost of incarceration is an extended method that is used worldwide and there are plans for funding that
have been al located for vocational and educational
programs. And of course unless there are circumstances beyond our control or unforeseen, then these
funds will be utilised in that regard.
Mr. [Chairman], how many minutes do I have
left?

It has been moved that Heads 83, 6,
7, 12, 25 and 45 be approved.
Are there any objections to that?
There appear to be none.
Approved.
[Motion carried: Ministry of National Security, Heads
83, 6, 7, 12, 25 and 45 were approved and stand part
of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for
2022/23.]

Hon. Renee Ming: I move that the Committee rise,
report progress and ask for leave to sit again.

Thank you, Deputy.
Members, we appreciate your contribution t oday on the debate in reference to the Expenditure and
Revenue. We are now back into the House and the Committee has moved to rise and report progress and
sit at a later time.
That said we will now move on to the next
item on the Order Paper for today. I understand that the next item is Order No. 8, the second reading of the
Payroll Tax Amendment and Validation Act 2022 in
the name of the Premier and the Minister of Finance.
Would you like to present that matter now?

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Ok. Thank you.

Are there any objections?
There are none.
Continue, Minister.

BILL

SECOND READING

PAYROLL TAX AMENDMENT
AND VALIDA TION ACT 2022
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Speaker, today I am
pleased to present to this Honourable House the Payroll Tax Amendment and Validation Act 2022. This Bill will amend the Payroll Tax Act 1995 to extend to pa yroll tax relief with respect to certain new hires and for
Bermudian musicians and entertainers. This Bill will
also amend the Payroll Tax Rates Act 1995 to make
changes to the applicable rates for persons earning
$96,000 or less. Finally, this Bill will provide for validation of certain payro ll tax waivers granted by or o n
behalf of the Minister of Finance.
Mr. Speaker, in line with Budget Statement for
fiscal year 2022/23 this proposes to extend the new
hire payroll relief currently available under Payroll Tax
Act 1995 for a further two- year period. The overall
result of this relief is that qualifying employers will not
be liable to pay the employer portion of payroll tax in
respect to those new hires who increase the emplo yer’s number of full -time employees. The relief is only
available in respect to qualifying new hires made from
the period set out in the Act.
Mr. Speaker, the current relief is set to expire
on March 31, 2022. The proposed amendment will extend this relief until 31 March 2024. As we have
done in the past, we have provided for this relief to
have a lower cost for qualifying employers who are
creating jobs in our economy.
Mr. Speaker, this Bill will also extend the pa yroll tax relief for Bermudian entertainers and mus icians. Extension of this relief is intended to help all eviate some of the financial challenges Bermudian entertainers and musicians are currently facing due to decreased demands of services resulting from the
pandemic. Consistent with the new hire relief, the pr oposed amendment will extend the relief for Bermudi an
entertainers and musicians for a further two- year per iod to the 31 March 2024.
Mr. Speaker, as we know, the impacts of the
pandemic and various geopolitical conflicts have r e-sulted in higher prices for people and businesses all
over the world and Bermu da is no exception. So we
must find ways to help decrease the cost of doing
business and the overall cost of living for people of
this country. In particular, we must provide assistance to those persons who earn the lowest amounts.
Mr. Speaker, as the Mini ster of Finance prev iously noted in this Honourable House, this Gover nment has already reduced the burden of payroll tax for
persons earning less than $96,000 per year since the
2017/18 fiscal year. Further changes are proposed to the payroll taxes for suc h persons in the upcoming
2022/23 fiscal year to assist with the burden of the
increased cost of living.
Mr. Speaker, the payroll tax rate structure i ncludes four bands that cover amounts earned up to
$900,000 per year. The amendments to the Payroll Tax Ac t 1995 will change the rates that apply to
bands 1 and 2 covering persons earning up to
$96,000 per year. This Bill will lower the tax rate for
persons in band 1, which are those persons who earn
up to $48,000 per year. This will result in savings of
up to $240 a year for persons within band 1, with the
maximum savings being realised by persons earning
$48,000 annually.
Mr. Speaker, the Bill will also lower the
amount the tax payable by persons in band 2 who
earn less than $96,000 a year. This decrease will occur despite the fact that the tax rate from band 2 will
be increased by one- half of a per cent point . However,
the next savings will diminish as the salary increases
to the highest amount for band 2, which again is
$96,000. This approach strikes an appr opriate ba lance between making tax relief available for those person earning the lowest amount of income and e nsuring the stability of payroll tax revenue for the Government. To be clear, Mr. Speaker, there are no i ncreases in the amount of taxes to be pai d by persons
making $96,000 or less. I will repeat, Mr. Speaker: To
be clear, there are no increases in the amount of taxes to be paid by persons making $96,000 or less . And
there are no changes to the tax rates or the amounts payable for bands 3 and 4.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, today’s Bill will validate
waivers of payroll tax, liability granted by on or behalf of the Minister of Finance as a result of exceptional
circumstances caused by the public health emergency
declared by the Minister of Health. And those companies, Mr. Speaker, are particularly restaurants, bars
and hotels. The validation will cover waivers granted
since the 15
th of July 2020 to apply to any period up to
30 September 2022.
Mr. Speaker, the Bill we are debating today is
simply the result of a continued effort to extend relief,
to encourage job creation, and to help the people of this country who need it most. In closing, I would like
to thank the technical officers in the Office of the Tax
Commissioner, the Minister of Finance and the Attor1034 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda House of Assembly ney General’s Chambers who assisted in the effort to
bring forth this Bill. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, good evening, Mr.
Speaker, and to those in the listening audience.
I just want to give a few comments, if I may,
and mostly to express my support for what is being proposed in support of the Government and also i n
this instance, MP Minister Furbert.
Mr. Speaker, you will recall that when the
budget was first delivered there were some questions actually in terms of was there actually going to be a decrease to persons paying payroll tax that earned
less than $96,000. And the Opposition Leader I am
sure will confirm the fact that he actually questioned in his Budget Reply what the Government was saying. And I think for all of us we took the opportunity to look at the facts and the facts do bear, as Minister Furbert just said, that those persons who earn less than
$96,000, all of them, will actually see a reduction in their payroll tax that they pay. Albeit, the least you earn in that area would result in your greater savings, which means that it is almost in a reverse. So the per-son who earns, let’s say, $46,000, will actually save more than the person who earns $95,000. And so we
took some time to make sure that we reinforce that to
everyone so that people do understand that it is in fact correct.
Mr. Speaker, if you actually look at page 45 of
the Budget Book you will see that of all of Gover nment’s revenue, on an annual basis about 42 per cent is derived from payroll tax. And in the bigger picture it
is interesting to note that the way payroll tax is levied
at the moment in Bermuda actually has a greater im-pact on labour than it does on what I want to refer to as “business income.” So for the listening public, I want to make the point that if in fact I operate a con-struction company and I earn, let’s say, a $1 million
(for whatever reason) as to the revenue, I need more
staff to generate that revenue, which means that my payroll tax burden is going to be more than a profes-sional business, let’s say a lawyer or doctor or even an accountant, because they can generate that same volume of revenue with less staff.
I say that because the general comments
have been that the Government of Bermuda has to look at a different way to raise taxes. And I think that this is going to be important, but we all have to under-stand that it is going to require a radical shift in how we do things. And at some level it is going to require
those who earn what I want to refer to more as “bus iness income” to really accept their responsibility to
pay more so that those who are effectively the wag e
earners will be able to pay less, but overall have an increase in Government’s revenue.
The other thing I did is I did an exercise to
review Government’s current account expenditure. If you look at it over the past, probably 10 years, it aver-ages about $920 million. And of that amount, 52 per
cent, give or take, is directly related to salaries and benefits. And if you add in grants and contributions, it
ends up being about 92 per cent, give or take. And I
make that comment because the Government expendi ture is fairly consistent and there is not going to
be any easy way to reduce that, so it reinforces the fact that we are going to have to do some work around the overall revenue generation which speaks
again to us really being willing to accept a change i n
how revenue is generated.
The Fiscal Responsibility Panel has also spoken about the fact that we need to find different ways
to raise revenue. And again, that is going to be very
interesting because it means that, effectively, the
business community is going to have to pay a greater portion in terms of what the Government is going to require to raise its revenue.
I also want to say that in the past financial
year, with again as revealed in the Budget Book, it will
show that payroll taxes have actually increased or
generated about $2 million more in revenue than ini-tially anticipated, which speaks to the fact that there is a strong level of employment, although the levels of employment in different sectors are different, which again reinforces the fact that we have to look at the
structure of how we raise our taxes. In this instance,
we are demonstrating that the current Government is still focused on trying to relieve the financial stress on the workers so that they can have some sense of r elief.


Bermuda House of Assembly We also often hear the comments in terms of
Bermuda’s cost of living is high. Therefore, any opportunity to assist those who earn the least should be
roundly supported by everyone. And I certainly will not
go back to an earlier debate whereby persons spoke about how small some of the reductions are, but as I
said earlier, every penny counts. And we need to
make sure that we do all that we can to positively i mpact those who earn less because we all need as
much as we can, our discretionary income, to allow us
to pa y for other things, whether it be groceries, fruits
and vegetables, medicine, whatever the case may be.
I will conclude, Mr. Speaker, by again saying
that I certainly support what is being proposed in terms of the payroll tax reduction for those who earn the least. And I look forward to other opportunities for
the Government and for the Opposition to support any
attempt to reduce the financial impact on those who
earn less and for those who earn more to really start
to think about how they can positively i mpact Berm uda by paying their fair share.
With those comments I will conclude and say
again, thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I certainly want to
concur with the sentiments of my colleague, MP Ric hardson. I cer tainly too am supportive of this Bill.
I can certainly say from the outset that I am
proud once again to be a member of this Government
because this Government certainly has its eye . . . and
understands the importance of reaching and meeting
our financial targets. But, equally, we have not lost
sight of the people who we serve. And this Bill is yet another example of us doing that. And so I am proud
to see that we are addressing and recognising the
struggles, particularly of those who are finding it most
difficult in these current circumstances, and how we
best address those struggles, as best we can, recognising the resources and the constraints that this Government is in as well.
Mr. Speaker, I want to raise, or bring to your
attention, the fact that i n the Progressive Labour Party’s 2020 platform, it was announced then that the Government will look to eliminate the payroll tax for
those earning $48,000 or less, and certainly will r educe the payroll taxes for those earning $96,000 and less. And the reas on why I mention that, Mr. Speaker,
is because despite all of the noise and the distractions
and the things that are on the table, on the horizon, for
this Government, we recognise that we must meet the
goals that we have set and so it is certainly interes ting
that we certainly meet those targets. So we have set
out and said to the public in our platform certain objectives that we look to achieve and, once again, this
Government has put its head down and looked to
achieve those initiatives.
And then, Mr. Speaker, I certainly want to
recognise that the ability to do so is only brought on
by the fiscal prudence of this Government. I would
bring your attention back to the previous fiscal year
where this Government came in $61 million under
budget. And then the revised estimates of this year
have the Government coming approximately $7 mi llion under budget. It is this fiscal prudence, it is this
attention to detail, it is this ability to maintain the fiscal
purse that has allowed us to then caveat, or carve out
I should say, an initiative such as the ability to put that
money back into the pockets of our people.
So I again I remind ourselves of the Premier’s
Budget Statement where he speaks about relief now
and more relief to come. And that is because as long
as this Government finds efficiencies, as long this
Government continues to outperform itself and come under budget, we will not do anything further but e nsure that we put that money back into the pockets of
our people. That is what we are here to do, to ser ve
the people of Bermuda.
And so again, I would like to thank the Mini ster on behalf of the Minister of Finance on this partic ular Bill as I remain supportive.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, MP Adams.
Does any other Member wish to make a contribution? Any other Member?
Minister Furbert.

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I really enjoyed hearing all the good comments coming even from the Leader of the Opposition
and Shadow Minister of Finance. And of course it is always good to hear my colleague, MP Jache [Adams]
and MP Richardson.
At this time, Mr. Speaker, I move that the Bill
be committed.

Yes, continue.

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Chairman, t his Bill seeks
to amend, as we mentioned, the Payroll Tax Act 1995
(“the principal Act”) and the Payroll Tax Rates Act
1995, and to validate certain waivers of payroll tax
granted by or on behalf of the Minister of Finance.
Clause 1 is self -explanatory.
Clause 2 amends section 9C of the principal
Act (new hire relief for qualifying employers: 2018,
when it was first put in place) to extend for two years
to 31 March 2024, the new hire reli ef available under
that section in relation to qualifying employees whose full-time employment by a qualifying employer first
commences during the period 1 April 2018 to 31
March 2024.
Clause 3 amends section 9CA of the principal
Act (new hire relief for q ualifying employers: 2020,
when we brought in another adjustment in 2020) to
extend for two years to 31 March 2024 the new hire
relief available under that section in relation to qualif ying employees whose full -time employment by a qual ifying employer firs t commences during the period
1 April 2020 to 31 March 2024.
Clause 4 amends section 9D of the principal
Act (special provision for Bermudian musicians and entertainers) to extend for two years to 31 March
2024 , the relief available under that section in r elation
to Bermudian musicians and other entertainers.
Clause 5 amends the table of standard rate
bands in section 3A(1) of the Payroll Tax Rates Act
1995, to reduce from 2.00 per cent to 1.50 per cent
the payroll tax payable on the annual remuneration
band up to $48,000, and to increase from 8.50 per
cent to 9.00 per cent the payroll tax payable on the
annual remuneration band from $48,001 to $96,000.
Clause 6 validates waivers of payroll tax
granted by or on behalf of the Minister of Finance since 15 July 2020, the commencement date of the
revised section 22 of the Public Treasury (Administr ation and Payments) Act 1969. Section 22 of the 1969
Act empowers the Minister to waive the payment of
public money by specified persons or classes of per-son in excepti onal circumstances, including where a
public health emergency has been declared by the Minister of Health under section 107A of the Public
Health Act 1949. Following the Governor’s Proclam ation of a State of Emergency on 1 April 2020, a public
health emergency was first declared to exist in Bermuda by the Minister of Health under section 107A of the 1949 Act from 30 June 2020, pursuant to the declaration by the World Health Organization that COVID -
19 was a global pandemic. The public health emergency has co ntinued in effect since that date with the
approval of the Legislature, see the Public Health (COVID -19) Emergency Order 2020 (BR 71/2020)
and the Public Health (COVID -19) Emergency Order
2021 (BR 5/2021).
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Deputy Speaker.
Members, are there any objections to the Payroll Tax Amendment and Validation Act 2022 being
reported to the House as printed?
There are none. The matter has been repor ted as printed. Thank you for that contribution, Members.
The next item on the Order Paper is Order
No. 9, which is the second reading of the Customs
Tariff Amendment Act 2022, again in the name of the
Premier and Minister of Finance.
Minister, would you like to present the matter?
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
On behalf of the Minister of Finance I move
that the Bill entitled Customs Tariff Amendment Act
2022 be now read the second time.

Are there any objections?
There are none.
Continue, Minister.

BILL

SECOND READING

CUSTOMS TARIFF AMENDMENT ACT 2022
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Speaker, Honourable
Members are requested now to give consideratio n to
the Bill entitled Customs Tariff Amendment Act 2022.
Mr. Speaker, this Bill proposes to amend the
Customs Tariff Act 1970, the principal Act, which
measures or creates specific national tariff codes for
cash and negotiable instruments, lower the dut y for
LED light sources, make miscellaneous harmonising
amendments to the simplified tariff currently in use by the post office and courier service, and for expanded
scope of duty relief to the Bermuda Hospitals Board.
Various measures of the Bill affect both the
First Schedule and the Fifth Schedule to the principal
Act. Mr. Speaker, the first measure of the Bill involves
the introduction of separate national codes for bank
notes, cheque forms, and stock shares or bond certif icates and similar documents of title. These proposed
new national codes are intended to make classific ation of cash and negotiable instruments easier for i mporters and to facilitate more detailed statistical repor ting on declared imports and exports of currency in
support of Bermuda’ s anti -money laundering efforts.
Mr. Speaker, in the 2022/23 Budget Stat ement in support of the Estimates of Revenue and E xpenditure, the Minister of Finance asserted that Ber-muda is a jurisdiction committed to cooperation,
transparency and high levels of compliance with our international obligations. He indicated that we have
been working with the Caribbean Financial Action
Task Force in relation to our anti -money laundering
regime. These new national codes are a small but important part of the process of updating and
strengthening our regime as we work with the Cari bbean Financial Action Task Force to ensure the most
effective implementation of Financial Action Task
Force standards range across border movement of
currency in negotiable instruments.
Mr. Speaker, for the avoidance of doubt,
these proposed amendments are all revenue neutral. The duty rate applicable to currency negotiable i nstruments remains zero. Mr. Speaker, I now turn to
the proposed lower rate for LEDS.
Mr. Speaker, in the Budget Statement, the F inance Minister said that the current conflict between
Ukraine and Russia will likely put further pressure on
electricity prices due to the increased price of oil. In order to help cushion the cost of inflationary pressures
arising from increasi ng energy prices, the Bill makes
provision to reduce the duty rate for energy -efficient
light emitting diode LED bulbs and modules from
12.5 per cent to 5.0 per cent. It is anticipated that the
resulting reduction of the price of LEDs will encourage their use thereby reducing the amount of money spent
by the community on electricity. It has been estimated
by the Director of energy that for the residential customers alone this could lead to a savings in excess of
$450 per year.
Also worth considering is that the lifespan of
LED light sources is much longer, up to 25 times
1038 18 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly longer than that of incandescent bulbs. This will ult imately result in additional savings for those hous eholds taking up this technology. This further anticipated savings on electricity could also translate to additional beneficial spending in local economy.
Mr. Speaker, I am have now progressed to
the miscellaneous harmonising amendments to the
simplified tariff. These proposed amendments affect
heading 98.03 on the First Schedule to the principal
Act. Heading 98.03 is used to classify as goods i mported by post or by the courier service. The Bill intr oduces a number of textual changes and new national
codes that better align with subheading description of
heading 98.03 with those of headi ngs of the first 97
chapters of the First Schedule to the principal Act.
Mr. Speaker, once again I would emphasise
that these harmonising changes are all revenue neutral.
Mr. Speaker, in the 2022/23 budget the Mini ster of Finance pointed out that the increases anticipat-ed in Government current account expenditure includ-ing the additional $11.1 million to the Bermuda Hosp itals Board [BHB] to meet funding shortfall. Honourable Members may be aware BHB has experienced a r eduction in actual and forecast reve nue largely attributed to the economic impact of the COVID -19 pandemic.
Mr. Speaker, while the BHB already benefits
from extensive duty relief in respect to hospital equipment the Bill proposes to introduce a new enduse duty relief in the Fifth Schedule to the principal
Act for hospital operating supplies. This is being done
to assist the BHB in offsetting additional operating expenses. The period of the new relief is to be r estricted to 17 months, from the 1
st of April 2022 until
the 31st of August 2023.
Mr. Speaker, in addition to the principal
measures of the Bill that I have already desc ribed, the
opportunity is being taken to correct a number of (eight in total) minor textual errors arising from the HS 2022 amendments made to the First Schedule in December 2021. I will comment in further detail the pri ncipal changes and other measures of the Bill in Committee. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Deputy Premier. You have the floor.

Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I just wish to briefly comment on this Bill and
commend the Government for in i ts wisdom to reduce
the duty on light emitting diode (i.e., LED bulbs). We
know that energy costs in this country are high. Some
are now in the region of over $0.40 per kilowatt -hour.
One of the highest levels in the region contributes to
the high cost of living, high cost of business, and perhaps an unfortunate label for Bermuda as one of the most expensive places to live. We as a country can get a better handle on these costs.
And yes, there is much work to be done in
other ways of which to address the cost of energy. But
one thing we can do, Mr. Speaker, is every individual
person in Bermuda can think about what we can do individually to lower our costs. There are things that
can be done individually in every household to assist
with this. And this is to find ways to use less energy.
We in Bermuda and individually need to use less energy. Our energy consumption is high. Our demand is
high. This contributes to the cost of the production of
energy generation.
If we use less, we will have to spend less. And
adopting small measures, Mr. Speaker, can make the
difference, like changing your light fixtures in your
homes, businesses, offices and places to LED bulbs. They use a less percentage of energy. It can contri bute by virtue of just a few bulbs in one house can su bstantially impact over time, in a very short period of
time, one’s bill. So changing our behaviours of usage,
adopting conservation and efficiencies measures can
help. And the fact that these bulbs now should [cost] less at the point of sale, should in our view make them
more accessible and more available to everyone.
This Government in its wisdom a couple of
years ago had a bulb exchange campaign where we
promoted the exchange where people could go to l ocal retailers and they could exchange their incandescent bulbs for LEDs. We were very happy that many
retailers participated in this programme, and we do
hope that it shows some people what they can do to
lower their energy costs. So I commend the Gover nment for adopting this measure as we have done i n
many ways to try and lower the cost [for] the individual man and woman and families in this country. This is
just another way, and I am very pleased as the Mini ster responsible for Energy for seeing this happen t oday. Thank you, very much, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, you can go ahead.

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
This Bill seeks to amend the First Schedule
and the Fifth Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act 1970.
Clause 1 contains the citation ; it is self -
explanatory.
Clause 2 repeals and replaces the First
Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act 1970 by the contents of the Schedule to this Bill.
The First Schedule is published on the Bermuda Government portal at the following web address:
www.gov.bm/schedules -customs -tariffact -1970

Clause 3 amends the Fifth Schedule to the
Customs Tariff Act 1970 by inserting new CPC 4240
(hospital operating supplies).
Clause 4 provides for commencement of all
the clauses of the Bill on April 1, 2021.