March 6, 2017

Yes, thank you.
Okay. Going back to it, I see that there is a
budget for $14,000. I can say, Madam Chairman, that
the Office of the Legislature has recently taken the
role of Parliament and all that it involves out on the road, so to speak, by going to schools and the like to inform our young people of what is entailed in the par-liamentary processes and procedures. I think that is


Bermuda House of Assembly an excellent direction for Parliament to take. And I do
know that when it was possible, they tried to involve
youth parliamentarians in that process.
I think it is important, and again I ask whether
or not the budget that is set is sufficient for that job to be carried out as it should be carried out. We have to get that right because it speaks to educating the public regarding the role of Parliament. So I think if we are
going to do that, sufficient monies need to be spent in order to carry out the job that needs to be carried out.
And I can say when I look at line item, Opposition Leader’s Office, which has the budget allocation of $120,000-—

Madam Chairman, where I see
Repair and Maintenance. We sit in these hallowed Chambers all the time, Madam Chairman. (And that is
on B -11, Repair and Maintenance.) And we saw in
2015/16, it was an actual budget of $29,000. In 2016/17, it was $128,000, and I would venture that has to do with many of the repairs we have seen taking place. And I just want confirmation on that. But I
also would like to ask whether or not the estimated
budget for this year is realistic because there are all sorts of things that happen in any building. And I think I would rather see —rat her than our having to vacate
these offices or what -have -you, I would rather see a
realistic budget put in place, get everything done that needs to be done, so that we do not have to look at
spending out monies in rent somewhere else to cover
our being able to do our jobs. And right now, as we all know, the Legislature has offices elsewhere and has to pay rent elsewhere because they cannot at present occupy these Chambers and the offices within these Chambers. So I would wonder again if $38,000 that is
estimated for this year is a realistic figure, in order to
ensure that everything is done.
Madam Chairman, I will skip over to Head
38 [sic].

I see $320,000 has been put in
place. And I would guess that this does have to do
with (what do you call it?) absentee voting. However, I do have a concern about that, as I do, ideologically, believe that we should always be making every eff ort
to promote democracy, enhance it and put measures in place to continue to grow it, democracy, so that there are no persons ever left out of that democratic process. However, especially when it comes to over-seas voting or absentee voting, that is the one area, when you research far and wide, the one area of voting that lends itself to major abuses. And you see a
high level of voter fraud taking place when it comes to absentee ballots.
And so, I would ask the Registrar, what
measures are being put in place to ensure and mini-mise —because if there is a will, there is a way —but to
minimise voter fraud on every level?
I have to say this overall. The Parliamentary
Registrar, like the Legislature, should be free and i ndependent. When I sat on the committee, that was one of the items that we mentioned, separate and
apart of what we were doing specifically for the Legislature. The independence of the Parliamentary Regi strar is vital. And again, they once had a facility that they served in as an independent entity. I now see that the Parliamentary Registrar’s Office is shared, I think, with the [Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation]. That is an absolute no- no. Parliament should
never have to sit in conjunction with any other government office. Now, that is no fault of the Parliamen-tary Registrar. It is what it is. But I would urge that measures be put in place to also ensure the inde-pendence of the Parliamentary Registrar’s Office.
And given the meeting that was held at BUEI
[Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute], I want to thank the Parliamentary Registrar for that. It was very informative, and there were things that were shared, and this speaks basically to, I guess, . . . which area?
I guess advertising and promotions? Because it was a way of then promoti ng what they do in Parliament,
even though it is not something like an ad that you put in the paper. It certainly is —

That is right. So, Madam
Chairman, I have to say that in some of the things that
were s hared, we want to ensure that the Parliamentary Registrar, too, has sufficient resources and the like. And one of the key areas that was pointed out
was, especially when it comes to an election, having
sufficient manpower. We all . . . JP, MP . . . those w ho
have the title “JP" are often used as returning officers. And in these last five years or so we have not seen any new officers being appointed by the Governor. That, in my opinion, is a mistake, God forbid,
there are many reasons why we may end up having to have a by -election. And quite often, it is because we
lose a Member or a Member chooses to resign. And when there is insufficient manpower in place, Madam Chairman, it makes it that much more difficult for the Office of the Parliamentary Registrar to ensure that
such people can be in place. And I think that any budget that is allocated to that office needs to allow for the Parliamentary Registrar to be able to, at the drop of a dime, put that manpower in place for a bye -
election, a referendum, what -have-you, to take place
without, for instance, having to seek further funding in
order to ensure that it can be done.
The Offices of Parliamentary Registrar, under
Head 63, your Offices of the Legislature —it is crucial
that their independence be arrived at. It is absolutely
crucial for a modern- day government to have that in
place, Madam Deputy Speaker. It is crucial for one reason: We are always talking about the advancement
of democracy. And it is crucial that those offices be seen as operating independent of any interference
regardless of which party is in power. And it will take out the questions that when we see changes to legi slation taking place, especially when it comes to elec-tions and what -have- you—it will take out the question
of whether or not one party or the other is trying to do
something that they think is going to enhance their position. We should never have to worry about that as Members.
And so, I would hope that there is much effort
being done to ensure that the promise, at least, of the Legislature, its independence, is put in place. And I would hope that much is done to ensure that the inde-pendence of the Parliamentary Registrar is put in place. Because I do not know about you, Madam
Chairman, but when one goes overseas, people and
Members in other jurisdictions are appalled that these
entities do not enjoy independence. Because it flies in the face of democracy. And that has to be addressed. In our modern day, as one of the oldest polities in the
Commonwealth, that we are lagging behind so many
others that came long after us is, as far as I am concerned, an embarrassment. Because we have the ability and we have the wherewithal to get it right, Madam Chairman.

[Audio interference]

So, Madam Chairman, thank
you. To allow other Members to participate in this, I
will take my seat. But if time permits, I will get up and speak again on this. Thank you.



Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: Thank you, Member.
The next individual . . . are there any other
Members who would like to speak?
The Chair recognises the Member from constituency 36. Again, just to reiterate, if you could let
me know which head you are on.

Hon. Michael J. Scott: I am going to hurry on, because we finish at five?

So we are at Head 63; correct?
Hon. Michael J. Scott: Yes, Head 63, Madam Chai rman.
So that there is media usage to reach stak eholders and there is a considerable increase in the
budget, from $494,000. I would like to understand, as
did the Leader, what amount is going to be applied to this access process? Madam Chairman, I would just like to underscore a risk that I hope—

Thank you very much.
Hon. Michael J. Scott: It is important, of course, and
we are happy to see in our modern Bermuda, that we are making sure that there is access by the public to
the process of a franchise. So I am asking how much of the $494,000 is being applied to immediate delivery to the public? The risk. . . you know, I want to understand both the rationale and the objective of it, of these funds being applied, and the amounts being
applied to media awareness. The risk of politicising,
this is the point. The risk of politicising the franchise by the new modern—
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Point of clarification, Ma dam Chairman. The Chairman: If you will yield?
Yes. Please.

POINT OF CLARIFICATION
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: The Honourable Member
refers to cost centre 7300, a nd $400- odd-thousand
number. Could he elucidate on that a little bit? B ecause—

If you would have a seat for a second.
What you had initially said was that we were
on B -20 and you were on 73000 [sic], Administration.
That indeed was not the number you were referring to.
We are now on B -21, under Advertising and Prom otion. It just helps us to follow with the numbers.

Hon. Michael J. Scott: Yes. I thought it was abundantly clear because I quoted the amount in the Budget Book.
The risk in a modern society, with the blo gosphere as viral as it is and as vicious as it is, we
want to be sure that we do not risk poli ticising the
franchise, which is an independent body under the Parliamentary Registrar and is away from a Minister or
Ministers or an Opposition Member. So, that is my first
point.
Under the Parliamentary Registrar, I notice
that
the Boundaries Commission will be . . . and I declare that I am —

862 6 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly [Inaudible interjection]

Hon. Michael J. Scott: Please say it so it gets into
. . .

Right. I believe you are talking to
73005.
Hon. Michael J. Scott: Thank you, Madam Chairman.
So that, under that head now, the Boundaries
Commission, I am going to go as quickly as I can. I
declare that I am a Commissioner of the Boundaries Commission for the Opposition, along with my colleague, Mr. Jamahl Simmons.
We look forward to the report arriving, and I
will not foreshadow it. We look forward to its being
debated. And there are elements in it that have to —
well, the entire thing has to be approved. I know there
are some concerns about . . . I know now, just as a
fact that I am a commissioner, that there are one or
two concerns. And so I am glad that the House, the Legislators, will have the opportunity to approve this Boundaries Commission’s findings. I think you will find that it was well prepared. But we will have the opportunity to look into any concerns that members of the
public, or even Members of the Legislature, have. So I
welcome that time when it comes.
And may I take the opportunity to just commend my colleagues and the chairing and direction and the Parliamentary Registrar’s steering of that Parliame ntary Boundaries Commission exercise? Under
the modernisation of the franchise, the Parliamentary
Registrar actually . . . I do not speak out of school. I actually wrote to her. But may I foreshadow a moder nising possibility? In our country, alas and unfor tunately, some people cannot leave Somerset and go to the
city. Some people cannot leave St. David’s and come
to the city because of the gang issues and the crime issues. And so I am hoping that the Parliamentary Registrar’s budget increases for registration and up-grade of photographs will be able to consider a mobile
unit so that we can go to our parts of the entire Island
and ensure that registration takes place by those I can commend to this House and indicate to this House are willing young men. They are mostly males, in all of these issues, and they wish to register. So I under-score that.
Inmates in prison, in Corrections, their ability
to have access to the franchise . . . Madam Chairman, we have started debates in this House about debt and debtors being in prison. Now, surely, during the course of an election when my friend is in prison for
debt, that is not a part of the regime that says, You lose your privileges because you have committed an
awful crime. And I think it is time, if we are moderni sing the process, for us to extend it even to the most or
the more serious —the widest possible population of
inmates, but certainly it helps my argument. I can make the case for debtors. They surely should not be excluded, and some arrangements should be made
there.
The absentee balloting—I think it has to be
underpinned. And I have gone through the Bye legi slation so that we ensure that we are doing all manner
of good by this new exercise, which I certainly wel-come, of extending the franchise. But we would like to
see the t’s crossed legislatively to ensure that we pr otect the system of voting online. We all know that
there are some issues. There are, unquestionably, issues with it.
Finally, back to the Legislature, I want to
commend the Clerk of this House. So we are on
Head 6 [sic] now, Legislature.

[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Michael J. Scott: Two! Head 2.

And perhaps page B- 10?

Hon. Michael J. Scott: Yes, B- 10, so that the Hansard catches it.
I want to commend our Parliamentary Clerk of
the House, Mrs. Shernette Wolffe, and her staff, too.
But Mrs. Wolffe, our Clerk, has been at the forefront. She has been engaged, energised, and full of enter-prise in ensuring that this 400- year-old building and its
processes have been modernised. And s o, I co mmend her and her staff for the indicators that have
shown in this Head 2 report of where we are going,
both from infrastructure, information technology, and the modernising of the whole set of rules and privileg-es. The Clerk has done an excellent job of ensuring that this place does what it is meant to do.
And I note that we had a Privileges debate in
this House, one of the few I have ever been aware of in modern times. And I have now learnt that the privi-leges of the House are important. So, we need to en-sure that this area, that regime, is given as much r esourcing as possible so that we are aware of the co ncept and construct of privilege, so that we behave in this House in the way that we are meant to by ensur-ing, as this was the point of that privilege motion that I brought, that we do good work by making information accessible and available to the Members of the Legi slature. It is fundamental to the work that we do here.
I welcome the Parliamentary Act amendments, and I note the commission that is coming. This is important. And in modernising a Parliament Act of (I
think it is) 1951 [sic], it has some constructs and archaic language and concepts that have no place in a
modern Bermuda. And I hope that the Parliament Act
. . . and I would be happy to be involved in its construction and what it finally looks like. For example, I
mean, the concept of strangers. We want to welcome people to this place. The concept of “ strangers ” at
Westminster has been changed to “members of the public. ” It is a funny . . . it has this pejorative, unwelBermuda House of Assembly coming concept. So, there are things like this that can
happen. I remember that I heard the Premier indicate
that the numbers of visitors to the House had i ncreased exponentially, but he was not honest with us, and I am being fresh here.

That is correct. Line 73005.
Madam Chairman, let me just say this because I have heard some potential, I guess, criticism
with regard to the process in relation to the Bounda-ries Commission. I was a member of that commission. And I have to say that I found the entire process to be extremely fair, extremely reasonable. I found getting
along with my —

I am just saying that how those
were applied with regard to financing, there was
enough that was expended in relation to it. My hon-ourable colleagues and I spent a number of days in one another’s company, including the Independent Members who came from other jurisdictions to sit on the Boundaries Commission. I think that the numbers
that are reflected with regard to the expenditure on it
were more than fair and more than adequate with r egard to the degree of work that we got done.
I remember coming from there and thinking, I
don’t see where, in the circumstances, that logi cally
and sensibly we could expend more funds on that particular exercise and achieve even any form of a better
result. And let me say this: It was purely, in my assessment, a mathematical exercise, which took some
work, I can confess, in agreeing to what was fair and equitable in relation to arriving at a decision as to how there should be any changes or modification with r egard to the boundaries. That was it. There was no, certainly, you know, payment was being made where there was any . . .
I have to say, I mean, I did not spot any form
of bipartisanship at all. It was like singing Kumbaya. We were doing math, we were looking at things objectively, not drilling down on the basis of, Oh, Mrs. Smith
lived here, you know; and Mr. Robinson lives over
here and let’s do a little loop around and carve out,
and having that type of debate or that type of argument. The funds applied to the exercise that we were
doing were purely about arriving at a position as to
whether it was fair. And the best way to do that, and the best way to apply the money, is having members doing a mathematical exercise so that you obtain as close to— you are never going to get there. It is not
like New York, where you divide it up into city bloc ks.
It is Bermuda, with rambling lanes and so on and so forth. You are never going to get there in parishes
where you have the ad idem position of equal numbers across the board. You are left with doing the best
you can with what you are given.
I would ha ve felt that any monies that were
expended with regard to the maps that we used and the overheads were both adequate and were extrem ely fair, as well, that any drilldown by the expert, if you will, with regard to the maps and arriving at the correct percentage position between the boundaries was, to
my mind, fair play and fair pay and certainly arrived at
what, across the board, we all agreed on as being a fair and equitable result. And it was something of a delight to see members, you know, exercising thei r
time, being paid reasonably for it, not by any means extremely for it, but being paid reasonably for it, with a
lot of due diligence. The expenditure, I think, on the
public meetings was enough. Everybody was not storming out of their houses to come and attend these public meetings. It was fair expense. I could not see where anything further could have been paid to it. I
864 6 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly think what was paid towards it, what was paid towards
the advertising, was fair across the board.
I would submit, for the listening public and for
Members of the House, that when it comes to the expense with regard to the Boundaries Commission, that is one of the things that we should be able to say, par-ticularly as a bipartisan approach, it is one of those
things where one would have to look at it and say that
it was entirely appropriate, that also it was appropriate in the sense that we do not need to expend any more money on it, that what was spent on it was sufficient, was more than adequate, and got the job done.
So I really would have any difficulty with supporting any form of criticism with regard to the ex-penditure or the lack of expenditure or the need for more expenditure with regard to the Constituency Boundaries Commission and the work that was done there. I do not know how it has been done in the past, because I have not sat on previous Boundaries Commissions. But I know that this one encompassed what
I would regard as modern technology in the sense that the use of the overheads and the zoom -in and so on,
and with regard to the mathematical calculations. And
I remember coming away from that, and I still stand
here today, in thinking, This was actually money that
was well spent and time that was extremely well used in a bipartisan approach to arriving at a really solid result, th e most equitable and the fairest result that
one could possibly get in doing this exercise.
Those are all the comments I have with r egard to that, Madam Chairman. Thank you.

Thank you.
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: The first paper I have in
front of me, that is where I will start.
The question was asked by an Honourable
Member in regard to, if colleagues want to follow
along, page B -11, the Subjective Analysis in connection with Travel. In 2015, it was $97,000. Then it dropped to $14,000 in the current financial year and stays just around that level, at $13,000 this financial year. A portion, $77,000, of the allocation of the
$97,000 refers to the Bermuda conference that was
held for Presiding Officers and Clerks meeting that was held here in November of 2015. And that deals with travel co sts for members of that delegation to
come here at that time. That is why the costs have dropped drastically over the last two years and will
stay in that area.
Just as a further point of elucidation for Members, the travel costs in regard to Members of the Legislature who travel overseas for conferences comes out of the CPA budget, which is funded through the general budget and other participating agencies.
In regard to the question that was asked—
staying on the same page, B- 11, Other Personnel
Costs. In the Budget Book, you will see on page B- 11
that Other Personnel Costs in 2015/16 were $47,000, increase in 2016/17 to $97,000. But the actual revised budget for this financial year is $62,000. And the est imate for 2017/18 is $83,000. Other Personnel Costs
relate to allowances that can be paid for through the Legislature, such as robes for the Speaker and Mem-bers of the Legislature, provisions for the Legislature such as food and other items such as that. But I will
draw Honourable Members’ attention to the fact that —
I think, most Honourable Members of this Chamber
are well aware, but I am sure the public is not —
basically, we have three numbers that come through any one year’s Budget Book. You have the original allocation. You have the revised allocation. An d you
will have the final allocation, which will come next year for this current financial year we are on, 2016/17.
So until we get the final allocation, these are
just estimates. But the Clerk assures me that the Budget is going to be lower, the actual s pent amount
is going to be lower, than they have budgeted for. And
they have budgeted for $83,000 for the next financial
year.
Just in Hansard, another note here . . . the
new Administrative Assistant commences on March 13
th. There was a question asked about it. And
the experience of this person, which is in communic ations and social media, will enhance their operations here.
Now, let me deal with a couple of other comments that were made. In regard to this head, back on page C -4 (I believe) in the Budget Book, the question
was asked about the original allocation of $500,000 dealing with this Parliament Building Refurbishment and the revised estimate this year of $943,000. That revised estimate is still not confirmed, because so far, to date, less than $200,000 has been spent. So it ap-pears that that line 43 is going to be nowhere near
used. There are at $200,000. And subsequently, that
is why the budget is in there for $2 million.
The $2 million includes the 100 windows and
other work that is supposed to take place in there, the making of the windows, the installation of the wi ndows. That budget does include the full fit -in for the


Bermuda House of Assembly Senate Chambers in here. And it includes, obviously,
the implementation of electricity upgrade, various ot her minor works that have to take place. And one of the
largest expenses in that is the new air -conditioning
system for the whole building. So that is all included in that $2 million, and the vast amount of work will take place in the next financial year.
Honourable colleagues are aware, I would
hope, that the House and Grounds Committee is r esponsible for this area, as I mentioned in my brief. And they do a very good job. And as Members from both sides of the House, Madam Chairman—as you know, you chair it yourself —sit on that committee, and
I understand when you have your meetings, Members from Works attend those meetings as well.
And that leads me to the next question, in r egard to, will the work be done internally? I am assured that the good staff at Works and Engineering wil l be
doing the work here at the Parliament Building when it
commences. I was asked questions in regard to the
size of the House and SAGE recommendations. And as the Honourable Member who asked those ques-tions clearly said, he was asking what the Gover nment ’s intentions were. And as I answer that and
move on to the next part, the next head, let me just say that I notice one Honourable Member on that side gave clarifications on what she thought would be the right size for this House, and the Opposition Leader
did not give any suggestion. I think he was just trying to fish to see if he could catch something.
But there are a couple of things that I think are
important to know. The House of Assembly has had a number of committees that have been formed in r ecent times. And the formation of those committees comes with, Madam Chairman, very high expectation of work that has to be done. There are at least three
committees out there doing very important work, one
committee on women’s issues, one committee on sexual abuse, and one committee on living wage.
As Members call for further strengthening of
the committee structure in the House of Assembly, I
would think it is critically important that those commi ttees that currently have been structured and are wor king can complete their work so we can have conf idence in those committees. And those three commi ttees mentioned have been in place for some time, and
there has been very little substance that has come to
this House of Assembly. So before we form more
committees, put more work on Members and col-leagues in the House, it is important that we have the confidence to make sure that the work can get done.
And at this time, I think there are a number of
questions that will be asked, because if you form more
committees, the wo rk has got to be done from Me mbers of the House. So more Members of the House
from both sides will sit on those committees and be expected to do the work. And that is very important.
It is all good for us to stand up here and talk in
budget debates or in m otion to adjourn about how we can improve the functioning of this House. But at the
end of the day, when we form committees the responsibility comes down to each and every one of us in this House to do the work and make the report, or it is just talk. There is no action. And so, instead of just standing here and talking, the work has to take place in those back rooms. And I would love to see reports
on the liveable wage. I would love to see reports on
the women’s issues. They are critical issues. And I hope we can spur those forward, as well.
And I go back to the SAGE recommendations
and the size of the House. I believe we should take a look at the number of Members in this House. That is
a discussion that has to happen in these Chambers.
Because not only was it SAGE Commission reco mmendations, Madam Chairman, the former Gover nment had a report done by the UK which many of those similar -type SAGE recommendations came to
them, and that report collected dust, probably in some
mould- infested room. And so, you know, we stand up
here and we try to score political points. But I am not
going to allow that to take place just for politicians who want to grandstand.
Now, turning to the Parliamentary Registrar.

Thank you, Member.
The Chair recognises the Premier.
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: They are wasting their
time for their answers which they wanted.
Now, in regard to the PR [Parliamentary Registrar], let me try very quickly. (We have Members on
that side who are very sensitive this morning, which is unfortunate.) The Honourable Member gave a ques-tion to the PR about amendments. The amendments to the Act will be adding absentee ballot, administr ative additions, including potentially the banning of use of cell phones in polling stations, the allowing of the CMO [Chief Medical Officer] to designate another medical officer to assist patients for incapacitated voters, certificates during the advance polls and changes to the objection process during elections. Also, identify
866 6 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly who is responsible for making decisions on who can
vote when it comes to those who have some sort of
mental illness.
In regard to research and consideration of a
vendor to build the absentee ballot part of the plan, it was determined that those with expertise on the I sland, Madam Chairman, could have some close polit ical affiliation with either party. And so it was agreed to have a sole source. And the vendor is Igor Stefanovic, from Serbia, who has started his work. And he will be traveling back and forth to do the work that is r equired. Obviously, security considerations are critically impor tant through this whole process.

We will now move on to the next
head. (And I am sorry for the feedback here; it sounds like a very windy day . . . Now it sounds a little better.)
The next heads will be Community, Culture and Sport [sic], and it will be for a period of six hours. The
heads that will be debated are Heads 71, 20, 23, 52
and 55. I call on the Minister in charge to proceed. Minister, you have the floor.

MINISTRY OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND
SPORTS
Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Thank you, and good afternoon, Madam Chairman. And it is actually the Ministry
of Social Development and Sports now.
Madam Chairman, I will now move that Head
71, Ministry of Social Development and Sports; Head 20, Youth, Sport and Recreation; Head 23, Child and Family Services; Head 52, Community and Cultural
Affairs; and Head 55, Financial Assistance be now
taken under consideration.

Please proceed.
Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Madam Chairman, I will
begin our debate of the financial year 2017/18 Est imates of Revenue and Expenditure for the Ministry of
Social Development and Sports by providing a brief overview of the Ministry as a whole. I note that the debate today will focus on Heads 71, 20, 23, 52 and 55. Madam Chairman, the summary of the financial
year 2017/18 Current Account Budget Estimate for the
Ministry is found on page B- 236 of the approved Est imates of Revenue and Expenditure for the [financial]
year 2017/18 in the Estimates Book.
The Ministry’s total budget estimate for financial year 2017/18 is $87,267,000. Madam Chairman, this represents a decrease of approximately $1,320,000, or 1 per cent, compared with the original
estimate of $88,587,000 for financial year 2016/17, as found on page B- 236 of the Estimates Book. The net
budgetary reduction of 1 per cent for financial year
2017/18 will be explained in detail as I discuss each of the heads that form part of this debate.
Madam Chairman, the breakdown of the Ministry’s Current Account budget for estimates 2017/18 by head, as shown on page B- 236, is as follows:
• Head 18— Libraries, $1.926 million, repr esents an increase of 3 per cent;
• Head 19—Archives, $1.296 million, is at no
change;
• Head 20 —Youth, Sport and Recreation,
$9.388 million, represents a 4 per cent i ncrease;
• Head 23 —Child and Family Services, $15.634
million, represents a 2 per cent decrease;
• Head 52—Community and Cultural Affairs,
$3.011 million, represents a 2 per cent i ncrease;
• Head 55—Financial Assistance, $ 53.555 mi llion, represents a 2 per cent decrease;
• Head 71—Ministry Headquarters, $ 2.457 mi llion, represents a 17 per cent decrease;
• with the Ministry total at $87.267 million, representing an overall decrease of 1 per cent.

Madam Chai r
man, the summary shows that
financial year 2017/18 budgetary allocations for Heads 20 and 52 have increased, whilst allocations for Heads 23, 55 and 71 have decreased. I will di sBermuda House of Assembly cuss these changes separately when I present the
detailed information for each head.
Madam Chairman, page B- 236 also shows
budgetary data for revenue for the Ministry of
$919,000 for financial year 2017/18. This represents a net increase of $36,000, or 4 per cent, compared with
original estimates of $883,000 for financial year
2016/17. This will be expanded later on in my prese ntation, together with Capital Expenditure, also shown
on page B -236.
Madam Chairman, first I will discuss the Current Account expenditure for Head 71, the Ministry Headquarters.

HEAD 71 —MINISTRY HEADQUARTERS

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Madam Chairman, the f inancial year 2017/18 estimates of expenditure and
revenue for Head 71, the Ministry Headquarters, can
be found on pages B -237 to B -240 of the Estimates
Book. Ministry Headquarters is responsible for the
budget of two business units, the first being [business unit] 81000, Administration, which consists mainly of salari es, administration and grant expenditure; and
the second being 81020, the Mirrors Programme.
Madam Chairman, the Ministry Headquarters
embraces the Ministry’s overall vision to strengthen the social fabric of our community and supports the mission to provide social and cultural support services to the community in order to safeguard our heritage
and human rights; maintain and improve our quality of
life; and develop and protect our youth and families. The Ministry Headquarters strives to ensure good fis-cal control across the Ministry and supports the Mini stry’s core values, which are integrity, commitment to excellence in service, accountability, respect and empowerment (ICARE, for short).
Madam Chairman, the Ministry Headquarters
provides policy guidance to all the departments within
the Ministry for:
• the preservation of family life and advanc ement of our children and youth;
• encouragement of excellence in amateur sports locally and internationally;
• facilitation of empowerment of our people
through social programmes and initiatives;
and
• the protection of human rights and promotion of gender equality.

Madam Chairman, page B -237 shows that the
total budget allocation for the Ministry Headquarters for financial year 2017/18 is $2,457,000. This is split betw een business units 81000, Administration, with
$1,524,000, and 81020, the Mirrors Programme, with
$933,000. Madam Chairman, the total budget alloc ation for financial year 2017/18 represents a net decrease of 17 per cent, or $513,000, less than the ori ginal financial year 2016/17 budget of $2,970,000. Madam Chairman, the reason for the decrease in
funding in business units 81000, and hence in total
funding for Head 71, is due to the transfer of adminis-trative responsibility of the grant for Lorraine Rest Hom e from the Ministry of Social Development and
Sports to the Ministry of Health and Seniors, earlier in this financial year.
Business unit 81000, Administration: Madam
Chairman, the Ministry Headquarters Administration business unit, 81000, has a decrease in budgetary allocation for financial year 2017/18 of $515,000, or 25 per cent, compared to the original budget for finan-cial year 2016/17, of $2,039,000, as seen on page B -
237. I have already noted that this decline in budget is due to transfer of responsibility for administering grant funding for the Lorraine Rest Home to the Ministry of Health and Seniors. Thus, Honourable Members will note on page C -19 of the Budget Book that zero funding has been allocated under the Ministry Headquarters for Parish Council [Commitments] funding.
Madam Chairman, the full- time equivalent
positions for financial year 2017/18 remain at 12 in
business unit 81000, the administrative section of the Ministry Headquarters. Whist the full -time equivalent
position accounts for the Mirrors Programme, bus iness unit 81020 remains at six, as shown on page B -
238, when compared with the financial year 2016/17 original estimate.
Madam Chairman, in order to provide context
for some of the budgetary figures shown in the Su bjective Analysi s of Current Account Estimates for the
Ministry Headquarters, on page B- 238, I will first d escribe the funding allocation and associated activities connected with business unit 81020, the Mirrors Pr ogramme.

Business Unit 81020—Mirrors Programme

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Business unit 81020, the
Mirrors Programme. Madam Chairman, the successful
Mirrors Programme will celebrate its 10
th anniversary
in 2017. Madam Chairman, in 2007 at the height of antisocial and gang activity in our community, the Mi rrors Pro gramme was launched to address Bermuda’s
at-risk youth population. The concept was to provide
an alternative programme for youth to transform their lives, creating a new trajectory for success. Since
then, the vision has had a far -reaching impact on Mi rrors participants, who have demonstrated an increasing confidence and accountability. Additionally, participants have developed healthy relationships with adults, resulting in positive outcomes of increased academic attainments, employment and lawfulness.
Madam Chairman, the Mirrors Programme
plays a key role in promoting personal responsibility, healthy relationships and positive contributions to s ociety. It is clear that continuous work is required to address the ongoing risks that impact our youth. The Mirrors Programme continues to monitor data and
868 6 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly trends locally and internationally to address the speci fic needs for positive youth development in Bermuda.
Madam Chairman, over the almost 10- year
period of the Mirrors Programme the landscape for
youth development has constantly shifted, especially in the face of evolving technology, new educational standards and changing community norms. Cons equently, the Mirrors Programme has had to adapt its focus on personal development to some extent to keep pace with the changing landscape. Notwit hstand ing [these challenges], the Mirrors Programme,
underpinned by rigorous programme evaluation and a committed staff driven by a passion for safeguarding
Bermuda’s youth, has garnered many years of exper ience and produced results that speak for themselves
in terms of the positive impact the programme has had on the lives of both youth and adults, whether through parent workshops or as community pr ogramme volunteers or youth participants.
Madam Chairman, the Mirrors Programme
increases human capital at the societal level by providing alternative programming through transfor-mation, training, and coaching for youth and adults with the goal of producing a high- performance culture
for youth in education, employment and reduction in
offending antisocial behaviour. It plays a role in hel ping to remove obstacles that prevent success and provides support to encourage youth to achieve their highest potential.
Madam Chairman, based on data collected
over the past nine years and the challenges encoun-tered in engaging sufficient volunteers within the past three years, Mirrors adjusted and expanded its pr ogramme in 2016 to provide a six -day workshop. This
workshop is called “ SuperCamp” and is part of the
Quantum Learning Network methodology , which r equires fewer volunteers than the transformation work that was previously associated with the consultancy of Uncommon Results Inc.
The Mirrors Programme recognises the signi ficant impact of the partnership with Uncommon R esults Inc. and the contributions they have made to the programme and the community over the years. On behalf of the Mirrors Programme, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mark Charley and his team at Uncommon Results Inc. for being instrumental in the success and continuous evolution of the Mirrors Pr ogramme.
Madam Chairman, the new partnership with
Quantum Learning Network will allow Mirrors to intr oduce the SuperCamp concept to Bermuda. Super-Camp is a highly rated camp with more than 75,000 graduates worldwide. Quantum Learning Network’s
SuperCamp is known for boosting social, leadership
and academic skills, using the 8 Keys of Excellence approach, which are Integrity, Commitment, Failures Leads to Success, Ownership, Speak with Good Pur-pose, Flexibility, This Is It! and Balance. Students who participate in SuperCamp are reminded daily of the 8 Keys [of Excellence], through postings on walls, r einforcement by staff and principles embedded into each activity. SuperCamp provides a feeling of com-munity, trust and a sense of belonging in an open, friendly atmosphere. This proven approach to youth development leads to the positive transformation of teen attitudes; and increased confidence, motivation
and grades.
Madam Chairman, in 1982, Quantum Lear ning Network began the first teen summer programme
of its kind and has evolved into a respected worldwide leader with SuperCamp programmes in 13 countries. It is envisaged that SuperCamp will provide an expa nsion of the outputs previously attained under the U ncommon Results Inc. c urriculum.
Madam Chairman, the new curriculum aligns
with and builds upon the previous transformation methodology, but with an approach focused on ac ademic development and success strategies for life and
career skills. SuperCamp gears students to choose
excellence and moulds them into becoming productive
citizens of the 21
st century. In particular, students will
be empowered with knowledge in order to benefit from
academic enrichment, improve life skills, increase m otivation, resolve differences and strengthen character ,
to name a few of the added benefits. The Mirrors Pr ogramme structur e will still incorporate a nine- month
follow -through period and coaching services following
the transformational experience.
Madam Chairman, unlike other camps , the
Super Camp’s academic program mes focus on a
range of disciplines instead of concentrating on one, such as math. This method provides students with the
ability to show them how to learn more successfully in
every discipline while they learn to live their best lives.
Students are able to identify personal learning preference and learn useful strategies to improve their
learning by utilis ing all three channels.
Madam Chairman, SuperCamp will assist st udents in utili sing the customi sed style- specific tec hnique, whi ch leads to studying becoming easier. St udents will benefit from SuperCamp, as they will be
able to learn, comprehend and recall information more easily, which can impact their grades and result in
their achieving a higher GPA. Madam Chairman, to
date, Mir rors has worked with 1,712 youth through its
core programming, and 2,345 adults. The Mirrors
Programme has also worked with hundreds of add itional youth by facilitating out -of-school suspensions
and providing drop- in services.
Madam Chairman, as shown on page B -237,
the budget allocation for the Mirrors Programme for
financial year 2017/18 is $933,000, which remains
about the same as the current financial year. This a llocation will allow Mirrors to hold one intensive res idential cycle for 15- to 18- year-old participants ( which
is a c ommunity programme) with associated trainings;
three parent workshops; five middle school wor kshops; and two junior forums under the new SuperBermuda House of Assembly Camp transformation model. It is important to point
out that the new curriculum will allow for an increase
in students serviced per year and an increased pr eventative focus for middle school students.
Madam Chairman, for comparative purposes,
one Senior Forum SuperCamp under Q uantum Learning Network costs $30,000, which is inclusive of one
parent workshop and one residential, whilst under U ncommon Results, the same services would cost
$135,000. This is a considerable amount of cost sav-ings, of $105 ,000. SuperCamp will be provided at
21 per cent of the cost of Uncommon Results Inc.
In 2017, Mirrors will provide one s enior forum,
two middle school forums and three parent wor kshops. The programme will facilitate training of local
Mirrors staff (up to five local trainers) for $97,000 for
financial year 2017/18. In comparison, one residential [workshop] under Uncommon Results Inc. would cost
$135,000. This is a cost savings of $38,000. Madam
Chairman, the number of students serviced under SuperCamp will increase by approximately 400 per cent,
from 35 serviced per year to 135 serviced per year ,
allowing for an increased preventative focus at the middle school level. Madam Chairman, a clear benefit
will be the opportunity to complete the certification process of local trainers within two years and, in co njunction with the partnership, to utilise our trainers as
leaders in partnership countries.
Madam Chairman, SuperCamp requires fewer
volunteers for programming. Over the past three
years , the Mirrors Programme ( the residential component) has increasingly experienced challenges in e nrolling volunt eers to service at -risk youth. In September 2016, the decision was made to defer the residen-tial (and suspend the use of Uncommon Results Inc. )
as a result of the decreasing volunteer pool , which
would have impacted the integrity and safety of deli vering an intensive residential cycle. Deferring the res idential was achieved through termination of the U ncommon Results Inc. contract without any financial
penalties. At the same time, it provided an opportunity
to explore alternative transformation methodology
programming for delivery in November 2016.

Then if there are no objections, we
will break for lunch, and we will resume in Committee.
And I will note at this time that this head will
conclude at 7:37 this evening.
[Gavel]

Proceedings suspended at 12:30 pm
Proceedings resumed at 2:00 pm

[Mr. Rolfe Commissiong, Chairman]

COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY

ESTIMATES OF REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE
FOR THE YEAR 2017/18

[Continuation thereof]

Members, we are back , resum ing in
Committee of Supply for further consideration of the
Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for financial year2017/18.
The Chair will recognise the Minister of Community, Culture and Sport , Nandi Davis [sic], who will
resume consideration of the following Heads: 71, 20,
23, 52, and 55.
Minister, you have the floor.
Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

And my apologies, Minister Nandi
Outerbridge.
You may take the floor now.

MINISTRY OF COMMUNITY, CULTURE AND
SPORTS

HEAD 71 —MINISTRY OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Business Unit 81020—Mirrors Programme

[Continuation thereof]
Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Thank you.
Mr. Chairman , I will now resume under Bus iness Unit 81020 the Mirrors Programme.
Mr. Chairman, Quantum Learning Network
Residential requires 25 volunteers versus 45 volunteers under Uncommon Results Inc. Additionally, the
associated cost for trainings and housi ng will be d ecreased under Quantum Learning Network.
Mr. Chairman, Uncommon Results Inc. f ocused on character development and life skills where Quantum Learning Network SuperCamp adds the academic skill building and success strategies to the
character deve lopment and life skills.
Mr. Chairman, I will now discuss the combined subjective analysis of current account estimates for business units 81000 and 81020 (i.e. , the Ministry
Head quarters) as found on page B -238.
Salaries —Mr. Chairman, salary -related expenses show a small increase of $39,000, or 2 per
cent as seen on page B -238. This is due in part to
regrading and standard minor uplifts of some positions within Administration and the Mirrors Programme.
870 6 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Training— Mr. Chairman, budget allocated for
training is $283,000 in financial year 2017/18, an i ncrease of $59,000, or 26 per cent over the budget a llocation for financial year 2016/17, as seen on page
B-238. The increase in the training budget reflects the
increase in programming in order to provide two additional middle school SuperCamps; two additional parent workshops associated with the increased student
events; and facilitates five local trainers for certific ation. Mirrors will increase the number of spaces avai lable in order to accommodate 150 students in co mparison to the 50 spaces in previous core program-ming. This expansion has a direct result on the i ncrease in the training budget. It is also to be noted that the increase in training budget has been affected by a reduction in in- kind services and corporate grants,
which the Mirrors Programme enjoyed in previous years and remains thankful for.
Travel —Mr. Chairman, travel expenditure is
budgeted at $75,000 in financial year 2017/18, which represents an increase of $12,000, or 19 per cent
over financial year 2016/17. The increase is a direct
result of five Mirrors employees required to travel to the United States to participate in continuous training
in the quantum learning teaching method with Qua ntum Learning Network consultants as part of their certification process. The five employees are also r equired to deliver training in the US, and as part of the certification process, attend local webinars and coac hing conference calls over the next two years in order
for them to be able to eventually conduct SuperCamp
on their own.
Communications, Advertising and Prom otions —Mr. Chairman, there is no change to the budget
allocated for communications, which remains at $21,000 for financial year 2017/18. Advertising and
promotion is budgeted at $16,000 in financial year
2017/18, an increase of $5,000 from financial year
2016/17. This increase is specific to advertising and marketing for the Mirrors 10- year anniversary activ ities.
Professional Services —Mr. Chairman, professional services are budgeted at $224,000 for financial
year 2017/18, which represents a decrease of $79,000, or 26 per cent in comparison to financial
year 2016/17. Local consulting services have been decreased by $37,000. This decrease reflects the
merging of the volunteer enrolment duties with the
participant enrolment position to sustain momentum of volunteering over the course of an entire year versus a four - to six -month focus. Overseas consulting services have been reduced by $42,000 and results di-rectly from the hiring of a new overseas consult ant
(under Quantum Learning Network) to provide con-sultant services for new programming.
Rentals —Mr. Chairman, $10,000 is the budget allocation for rentals in financial year 2017/18. This is a decrease of $47,000, or 82 per cent compared to
the budget allocated for rentals in financial year 2016/17, and reflects a reduced rental cost due to the
adoption of the Quantum Learning Network model.
Repair and Maintenance— Mr. Chairman, the
budget allocated for repair and maintenance is
$28,000 in financial year 2017/18, which represents a small increase of $3,000 from financial year 2016/17, due to an ageing Government vehicle which will be
retired during the upcoming financial year.
Energy —Mr. Chairman, the budget allocated
for energy is $10,000 in financial year 2017/18, which
represents an increase of $1,000 from financial year 2016/17, due to an anticipated increase in gasoline for the aforementioned Government vehicle.
Materials and Supplies —Mr. Chairman, the
budget allocated for materials and supplies is $45,00 0
in financial year 2017/18, which represents a d ecrease of $3,000 compared with financial year 2016/17. This is a direct benefit to be derived from the programming change to use the Quantum Learning
Network model, which is anticipated to consume less
materials and supplies under the Mirrors Programme.
Equipment (Minor Capital) —Mr. Chairman,
the Ministry Headquarters does not expect to pur-chase minor capital equipment in financial year
2017/18; hence, there is no change in the allocated
budget of $1,000 from financial year 2016/17. This amount is being budgeted for contingency purposes.
Other Expenses —Mr. Chairman, the allocated
budget of $1,000 for other expenses relates to bank charges and commission fees and remains the same
as that allocated in financial year 2016/17.
Grants and Contributions —Mr. Chairman, the
allocated budget for grants and contributions in Mini stry Headquarters in financial year 2017/18 is $50,000.
Again, the reduced grant allocation of $503,000 is e ntirely due to the transfer of administrative responsibi lity for the Lorraine Rest Home grant funding, to the Ministry of Health and Seniors.
Performance Measures —Mr. Chairman, this
can be found on pages B- 239 to B -240. As shown on
page B -239, the key output measures for business
unit 81000, Administration, all reflect very good performance and this is expected to continue during f inancial year 2017/18.
Mr. Chairman, performance measures, mainly
output measures, for the Mirrors Programme are ou tlined on pages B -239 to B -240. Generally, performance to the end of financial year 2016/17 is forecast to be very good across all parameters measured. One personal transformation intensive intervention with associated trainings was held in November 2016 for 23 youth, aged 15 to 19 years. The 23 youth are cur-rently in the 9- month follow -through phase to prevent
future problem behaviours that could lead to academic failure, offending, lack of employability skills, sub-stance abuse and violence. The target for the 15- to
19-year olds for the 2017/18 Communi ty Programme
is 35 participants.


Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Chairman, the latest revised figures for f inancial year 2016/17 show that 298 middle school
students participated in five youth academies com-pared with 300 students who were forecasted to par-ticipate (page B -239). Mirrors provides services to all
middle school students at the M3 level and the num-bers are reflective of the student cohort in attendance
on the workshop date. One one- off workshop was
held versus the forecasted five as this is based on
school needs. One school requested the group ser-vices throughout the school year with eight females serviced. In financial year 2016/17, one primary school was serviced with conflict resolution wor kshops, which included 35 students.
Mr. Chairman, Mirrors continued to maintain
accreditation under the Bermuda National Standards
Committee through its annual maintenance plan in financial year 2016/17.
Mr. Chairman, Mirrors will continue its par tnership with the Mirrors Alumni and Friends Associ ation to execute funding for the 10- year anniversary
activities. In celebrating 10 years of service to the community, Mirrors will establish partnerships with the Department of Youth, Sports and Recreation; Outward
Bound; and various community partners to launch a
five-year community service plan to restore Fort Cu nningham and Paget Island. The focus is to raise the annual number of participants visiting the Island from 1,000 to 5,000 to engage in training, youth develop-ment, and team -building exercises. Mirrors will also
establish a Bermuda Certified Fort Ambassador pr ogramme for students to raise awareness amongst Bermudians and visitors alike about the historical si gnificance of our local forts, starting with Fort Cunning-ham.
Mr. Chairman, Mirrors Alumni and Friends
Association will host a tag day and a weekend cel ebration of events for key stakeholders, youth partic ipants, and volunteers to commemorate its 10
th anniversary. The events will incorporate a youth rally, an art competition on Bermuda culture, and a digital cha llenge for youth to produce a 60- second technology
piece on envisioning what their ideal school would look like. I would like to take this opportunity to en-courage Members of this Honourable House and the general public to support the Mirrors celebrations, which are to be held during April to July 2017, in
recognition of 10 years of servicing Bermuda’s youth.
Mr. Chairman, Mirrors staff members continue
to demonstrate their commitment and passion about our youths’ success and look forward to joining the international team of Quantum Learning Network faci litators. In November 2016, Mirrors hosted two observers from the United Kingdom namely, Dr. Olga
Pavlova and Dr. Alya Samokhvalova, as they are in the process of setting up a non- profit educational
company in the UK to provide developmental and e ducational needs for teens which the national curric ulum does not address. They intend to launch Super-Camp in the UK, and appreciated the opportunity to
learn from the launch of the local programme.
Mr. Chairman, preliminary data on the new
programming is consistent with past accomplis hments. They demonstrate significant successes in the
following areas: self -esteem, life skills , and goal setting. One hundred percent of Mirrors clients that star ted the six -day course completed in comparison to the
programmes 2 per cent to 4 per cent dropout rates of
previous years. The new programme incorporates an increased focus on team building and this has been carried forward throughout the follow -through phase.
Mirrors will be in a position to compare the full cycle of
impacts between the two curriculums in August. Mr. Chairman, societal level performance for education is at 82 per cent, two years post programming, college enrolment is at 23 per cent , and criminal offending is
at 8 per cent , representi ng a 92 per cent success rate
of lawfulness.
Mr. Chairman, the data reflects that some
98 per cent of participants indicate positive experience of the training experience and 96 per cent satisfaction
with the training content, slightly increased from prev ious years. The volunteers experienced a 95 per cent
positive experience of the training and its content, a slight decrease from previous years. These measures are demonstrating consistent strength of the personal development transformation curriculum and acco mplishments with the local population.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the volunteers, corporate Bermuda, and the Mirrors team for their commitment to the development of Bermuda’s youth.
Capital Acquisitions and Capital Develo pment —Mr. Chairman, with respect to Capital Acquis itions, as shown on pages B -236 and C -13 of the E stimat es Book, capital funds in the amount of $515,000
has been allocated to the Ministry as a whole. The bulk of this allocation —$363,000— is to complete the
installation of a Human Services Software System within the Department of Child and Family Services. I
will discuss this project later in my presentation under
Head 23. There is no capital acquisition or capital development funding (as seen on page B -236) allocated
to the Ministry Headquarters for financial year
2017/18.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my presentation
of the allocated financial year 2017/18 budget for
Head 71, the Ministry Headquarters.

HEAD 20 —DEPARTMENT OF YOUTH, SPORT AND
REC REATION

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Mr. Chairman, I will now
present the E stimates of E xpenditure and R evenue for
Head 20, the Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation for financial year 2017/18, which can be found on
pages B -249 through B -254 of the Estimates Book.
872 6 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Chairman, the mission of the Department
of Youth, Sport and Recreation is to advance amateur
sport, recreation and youth development for all —from
leisure activity to athletic excellence, and to strengt hen the significant contribution that thes e initiatives
make towards the enhancement of the quality of life for the total community.
Mr. Chairman, the budget allocation for nine
programmes under the Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation in financial year 2017/18, is
$9,388,000 (as seen on pages B -250 and B -251).
This is an increase of $333,000, or 4 per cent in comparison to the original allocated budget of $9,055,000
for financial year 2016/17. This increase reflects a
realignment of positions within the department, an
increase in Youth Grants , additional resources to co ver the basic structure of 10 After School Programmes ,
and funds to cover operation for White’s Island which
was returned to the department in 2016. The estimate
of revenue for financial year 2017/18 is $621,000 as
shown on page B- 252. This is an increase of $34,000 ,
or 6 per cent in comparison to the original estimate of
revenue for financial year 2016/17 of $587,000; which
reflects an increase in the rental of facilities.
Mr. Chairman, in financial year 2017/18,
$2,806,000 is allocated for salaries and $2,208,000
for wages (as seen on page B- 251).
The full -time equivalents (FTE) count for financial year 2017/18 stands at 95, which is a 3 per
cent decrease in staff in comparison to financial year
2016/17, as seen on page B -252. This reduction in
full-time equivalents was due to the elimination of
three vacant positions, which became necessary to facilitate the conversion of three part -time positions to
full-time status, within the Department’s existing structure and in conformity with the Government’s hiring
freeze policy.
Mr. Chairman, the budget allocation for grants
and contributions for financial year 2017/18 is
$2,717,000, which is an increase of $50,000 in the
Youth Grant allocation, or 2 per cent in comparison
with the original budget allocation for financial year
2016/17. This can be seen on pages B -251 and C -19.
This allocation will be disbursed as follows:
Under Sports Development , the Bermuda Football
Association, $300,000; YSR Swimming Programme,
$25,000; the contribution to Sports Development (to
be allocated among 34 National Sports Governing
Bodie s (NSGBs ), which includes $650,000 for Berm uda Sport Anti -Doping Authori ty (BSADA) , is $1.242
million . This gives a subtotal for Sports Development
of $1.567 million.
Under Sports Incentives and Awards Programmes the Elite Athlete Fund will receive $100,000;
National Jr. Sponsorship , $50,000. This gives a subt otal under Sports Incentives and Awards Programme of
$150,000. Sports Facilities Management , National Stad ium Trustees will receive $800,000; a nd under Youth
Development , Youth Grants will receive $200,000.
This leaves a grand total of $2.717 million.
Capital acquisitions in financial year 2017/18
has been allocated $90,000 for the purchase of a r eplacement dump truck , as seen on page C -13. There
are no funds allocated for capital development, for the Department in financial year 2017/18, and that can be
found on page B -236.

Programme 2001— Administration and Sports

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Mr. Chairman, page B -250
shows t hat the budget allocation for business unit
30045, General Administration , for financial year
2017/18 is $1,484,000. This represents an increase of
$83,000, or 6 per cent over the original budget of f inancial year 2016/17. This increase reflects the conversion of part -time positions to full -time positions in
the Community Centres. These funds provide for the administration and operations of the Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation’s Headquarters, which is
located in the Craig Appin House, situated at 8 Wesley Street, Hamilton. In addition, the Administration section provides administrative support for the additional eight programmes within the department and is
responsible for monitoring departmental spending to ensure that policies and procedures are adhered to in achieving efficiency and effectiveness. The full -time
equivalent count for administration and sports is 13 for financial year 2017/18, which is an increase of one
full-time equivalent , or 8 per cent from financial year
2016/17 due to the conversion of positions mentioned earlier (as seen on page B- 252).

Programme 2002— Sports Development

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Mr. Chairman, the depar tment provides for its Sports Development Programme
through business unit 30055, Sports Programmes.
The financi al year 2017/18 budget allocation for bus iness unit 30055 is $1,639,000, an increase of $1,000
compared to the budget allocation for financial year
2016/17 (as seen on page B -250). This allocation i ncludes grants for the National Sports Governing Bodies (N SGBs); the Bermuda Sport Anti -Doping Author ity; the Bermuda Football Association; and YSR Swimming Programme. The budgeted amounts all ocated to each grant recipient will now be discussed.
Mr. Chairman, included in this business unit is
a grant of $65
0,000 to the Bermuda Sport Anti -Doping
Authority (BSADA). Funding for this agency, which
takes its legislative mandate from the Anti -Doping in
Sport Act 2011, and operates under the global fram ework of the World Anti -Doping Agency (WADA), is one
of the most important financial items within the Sports
Development Section. The Bermuda Sport AntiDoping Authority is the National Anti -Doping OrganiBermuda House of Assembly sation (NADO) for Bermuda. Without the functional
presence of this organisation in Bermuda, it would
simply mean that Bermuda would not be able to par-ticipate in any international sporting events abroad or
host any international sporting events locally.
Mr. Chairman, under the strict control of the
Sports Development Section, the department conti nues to ensure that funds used by the NSGBs are for the development of sport for Bermuda’s senior and junior athletes.
Business unit 30055 also provides for a grant
to the Bermuda Football Association (BFA) for $300,000, and $25,000 for YSR’s Departmental
Summer Swimming programme (as seen on page C -
19). An additional $71,000 in operating costs is co vered under this business unit.
Mr. Chairman, during financial year 2017/18,
the Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation i ntends to continue focusing on the development of our
senior and junior athletes by supporting the National
Sports Governing Bodies through the grant process.
Business unit 30055 provides grant funding to the NSGBs in the amount of $592,000 for financial year
2017/18. The department knows that without this support many of the athletes will not reach their optimum
potential. The d epartment will also continue to work
with other Government agencies to maintain the department’s sporting and recreational facilities , and will
continue hosting sporting events to honour our pas t
and present sporting personalities.
Mr. Chairman, 2017 will mark the 37
th anniversary of the Government’s Sports Awards. The department has received approximately 81 nominations. At the conclusion of this event, the d epartment will
present awards including achievement awards; cit ation awards; and awards to the male and female at hletes of the year at both senior and junior levels. In addition, the committee will present junior achiev ement awards to the top junior athletes in the Island. With the inclusion of these awards, the junior and senior athletes; and sports administrators will be fully recognised for their contributions to sport locally and i nternationally.
Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to report that senior officers within the Department of Youth , Sport and
Recreation continue to work with many of the major
stakeholders to progress the action points identified
by NSGBs and those included in the National Sports
Policy released in July 2014. In the first instance, ac-tion teams are focusing on programmes that require minimal to no funding, but which are vital to the con-tinued development of sports in Bermuda. In addition, the department plans to host a sports development
conference for sports clubs designed to assist local sporting clubs with fundraising, sports governance ,
and sports development. The d epartment will continue
to enhance its social media platform that serves as both an information portal and an avenue to celebrate the athletic achievements of Bermuda’s athletes. Mr. Chairman, in December 2016, the d epartment held a mini -conference for the NSGBs to
form the Association of National Sports Governing Bodies (ANSGB) and to ratify their constitution. The formation of the ANSGB will provide a unified voice for issues that relate to NSGBs collectively, and to adv ocate for sports needs to happen on a broader level to
provide input and strategic direction centred on the National Sports Policy to the Ministry and the department. Additionally, ANSGB will provide leadership and support to all local sport partners and to advocate on behalf of all NSGBs on matters relating to Gover nment, sponsorship and the community.

Programme 2003— Sports Incentives and Awards

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Mr. Chairman, there is no
change in the budget allocation for business un it
30030, Athletic Awards, which remains at $150,000
(as seen on page B -250) in support of the Elite At hletes Assistance Fund and the National Junior Sponsorship Fund. These funds will continue to support, encourage, and provide incentives to our senior and
junior athletes to strive for excellence in their personal
development. The Elite Athletes Assistance Fund of
$100,000 (as seen on page C -19) is managed by the
Bermuda Olympic Association, which prescribes the
requirements for athletes to receive funding having
met a local A, B , or C standard in their development.
Junior athletes are provided assistance through the
Junior Athlete Sponsorship Fund of $50,000 which is
provided to one athlete per sport as the most promi sing up and coming athlete. This sponsorship enables exposure to overseas training, coaching , or compet ition, whilst enhancing professional development.

Programme 2004— Sports Facilities Management

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Mr. Chairman, the d epartment carries out S ports Facilities Management ac ross
five business units, with allocations for financial year
2017/18 totalling $1,519,000, as shown on page B250. The increase of $34,000 facilitates the transfer of
one full -time staff member to the post of stadium attendant (as seen on page B- 250).
Mr. Chairman, the allocated budget for bus iness unit 30060, Sports Facilities , includes funding for
the National Sports Centre’s operational grant of
$800,000 for financial year 2017/18, which is consistent with financial year 2016/17. Funding for pr ogramme 2004 is designated for the operation and maintenance of the National Sports Centre, and also
provides for the maintenance of parks under the d epartment’s remit namely, WMC Preece Softball Park (business unit 30075), WER Joell Tennis Stadium (business unit 30080), Motor Sport Park (business unit
30090) and Sports Community Fields (business unit 30390). Costs include cleaning supplies, trash recep-tacles, trash bags, field marking paint, agricultural
874 6 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly supplies , and specialised equipment needed for the
upkeep of these facilities. The WMC Preece Softball
Stadium (business unit 30075) provides for one full -
time and one part -time employee to maintain the
grounds and includes funding for materials, supplies and electricity. The WER Joell Tennis Stadium (bus iness unit 30080) includes estimates for four full- time
and two part -time employees, together with oper ational expenditure. The total full- time equivalent count
under Sports Facilities Management is nine in financial year 2017/18, which is a decrease by one from
financial year 2016/17 (as seen on page B- 252). The
decrease was as a result of resignation.

Programme 2005—Youth Development

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Mr. Chairman, the allocated budget for financial year 2017/18 of $474,000 for
the two business units under Youth Development Programme represents an increase of $50,000, or
12 per cent compared to financial year 2016/17 (as
seen on page B- 250). Youth Development Administr ation, business unit 30210, has a budget allocation of
$274,000 for financial year 2017/18. T his is u nchanged from the previous year. This allocation c overs salaries and administrative overhead. In financial
year 2017/18 , the full -time equivalent count for Youth
Development is three, which is consistent with fina ncial year 2016/17, as seen on page B- 252.
Mr. Chairman, offering opportunities in youth
development plays a fundamental role in supporting Bermuda’s youth. The department will strengthen its outreach via numerous community partnerships as part of its continued focus on “ developing youth
through sport and recreation. ” The completion and
implementation of a policy framework with guidelines
on best practices to develop our youth will be a major
focus for the d epartment in financial year 2017/18.
Mr. Chairman, page B -250 shows that bus iness unit 30350 , Youth Grants , has an allocated
budget of $200,000 for financial year 2017/18, which
is a 33 per cent increase from financial year 2016/17.
In keeping with the department’s philosophy inspired
by the National Sports Policy released in 2014, a por-tion of Youth Grant funding will be allocated to assist
local community sports clubs to develop after school
programmes that are sports and recreation orientated.
These programmes must include the 40 developmental assets and character counts programmes. The staff of the Department of Youth, Sport and Recrea-tion will be available to assist the community sports clubs with developing their after school programmes.
Mr. Chairman, the department will continue l iaising with youth services agencies in order to provide strategic planning, identify best practices, and provide opportunities for networking, especially between the agencies and the sporting fraternities. In addition, the Senior Youth Services Development Officer will partic-ipate in third sector meetings and trainings such as Children’s Agenda to ensure Government has ad equate representation.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Youth, Sport
and Recreation’s Youth Policy Framework will be di sseminated for round- table discussion and feedback.
The National Youth Development Policy will provide guidance toward future strategic planning in youth
services. The policy will identify the building blocks of
successful development and assist with the designing of services and programmes to create this function.

Programme 2 006—Community Centres

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Mr. Chairman, the budget
allocation for the three community centres under the
department’s remit: the Centre in Hamilton (business
unit 30120); St. George’s Community Centre (bus iness unit 30130); and Sandys Community Centre
(business unit 30146), has been set at $1,379,000,
which is an increase of $72,000, or 6 per cent compared to the budget allocation in financial year
2016/17, as seen on page B -250. This increase is due
to a re- orientation of supervisory positions that was
aimed at enabling a greater reach within communities.
This resulted in a review and re- grading of existing job
descriptions. Additional funding was also provided for
the upkeep of a geing community centres. The Community Centres’ full -time equivalent count is 19 for
financial year 2017/18, which is a reduction of three
full-time equivalents , or 14 per cent compared to 22 in
financial year 2016/17 (as seen on page B- 252). This
reduction in full -time equivalents was due to the elim ination of t hree vacant positions, which became necessary to facilitate the conversion of three part -time
positions to full -time status, within the d epartment’s
existing structure. This is in keeping with the department’s business process re- engineering to ensure
comm unities embrace the philosophy of the department’s mission.
Mr. Chairman, the three community centres
provide an immeasurable opportunity for Bermudians
of all ages to experience positive recreational opportunities starting with the very young. The centres offer
safe, structured programming, compassionate staff ,
and an opportunity to build positive and effective rel ationships. As with all Youth, Sport and Recreation programmes , the community centres are invested in
the 40 Developmental Assets, which are considered by researchers at the Search Institute (a non- profit
organisation in Minneapolis, Minnesota) to be the
building blocks of healthy youth development. The developm ental assets are 40 values, experiences,
relationships, and qualities that bring many benefits to
young people who have them. Asset building is alive
and well in the Government community centres.
Mr. Chairman, the music programme, one of
the programmes offered at all three community cen-tres, is a fine example of asset building as children ar e
exposed to the performing arts from an early age. A nBermuda House of Assembly other programme, the youth advisory committees, also offered at all three centres, give guidance on which
programmes would be popular. For example, under their guidance, in addition to the traditional c lassical
music programme offered, DJ and recording pr ogrammes were also made available. All community
centres offer a seniors programme. The Counsellor in
Training (CIT) Programme continues to be a great
success at all community centres.

Programme 2007—Ca mping

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Mr. Chairman, the d epartment’s Camping Programme has a budget allocation
of $1,035,000 for financial year 2017/18, which is an
increase of $14,000, or 1 per cent compared to financial year 2016/17, as seen on page B -250. The increase is required to cover the operational cost for White ’s Island which was returned to the d epartment
in 2016.
The budget allocation for the Camping Pr ogramme provides for the staffing, operation, and a dministration of five camping facilities, includi ng
maintenance, repairs, supplies, energy, fuel, wages ,
and the marine vessels’ operations. In 2017/18, the
camping programme includes a total of nine full -time
employees, who maintain the facilities and the marine vessels. There is no change in head count from prev ious financial year 2016/17, as seen on page B -252.
Mr. Chairman, the camping facilities include:
• Darrell’s Island, which is the largest facility and accommodates 14 rustic campsites, a ccommodating 30 campers at each site. It also
houses a building which accommodates an
additional 30 campers.
• Messina House is the only land- based
campsite. This site is located at Boaz Island,
Sandys and can accommodate a maximum of
34 campers.
• Paget Island is located in St. George’s har-bour and has the largest bu ilding or single
campsite, accommodating a maximum of 95 campers.
• Ports Island is the oldest camping facility,
which houses a building that accommodates a
maximum of 45 campers.
• White’s Island is used sporadically for over-night tent camping. It is primarily used for
basic swimming instruction by the Bermuda
Amateur Swimming Association, and rowing
instruction by the Bermuda Rowing Associ ation.

Programme 2008— School Age Activities

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Mr. Chairman, the budget
allocation for the School Age Activities programme
business units has decreased from financial year
2016/17 by $1,000 to $858,000 in financial year 2017/18. This can be seen on page B -250. Although
there has been a small decrease in funding, the
amount allocated will not impact the d epartment’s goal
to help promote and support leisure and recreational activities including local day -camping during school
breaks.
Mr. Chairman, this programme supports approximately 800 school aged children and is housed at various pre- schools, primary schools , and middle
schools throughout the Island. There is also a special
needs programme that provides one- on-one care for
children who have special needs. The Special Needs Camp is incorporated in the School Age Camps and
allows for total inclusion of all stu dents. Approximately
170 part -time employees conduct this programme and
are supervised by qualified teachers. It should be noted that 80 per cent of the part -time staff are university,
college , and high school students. Programme 2008,
School Age A ctivities, employs 16 full -time equiv alents in financial year 2017/18, which remains unchanged from financial year 2016/17, as seen on
page B -252.
Mr. Chairman, included in this programme are
three Pre- school Age Camps. Children in these pr ogrammes are in t heir final year of pre- school. The
camps are very successful and were created specif ically for the transition of these children from pre-school into their first year of primary school. Also i ncluded under this programme for financial year
2017/18 is an allocated budget of $18,000 for specialty camps for middle school age children (business unit
30185), which is a decrease of $69,000, or 79 per
cent when compared to financial year 2016/17 (as
seen on page B -250). The decrease is due to the reallocation of salaries from business unit 30185 to business unit 30180, as per page B -250; hence, a
similar increase is seen in business unit 30180. This change streamlines the flow of information for man-agement reporting purposes. This programme sup-ports up to 100 middl e school children and focuses on
the social and unique development of students at this
age. This funding provides for staff; books; materials;
visits to businesses and community helping services; supplies and equipment which help to “ develop ” the
whole chi ld.

Programme 2009— Afterschool Programmes

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Mr. Chairman, the Aftershool Programmes operated by the Department of
Youth, Sport and Recreation provide for staffing,
communications materials and supplies for 10 programmes at Government Primary Schools. The budget allocation for this business unit (30125) for financial year 2017/18 is $850,000 , which is an increase of
$80,000, or 10 per cent from financial year 2016/17
(as seen on page B- 251). This increase in funding
supports the basic structure of 10 After school Pr ogrammes for school aged children and fam ilies. The
876 6 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Programme supports a maximum of 400 primary
school aged children across the 10 schools and employs approximately 26 full -time equivalents in fina ncial year 2017/18 (as seen on page B -252), which r emains unchanged from financial year 2016/17.
Mr. Chairman, I now turn to the Subjective
Analysis of current account estimates for Head 20,
found on page B -251 of the Estimates Book.

Subjective Analysis
Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Salaries Mr. Chairman, the
budget allocated for salaries is $2,806,000 for fina ncial year 2017/18, as seen on page B -251. This repr esents an increase of $119,000, or 4 per cent, and is a
direct result of the conversion of part -time positions to
full-time positions, as previously explained.
Wages: Mr. Chairman, in financial year
2017/18 the allocated budget for wages is $2,208,000 as seen on page B -251. This is an increase of
$134,000, or 6 per cent compared to the original allocated budget for financial year 2016/17. This increase
in expenditure for wages is based on conversion of positions from part -time or miscellaneous to full -time
post within the Department of Youth, Sport and Rec-reation as previously explained.
Other Personnel Costs : Mr. Chairman, the
budg et allocation is $96,000 for other personnel costs
in financial year 2017/18. This is consistent with fina ncial year 2016/17 as it is anticipated that there will be
no increase in housing allowance from the Depar tment of Works and Engineering in financial year
2017/18.
Training: Mr. Chairman, in financial year
2017/18, $7,000 has been allocated to training compared to the original budget allocation of $13,000 in
financial year 2016/17. The Department of Youth,
Sport and Recreation’s succession plan has prioritised courses for its employees, which will result in cost savings of $6,000, or 46 per cent.
Transport : Mr. Chairman, the budget alloc ation for transport in financial year 2017/18 is $9,000 which is an increase of $1,000, or 13 per cent com-pared to the original budget allocation in financial year 2016/17. This increase considers the pricing structure of using minibuses and other ground transportation in financial year 2017/18.
Travel : Mr. Chairman, $33,000 is allocated for
travel in financial year 2017/18; this is an increase of $4,000, or 14 per cent compared to the original bud get allocation of $29,000 in financial year 2016/17. The Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation increased the expenditure for travel in order to facilitate staff participation in relevant courses or conferences where
deemed necessary to further strengthen and develop
staff capabilities and competencies.
Communications : Mr. Chairman, the allocation
for communications has been increased by $4,000, or 5 per cent. Despite cost savi ngs being negotiated with local mobile phone carriers, this increase is unavoid able. As a result, the budget allocation for financial year 2017/18 is $90,000.
Advertising and Promotion: Mr. Chairman, the
budget allocation for advertising and promotion is $37,000 for financial year 2017/18. This is consistent
with the allocation in financial year 2016/17. In financial year 2017/18, the department will encourage the use of its website http://www.youthandsport.bm

which can be reached through the Government portal,
and also social media such as Facebook, Twitter, et
cetera.
Professional Services : Mr. Chairman,
$154,000 has been allocated to professional services for financial year 2017/18; this is a decrease of $7,000, or 4 per cent compared to financial year
2016/17’s allocated budget of $161,000. Aligned with this reduction is the Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation’s objective to use more Government inhouse services rather than outsourcing services/vendors.
Rentals : Mr. Chairman, the budget allocation
for rentals is $458,000 for financial year 2017/18, which remains unchanged from financial year
2016/17.
Repair and Maintenance: Mr. Chairman, the
allocation for repair and maintenance is $229,000 for
financial ye ar 2017/18 compared to the financial year
2016/17’s original budget allocation of $216,000. This increase of $13,000, or 6 per cent is required because
of more frequent routine repairs to grounds and ageing facilities that fall under the Department of Yout h,
Sport and Recreation’s purview.
Insurance: Mr. Chairman, in financial year
2017/18 the department anticipates that the existing dump truck will be replaced. Therefore, there will be
no change to insurance costs from the original budget
allocation of $18,000 in financial year 2017/18.
Energy : Mr. Chairman, $227,000 has been allocated to energy for financial year 2017/18, com-pared to the allocation of $214,000 for financial year
2016/17. This represents an increase of $13,000, or
6 per cent, as seen on pa ge B -251. In financial year
2017/18, the department will continue to encourage staff to assist in conserving the department’s energy, i.e., by turning off lights, shutting down equipment when not in use, et cetera, which will assist in reducing expenditure spent on energy.
Clothing, Uniforms and Laundry : Mr. Chai rman, the Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation
will continue to limit the number of uniforms provided to employees in financial year 2017/18. There is a budget allocation of $17,000 the for clothing, uniforms
and laundry, which is a reduction of $1,000, or 6 per
cent compared to the allocation in financial year
2016/17.
Materials and Supplies : Mr. Chairman, as
shown on page B -251, $218,000 is the budget alloc ation for materials and supplies in financial year


Bermuda House of Assembly 2017/18. This allocation is an increase of $4,000, or
2 per cent compared to financial year 2016/17’s orig inal budget allocation of $214,000. Materials and su pplies have increased in financial year 2017/18 due to
anticipated increases in pri ces of materials and su pplies necessary to maintain and upkeep grounds and facilities for which the department assumes respons ibility.
Equipment (Major/Minor Capital) : Mr. Chai rman, the allocated budget for equipment in financial year 2017/18 is $25,000 which remains unchanged from financial year 2016/17. The Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation has adopted a strict
practice of sharing equipment across its programme
areas.
Other Expenses : Mr. Chairman, $39,000 is allocated to other expenses in financial year 2017/18 compared to financial year 2016/17 when the alloc ation was $34,000; representing an increase of $5,000,
or 15 per cent compared to financial year 2016/17.
This expenditure captures bank charges and commi ssion fees, together with external costs incurred during
the provision of services across all business units as previously explained.
Grants and Contributions : Mr. Chairman, the
allocated budget for financial year 2017/18 is $2,717,000 for grants and contributions, which is an increase of $50,000 compared to $2,667,000 in finan-cial year 2016/17, as seen on page B- 251. The i ncrease is due to an increase in youth grants (business
unit 30350) as previously discussed.

Youth, Sport and Recreation —Revenue

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Mr. Chairman, as shown on
page B -252, it is anticipated that the revenue for the
department will be $621,000 for financial year
2017/18, which is an increase of $34,000 compared to
financial year 2016/17. Revenue was estimated on
trends from programme registration, sale of afte rschool vouchers , as well as income from the rental of
boats and equipment.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the dedicated staff of the Depar tment of Youth, Sport and Recreation for the work they do in advancing and recognising the significant contr ibutions made by our sportsmen and sportswomen
and the pivotal role they play in helping our youth
achieve their true potential.
Mr. Chairman, this ends my presentation on
the financial year 2017/18 budgetary allocation f or
Head 20, the Department of Youth, Sport and Recrea-tion.

HEAD 23 —DEPARTMENT OF CHILD AND FAMILY
SERVICES

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Mr. Chairman, I now wish
to discuss the financial year 2017/18, E stimates of Expenditure and R evenue for Head 23, Department of
Child and Family Services, as found on pages B- 255
to B-260 of the Estimates Book.
Mr. Chairman, the m ission statement for the
Department of Child and Family Services is to pr omote and protect the best interest and social well -
being of children, adolescents, adults and families in order to enhance their social functioning and their
quality of life.
The objectives of the department are:
• to minimise and eliminate those social, ps ychological, or other conditions known to cause or contribute to physical and emotional illness and sometimes socioeconomic problems ;
• to promote growth and directional change in
people, and their social situation;
• to assist in facilitation or improving social su pport for those in our population who are at
risk;
• to provide treatment or curative services to
address dysfunction and thereby assist peo-ple to function better in society ;
• to restore individuals to a healthy condition or
useful capacity.

These objectives are achieved through the
department by providing day care services; care and
protection services for children; residential and homebased services for families; and assessment, interven-tion and counselling services for children, adolescents
and families.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Child and
Family Services budget allocation for financial year
2017/18 is $15,634,000. This represents a decrease of $273,000, or 2 per cent of the allocated budget of
$15,907,000 for financial year 2016/17, as seen on
page B -256.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Child and
Family Services continues to focus on developing an integrated service that allows children, adolescents and families to receive services that are appropriate and coordinated, thus meeting the needs of families
and assisting them with the diverse challenges they
face. These challenges include, but are not limited to:
lack of parenting, social and life skills; the ability to maintain housing; lack of secure employment; ineffec-tive household budgeting; substance abuse; involve-ment in antisocial behaviour ; cognitive deficits; educ ational challenges; mental health issues and anger management issues. For many persons, these diverse challenges are exacerbated by difficult economic times. The Department of Child and Family Services is governed by the Children Act 1998, and is responsible
for promoting and protecting the best interest and s ocial well- being of children, adolescents, adults and
families.
Mr. Chairman, in financial year 2016/17 the
Department of Child and Family Services continued
with its efforts of providing a seamless continuum of
878 6 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly services to children, adolescents and families by examining and redeploying resources to meet changing
programme and client needs. These changes contin-ue to be implemented with the focus on improving per-formance quality that is consistent with international best practice standards. These standards are defined by accreditation requirements in the area of human
service provision. The d epartment has achieved service improvements by implementing a strategy that
begins with a comprehensive assessment to ensure clients receive the appropriate service or services from the appropriate agency or agencies. This pr ocess reduces referral duplication, closes previously
identified gaps in service delivery and increases overall effectiveness and efficiency of programmes. Util isation of this strategy has resulted in an improved and
comprehensive service delivery system that has i ncreased response time of initial referrals. The strategy enhances prioritising of referrals according to risks;
and ensures that the highest risks are addressed first,
resulting in improved responses and positive out-comes for clients.
Mr. Chairman, a notable quotation by Peter
Senge provides the basis for the aspirational motiv ation for the Department of Child and Family Services:
“An organisation where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly de-sire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning how to
learn together.”
Mr. Chairman, in order for the Department of
Child and Family Services to meet its responsibilities it
operates four programmes:
• Programme 2301, Services to Children/Young
Persons;
• Programme 2302, Services to Individuals and
Families;
• Programme 2303, Residential Treatment Services; and
• Programme 2304, Administration.

The department’s business units will be di scussed in turn under each programme:

Programme 2301— Services to Children/Young
Persons

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Mr. Chairman, for business
unit 33010, Happy Valley Child Care Centre (HVCCC), the budget allocation for financial year
2017/18 is $933,000, as seen on page B- 256. This
represents an increase of 2 per cent , or $17,000,
compared to financial year 2016/17. This increase is
largely due to staff increments within the unit. The r esources connected with feeding, clothing and enric hment programmes at the Happy Valley Child Care
Centre have been prioritised to minimise the impact on the wrap- around services provided to high- risk
children referred for care and a head start.
Mr. Chairman, Happy Valley Child Care Ce ntre, is the only Government -operated child care centre
for children between the ages of three months and four years old. The registered facility provides high quality child care for a maximum of 40 children. The
majority of the children at the Centre reside in the central parishes of Pembroke, Devonshire and Warwick
but the Centre also has children who reside in other parishes across the Island. Government has mandated that priority be given to children referred by human services agencies such as the Department of Child
and Family Services, Teen Services, the Department
of Financial Assistance, the Department of Health, and the Child Development Program. Children r eferred by these agencies, along with families exper iencing various challenges, represent 60 per cent of
the Centre’s enrolment .
Mr. Chairman, Happy Valley Child Care Ce ntre has a standard enrolment fee of $400 per child. If a
child is in the care of the Department of Child and Family Services, they do not qualify for the child day care allowance offered by the Department of Financial
Assistance and as such their costs are absorbed by
the Department of Child and Family Services. The revenue for financial year 2017/18 is projected to be
$192,000, which remains consistent with the prior f inancial year 2016/17’s original budget, as seen on
page B -257.
Mr. Chairman, I wish to remind Honourable
Members that Happy Valley Child Care Centre is not profit driven and revenue collected does not offset operational expenses. However, the mandate of the Happy Valley Child Care Centre is specifically d esigned to meet the comprehensive needs of young
children. The Centre’s programme provides an extensive curriculum of high academic standards with qual ified teachers who are continuously involved in profes-sional growth and development. Happy Valley Child Care Centre is not just focused on the development of
their children, but the family as a unit and this is ev ident through the enrichment programmes offered,
which encourage parental involvement and growth
development to strengthen family functioning and im-prove child development.
Mr. Chairman, comprehensive services offered at the Happy Valley Child Care Centre include: an intervention programme; a complete nutritional programme that is monitored and approved by the Health Department’s Public Health Nutritionist, and which provides morning and afternoon snacks along with lunch; as well as a wide range of curriculum acti vities such as yoga, gymnastics, music and movement, computer activities, reading and writing; science, math, community service, field trips, bike riding, gar-dening and swimming classes. The wide array of ac-tivities offered at the Happy Valley Child Care Centre assist with the overall development of children and


Bermuda House of Assembly parents are encouraged to become involved in the
development and safety of their child or children. As
such, parents must undergo mandatory parenting classes, and CPR classes are available to them.
Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to announce that
in July 2016, 16 children graduated from Happy Valley Child Care Centre and they were well prepared to a ttend pre- school, with four of the graduates reading at
the emergent level. The Centre consistently utilises child assessment outcomes for classroom planning and individual intervention activities. The High Scope Curriculum and Assessment tool reflects outstanding results that validate Happy Valley Child Care Centre’s
commitment to an inclusive learning model. The r esults for infants, toddlers and pre- schoolers mapped
steady improvement in all areas of developmental
growth.
Mr. Chairman, the Happy Valley Child Care
Centre received re- accreditation with no issues from
the Bermuda National Standards Committee in Oct ober 2016. The findings from peer reviewers reported improvement and outstanding growth in the pr ogramme over the last four years.
Mr. Chairman, there continues to be an i ncreasing demand for child care placement at the Hap-py Valley Child Care Centre. [There were] 120 appl ications received for September 2016. The inability to accommodate increasing demand, coupled with the need of care for special needs children, remain ongo-ing challenges facing the Centre and by extension the
department.
Mr. Chairman, fathers and mothers are actively involved in parenting classes, school programme
activities, parent and teacher conferences, and social
interaction opportunities with their children. An i ncreased number of grandparents and extended family
members have been positively involved in the Centre’s programme as well. Positive male role models from the community continue to offer sessions ad-dressing parenting, relationships and other gender specific issues for our fathers.
Mr. Chairman, Happy Valley Child Care Ce ntre continues to uphold its commitment to partner with community stakeholders. In collaboration with the Child Development Programme (CDP), children are assessed at the age of two years old at the Centre. CDP also offers intervention services and parenting
classes on site. Happy Valley Child Care Centre continues to serve as an internship site for Bermuda Col-lege students enrolled in the child care certificate pr ogram as well as a community service site for public and private students in elementary through to high school. Happy Valley Child Care Centre participates in
a broad range of community activity designed for chi ldren’s enrichment learning which includes: distribution
of food to the elderly; visiting senior care centres , Dolphin Quest, and historical sites across the Island; and
hostin g its annual m ini fair in conjunction with Week of
the Young Child. This provides an opportunity for col-laboration with neighbouring nurseries and pr eschools. Alumni of Happy Valley Child Care Centre, parents, extended family and friends are encouraged to support this annual event to celebrate the young
child.
In addition, further strengthening of partnerships include: presentations from SunSmart; dental
care through the Department of Health; and the f ire
and police services that all provide community r esources to enhance children’s learning on site.
Mr. Chairman, the Happy Valley Child Care
Centre is housed in an older building which is in need of constant maintenance and repair. The Department
of Works and Engineering replaced flooring and doors
during financial year 2016/17. I would like to take this
opportunity to thank the staff at the Department of Works and Engineering for their commitment and supportive services in addressing the facility needs at Happy Valley Child Care Centre.
Mr. Chairman, the staff at the Happy Valley
Child Care Centre strives to maintain a first -class faci lity while educating children in a safe, healthy and car-ing environment.
Mr. Chairman, as Minister with responsibility
for Happy Valley Child Care Centre, I would like to thank all the staff at the Centre, the active Parent
Teacher Association (PTA), all volunteers and com-munity partners for their continued dedication and support to Bermuda’s most valuable resources —Our
Children, Our Future.

Programme 2302— Services to Individua ls and
Families

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Mr. Chairman, the activities
covered under this p rogramme are: Family Services,
Foster Care and Bermuda Youth Counselling Services. The budget allocation for Programme 2302 for
financial year 2017/18 is $5,569,000. This represents
a decrease of $270,000, or 5 per cent compared to
financial year 2016/17’s budget allocation, as seen on
page B -256.
Mr. Chairman, Family Services provides care
and protective services to the children of Bermuda. This is achieved through three specialised units: I ntake, Family Preservation (formerly known as Inter-vention) and Foster Care. The output measures for
Family Services can be found on page B- 259 of the
Estimates Book.
Mr. Chairman, the Intake Unit is comprised of
three specialised t eams: Screening; Investigations;
and Assessment. The Intake Section has 15 full- time
equivalents , as seen on page B -258.
Mr. Chairman, to date the Investigation Team
has received 1,011 new referrals in financial year
2016 /17. This is an increase from financial year
2015/16 when 899 new referrals were screened by
the Department of Child and Family Services. In 2015/16, as part of the department’s revised strategy,
880 6 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly one central screening unit has been developed and
has had a significant impact on the number of new
cases that are investigated and receiving services. As a result of the Performance Quality Improvement (PQI) process , and Cabinet’s approval of the d epartment’s reorganisation, the screening team was im-plemented in October 2016. Introduction of the
screening team has enhanced the screening and assigning process for the Department of Child and Fam ily Services, and ensures that workers receive cases in
the designated timeframes while providing immediate feedback to the referrer. The implementation of this new process resulted in the completion of 95 per cent
of the screening assessments in the stipulated timeframes. [There were] 68 referrals that did not r equire investigation services were screened to other services, both internal and external to the department.
Mr. Chairman, of the 1,011 new referrals r eported for various forms of abuse, 458 were substantiated; 279 unsubstantiated; 95 suspected; 82
screened out ; and 92 are pending completion of the
investigations. In financial year 2016/17, referrals
were received for the following types of abuse:
• Neglect, 467;
• Sexual Abuse, 220;
• Physical Abuse, 149;
• Behaviour Problems, 102;
• Emotional Abuse, 40; and
• Other Services, 33.

Out of the 1,011 referrals, 586 were females
and 425 were males. The 5- to 9- year-old age group
was associated with the highest number of referrals at
311. This is a shift from the previous year when the highest number of referrals was for children between
zero to four years of age.
Mr. Chairman, the Intake Section continues to
make signif icant strides working with, and gaining c ooperation from, families during investigation and as-sessment. The Investigation team achieved this by
completing safety plans with families rather than seeking court orders to gain compliance. As a result, the investigation social workers completed 432 safety assessments, which accounted for all of the 325 children who were deemed to be high risk along with some
moderate risk cases. During the investigation , parents
demonstrated that they are more willing to sign safety
plans and are committed to providing a safe environ-ment for their children.
Mr. Chairman, this process allows the D epartment of Child and Family Services to ensure saf ety of the child while promoting and preserving the i ntegrity of the family. Risk assessments are completed before a case is transferred or closed and in financial
year 2016/17, the Intake Unit completed 319 risk assessments. The assessment team is required to com-plete comprehensive assessments on children who
are experiencing issues ranging from substance
abuse to cognitive challenges. The team completed 25 assessments along with reports that provided parents, social workers and other professionals with recommendations for intervention and support services for each child and their family .
Mr. Chairman, it should be noted that as of
February 2016, the services previously provided by the intervention team of the Department of Child and
Family Services is now being done under the remit of
the Family Preservation team.
Mr. Chairman, for fina ncial year 2017/18, the
Foster Care Section, which comes under business unit 33030, has been allocated a budget of $2,098,000, which is a decrease of $97,000, or 4 per
cent compared to the budget allocation in financial year 2016/17. The Foster Care Section is responsible
for providing alternative living arrangements for chil-dren under the age of 18 years who require “out of home placement.” In financial year 2016/17, the team
was responsible for 70 children, half of whom were
female and the other half were males, in addition to
their biological parents and foster families. This repr esents a decrease by five less foster children, birth
families and foster families from the previous year.
Mr. Chairman, as of December 31
st 2016,
Foster Care had several sibling sets of children in
care:
• Sibling Sets of 2—8 Sets;
• Sibling Sets of 3—2 Sets;
• Sibling Sets of 4—3 Sets; and
• Sibling Sets of 5—1 Set.
During financial year 2016/17, the foster care
program serviced 12 therapeutic foster children. The
children in this category have a variety of physical,
cognitive, emotional and behavioural challenges and
as a result therapeutic foster parents signed contracts
that outline the level of care expected based on the child’s needs. As a result of the additional level of care
and responsibility required by therapeutic foster parents, the department compensates them at a higher
rate than traditional foster parents. The therapeutic
foster parents sign contracts that outline the levels of care expected based on the children’s needs.
At the end of 2016, three children were reunited with their birth parents. Four youth reached the age of 18 and aged out of the formal foster care sy stem, but continued to reside with their foster families. During 2016, three foster youth were transferred to the Psycho- Educational program.
Mr. Chairman, the Foster Care Coordinator
recruited four new foster parents in financial year
2016/17. Due to changes within the community , it has
become increasingly difficult to recruit foster parents. The foster parents who are being recruited are of a high calibre and are willing to work in partnership with
the Foster Care Section. The Department of Child and Family Services is still finding it difficult to have open and suitable placements available for emergencies


Bermuda House of Assembly and for children who have cognitive or behavioural
challenges.
Mr. Chairman, in May 2016, which was Foster
Parent Awareness Month, the foster care team arranged a Tea to honour all foster parents for their ded-ication. The former Minister presented each fost er
parent with a mug and a certificate. The keynote
speaker, Dwayne Wescom Caines, a former foster
child, gave a motivational, eloquent speech about his journey. He referred to his challenges as a young child in terms of school difficulties and behavioural
challenges within the foster home. Mr. Caines was candid about how he gave his foster mother a hard
time, but he also spoke fondly of the love and care
that he received from his entire foster family and that it was because of their determination and steadfastness that he was able to be successful. Mr. Caines encour-aged foster parents to remain committed and to not give up. Mr. Caines is a graduate of Oakwood University and currently teaches at the Bermuda Institute.
CITV aired the speech several times during the month of May 2016. The Department of Child and Family Services received numerous positive comments about this event.
Mr. Chairman, at this time I would like to take
this opportunity to acknowledge the foster parents of Bermuda, our unsung heroes, who provide loving, stable homes to children who have experienced signi ficant trauma as a result of abuse and/or neglect. Eve-ry day they make a foster child’s life a little better by
their numerous acts of care and kindness.
Also, I would also like to acknowledge the
Foster Parent Association (FPA), in particular the executive, who work in partnership with the foster care team to support foster parents and provide the funds to enable foster children to participate in educational
trips, attend specialised recreational programmes and
to resource lap- tops for schools. In 2016, the Foster
Parent Association also funded a specialised wheel-chair for one of the physically challenged foster youth.
Mr. Chairman, the Foster Parent Association
had an active year in 2016. This vibrant team played a
key role in having foster care amplified in the media.
Several articles were in the Royal Gazette and on
Bernews as the Foster Parent Association combined
with the department to share the importance of foster
parenting. Additionally, due to the Foster Parent A ssociation’s diligence, Foster Care received numerous
donations in 2016— all of which were reported in the
media. Ms. Amlin donated 25, $100 Food Voucher
Certificates and 50, $100 Boyles Certificates for
school shoes and PE sneakers. Author Mike Marsh donated 68 signed copies of his children’s books to
foster children. In December 2016, a Christmas Party
for the foster children was held and Christmas gifts were generously donated by members of the public and visitors alike, who, thanks to the partnership with Rosa’s restaurant, were able to donate gifts to the
“angels” on the restaurant’s Christmas tree. The “an-gels” on the tree figuratively represented children in
foster care. This symbolic gesture proved to pull on
the heartstrings of hundreds of donors as each foster child was gifted with three or more items. The staff of Ren- Reinsurance also played a significant role in d onating gifts. The department applauds and encour-ages more of this public /private partnership which
adds tremendous value to the current Foster Care
Programme.
Mr. Chairman, Counselling and Life Skills
Services (CLSS) offers services that strengthen the knowledge, skills, positive experiences, and support systems of individuals and families to make healthy
life choices. CLSS’s mission is to advance and pr omote the emotional well -being of youth up to 18 years
of age and their families. Individual and family issues
dealt with by CLSS include, but are not limited to: fa mily and relationship dynamics, co- parenting, grief and
loss, communication, trauma and adolescent substance use.
Mr. Chairman, CLSS provides individual, fam ily, and group counselling. In order to best serve the
needs of clients, CLSS counsellors work collaborativ ely with clients to complete specif ic assessments or
screening tools to measure progress and treatment planning that is geared towards positive growth and development.
CLSS continues to align services and practices with the Department of Child and Family Services’ strategic plan. The aim of the restructuring of services
is to offer a more client -focused and efficient mode of
service delivery. The d epartment requires that all r eferrals be made through its Intake section. The refer-rals are screened and assessed to determine the needs of the individual child and their family.
Mr. Chairman, to meet the Council on Accredi tation (COA) standards by continuing the Performance Quality Improvement (PQI) process of main-taining best practice standards, quarterly Performance Quality Improvement meetings occurred during financial year 2016/17 to review: programme data; client
trends; file audit; client, staff and stakeholder feed-back; and staff development. Counselling and Life Skills Services continues to align services and prac-tices so they are consistent with the Department of
Child and Family Services’ strategic plan.
Mr. Chairman, CLSS facilitated a substance
education group at CedarBridge Academy and a fos-ter care support group at West End Primary School. In addition to the groups, the CLSS team members pr ovided eight presentations to several community groups.
The creation of the centralised intake and assessment unit allows for a more coordinated asses sment of client needs and integrated service delivery. The total number of clients who received counse lling
services for 2016 was 106; 74 of them were youth and 32 were parents.
882 6 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Chairman, over 70 per cent of clients r eceiving services are adolescents between the ages of
14 and 18 years; 65 per cent of this age group is f emale. It is important to note t hat clients/families pr esent with multiple issues such as: high- risk beha viours ; adolescent substance misuse; parent/child rel ational issues; parental relationship issues; trauma; and
emotional/behavioural issues, which is the leading
trend.
Mr. Chairman, in 2016 the department exper ienced an increase in domestic violence referrals. Services for domestic violence incorporate a specialised service for the batterer and the victim; hence, clients
are referred to community agencies. CLSS provided
some counselling to some children who witnessed domestic violence, but it has highlighted a need for enhanced training in the area of working with children who witness domestic violence. CLSS also provides support to children of divorced parents and assistance
with co -parenting services for parents. Clients have
reported that they feel respected and safe to discuss
their concerns with the counsellors , and they have
indicated the services have helped them cope better with their challenges.

[Change in Chair man]

Programme 2303—Residential Treatment Services

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Madam Chairman, the activity covered in Programme 2303 is Residential
Treatment Services (RTS), with services offered at the
Brangman Home, Oleander Cottage, and Youth D evelopment Centre. For this programme, there is a
budget allocation of $7,622,000 for financial year
2017/18. This represents an increase of $13,000
compared to financial year 2016/17, as seen on page
B-256.
Madam Chairman, Residential Treatment
Services [RTS] provides a continuum of intervention
services for children between the ages 12 and 18 years of age. These particular children are deemed by
Family Court to be at risk in the community and r equire care and protection in a safe and structured en-vironment. All children placed in RTS are under care orders made by the courts, and, as such, become the responsibility of the director of the Child and Family
Services.
Madam Chairman, the RTS programme pr ovides 24- hour services for young ladies who reside at
the Brangman Home, while the young men who r eceive services reside at Oleander Cottage. The Youth
Development Centre is utilised to provide one- to-one
and special management of the residents based on their needs as indicated by ongoing evaluation. The inclusion of family is a key component of the service provision. When this is not possible, alternative com-munity -based relationships and resources are used to
develop an appropriate community -based plan. In ad-dition, the programme at Residential Treatment Services includes the monitoring of clients in transition in
preparation for family reunification. The goal is to have children transition within 12 months of placement or to implement an individual plan that may include inde-pendent living, depending on age and family circum-stances.
Madam Chairman, during financial year
2016/17 Residential Treatment Services provided community -based services to children in transition
within the community, as well as those eligible for di scharge. This has resulted in more seamless respons-es to clients and families. RTS offers group living, i ndividual and group counselling, family assessments and interventions, parent groups (as needed), voc ational and educational planning and life skills deve lopment. Aftercare and interagency interaction ser-vices are based on the individual needs of the adoles-cent.
Madam Chairman, as an accredited pr ogramme with a recent renewal in October 2016, the administrative responsibilities continue to maintain a four-year strategic plan and the breaking down of that
plan into achievable annual goals. These annual goals
are ongoing objectives and include the expected out-comes for the programme. The quality of ongoing ser-vice is evaluated by Performance Quality Improv ement system, or PQI. The PQI consistently reviews data related to the profiles of clients and the ongoing evaluation of the services provided. This process is
designed to ensure that RTS is responding to the cl ient needs and is consistent with best practice stan dards. Madam Chairman, the fiscal budget for 2016/17
continues to reflect the department’s commitment to
ongoing quality improvement based on sound statist ical data and empirical research. In financial year
2016/17 client data again indicated that the majority of
children requiring this service had family relationship issues and childhood trauma. Due to trauma- induced
behaviours with residents, RTS continues to utilise therapeutic and family components of the programme,
maintaining its partnership with Cornell University as
they continue to provide RTS staff with Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (or TCI), Children and Residential Environment (CARE) training.
In July 2016 Cornell University conducted a
Therapeutic Crisis Intervention trainer course which
included participants from the Mirrors Programme and
the Ministry of Education. Both the TCI and CARE curriculums are based on empirical research and pr ovide a foundational philosophy and tangible beha vioural management skill sets for staff to provide effec-tive care for all children and families that experience
crises in their lives.
Madam Chairman, in 2016, RTS provided inhouse services for 21 adolescents comprised of 10
males and 11 females. Client services included case management of children as indicated by individual assessments and service plans. Interventions inclu dBermuda House of Assembly ed cottage programmes, transition, family reunification
and aftercare. There has been a decrease in male
referrals as many proposed male referrals require services not available at RTS. Those male youth with greater needs are usually maintained in the communi-ty to the best of our abilities, or they are referred to Psycho -Educational Programme for the more specialised services.
Clients’ profiles for 2016 indicate that 100 per
cent of adolescents involved in the services had family relationship is sues. The majority of children, both
male and female, had experienced childhood trauma including abandonment, abuse, grief and domestic
violence. This data demonstrates the wide range of
specialist services required for dealing effectively with the children and families requiring services.
Madam Chairman, in view of the present ec onomic climate and focusing on the best interest of the child, in financial year 2017/18 the RTS team antic ipates working even closer with other agencies and community resources to streamline services and to maximise the use of existing resources.
Madam Chairman, in 2016, RTS’s clients
consisted of the following cases:
• abandonment —experienced by 75 per cent of
clients ;
• domestic v iolence —experienced/witnessed by
50 per cent of cl ients;
• sexual abuse— experienced by 34 per cent;
• developmental trauma symptoms —
experienced by 67 per cent;
• mood disturbances/depressive symptoms —
experienced by 58 per cent;
• learning challenges —experienced by 58 per
cent;
Over the previous year, Residential Treatment
Services, has successfully met the majority of the planned output outcomes, as seen on page B -259 to
B-260. Statistical data and the performance quality
improvement process has been consistently used to monitor quality and to determine changes needed to improve the service provided. The financial year 2017/18 Budget will assist in providing resources that allow RTS to provide a quality service to children and
families based on client focus.
Madam Chairman, in February 2016, the D epartment of Child and Family Services commenced
the merging of the Family Services Intervention Team and the Cross Ministry Intervention Team, or CMIT, in alignment with the department’s modernisation of services to meet best practice standards and to afford the
department the ability to maximise staffing resources and provide a consistent, effective service delivery to at-risk children and families in our communities.
Madam Chairman, the Family Preservation
Team operates under a sound case management and
assessment model which comprehensively assesses
family and children’s needs and develops service plans with the family, child, and stakeholders to max-imise intervention and positive outcomes for the fam ilies. The ultimate goal is to reduce/eliminate the ci rcumstances in the family that have been or are causing emotional and/or physical abuse or risk of abuse to the child. The Department of Child and Family Ser-vices’ new Family Preservation Team receives cases
from the department’s Intake Team and out -of-home
services which includes: foster care, psycho- ed, and
RTS.
The Family Preservation Team is tasked with
providing ongoing intervention to monitor and ensure
the safety of children at risk of abuse or neglect, assist
families to improve family functioning, increase child
well-being, reduce the need for placement in out -ofhome care, and to enable children in out -of-home care
to return safely to their families.
Madam Chairman, Family Preservation Services are provided to clients of the Department of
Child and Family Services either by a constant consent of the parents or under the authority of a family
court order. If child safety is an assessed concern by the intake investigators, Family Preservation Services is mandated. Upon consent, Family Preservation Services are also provided to a young person transitioning from the care of the director at the age of 18. The purpose of this service is to reduce the likelihood of future harm and to provide support and assistance to the young person as they transition to independent living. Family Preservation workers are required by
protocol to increase contact with families based on the family’s level of assessed risk. High risk requires one weekly face- to-face contact. Moderate risk requires
two monthly face- to-face contacts. And low ri sk requires one monthly contact.
Madam Chairman, during 2016 the Family
Preservation Team provided services to 158 families and 293 children. Last year, 68 new cases were r eferred to Family Preservation and 48 cases were closed. All closed cases were void of child safety or
child protection issues at closure. As of Dece mber 31
st, 2016, the number of open cases was 106
families with 115 children, which transitioned into 2017.
Madam Chairman, the approval by Cabinet of
the reorganisation of the Department of Child and Family Services and the approval to recruit additional
staff has allowed the department to accommodate the
increase in need for child protection investigation and Family Preservation Services through best practice standards and reducing the impact of increasing cas eload overload on staffing resources. The consequence of inadequate staffing resources in child’s welfare can
lead to catastrophic consequences on a child and/or
family. Once full recruitment has been completed the department will aim to improve caseload management
and the distribution of caseloads.
Madam Chairman, the Cross Ministry Intervention Team, or CMIT, residential programme has
884 6 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly been in existence for 11 years. The budget allocation
for the Cross Ministry Intervention Team is located on
page B -256, as a part of grant funding under cost centre 33130. This home- based programme of the D epartment of Child and Family Services is an intensive family intervention programme developed to service clients referred from Child and Family Services, the
Department of Financial Assistance, Court Services,
and the Bermuda Housing Corporation. Although the number of families serviced through the residential programme has decreased from the original model, the department continues to work with all f amilies to
address social deficits which have inhibited them from
productively sustaining themselves and their children
in the open housing market.
Madam Chairman, the majority of clients r eferred to CMIT’s residential programme have demon-strated an inability to secure housing in the open housing market or through the Bermuda Housing Corporation due to poor rental histories and and/or high
debt, which has prevented them from securing ade-quate housing for their families. Some residential cl ients have previously been evicted from Bermuda Housing Corporation rental units due to non-payment
of rents resulting in rental arrears. Clients of the res idential programme undergo training to assist them with their spending habits and decision- making pr ocesses since, ult imately, they are accountable for their
actions. Clients are also required to participate in par-enting or life skills groups, money management trai ning, and tenant responsibilities.
Madam Chairman, housing stability is a necessary foundation when addressing social challenges facing our families. Participation in structured debt, reduction/money management planning is a mandatory activity for all residential clients. Compliance is
mandatory in order to remain eligible for continued placement in the residential programme.
Madam Chairman, over this past reporting period, 75 per cent of CMIT’s cases consist of high- risk
clients. CMIT continues to use the evidence- based
objective structured decision- making assessment
tools as part of its intervention in order to effectively assess client need, tailor intervention and monitor cl ient performance. This has allowed workers to objectively assess family risk for child abuse and/or neglect and measure the progress of intervention. CMIT intervention is geared toward transitioning clients toward improved family functioning, thus reducing child wel-fare risks to their children. Employment stability is one key factor of functional need with CMIT clients.
Madam Chairman, reduced or no dependence
on Financial Assista nce is an ongoing goal for CMIT
clients. H owever , the household composition dynamics, levels of education, and the cost of living in Be rmuda make full independence from F inancial Assistance a challenge. When clients enter this programme
they are either receiving financial assistance or are suspended due to noncompliance with financial assi s-tance policy. The Department of Child and Family
Services continues to strive to guide their clients t oward improving their outcomes no matter what the
challenges are.

Programme 2304— Administration

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Madam Chairman, the
budget allocation for Administration for financial year
2017/18 is $1,510,000, as seen on page B -256. This
is a decrease of $33,000, or 2 per cent, compared to
financial year 2016/17. Madam Chairman, the Administration section
of the Department of Child and Family Services is r esponsible for the general supervision of the sections within the departments. All staff development and training is delivered via this section as previously hig hlighted. Training within all sections of the department
have been purposefully aligned with the overarching
goal of providing a comprehensive, seamless continuum of services that meets the complex needs of the department’s client population.
Madam Chairman, all departmental complaints investigations are conducted through the administration section, and any client, be it parent or child, has the opportunity to register any and all co mplaints with this section for investigation. The Admi nistration section is responsible for reviewing all pol icies and procedures and making the necessary rec-ommendations that will expand the capacity, scope
and quality of the department’s social service delivery
system. Given the current fiscal restraints coupled
with the increase in demand for more specialized and
therapeutic client services, the Administration section
has undertaken an internal review of all its resources and has embarked on implementing a strategic plan
that will restructure the client flow within the depar tment.
Madam Chairman, in financial year 2017/18
the Administration section will finalise the implement ation of its approved reorganisation structure and str ategic plan, and completes recruitment so that the D epartment of Child and Family Services is fully staff ed
and look for continued opportunities of performance quality improvement. It will also continue with moder nising the department strategy of providing compr ehensive assessments of all referrals so that clients
receive the appropriate service from the appr opriate
agency thereby reducing referrals and enhancing outcomes. This will ensure that each section maintains their accreditation status.
Madam Chairman, the introduction of an int egrated database for the Department of Child and Family Services is expected to begin during financial year
2017/18. With developments currently in process, this will further support the high standard established by the staff within the department.
Madam Chairman, in financial year 2016/17,
22 clients from the Psycho- Educatio nal Programme


Bermuda House of Assembly received overseas services in therapeutic placements
for a complexity of issues identified across the Dia gnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
(DSM ) IV Criteria of Mental Disorders. The purpose of
the DSM IV is to provide clear descriptions of diagnostic categories in order to enable clinicians to diagnose and treat people with various mental health disorders.
Each client received an assessment from local service
providers that determined an individualized treatment plan and intensive interventions, according to the d iagnosti c categories defined by the DSM IV.
Madam Chairman, unfortunately, several psycho-e d clients were referred without an accurate diagnosis or a clear -cut treatment plan of what was to be
gained by the overseas treatment placement. Consequently, in the best interest of the child the psycho- ed
committee utilised an overseas service provider that
specialis ed primarily in providing clinical and comprehensive assessments at a university hospital. The implementation of such an assessment was utilised to
assist the Department of Child and Family Services in obtaining a clear and comprehensive understanding of
the needs of the referred psycho- ed clients without an
identified diagnosis or those that did not engage at all
with local service providers. The comprehensive overseas assessment assisted in the development of a dynamic, individuali sed treatment plan that has facil itated the most appropriate match of local community resources or an overseas therapeutic placement that will meet the client’s specific need.
Madam Chairman, a total of six psycho- ed
clients were approved for an overseas placement at the University Neuropsychiatric Institute [UNI] for a
comprehensive overseas assessment. The Compr ehensive Assessment and Treatment (CAT) pro-gramme at the University Neuropsychiatric Institute,
located in Utah, offered the clients a four - to six -week
comprehensive clinical evaluation in a safe and s ecure environment. The multidisciplinary treatment team assessed psychiatric and medical c onditions,
provided behavioural and educational assessments,
psychological testing, therapy, and, when necessary,
addressed chemical dependency issues.
Madam Chairman, the programme included
psychiatri c evaluations provided by board- certified
child and a dolescent psychiatrists with diagnostic expertise in major depression, bipolar, schizophrenia,
ADHD, reactive attachment, autistic spectrum diso rders and substance abuse. The CAT programme
conducted full psychological and neuropsychological testing and therapy provided by PhD psychologists.
Most importantly, CAT utili sed a collaborative approach constructed by a complete multi disciplinary
team consisting of child psychiatrists, paediatricians, psychologists, nurses, licensed clinical social workers, recreational therapists, art therapists, music ther apists, and education specialists .
Madam Chairman, 80 per cent psycho- ed cl ients who completed the CAT programme were rec-ommended for treatment in an overseas therapeutic
placement that matched the determined diagnoses
and other treatment recommendations. A definitive
and comprehensive report inclusive of a summary of findings, clinical treatment plan and recommendations to meet the clients’ specific needs was provided to the Department of Child and Family Services, immediately
upon discharge. The current data revealed that of the
22 children receiving treatment 72 per cent are male
and 28 per cent are female. The majority of the clients
presented significant problems in three out of the five
DSM -IV mul tiaxial classifications .
Madam Chairman, this data is identical to the
data collected in the financial year 2016/17. Also,
identical was that all psycho- ed clients had an Axis IV
diagnoses categoris ed as psychosocial and environmental problems. A psychosocial or environmental
problem is defined in terms of a negative life event, an
environmental deficiency, a familial or other interpersonal stress, an inadequacy of social support or other
problem s relating to the context in which a person’s
difficulties dev eloped.
Madam Chairman, all psycho- ed clients serviced overseas received the Global Assessment of
Functioning (GAF) with a scoring range of 30 to 50. A
score of 50 is defined as having serious symptoms or
serious impairment in social, occupational or schoo l
functioning and 20 is defined as having danger of
hurting self and/or others. The result of low Global
Assessment of Functioning, or GAF , scoring required
that all psycho- ed clients receive intensive clinical
treatment and a longer duration of treatment options
coupled with one- to-one staff interventions, psych otropic medications, frequent team meetings, psychiat-ric hospitali sations, family intervention programmes
and therapeutic visits, all of which have increased the
programme’s cost significantly.
Madam Chairman, notably, 11 male psychoed clients serviced overseas, were diagnosed as having conduct disorder, involved in antisocial and crim inal behaviours in the community had GAF scores
ranging from 48 to 51 with a mean of 50. This data
correlates direct ly with the definitions outlined, hence
demanding that the Department of Child and Family
Services provide specific intensive clinical tr eatment
for a longer period of time as well as an intensive local family support plan. This data too, was similar to that
of 2014 and 2015 with 12 male psycho- ed clients serviced overseas .
Madam Chairman, other ministries, such as
the Minis
try of Education (or MOED) may not be
equipped to service clients who are conduct disordered and high risk in the community. Consequent ly,
applications are made to the psycho- ed committee
monthly requesting an overseas placement for a
young person that is involved in antisocial and crim inal behaviour and not able to be serviced in a traditional school environment. Out of a total of 22 psychoed clients, 100 per cent received alternative education
886 6 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly due to huge educational gaps prior to being enrolled
in an overseas therapeutic placement. The Ministry of
Education has had an increased demand to continue
seeking alternate educational placement s with local
vendors in the community prior to referring a child to
psycho- ed for services overseas.
Madam Chairman, large demands continue to
be placed on the Department of Child and Family Ser-vices as a result of the Ministry of Education’s inability
to service children in a traditional school setting. Wit hout the High Risk Intervention Team (or HRIT ) the
Department of Child and Family Services lack an a dequate response to the increase referrals for this
group. Where skill set and resources allow, family and educational assessments and school support are pr ovided by our assessment, counselling and life skills
teams, and our residential care officers. Also, there has been no relief in the time spent preparing court documents to support care and supervision orders.
Consequently , client contact time continues to decline
due to the demands of the Family Court process,
guidelines and overall expectations .
Currently, there are 11 clients overseas; 8 of
which are males and 3 are females , along with 2 psycho-ed referral s, which are pending review s by the
psycho- ed committee. The clients’ ages range from 12
to 18 years old with the median age being 15 years
old.
Madam Chairman, at this time I would like to
take this opportunity to thank the staff of the Depar tment of Child and Family Services for their dedication to providing effective and efficient services to their clients.

HEAD 52 —DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AND
CULTURAL AFFAIRS

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Madam Chairman, I will
now present the financial year 2017/18 Estimates of
Expenditure and Revenue for Head 52, the Depar tment of Community and Cultural Affairs which can be
found on Pages B -261 through to B -267 of the Est imates Book.
The mission statement —The department's
mission is to educate the community and foster a
greater sense of national identity and pride by enga ging with the community to develop our society through
culture, heritage, and educational outreach.
The department’s objectives —The depar tment’s objectives for 2017/18 are as follows:
• To stimulate and develop a culturally v ibrant and dynamic community by suppor ting the arts.
• To promote an understanding of Berm uda’s cultural identit y through education,
research, publications, and enrichment
programmes .
• To educate the community through personal and professional courses that pr o-mote life -long learning through the Community Education and Development Pr ogramme.
• To provide grants that supports the arts
and the continued development and cur ation of Bermuda’ s cultural heritage.
Madam Chairman, the Department of Co mmunity and Cultural Affairs administers three pr ogrammes and 15 business units for which a general summary is contained on page B- 262 of the Estimates
of Revenue and Expenditure for financial year 2017/18.
These programmes and business units will
now be discussed in order of appearance as shown
on page B -262.

Programme 5202—Cultural Affairs

Business Unit 62000—Grants to Organisations

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Madam Chairman, the total
amount budgeted under this business unit for financial
year 2017/18 is $213,000, which is consistent with financial year 2016/17’s budget allocation as seen on
page B -262.
The Department of Community and Cultural
Affairs is responsible for promoting, preserving, and
celebrating Bermuda’s rich and diverse cultural heri tage and for the arts. These goals are achieved in part
by partnering with private sector organisations by providing funding. Organisations that will receive f inancial support in the upcoming fiscal year are as follows:
• For the grant recipient, Bermuda Hist orical
Society for financial year 2017/18, no grant
will be given , as opposed to financial year
2016/17, $6,000 was awarded.
• St. George’s Historical Society in financial year 2017/18 will receive $4,000, which is no change from financial year 2016/17 where
they received $4,000.
• St. George’s Preservation Authority will r eceive $8,000, which is no change from financial year 2016/17 where they received $8,000.
• Bermuda Arts Council will receive $100,000
for financial year 2017/18, which is no change from financ ial year 2016/17 where they r eceived $100,000.
• Bermuda Heritage Association will receive $30,000 in financial year 2017/18, which is no
change from financial year 2016/17 where
they received $30,000.
• Bermuda National Gallery will receive $40,000 in financi al year 2017/18, which is no change
from financial year 2016/17 where they r eceived $40,000.
• Cultural Legacy Fund recipients will receive
$31,000 in financial year 2017/18, which is a


Bermuda House of Assembly slight change increase from the $25,000 they
received in [financial year ] 2016/17.

This makes a total grant recipient amount for
financial year 2017/18 of $213,000, which is no
change from financial year 2016/17 of $213,000.

Business Unit 62001— Administration
Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Madam Chairman, the
function of this business unit is to provide for the administration and operation of the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs which is located on
the fourth floor of the Dame Lois Browne- Evans Buil ding.
Madam Chairman, the allocated budget for
financial year 2017/18 for this business unit is
$842,000, as shown on page B- 262. This amount r eflects an increase of $108,000 compared to financial
year 2016/17, or a 15 per cent increase. This increase
is due to a reallocation of one salaried post from bus iness unit 62160 to business unit 62001.
Madam Chairman, the allocated budget sustains both units of operation, including salaries and wages, professional development, communications,
programming, printing and office supplies. Also, bus iness unit 62001, provides funding for some collateral educational materials including posters, banners, pamphlets, leaflets, and promotional information via social media. The remainder of the budget provides
for office supplies, photocopier maintenance, books
and periodicals subscriptions, and telephone services.

Business Unit 62010—Cultural Festivals and Cel ebrations

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Madam Chairman, the total
amount allocated for business unit 62010 in financial
year 2017/18 is $184,000. This reflects a decrease of $6,000, or a 3 per cent decrease compared to financial year 2016/17, as seen on page B -262.
This decrease is due to a reallocation of funds
from business unit 62010 to business unit 62180, special projects, to help facilitate participation in C ARIFESTA XIII in Barbados. This will be elaborated
later on in my presentation.
Madam Chairman, this business unit covers
the cost of promoting the culture and heritage of Ber-muda and its people through festivals and other pr ogrammes and events. This objective is evident through a number of programmes and initiatives which the department promotes and hosts, including the Emancipation Commemorative Ceremony, the Gombey Festival, and Harbour Nights. Madam Chairman,
permit me to expand on these three events.
The Emancipation Commemorative Ceremony. This is one of the main ceremonies that the D epartment of Community and Cultural Affairs organises annually. In 2016, the department continued to focus on theme “The Trail of Our People” with a subtitle,
“Jubulani/Jubilee.” During this commemorative cer emony, the department highlighted significant individuals and organisations from parishes of Paget and Devonshire. These persons and organisations have made significant contributions to their respective communities and by so doing have contributed i mmensely and selflessly for the greater good of Berm uda. Funds allotted to this business unit 62010 in finan-cial year 2017/18 will be used to feature a culmination of this “Trail of Our People” series, which will feature all of the local heroes who have been honoured in this series.
The Gombey Festival —Madam Chairman, the
Gombey Festival is held annually to provide exposure to the folk art and traditions of the Gombey, which is an important Bermudian icon. This year the Gombey Festival will be expanded to a full weekend of events and learning opportunities celebrating not only our
Bermudian Gombey traditions, but also international
influences from across the diaspora. It is the depar tment’s vision that the Gombey Festival will evolve into an internationally known event attracting overseas
troops and visitors alike to our shores. The allocated
budget for financial year 2017/18 will finance the cost
of travel and lodging for international troops adverti sing event infrastructure, financial awards to participat-ing Gombey troops, and the chosen honouree for this
year.
Harbour Nights —Madam Chairman, funding
to support Harbour Nights also comes under business unit 62010. The Department of Community and Cu ltural Affairs works collaboratively with Tradition Bear-ers and the Chamber of Commerce to ensure that aspects of our culture and heritage are presented to visitors and residents alike in an engaging and informative manner.
In addition, throughout the year, the depar tment also assists individual organisations involved in cultural or folklife projects and programmes.

Business Unit 62020—Heritage Celebrations

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Madam Chairman, the total
amount budgeted for this business unit for financial year 2017/18 is $217,000 (as seen on page B- 262).
This amount remains unchanged from the original
budget (I submit) for financial year 2016/17. Madam Chairman, this business unit covers
the cost celebrations for both Heritage Month and the Bermuda Day Parade. Heritage Month celebrations are a series of series of cultural events and activities
which concludes with the fantastic Bermuda Day P arade.
Heritage Month—The Department of Comm unity a nd Cultural Affairs successfully celebrated the
Heritage Month 2016 under the theme “Bermuda: A Tapestry of Cultures” through an expansive calendar of events that allow the department to partner with
888 6 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly and support existing cultural organisations. These exciting events included a seniors’ craft show, a film and
discussion panel on Jamestown with the St. George’s Foundation, a cultural showcase presented in con-junction with the West End Development Corporation, two weeks of very cultural entertainment and panels presented in conjunction with the Chewstick Foundation, the Festas do Senhor Santo Cristo featuring at
40-piece band from Fall River, Massachusetts, orga nised by the Portuguese community; and the spectac ular “Up with People” showcase, which featured Bermudian Zachary Kawaley -Lathan and was jointly
sponsored by the Department of Community and Cu ltural Affairs and the Ministry of Education.
The theme for Heritage Month 2017 is “Our
Sporting Heritage.” This year the department will con-tinue to partner with cultural industry stakeholders to present a robust series of events, entertainment and activities that illustrates Bermuda’s unique heritage.
Bermuda Day Parade— Madam Chairman,
there has been considerable emphasis on how to e ngage the community to get involved with the Bermuda Day Parade, an incredible tradition that requires the participation from individuals and organisatio ns across
the Island. The introduction of innovative categories and an increase of informal rules for float building are being promoted to encourage more parade entries. To assist float entrants with decorating, the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs will be offering free workshops to the public. The department has been
connecting with potential applicants for several
months now and it is anticipated that the whole com-munity considers participating in the Bermuda Day Parade.

Business Unit 62030—Cultural Education Pr ogramme

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Madam Chairman, the
amount budgeted for this business unit for financial
year 2017/18 is $41,000 as seen on page B -262. This
represents a decrease of $97,000, or 70 per cent
compared to the original allocated budget for financial
year 2016/17 of $138,000. This decrease is largely
attributed to a reallocation of funds to business unit 62080 in order to more clearly delineate expenditures of the department’s culture and folklife programmes.
Madam Chairman, the Department of Co mmunity and Cultural Affairs is responsible for creating
materials about our rich cultural heritage to educate the public and our students.
Film Series —Madam Chairman, the Bermuda
Folklife Documentary Series is a collection of full -
length feature films highlighting the traditions and tr adition bearers of Bermuda. The Department of Community and Cultural Affairs launched two films during
financial year 2016/17 that had been completed in
financial year 2015/16 entitled, Traditional Be rmuda
Boat Building and, A Poem Without Words: Visual Artists In Bermuda. The department also completed
and launched a third film on Bermuda’s shipwrecks
featuring interviews with Bill Gillies, Dr. Philippe Max Rouja, Nick Hutchings, and Bill McCallan.
The department intends to complete two documentaries in financial year 2017/18. The first doc umentary will be part of the Bermuda Folklife Doc umentary Series and will celebrate Bermuda’s Traditional Games and Crafts, as discussed by Judith James, Yvonne James , Shirley Pea rman and others.
A film on Bermudian Linguistic Traditions including
storytelling with Florenz Webb -Maxwell, Bermuda’s
dialect with Bruce Bar ritt, Brittani Fubler , V. J. Steede,
Ruth Thomas and others will be the second documen-tary.
During financial year 2016/17, the Department
of Community and Cultural Affairs also focused on
making Brandon Hollis’ About Bermuda series a collection of half -hour documentaries from the early
1990s accessible to the public. Almost 30 of these
films were converted from VHS to DVD. They repr esent an important source of information about our I sland home.
In addition, work will continue on the development of study guides to complement the Bermuda Folklife Documentary Series for use within our school system. During f inancial year 2016/17, the department
completed four study guides and three additional guides were drafted, which included guides for the
films Emancipation: A Love Story; Llewellyn Hollis :
Fisherman; and A Poem Without Words: V isual Artists
in Bermuda.
In financial year 2017/18 the department will
work toward the completion of the three guides and
aims to draft an additional three guides.

Business Unit 62050—National Heroes Day

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Madam Chairman, the allocated budget for financial year 2017/18 is $56,000.
This reflects a decrease of $2,000, or a 3 per cent
decrease compared to financial year 2016/17. This decrease is due to a reallocation of funds from bus iness unit 62050 to business unit 62180, Special Pr ojects, to help facilitate participation in CARIFESTA XIII
in Barbados. This will be elaborated on later in my presentation.
Madam Chairman, funds associated with this
business unit are used to formally honour and com-memorate a National Hero. In financial year 2016/17, the distinguished designation of National Hero was conferred to the Honourable Sir John W. Swan, KBE, JP because of his entrepreneurial accomplishments,
philanthropic endeavours, and distinguished political career. Sir John enjoys the distinction of being the longest serving Premier of Bermuda. It is worthy of
note that this was the first time that the National Hero designation was conferred on a living honouree.


Bermuda House of Assembly Business Unit 62060— Promotion of the Arts

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Madam Chairman, the f inancial year 2017/18 allocated budget for this bus iness unit is $44,000. This amount reflects a decrease
of $2,000, or 4 per cent when compared to the original
allocated budget for financial year 2016/17 as seen on
page B -262. This decrease is due to a reallocation of
funds from business unit 62060 to business unit
62180, Special Projects, to help facilitate participation in CARIFESTA XIII in Barbados. This will be elaborated on later in my presentation. The two activities that fall within this business unit will now be discussed in
turn.
Premier’s Concert —Madam Chairman, one
means by which the Department of Community and
Cultural Affairs promotes the visual and performing arts is through the annual Premier’s Concert, which aims to highlight selected students between the ages
of 10 and 20 years old who are excelling in a variety of genres of the arts. On Saturday, 19 November
2016 , the department hosted the 32
nd Annual Pre mier’s Concert held at the Ruth Seaton James Centre
for the Performing Arts, which 32 participants performed. The concert featured exceptional performances by talented dancers from United Dance Pr oductions; vocalist, Isabella Zuill -McKenzie; visual ar tist, Zoe Lopes; and saxophonist, W. Aaron M. Spe ncer II. Mr. Spencer brilliantly performed two pieces by Kenny G which led to a standing ovation. As in all
previous years the audience was provided with infor-mation about all of the participants performing in the Premier’s Concert along with their artistic develop-ments.
In financial year 2017/18, the Premier’s Concert will continue to highlight and feature outstanding
young people in the visual and performing arts.
Writer -in-Residence —Madam Chairman, the
Department of Community and Cultural Affairs supports programming to assist in developing our literary
arts. With this aim in mind, the department hosts an
annual writer -in-residence workshop focusing on a
variety of genres. In 2016, the department hosted a three- week writer -in-residence programme focusing
on the genre of screen writing. Bermuda’s own acclaime d film -maker, Lucinda Spurling, Director of The
Lion and the Mouse; In the Hour of Victory ; and Rare
Bird served as the instructor for this programme. This
year as the department recognises the rising popular ity of thrillers and detective fiction, the writ er-inresidence programme will focus on the genre of my stery and crime fiction. It is anticipated that this wor kshop will be held during the fall of 2017.

Business Unit 62070—Folklife

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Madam Chairman, the allocated budget for this business unit for financial year
2017/18 is $157,000, which is a decrease of $3,000, or 2 per cent of the original budget allocation of
$116,000 for financial year 2016/17 as seen on page
B-262. This decrease is due to a reallocation of funds
from business unit 62070 to business unit 62180,
Special Projects, to help facilitate the participation in CARIFESTA XIII in Barbados. This will be elaborated
on later in my presentation.
Activities that come under business units are
Bermudian Heartbeats. Madam Chairman, the Bermudian Heartbeats Lecture Series is its 14
th year. This
programme highlights various aspects of Bermudian history and culture, and aims to hold a monthly presentation that is both entertaining as well as educational. The new season commences in April and will
feature nine events and three film nights. As part of
this programme the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs is delighted this year to honour Ber-muda’s illustrious actor, the eminent Earl Cameron, CBE, who celebrates his 100
th birthday in August
2017.
Folklife Apprenticeship Programme—Madam
Chairman, the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs offers the Folklife Apprenticeship Programme
to support the preservation of cultural knowledge and
skills from one generation to the next. The department
has identified the need to focus on the art of float building. Given the scarcity of tradition bearers in this area, the importance of this skill for our iconic Berm uda Day Parade, the department will work with a mas-ter float builder to ensure that this knowledge is
passed down to the next generation.

Business Unit 62080—Research and Publication
Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Madam Chairman, the allocated budget in financial year 2017/18 for this bus iness unit is $82,000. This represents reallocation of
funds from business unit 62030, Cultural Education Programme, to business unit 62080, as noted earlier in my presentation.
Madam Chairman, the Department of Co mmunity and Cultural Affairs is responsible for suppor ting and developing material s that contribute to saf eguarding Bermuda’s rich history and heritage.
Madam Chairman, to this end the department
recognises the importance of supporting original ac ademic research on Bermuda and is pleased to contribute to the development of material on Bermudian
folklife, culture and heritage.
In financial year 2016/17, the Department of
Community and Cultural Affairs provided sponsorship to Ms. Saskia Wolsak, a Bermudian pursuing a mas-ter’s degree in ethnobotany . In financial year 2017/18,
as a condition of the grant, Ms. Wolsak will be offering a lecture on the cultural history of the palmetto.
In the previous two financial years, the department has also sponsored two Bermudian r esearchers; namely, Brittani Cann- Fubler and Ros emary Hall who have teamed up to study Bermuda’s
890 6 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly unique dialect and linguistic traditions. The depar tment will continue to sponsor them in financial year
2017/18 and looks forward to their public lectures and academic papers.
Madam Chairman, as part of the Department
of Community and Cultural Affairs expansion of the Gombey Festival, the department will be working with
at least one local historian on academic research from
Bermuda’s Gombey tradition, including links of similar traditions in the Caribbean and West Africa.
During financial year 2017/18, the department
will focus on producing a book of original research by Bermudian historian Dr. Clarence Maxwell entitled,
Society of Prudent Men: Bermudians and the Age of
Revolution. The research examines the social, ec onomic, and political character of in the Atlantic World during the Age of Revolution, from 1774 to 1804.

Programme 5203—Community Services

Business Unit 62100—Uncover the Arts Pr ogramme

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Madam Chairman, budget
allocated to this business unit in financial year
2017/18 is $172,000. This amount reflects a decrease of $3,000, or 2 per cent when compared with the ori ginal budget allocation of $175,000 in financial year 2016/17, as seen on page B -262. This decrease is
due to a reallocation of funds from business unit
62100 to business unit 62180, Special Projects, to
help facilitate the participation CARIFESTA XIII in
Barbados. This will be elaborated on later in my presentation.
Madam Chairman, by way of continued par tnership with the Bermuda Tourism Authority, the d epartment provides opportunities for both visitors and
locals alike to discover and enjoy various aspects of Bermuda’s culture, arts and entertainment. This pr ogramme runs annually from November to March and remains quite popular with both visitors and participating locals who provide a variety of entertainment and
educational activities. Some of these programmes include the Skirling Ceremony at Fort Hamilton with the Bermuda Island Pipe Band; Bermudian Cookery Demonstration with Chef Cheryl Kerr; the Bermuda Gombey Review at Pier 6 with the H & H Gombey
Troupe; guided walking tours of Hamilton, Dockyard, and St. George’s; Folk Medicine: Yesterday and T oday at the Botanical Gardens; and the Somerset Boat Tour of Mangrove Bay. Lectures on Bermuda’s hist ory, culture and traditions and the Bermuda’s history with Prisoners of War are also offered.
Madam Chairman, the department will be offering a continuation of the Saturday Night Live Entertainment Programme during financial year 2017/ 18.
This programme offers a platform for local entertai ners, such as the Wall Street Band, the Unit, the Big Chill, Devil’s Isles Audio, the Working Title, Live Wires, and Live Comedy with Nadanja Bailey and
Friends to perform.
Funds allocated for this business unit are also
used to pay vendors who host the listed talks, tours
and demonstrations as well as cover the cost of a dvertising, rental fees for tents, sound systems, and sites.

Business Unit 62130— Senior Citizen Projects
Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: M adam Chairman, $80,000
is allocated to this business unit for financial year 2017/18 which is unchanged from financial year
2016/17, as seen on page B- 262. To ensure expend iture is contained within the budget allocated the department will fund activities based on merit.
Madam Chairman, the Department of Co mmunity and Cultural Affairs is responsible for organis-ing a variety of programmes and activities for our seniors. During financial year 2016/17 the department
hosted six cultural and educational seminars for seniors including a musical performance by legend, Stan Seymour; a seminar focused on Internet safety; a Zumba Gold dance class; and a holiday’s seminar on
Kwanzaa by Melodye Van Putten, which concluded
with a performance by CedarBridge Academy st udents.
The annual highlights of the Senior Citizen
events is the Seniors Awards Ceremony during which the department hosted 500 seniors during a spectac ular afternoon to celebrate nominated seniors for their significant contributions made over the years. The funds associated with this business unit will continue in financial year 2017/18 to provide culturally relevant and intellectually stimulating programmes and activ ities for Bermuda’s senior population.

Programme 5204—Community Education

Business Unit 62140 —Community Outreach

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Madam Chairman, the allocated budget for financial year 2017/18 is $40,000,
which is consistent with the original budget estimate for financial year 2016/17, as seen on page B -262.
Madam Chairman, with increasing public/private partnership support the Summer Internship
Programme (or SIP) initiative provides practical and
work -shadow opportunities for 100 high school st udents, ages 15 to 18 years, during the month of July or August. Funds allocated in this business unit are used to pay a stipend at the end of the work month to participating high school students. The department
facilitates the recruitment and placement of community business partners in the form of an internship to expose the youth to the work environment with a d iverse range of coordinated partnerships with the gov-ernment private and non- profit sectors. SIP operates
annually during the month of July or August with st uBermuda House of Assembly dent participants receiving a certificate of completion,
letter of reference from the employer, and a stipend at
the end of the work month.

Business Unit 62150—Community Education
Courses

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Madam Chairman, the total
allocated budget for this business unit for financial
year 2017/18 is $153, 000, as seen on page B- 262.
This reflects a decrease of $8,000, or 5 per cent when
compared to the allocated budget of $161,000 for f inancial year 2016/17.
This cost centre generates revenue derived
from payment of courses. This decrease is due to a
reallocation of funds from business unit 62150 to business unit 62180, Special Projects, to help facil itate participation CARIFESTA XIII in Barbados. This
will be elaborated on later in my presentation.
Madam Chairman, this business unit, Community Education Courses, provides a diverse range of educational, social, recreational, cultural, personal
and professional development to residents . Funds
allocated to this business unit cover operational costs
as well as associated costs to pay instructors who
teach an extensive range of 150 day and evening courses to a broad range of participants who include youth, adults and seniors. The introduction of the day courses for adults and seniors’ initiative for financial year 2016/17 has proven to be extremely successful
and highly subscribed in attendance. As a result of
popular demand with these courses, they will be of-fered again in financial year 2017/18.
Madam Chairman, the Department of Co mmunity and Cultural Affairs provides these day cour ses as a direct result of the demand from the public as
highlighted in the quarterly participant evaluation
questionnaires and statistical reports and survey. These day courses, seminars, and activities are de-signed to promote awareness, inform, educate and engage adults and seniors during the day in a safe,
fun, structured environment at an affordable cost.
Courses and programme activities are designed to promote and foster a better quality of life and well-being to empower residents to become actively en-gaged and self -sufficient citizens in the community.
Provisions of these course offerings and activities
benefit the educational, social, and economic deve lopment of residents.
Madam Chairman, due to the reduced funding
and to ensure expenditure is within the allocated
budget for financial year 2017/18, the department will restructure the Community Education Development
Programme to improve operations and service deli very to the public. Additionally, the department will implement more creative ways to advertise and increase participation. This approach will include expanding partnerships with community stakeholders as well as leveraging the use of electronic and social media. Programme assessment and restructuring will conti nue to be conducted to identify courses, programmes and activities that are in hi gh demand, as well as
those courses that should be discontinued based on the level of interest and need thereby eliminating the number of instructors required which will reduce ex-penditure.

Business Unit 62160—Community Education A dministration

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Madam Chairman, the total
amount allocated for this business unit for financial year 2017/18 is $618,000. This represents a decrease
of $109,000, or 15 per cent when compared to the
original allocated budget of $727,000 for financial year 2016/17, as seen on page B- 262. This decrease is a
result of a transfer of salaries from business unit 62160 to business unit 62001, Administration.
Madam Chairman, funds allocated in this
business unit cover the administration and operational costs for th e Community Education and Development
Programme, which includes salaries, staff training, prints and electronic advertising, repair and maint enance, photocopier maintenance, utility costs, printing, office supplies and stationery and other associated administrative costs for programme operation.

Business Unit 62180— Special Projects

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Madam Chairman, the total
amounts allocated for this business unit for financial
year 2017/18 is $112,000. The Department of Co mmunity and Cultural Affairs is responsible for promot-ing Bermuda’s rich cultural heritage and developing the creative industries. To this end, Bermuda will participate in CARIFESTA XIII which will be held in Barbados from the 17
th to the 27th of August in 2017. The
2017 festival theme is Asserting Our Culture, Cel ebrating Ourselves which provides the opportunity for
Bermuda to be showcased on the world stage.
Madam Chairman, the Caribbean Festival of
the Arts, commonly known as CARIFESTA, is a cel ebration of the ethnic and racial diversity that separat ely and collectively created cultural expressions which
are unique to the Caribbean region. CARIFESTA is the premier roving, multidisciplinary mega arts festival
that showcases the cultural expressions of artiste from
various countries in the Caribbean region. This arts
festival was first held in Georgetown, Guyana in 1972 to celebrate the arts. In 1972 the festival attracted creative artiste s from over 30 countries within the Caribbean and Latin America.
Madam Chairman, in 2004 the CARICOM
heads of Government agreed a new vision for C ARIFESTA. To position CARIFESTA as a world -
renowned hallmark festival of Caribbean culture and artistic excellence that generates economic benefits, unites the region, and excites the people. CARIFE S892 6 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly TA’s new mission statement is to stage a mega, multidisciplinary roving festival that develops Caribbean
arts and culture.
Madam Chairman, some of the primary objectives of the festival are to establish the importance and celebrate the arts, maximise participation in and in appreciation of the arts, deepen awareness and
knowledge of the diverse aspirations within the Caribbean community, expose youth to the arts, encourage and showcase excellence, promote the development of cultural industries and merchandising, and positiv ely advance Caribbean culture throughout the diaspora and the world. The festival has developed an important innovation in the regional, cultural context and
has made a significant contribution to the develop-ment of regional identify. To date, 12 CARIFESTAs have been staged in eight countries of the Caribbean. Bermuda participated in CARIFESTA VII in 2000, when the festival was staged in St. Kitts and Nevis.
Madam Chairman, the Barbados Minister of
Culture, Youth Affairs and Sports announced on the 20
th of January 2017 that planners expect 3,000 a rtistes and artisans to be in attendance at the festival
this year. The Bermuda Government is excited about
this opportunity to proudly support our local talents
and, as such, will therefore be providing funding in order for over 30 persons to participate in such per-formance areas as music, dance, storytelling, and theatre. The Department of Cultural Affairs also plans to send artwork produced by Bermuda’s premier vis ual artist and some of the Island’s outstanding literary works. The funds associated with this business unit will be used to cover airfare, accommodations in Bar-bados, subsistence and promotional items.
Madam Chairman, Bermuda has cultural and
historical connections with several Caribbean islands,
as many Bermudians have ancestors who hail from
Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and other Caribbean na-tions. Our West Indian heritage runs deep and has influenced and shaped our cultural and artistic deve lopment. Given our historic, cultural and ancestral connections it is proposed that Bermuda participate in CARIFESTA XIII. The Bermuda contingent would i ncluding performing artists such as a Gombey troupe, spoken word performers, culinary artists and dancers.
Examples of Bermudian literature, film, crafts and s elected paintings should also be showcased for the duration of the 10- day festival.
Madam Chairman, Bermuda will benefit
through involvement in CARIFESTA XIII. Although the advantages to be ga ined through such participation by
our artists, craftspeople and folk artists cannot be d irectly measured in dollars and cents, participation would provide great exposure to Bermudian artists and would afford person’s opportunities to network with their artistic peers as well as others in similar cul-tural industries. Engaging with their counterparts would afford Bermudian participants a more global view of what others are doing and highlight areas
where Bermudians may need to further develop their
artistry, skills and craft. Throughout CARIFESTA XIII
the spotlight will be placed on cultural industries. The knowledge, expertise and guidance gleaned would prove very useful for our participants individually, and for the benefits of cultural industries in Bermuda long
term, particularly given the renewed emphasis on the
importance of cultural tourism. Moreover, participation in CARIFESTA XIII would lend support to some of the goals identified in the draft National Cultural Heritage Policy, which is planned to be released later in 2017.
Madam Chairman, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution on the 18
th of November 2014, by which it declared that the Intern ational Decade for People of African Descent would commence on 1 January 2015 and end on the 31
st of
December 2024. Given that the majority of the res idents and people in Bermuda are of African descent,
with most having direct ties with communities in the
Caribbean, Bermuda’s participation in CARIFESTA XIII provides an important opportunity to celebrate our cultural connections and shared heritage with our si ster islands in the Caribbean.
Madam Chairman, I will now discuss the subjective analysis for the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs found on page B -263.
Salaries —Madam Chairman, the main i ncrease of salaries of $45,000, or 4 per cent, is due to
the regrading of positions throughout the department
as seen on page B- 263. This became necessary to
ensure the department can harness existing r esources to produce a consistently high qualit y of se rvice, delivery of programmes during the current hiring
freeze policy.
Travel —Madam Chairman, the increase of
$159,000 is due to all travel related expenditure for local artists to travel to Barbados in order to partic ipate in CARIFESTA XIII. This c ost would include ai rfare, hotel, sustenance, and ground transportation.
Advertising and promotion—Madam Chai rman, this decrease of $9,000, or 10 per cent, repr esents cost savings achieved by the department through the use of social media when advertising and
promoting the department’s events and programmes, as seen on page B -263.
Materials and Supplies —Madam Chairman,
this decrease of $58,000, or 18 per cent, is due to the
Departm ent of Community and Cultural Affairs having
float entrants eliminating the use of flowers to now using coloured sawdust which is a more cost -effective
decoration that looks equally appealing.
Madam Chairman, the total estimated rev enue for the Department of Cultural Affairs for financial year 2017/18 is budgeted at $89,000. This is an i ncrease of $3,000, or 3 per cent, compared to the re venue of $86,000 received in financial year 2016/17 that can be seen on page B -263.


Bermuda House of Assembly Madam Chairman, this now concludes my
presentation on the budgetary allocation for financial
year 2017/18 for Head 52, the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs.

HEAD 55 —DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL ASSI STANCE

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Madam Chairman, I will
now present the Estimates of Expenditure and Rev enue for Head 55, the Department of Financial Assi stance, of DFA, for financial year 2017/18 which can be
found on pages B- 268 through B -271 of the Estimates
Book.
Madam Chairman, the Department of Financial Assistance mission statement is to ensure that individuals and families with insufficient financial r esources have access to services in order to gain,
maintain, or regain a minimum standard of living while
encouraging personal and economic independence.
The services will also encourage the development of personal skills, resources, and to ultimately foster f inancial independence. The department’s objectives
are :
• To assess individuals and to determine their
level of need in a timely and effective manner .
• To ensure that Financial Assistance is admi nistered in a manner consistent with financial instructions and Financial Assistance legisl ation and policies .
• To establish appropriate and reasonable pr ocedures for measuring the effectiveness of F inancial Assistance.
• To improve reporting procedures for organi sations that receive grants .
• To ensure that all uninsured Financial Assistance recipients are enrolled in a hospital i nsurance plan.
• To have available for public dissemination F inancial Assistance information pamphlets .
• To ensure that the activities for the Depar tment of Financial Assistance support both the Ministry's mission and vision.

Madam Chairman, page B- 269 shows a
budget allocation for the Department of Financial A ssistance for financial year 2017/18 of $53,555. This represents a decrease of $1,006,000 from the original budget allocation of financial year 2016/17. I will di scuss the reasons for this decrease later in my presen-tation.
Financial year 2017/18 Budget will provide for
the following:
1. A financial framework to sustain the Financial
Assistance programme, which encompasses
the following:
• a sustained amount of clients with r equests for financial awards to maintain a basic standard of living; • the cost of rental accommodations;
• the cost of food;
• the cost of utilities;
• funding for the cost of HIP and F utureCare premiums;
• the cost of rest home or nursing home
care;
• the cost of in- home care or adult day
care; and
• medical equipment, supplies, and
medication.
2. The financial framework to sustain the Child
Day Care Allowance Programme, which cu rrently provides a monthly award of up to $800
per child to attend a registered or licensed day
care provider.
3. General administration and operational costs
for the department.

Madam Chairman, the mandate of the d epartment is to ensure that individuals and families with insufficient financial resources have access to ser-vices in order to gain, maintain, or regain a m inimum
standard of living while encouraging personal and
economic independence. The services will also en-courage the development of personal skills, r esources, and ultimately foster financial independence.
Madam Chairman, the department continues
to provide income maintenance to Bermuda’s needi-est individuals and families, and does so in the most effective, efficient, and economical manner. This con-tinues to be achieved through the commitment and
diligence of the staff of the Department of Financial
Assistance.
Madam Chairman, the department admini sters two business units for which a general summary
is contained on page B- 269 of the Estimates of Rev enue and Expenditure. These business units are 65050, Grants Administration; and 65080, General Administration, and will be discussed in that order .

Business Unit 65050—Grant Administration

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: T he total amount budgeted
for this business unit for financial year 2017/18 is
$50,404,000. This reflects a net decrease of $521,000
when compared to the original budget allocation for
financial year 2016/17 as seen on page B -269.
Madam Chairman, the budget allocation for
business unit 65050 falls into two categories: Organi-sational Grant Recipients and Individual Grant Recipi-ents with the latter category being commonly referred to as “Financial Assistance.” I will discuss these two categories of recipients in sequence.

Organisational Grant Recipients

Hon.
Nandi Outerbridge: Business unit 65050 i ncludes funding for organisational grant recipients at
894 6 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly the level of $1,228,000. In financial year 2017/18 this
amount has been allotted for pay -outs in quarterly i nstalments of $307,000 to five organisations, which
are: Care of the Blind; Meals on Wheels ; Supportive
Therapy for persons with AIDS and their Relatives (STAR ); Teen Haven; and the Salvation Army , with
respect to the Emergency Housing Shelter on North
Street.
I will provide a breakdown of the organis ational grant funding as shown on page C -20 of the
Estimat es Book. Madam Chairman, in financial year
2017/18, $30,000, has been allocated to Care of the
Blind. This amount remains unchanged compared to
financial year 2016/17. The allocation for Meals on
Wheels of $48,000 also remains the same as financial year 2016/17. The organisational grants for STAR and Teen Haven are not shown explicitly on page C -20
since they contained an Object Code 7042, Social Assistance. [There was] $150,000 allocated to STAR
(Supportive Therapy for persons with AIDS and their
Relatives ), whilst $200,000 has been allocated to
Teen Haven. These amounts remain unchanged from the previous year.
Madam Chairman, the Bermuda Government
is in discussions with the Salvation Army regarding the redevelopment of the Bishop Spencer facility on Glebe Road to create a new emergency housing centre. In anticipation of the proposed redevelopment and operation of the Bishop Spencer facility the grant all ocation for the Salvation Army has been increased from
$400,000 to $800,000 for financial year 2017/18. The
purpose of the increased funding is to allow the Salv ation Army to gradually expand social programming for
vulnerable persons. It must be noted that the increase grant funding is contingent upon the Salvation Army commencing and completing the redevelopment of the
Bishop Spencer property for the purpose of operating
a new emergency housing centre.
Madam Chairman, discussions with the Salvation Army have indicated that a variety of new and expanded social programmes will be introduced at a
new emergency housing centre. Such programmes
could involve an onsite social worker, an onsite addi ctions counsellor, and employment skills development training to eliminate barriers to employment. Since there is a need for transitional living in Bermuda, the Salvation Army has indicated their willingness to i ncorporate a transitional living component within the design of the new emergency housing centre.
Madam Chairman, in an effort to better coordinate services to facilities which cater to seniors or the disabled population, the responsibility for the grant allocation of $850,000 for Summerhaven, Matilda
Smith Williams [Senior Residence] and Packwood
Home has been transferred to the Ministry of Health and Seniors.
Madam Chairman, in addition to the grant
amounts specified above, STAR and Teen Haven r eceived an additional monthly financial award based on the number of clients who are in need of residential
services within those organisations. This award is paid
monthly at a rate not exceeding $1,500 per client.

Financi al Assistance Programme

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Madam Chairman, bus iness unit 65050 also includes funding for the Financial
Assistance programme in the amount of $45, 776,000
for financial year 2017/18. This amount is virtually the
same as was allocated in financial year 2016/17 of
$45,847,000. A decrease of $71,000, or 0.15 per cent.
The Financial Assistance programme is earmarked for
clients who are approved to be in receipt of financial awards.
Madam Chairman, the department’s Financial
Assistance progr amme is governed by the Financial
Assistance Act 2001 and Financial Assistance Regu-lations 2004 and subsequent amendments made in
2004, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015. The
legislative amendments passed in 2015, along with additional internal policies, were implemented to r evamp the then- existing criteria and to impose additional conditions in order to increase client responsibility and accountability.
Madam Chairman, the Department continues
to assess persons based on the formula set out in the
Financial Assistance Regulations 2004. These regul ations stipulate that the eligibility for an award will be established when the amount of allowable expenses
of the person exceeds the amount of qualifying
household income of the person’s household and the value of local and international investments owned by
the person does not exceed $500 in the case of per-sons under the age of 65 and $5,000 for persons over the age of 65.

[Mr. Glen Smith, Chairman]
Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Mr. Chairman, the majority
of persons receiving financial awards are seniors and the disabled populations. Services and funding for
seniors includes payments for rent, electricity, phone, gas and rest, nursing home fees, adult day care or in -
home care which may be waived if rest or nursing home becomes more cost effective and the cost for medication, medical equipment and supplies.
Mr. Chairman, at the end of the December
2016, there were 969 seniors serviced by the Depar tment of Financial Assistance. This is an increase of 66 clients compared to December 2015. One hundred and one senior clients are in nursing homes, and 94 are in rest homes. One hundred and thirteen senior
clients live in Bermuda Housing Trust properties. The
remaining seniors reside alone or with family me mbers. The Department currently spends approximately $2,003,000 per month to service this population.
Mr. Chairman, the cost of rest home and nur sing home care is $374,000 and $504,000 respectively


Bermuda House of Assembly on a monthly basis. Thus, a combined amount of
$878,000 is paid out monthly for nursing home and
rest home clients. This represents an increase of $92,000 from financial year 2016/17. This is another clear indication that more seniors are applying for and receiving assistance from the Department.
Mr. Chairman, in addition to assistance pr ovided for rest and nursing home care the Department continues to support family members who qualify to enable their senior relative to remain in the household. This assistance, while cost effective to Government, continues to provide a much- needed boost for seniors
to spend time with their families and to remain in their
homes or those of their loved one. This benefit is
called home- care allowance and covers a cost of up
to $2,000 monthly per client. Currently, the Depar tment pays about $46,000 per month for home care service. This is a decrease of some $67,000 per month over the same period of time last year.
Mr. Chairman, this decrease is attributed to
two factors. The first factor is the establishment of maximum pay out payments for the various levels of in-home care required by clients. The current fees for
in-home care paid out by the Department are $15 per
hour for personal caregivers or companions; $25 per hour for nursing assistants or aids; and $75 per hour for services provided by a registered nurse.
Mr. Chairman, the second factor for the decrease is that many seniors who previously were able to remain in their own homes and receive care there
can no longer remain at home due to medical cond itions requiring that they be admitted to the hospital or
placed in either a rest or nursing home.
Mr. Chairman, notwithstanding the decrease
in pay out for home- care service, the demand for
home- care service is likely to continue as there are
many seniors who require care and cannot be accep ted into a rest or nursing home due to the lack of beds. Mr. Chairman, some seniors who are either
capable of functioning at a high level and living ind ependently at home or who reside in the home of their
children or loved ones often find idle time alone as
being depressive. The Department pays for persons
who fit this category with the ability for them to be placed in an active and nurturing adult day care envi-ronment. Currently, the Department has an average monthly pay out of $9,671 for adult day care service.
Mr. Chairman, as of December 2016 there
were 848 disabled persons receiving assistance. This is an increase of 23 clients over the same period last year. Disabilities can range from short -term/temporary
to long- term/permanent and can be of a phys ical n ature and/or due to mental health challenges. The D epartment spent $1,434,000 to service persons with disabilities in December 2016.
Mr. Chairman, the Department also pays for
FutureCare insurance for all senior clients. Currently, the monthly rate for each senior client is $504.21. HIP
insurance is provided for all clients under the age of 65 at a current cost per client of $433.31 monthly. Al though the cost of the health insurance premiums tends to increase annually, premiums have remained constant over the past two years. The amount paid out for health insurance at these rates currently totals over $834,000 monthly. This is an increase of $74,000 over the same period last year.
Mr. Chairman, the cost of medication for the
Department of Financial Assistance clients is in e xcess of $90,160 monthly or $1,081,000 yearly. This is an increase of $17,000 monthly compared to financial year 2016/17. The pay -out for medication is a clear
sign that our clients, although living longer, are not in
the best of health.
Mr. Chairman, the cost of the health care for
ageing baby boomers continues to be a challenge for
governments worldwide. The Department of Financial Assistance continues to work in tandem with the Health Insurance Department and the Ministry of
Health and Seniors to determine strategies that will
yield cost effective measures to reduce the costs of
servicing this population.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Financial
Assistance does not subscribe to appointments. There
is a walk -in referral service that is open to the public.
Pre-screen hours are between 10:00 am and noon
and 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm Monday through Thursday.
The last applicant is seen at 11:45 am and 3:45 pm respectively. Persons are seen on a first -come, first -
served basis. Over the last several years the amount
and category of pre- screened applicants has shown a
gradual increase of able -bodied, unemployed and
earning slow persons applying for financial assi stance.
Mr. Chairman, statistics kept by the Depar tment of Financial Assistance s howed that although
the higher numbers of clients receiving financial assi stance consists of seniors or pensioners at 37.6
per cent and disabled persons at 32.9 per cent, the
higher numbers of applicants for financial assistance are from able- bodied, unemployed and earning slow
persons.
Mr. Chairman, the Department will continue to
service the needs of all its clients regardless of what category they fall under. Mr. Chairman, during 2016
the total number of clients serviced per month vaci llated between a low of 2,551 and a high of 2,679. It is
projected that the demand for financial assistance will
continue a similar trend into the new financial year 2017/18.
Mr. Chairman, the combined financial assistance pay -out for able- bodied employed and earning
slow c lients averaged just over $918,000 per month
during the three- month period from October to D ecember 2016. This compared with an average pay out of just over $1,045,000 per month for the same three-month period in 2015. That is a decrease of $127,000.
Mr. C hairman, for purposes of historical comparison, financial assistance expenditure had in896 6 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly creased from $9,700,000 in the first quarter of financial year 2012/13 to over $12,500,000 in the third
quarter of financial year 2015/16. This higher level of quarterly expenditure has remained fairly consistent
throughout 2016. Mr. Chairman, the average number
of clients per month in the combined categories of seniors and disabled persons increased from 1,713 to
1,807 for the three- month period of October through
December 2015 when compared with the same time
period in 2016.
Similarly, Mr. Chairman, the monthly pay -out
for the combined categories of seniors and persons with disabilities over the three- month period October
to December 2016 averaged $3,442,000 representin g
an increase of about $172,000 over the average pay -
out for the same two categories in the same three-month time period in 2015. This trend is anticipated to continue in the future.
Mr. Chairman, in descending order, the highest items of expenditure for monthly pay outs include:
1) Rental accommodations . Monthly rental
accommodations paid on behalf of clients had reached $1,038,000 in the first quarter of financial year 2016/17. However, the Department of Financial
Assistance took steps via policy changes to decrease
the number of applicants desiring to move into rental accommodations and not having a means to contri bute to the costs of the rental unit. As a result, in the third quarter of financial year 2016/17 rental pay -out
was $1,031,000 representing a monthly savings of
$70,000.
2) Rest and Nursing Home Fees: In December 2016, the combined pay -out for rest and nursing
home fees was $878,000 monthly.
3) Insurance Premiums : This is a combination
of the cost for FutureCare which is for the clients who are seniors and HIP for the persons under the age of
65 and those with private insurance of which the D epartment pays up to the amount of either FutureCare or HIP. In December 2016, the monthly pay -outs for
insurance premiums was $834,000.
4) Food: In D ecember 2016, the cost of food
was $416,000 monthly.
Mr. Chairman, all able -bodied applicants are
referred to the Department of Workforce Development for registration prior to becoming a client with the D epartment of Financial Assistance. This requirement
encourages Financial Assistance clients to begin the process of job readiness in order to be in receipt or receiving a financial award. Mr. Chairman, to further encourage our ablebodied clients to reduce the lack of time they are de-pendent on Financial Assistance, the Department
launched its community service components in July 2014. The aim of this component is to make other D epartment of Financial Assistance clients more work ready by providing service to numerous charities across the Island while still being in receipt of a finan-cial award. Able -bodied clients are expected to pr o-vide up to 15 hours of community service after being
on assistance for a period of at least three months
and are required to complete five job searches week-ly. Clients who are not yet involved with the community service component are required to complete 12 job searches weekly.
Mr. Chairman, while clients are receiving f inancial assistance, the Department continues its out-reach to other government departments and charities to enhance the ability of able- bodied unemployed cl ients to become work -ready and contribute back to
Bermuda. Currently, there is a three- month community service rotation amongst community partners. As
more stakeholders are secured, the length of comm unity se rvice may increase.
Mr. Chairman, the Department endeavours to
further develop the community service component
over time to ensure clients are making a contribution of service while in receipt of a financial award. Accor dingly, the Department plans to recruit a community service coordinator in 2017 to expand this initiative. Mr. Chairman, the Department will continue to mai ntain a working relationship with the Department of Workforce and Development, other Government
agencies and non- governmental agencies with a view
to increasing and enhancing collaboration in empowering able- bodied financial assistance clients to seek
and find gainful employment. Mr. Chairman, the ult imate goal is to decrease the client’s dependence for assistance or to eliminate the need altogether.
The Child Day Care Allowance Programme:
Mr. Chairman, business unit 65050 also includes the
child day care allowance programme in the amount of
$3,400,000 for financial year 2017/18. This amount remains unchanged from the previous year.
M r. Chairman, the child day care allowance
programme was officially launched in November 2008 and is governed by the Child Day Care Allowance Act 2008 and the Child Day Care Regulations 2008. In 2013, both pieces of legislation were amended with a view to r evamping the criteria in order to impose add itional conditions on clients as a means to increase responsibility and accountability.
Mr. Chairman, most parents on the pr ogramme remain single, employed and with two chi ldren or less in a registered or licenced child day care environment. Persons applying for receipt of the child
day care allowance together with the child must be
registered as status Bermudians. This status is de-termined by the Department of Immigration and does not benefit non- Bermudians or PRC holders. The child
must also reside with the applicant at the time of ap-plication and be between the ages of 0 and 4 years
old.
Mr. Chairman, the child day care allowance
programme eligibility criteria differ from that of the f inancial assistance programme in that a person’s eligibility is only centred on the total salary wage of the applicant or applicants. The established income


Bermuda House of Assembly threshold is $55,000 per annum. Child maintenance
payments are not factored as incoming during the assessment.
Mr. Chairm an, parents or guardians of children in the child day care allowance programme are working, attending school or looking for employment. They must conduct job searches if they are unemployed.
Mr. Chairman, the child day care allowance
programme does not scrutinise or penalise savings, it
encourages it. It has been suggested and encouraged that parents/guardians look at this small window of opportunity while they are able to be in receipt of this
financial award when their child is between the ages
of 0 to 4 years old to begin saving and pay off current accumulated debt. Yearly amounts of savings could amount to up to $9,600 yearly per child.
Mr. Chairman, during financial year 2016/17,
the number of applicants for this programme averaged
over 209 families and 249 children benefitted. Since
the programme was launched, the child dare care al-lowance programme has cumulatively paid over $26 million towards day care for 3,705 children and con-tinues to lessen the financial burden of their parents or
guardians. The average monthly award for child is
approximately $796.
Mr. Chairman, from inception the monthly expenditure for the child day care allowance programme has ranged from about $200,000 to about $340,000. Year to date expenditure for the child day care allo wance programme for financial year 2016/17 is $2,500,000.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Financial
Assistance will continue to focus on internal policies and strategies to ensure that clients benefit from en-hanced in- house services as well as outreach services in connection with issues dealing with minimi sing or eliminating financial strife. The Department will continue to focus on strategies for reducing the overall expenditure.
Mr. Chairman, abuse, misuse and fraud co ntinues to be committed by a small margin of financial assistance clients. However, one infraction remains one too many. The Department’s anonymous hotline, which was established in January 2014 for persons to report suspected cases of abuse of the system, con-tinues to work well. The Department of Financial A ssistance continues to extend an invitation to members of the general public who may be aware of anyone who may be abusing the system to report any poss ible misuse of Government funds by calling 297- STOP
or 297- 7867.
Mr. Chairman, during financial year 2016/17,
over 60 calls were made to 297- STOP. Of these calls,
53, or 85 per cent, have been investigated. Of the 53
calls investigated, 34 have been confirmed as fraud and 9 calls remain under investigation. Mr. Chairman,
the Department’s investigative officers recovered $62,000 in financial year 2016/17 compared to
$98,000 in financial year 2015/16.
Mr. Chairman, spending for the first quarter of
financial year 2016/17 was approximately
$12,000,682. This amount was approximately 23 per cent of the allotted budget for financial year
2016/17 which includes the pay -out for the financial
assistance programme, the child day care allowance programme, grant recipients and overseas travel. This does not include administrative expenditure.
Mr. Chairman, spending for the second quarter of financial year 2016/17 was approximately $12,410,000. Similar to the first quarter, this figure
includes pay -out for the financial assistance pr ogramme, the child day care allowance programme,
grant recipients and overseas travel but excludes a dministrative expenditure. When both quarters are combined the current total expenditure was approx imately 46 per cent of the allotted budge for financial
year 2016/17 which was tracked to be 5 per cent under the projected expenditure for the first six months of financial year 2016/17.
Approximate expenditure for the Financial A ssistance programme: the Child Day Care Allowance
programme, grant recipients and overseas travel, but
excluding administrative expenditure, stood at approx-imately $43,000,000 as of 31 January 2017. Mr. Chairman, the Department of Financial Assistance
continues to introduce policies to encourage their cl ient-base to be more accountable and r esponsible and
to embrace a new vision of self -reliance.
Busin ess Unit 65080 General Administration:
Mr. Chairman, the total amount budgeted for this
business unit 65080 for financial year 2017/18 is $3,151,000 as seen on page B -269. This reflects a net
decrease of approximately $485,000 or 13 per cent
when compared with original budget allocation for f inancial year 2016/17 of $3,636,00. The decrease was due to the Department’s inability to secure seven additional positions even though the funding was provided in financial year 2016/17 original allocated amount.
This amount will remain unspent at the end of financial year 2016/17.
Mr. Chairman, this business unit provides
funding for the general administration and operational
costs for the Department. As for the subjective anal ysis on page B -269, the largest expenditure in this
business unit is salaries, which is $2,920,000 that has been allocated in financial year 2017/18. The full -time
equivalent for financial year 2017/18 is 34, since a pproval was not received to add additional staff in f inancial year 2016/17. This corresponds to a decrease
of 17 per cent compared to financial year 2016/17 as
seen on page 270 as previously explained.
Mr. Chairman, members of staff of the D epartment of Financial Assistance are currently r esponsible for caseloads exceeding 230 client s per
caseworker. As per best practice, this amount extends an acceptable number of caseload per caseworker
898 6 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly which is more in line with 100 to 125 cases. The work
performed by the staff involves collection and careful
review and analysis of various types of documents in
order to complete a full assessment of each client. Clients are processed in a very efficient manner to ensure files and assessments are approved on a weekly basis and in accordance with the Department’s
policies and procedures. The work performed by the
staff is extremely challenging, demanding and stren uous as they must play close attention to detail at all times while evaluating clients. Mr. Chairman, the Department has budgeted
$20,000 for capital acquisitions, as per page C -13 of
the Es timates Book. This funding is required for the
upgrade and monitoring of the Department’s software system FASS. This upgrade is necessary to ensure
that the FAS S system can interface with the gover nment’s E -1 system and other networks associated
with the p rocess of payment for financial assistance
clients.
Mr. Chairman, looking at the subjective anal ysis on page B -269, I wish to point out that there was
no change in most of the items shown. I already ex-plained the decrease in staffing. Secondly, the subjective analysis shows an increase of $71,000 for professional services. This increase reflects the potential need to procure local professional consultancy ser-vices in order to comprehensively review the legisl ative and policy framework under which the Depar tment operates with a view towards improving the d elivery of services to the people of Bermuda. This is expected to be a one- off expenditure. The increase in
expenditure of $4,000 as shown for materials and supplies is due to an increase in printing cost for the Department’s specific forms and information pam-phlets for clientele. I have previously explained the
reduction in grants to be administered by the Ministry.
Mr. Chairman, explanations for performance
measures as found on page 271 will now follow.
• To provide financial awards to 100 per cent of
our new Financial Assistance clients within 10
working days. In financial year 2016/17, the Department of Financial Assistance is ex-pected to be at least 90 per cent successful in
providing clients with financ ial assistance
within 10 working days. The process begins
with an applicant applying for pre- screening at
the Department on day one. During the pre-screen interview, the applicant is informed of documents that they will need to submit in or-der to create a file for assessment. Doc uments that may be required are picture ident ification, such as a passport, banking stat ements, medical form or relevant bills, for ex-ample BELCO or BTC. The onus is on the applicant to submit the required documents in
a timely manner. Once all documents have
been submitted then a file is created and vet-ted by the pre- screen manager. If all doc u-ments are in place, then an appointment is
made with the Financial Assistance worker to
assess the case. This process is generally completed within seven to ten days. As mentioned, the Department expects to attain a performance rating of 90 per cent for this performance measure. It must be emphasised
that 100 per cent performance rating is dependent on applicants returning all required
document s in a timely manner.
• To award grants to charitable organisations
within 30 days of receiving requested doc uments. All organisation grant recipients must
submit a letter of request along with quarterly financial statements requesting a quarterly grant allotment. Once received, the information is reviewed by the director and if all i nformation is correct, request for payment is
approved. The number of grantees will de-crease from eight to five in 2017/18 due to the transfer of administrative responsibilities for
grant payments to three organisations to the
Ministry of Health and Seniors.
• To provide awards to 100 per cent of the day
care providers of last day of the month before
they are due. Documents submitted by parents or guardians of children in the chil d day
care allowance programme are assessed on a
quarterly basis. Once a Financial Assistance worker has made an assessment, the finical assistance manager will either approve or r eject payment. Approvals for all day care pa yments are made directly to the day care pr oviders. This is generally done every three months and payments are made on the first of each month within that three- month period.
• To ensure that all 33 employees successfully
completes at least one relevant training
course per year. All Fina ncial Assistance e mployees have not successfully completed this goal as either the course they requested was
cancelled or they were unable to attend rel evant training due to their high case load.
• To complete 700 site visits for financial assis-tance clients during the year. The Department
of Financial Assistance aims to complete at least one home visit each calendar year for all new clients. However, with increasing number of new caseloads, Financial Assistance wor kers are unable to make the desired amount of
home visits. Although prospective clients may not be seen in the calendar year in which they will become a client, they are seen shortly thereafter.

Mr. Chairman, the Ministry of Finance has
provided the Department of Financial Assistance with
a budget allocation that is closer to the projected ex-penditure for both the current financial year 2016/17


Bermuda House of Assembly and the new financial year 2017/18. Therefore, no
supplementary estimate will be requested for the current financial year and it is hoped that none will be
requested for the upcoming financial year 2017/18.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to the staff of the Department of Financial Assistance for their continued
commitment and for the efficient manner in which t hey
carry out their duties and responsibilities.
Mr. Chairman, this now ends my presentation
on the financial year 2017/18 budgetary allocation for
Head 55, the Department of Financial Assistance. Mr.
Chairman, this now completes my total presentation
and I will open the floor to questions.

Before we move on, before the Honourable Member takes to his feet, I need to have the
specifics of the Heads, the title, the page number and
line item as we have five Heads to go through. I just
want to stay with you.
Honourable Member, I am the Chairman and I
am asking you to go by the rules.
I notice the Honourable Michael Weeks,
Shadow Minister of Community Development and Sports from constituency 16.
You have the floor.

Much more than prev ious
Ministers have given me—not all the Ministers, but
one in particular. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, as I get started I want to say
that with six hours some other of my colleagues were hoping to contribute, but I will do what I can to save them some time if possible.
But, Mr. Chairman, before we get to the
Heads, when I was home going through this Budget
Book to get ready for today’s debate, I said to myself
that the one thing that has been consistent throughout these last four years of the OBA’s Government is me. I have been the Shadow Minister for Community Cu lture and Sport since 2013.

I will be consistent, Mr.
Chairman, in seeking the answers and the truth for the
people of this country.
But what I have also noticed in these four
years is that this OBA Government has had four Ministers. The Minister Wayne Scott, who we had some
pretty good dialogue with; Minister Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin, who I had excellent dialogue with; good Honourable Minister Sylvan Richards, and now we have Mrs. Nandi Outerbridge.
So what I am saying, Mr. Chairman, is that
this Ministry, as I have said, for four years running now, is the glue that keeps our community together and we need to have more respect for it. Just like people talk about how education continuity, social de-velopment and sports need that same continuity, b ecause we are the glue, we are the mortar, we are the
tie that binds the community. And what our community
needs is for the Government to look at this Ministry with a little more respect and understand the i mportance of the services that this Ministry is said to provide.
So, Mr. Speaker, as I go on . . . as you can
see I have a lot of paper, a lot of the same old ques-tions from last year and the year before.

[Inaudible interjection]

You got me?
Okay, so I was saying, Mr. Chairman, obviously I had a discourse planned because I thought we
were going to be going back and forth. So I am going to now cut through a lot of the chase and just ask
some ques tions. Hopefully the Minister will have tim e
to answer.
Last year I noticed that we had a $550,000
increase for Head 71, and this year there is a
$513,000 decrease. Before we go through what we
went through in previous years saying, Oh, I said it in
my brief , the brief was so long and detailed I m ay
have skipped a few things. And in all honesty if I am
asking questions, it is for clarity not just for me but for the listening public.
Yes, Mr. Chairman? Okay, so first question is,
What is the decrease of that? Can the Minister please
break that down? Then, still on page B -36, we had a
big cut —

On page B -236, Mr. Chai rman, Head 20, I see also . . . and some Honourable
Member s would recall my use of certain words like
“slash cut” and “decimate.” Over the last couple of
years Youth and Sport have been slashed by $1.2 million in 2015/16 —a further cut of $486,000 in
2016/17 and we find there is an increase of $333,000. What prompted you, Madam Minister, to put some
meat back on the bone? Just because this is an election year? Actually, I will give you time Madam to r espond.
Head 23, still on page B -236. Head 23, Mr.
Chairman. Since 2015, we have seen this Ministry
lose $1.3 million, Child and Family Services, and I
have heard a lot of talk about foster care (the i mportance of it), residential care (the importance of it), and we see monies being taken from this Ministry every single year. And the staff, who I have a lot of respect for, are still expected to do the best of their
ability. But this Ministry here has taken the brunt of a
lot of disrespect by the OBA.
Head 52 (Mr. Chairman, still on page B -236). I
see an increase of $72,000 (I get you that as I deal with each Head in particular, Head 55). I see another decrease for Financial Assistance of $1 million. So,
Mr. Chairman, as I am about to go into the individual
Heads, as I said earlier I find it very disturbing that I
have been consistent in saying over and over and over, year after year after year, about the importance of consistency. What I think I am going to do, Mr. Chairman, if
I could have peace and quiet like I gave—

Okay, all right.
So, Mr. Chairman, on a serious note, I am just
going to go through some questions. On B -238, I see
an increase in training, if the Minister will specifically explain what that consists of. Could the Minister state
what professional services does? What does the d ecrease that is also on page 238 consist of? One of my pet peeves, Mr. Chairman, I see that this year the
grant to parish councils is now at zero. The historical context and relevance of the parish councils . . . if I
am correct, the parish councils serve at the will and pleasure of the Governor. So the Governor no longer has a use for it? If the Minister would speak to whet her she feels that the councils no longer play a vital role, a vital and his torical role in our community or . . .
when I was sitting and going through my . . .

[Inaudible interjection]

What I am going to do, Mr.
Chairman, I have asked a few questions, I am going
to let the Minister answer them. And when she anBermuda House of Assembly swers I will get back up on my feet to ask a few more
questions. Just to keep this rolling. The Ministry that
we are discussing is Social Development and Sport.

Okay. Thank you. Minister?

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: I think it would be better if
the Shadow actually just went through all of his questions and I will answer at the end.

[Inaudible interjections]
Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Okay, in no particular o rder, the [Member] asked . . . what was the very first
question? Why was the $500,000 decrease in Head
71? And as I mentioned during my brief, this was due
to the transfer of grant responsibility from the Ministry Headquarters, the Ministry of Social Development and
Sport to the Ministry of Health and Seniors for the Lor-raine Rest Home which also ties into this parish coun-cil question with regard to the funding and why that is
at zero, because you would see that within that.

Fine.
Hon. Michael J. Scott: Mr. Chairman, this is not hel pful because these are very disruptive. Now, the
Chairman can help us with guiding it so that it gets
into Hansard where we are. That is the only purpose
of it. But it is getting to the point where it is looking like it is interrupting Members. And that is not the purpose of the House. We have talked about privileges already in this place.

Okay
. What is this? I see
where there is a volunteer youth organisation. My
question is, What is this volunteer youth organisation? And what is the Minister’s criteria for the distribution of these funds for this youth organisation?
Still on page C -19, Line item 6886— yes?

902 6 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: Yes, Bermuda Swimming Associ ation.

I see a cut of $83,000 or 6
per cent, but when I look at Performance Measures on
page B -242 . . . if the Minister would explain this
anomaly. Cost centre 2004 line item 30080 I see a
decrease of $34,000 or 6 per cent. I see an increase of $34,000 . . . in my rush to get my questions in this short time, I may have a little issue . . . but if you could direct me, Mr. Chairman, and not 10 other people.

Thank you, Honourable Member .
Minister?
Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Again, Mr. Chairman, answering the questions in no particular order, the question asked with regard to the Bermuda Swimming A ssociation and why it is there. And the answer to that,
Mr. Chairman, is, it is just where it is budgeted.
With regard to line item 6882 the Voluntary
Youth Organisation, these are discretionary grants
that the Minister can make to various organisations to promote youth development or culture.
With regard to the question asked about the
tennis courts, the simple answer to that is, no.

[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: No, it is not in this Ministry.
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: You asked with reference
to Port Royal Tennis Club, and the answer is no.



Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: Honourable Member from constituency 16, Michael Weeks.

Mr. Chairman, we have been
around here so long I have got so many questions
here.
On page B -250 under cost centre 2007 line
item 30148, I see a decrease in Camping Administr ation of $55,000. Can the Minister explain that?
Teen Camp Service, also on page B- 250 line
item 30185, there is a decrease of $69,000 in Teen
Camp Service. Can the Minister please explain that?
Moving on to page B -256, Mr. Chairman.

Cost centre 2302 line item
33030 Foster Care. I see a decrease of $97,000. And
that $97,000 concerns me because foster care is always a very important element to deal with those chi ldren that are in need of loving homes. As the unemployment, as the break -up of families occurs foster
care is like a safety net. I would like the Minister to explain how that $97,000 decrease is said to help foster care.
Cost centre 2302 st ill, Mr. Chairman, line item
33200 Bermuda Youth Counselling Service. Understanding the importance of that, I would also like the Minister to explain that.
Mr. Chairman, cost centre 2303 line item
33070 Brangman Home. There has been a decrease of $158,000. What does that decrease pertain to, Madam Minister? Having worked in residential care, I intimately know the services that are needed in res idential care. And to cut any monies in residential care that are service based could sound a death knell to a
lot of these clients that are in residential care.
I was asking myself if it could have been a
staffing issue, so I turned to B- 258 [to the] Employee
Numbers and I noticed that there are no employee
shifts. So I came to the conclusion that it could be a
service cut. I would like the Minister to explain that, if
at all possible, when she gets back up.

Thank you.
Honourable Minister Nandi Outerbridge, you
have the floor.

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, literally eve ry question that was
asked by the Shadow Minister just now, all of the answers are within the brief that I gave you when I star ted.
But what I will say with regard to the Camping
Administration, the Foster Care, [and] the Bermuda Youth Counselling Services is that I believe that this Ministry is funding these staff adequately. When you look over the years, if you turn to page C -35 of your
Estimates Book, you can just go down to the line item Social Development & Sports and you will be able to
see that since the One Bermuda Alliance has been in
Government we have funded the Social Development & Sports adequately in an environment that has not always been the easiest. So we are doing what we can, and we believe that we are providing the adequate funding for t his Ministry, Mr. Chairman.

It is on the page.
Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Mr. Chairman , that Ho nourable Member must have missed my brief as he
was not in the Chamber when I was presenting it. I do
not know if he heard it on the radio, but as I already stated all of the answers to the Shadow Minister’s questions are provided within my brief.

Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: No, the—

Thank you.
Any other Honourable Member . . .

Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: I am still not happy with
that answer, Mr. Cha irman . It does not answer the
question. The [question] is, How is that determination
made? You could talk about a civil servant can make
determinations. How is that determination made? Based on what information or data?
She was the one that said she was s atisfied.
Is she satisfied with that?

Okay. All right.
So I ask again, the questions that I had asked
the Honourable Minister about the various decreases, her answer was they are in the brief . I have heard five
hours of talk, so if I missed one or two things I do not
apologise for it. But if I missed one or two things I am asking for clarity, not only for me but for the listening public.

—specifically to the Ministry and
what I actually want to . . . I am speaking on page C -
35. And I want to start out there when we look at the
Consolidate Fund Expenditure Ten Year Summary. And I want to look at Social Development & Sports,
and look at what this Government has been doing
since we have actually —

Hon.
Zane J. S. De Silva: Point of order, Mr. Chai rman.



Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: I notice the Honourable Member from
constituency 29.
You have the floor, sir, and your point of order
is what?

Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Point of order, I am not
sure if t he Honourable Member is misleading the
House on purpose, but I would like to know which
Head he is referring to. I know he talked about Cap ital, but which Head is he referring to?

What is your point of order, please?

POINT OF ORDER
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: The point of order is that the
Shadow Minister had asked the Minister a question. I
believe that the Minister is back at her seat, the time is
far spent, five or six hours, and we need a Minister to respond. It is going to be filibustering and the time will be gone.

Thank you.
Minister, do you want to give the answers to
the Honourable Member from constituency 16?
Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Yes.
Mr. Chairman, as it pertains to the Foster
Care question and the number that the Shadow Mini ster had with regard to the $97,000 decreas e diffe rence, I am just going to repeat for him, out of my brief
on Head 23, from page 15, which explains it.
Mr. Chairman, for the financial year 2017/18
the Foster Care section, which comes under business unit 33030 has been allocated a budget of $2,098,000 which is a decrease of $97,000 or 4 per cent com-pared to the budget allocation in financial year 2016/17. The Foster Care section is responsible for providing alternative living arrangements for children under the age of 18 years who require out -of-home
placement. In financial year 2016/17 the team was responsible for 70 children, half of whom were female, and the other half were male, in addition to their bi ological parents and foster families. This represents a decrease by about five less foster children, birth fam ilies and foster families from the previous year.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, I also went through the five -
hour brief that the Minister gave. I did not have the
benefit of having it in front of me though. But at the same time there are some questions that I have. I
hope I did not miss them.
Head 71, 81000, there was a decrease that I
noted and I understood after listening—

Mr. Chairman, the Minister
mentioned about the transfer of the Lorraine Rest
Home and I understand why the cost changed, but I would like to ask the question, why was the change made from one ministry or department to the other?
And what was the benefit likely to achieve?
On line item 81020 I have a series of questions, Mr. Chairman, so I am going to try and quickly
go to that. I understand that the Mirrors Programme is
in its tenth year. I did not hear the Minister give the
likely cost for the celebration cost of that. I think she
said there is going to be like a week of it or something, so I would like to know that.
I did not quite understand where the Minister
said “SuperCamp” or actually . . . looks after 35 to 135, I imagine, children, but at the same time they are
going to run that programme with fewer volunteers. So
can you maybe speak a little more about that?
Head 20 (I am going to move on very quickly)
line item 2004 30390, does that cover the maint enance of playgrounds and equipment? And it may be under my next Head that I am going to speak to, but
at the same time I also want to ask the question of the
Minister, has the Ministry ever thought of considering guarantees to sports clubs? And I will move on to Head 23 which I will talk
a little bit about Foster Care. With the mood of the country . . . and she talked about the lack of parenting
906 6 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly and also anti -social behaviour. But how does that justify the reduction in that line item B -256—that is the
page I am on—General Summary, and yet expecting
a quality of improvement . . . a quality improvement? And 33010, I did not quite understand that
there were 16 of the 40 from Happy Valley CCC. Do I take it that that is because of the ages of those chi ldren moving? Like those 16 were only going into pr imary school . . . preschool, sorry? That is the question I am asking.
Head 52 Grants. Minister, I could not help but
notice that the list of the organisations getting grants appear to be the same year aft er year. Can we not
expand that list?
And my final question, Head 55 Financial A ssistance, the budget itself is being reduced by over half a million dollars. How is that going to help per-sons who are working and not making a living wage, seniors who are on low incomes? I did not quite get
how the Minister expected to achieve this.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Honourable Member .
Minister Outerbridge, you have the floor.
Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, I will start with the Financial
Assistance question. The one thing the Member
should note is that the amounts that are being awar ded for the grants under the Financial Assistance have
not changed drastically as compared to the previous
year . . . sorry, the revised estimate of 2016/17. So we continue to provide adequately to the people in need.
With regard to the question of the Happy Va lley vacancies, the answer is yes, those children are moving along from Happy Valley Child Care Centre
over to preschool.
With regard to the questions that came about
the Health Ministry, with regard to the funding for the
Lorraine Rest Home, because Department of Health and Seniors picks up the majority of the expenses and
work it only made sense to move that over to there.
And the question with regard to the Mirrors
Programme—

Thank you, Honourable Member .
Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Yes, it is in the best interest. And efficiencies provide better quality. I just want to answer the question with regard
to the Mirrors Programme. In September 2016 it was
determined that the volunteer base to facilitate deli very of the Uncommon Results Inc. transformation technique was diminished to the point where the suc-cess of the community programme—residential —
would have been compromised. Therefore, a decision
was made to suspend services with Uncommon R esults. Mirrors reviewed the options as some youths had already enrolled in the programme.

Thank you.
Are there any other questions?
I notice the Honourable Member from consti tuency 6, Wayne Furbert.
You have the floor.
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Yes, thank you, Mr. Chai rman.
Mr. Chairman, Financial Assistance has a lways bothered me. Because I remember when the
actual amount was a million dollars, now we are $55
million. I would like to ask the Minister, has the d epartment ever prepared an analysis broken down by groupings of age and categories? And what I mean by that . . . let us say from 50 to 60, and is the money being allocated to food, rent, electricity . . . I do not
know, and the list goes on. I am just wondering
whether anyone within the Ministry well, there is a
new Minister now . . . but has the Minister . . . any former Ministers ever looked at the analysis to see if they are . . . maybe they have not been prepared, but it would be an interesting scenario to look at groupings, either i ndividually —65/64 —or whether they have
in groupings . . . it could be maybe too much for . . .
and I would be very interested to have that infor-mation.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
In the Ministry of Social Development and
Sports, Head 1 . . . 71, I should say . . . no, no . . .
yes, 71 Ministry of Social Development and Sports Headquarters, in reference to . . . no, I am sorry, my apologies, I got that wrong.
I want to go to C -20 Salvation Army Shelters .
. . on C -20. The Minister conveyed in her . . . in her
brief to the House that they had entered into discus-sions with the Salvation Army with respect to the de-velopment of the Bishop Spencer facility on Glebe Road. Thus we are seeing an increase of the grant total fr om $400,000 in 2016/17 to $800,000. I wonder
if the Minister can answer whether she has been in discussions with her fellow Minister of Public Works with respect to the need for the Salvation Army to ei-ther rehabilitate or renovate the current facility or move their clients into a facility that is more habitable. We had this discussion a few weeks ago (without r eflecting back too much).
Of course this money that has been allocated
does not seem, by way of the language here, that it is locked into only being used with respect to the Bishop Spencer project. So is the Minister aware that the Sa lvation Army needs to have its current facility renovated and that the options are being discussed of actually in the interim moving the clients to another facility?

Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chai rman.
I have a quick question on Financial Ass istance under Head 55. It shows that you are trying to establish appropriate and reasonable procedures for measuring the effectiveness of Financial Assistance. What type of measures do you have in place to do
that, given the fact that we now are witnessing a wider
economic gap? You even had, just recently, many
people who were locked out of their rooms down at the transitional living quarters in St. David’s who are on Financial Assistance. And I heard you make men-tion of the fact that you felt that the logi c that is in place to service these people is, indeed, an adequate
budget.
Now, if we have people who are living in facilities on Financial Assistance and they are being locked
out, I have to ask why, if there is sufficient funding in place. And so I would like to know what measures you have to evaluate that and if, indeed, those measures
are accurate. Because if we are having people on F inancial Assistance being locked out of their living
quarters, then something is going wrong because the reason for them being locked out is because they
were not able to pay their rent. And the rental pa yments at that facility are quite low. So Minister, I am
hoping that you can answer that question.

And you have about two minutes.
Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: In regard to the questions
on the Department of Financial Assistance and does it track where the funds are distributed, the answer is
yes. And as I mentioned in my brief earlier there are categories with able- bodied unemployed, earnings
low, elderly and disability, and it should be noted that the elderly and disabled take up 70 per cent.
There were questions with regard to Head 52
for Grants. It says can they be listed by . . .

[Pause]
Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: I am sorry, it was in regard
to the question asked, Are the ones listed the only people that receive grants? I would like to note that
the department does grants to other vehicles, so the Department of Social Development and Sports can also do grants for Bermuda Arts Council, contributions to the Cultural Activities and Cultural Legacy Fund. So
the answer is yes to that question.
There was a question with regard to the number of volunteers asked by MP Tyrrell. The answer to
that question is the new programme uses a team approach. That is the new programme under the Super-Camp, with regard to the Mirrors Programme. The
new programme uses a team approach which r equires less volunteers.
[Gavel]

The Chair man: Minister, that concludes the debate
on Heads 71, 20, 23, 52 and 55.

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

It has been moved that Heads 71, 20,
23, 52 and 55 be approved.
Is there any objection that motion?
No objection.
Agreed to.
[Gavel]

[Motion carried: The Ministry of Social Development and Sports, Heads 71, 20, 23, 52 and 55 were a pproved and stand part of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year 2017/18.]

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Mr. Chairman, I ask that
we move that the Committee rise and report progress
and seek leave to sit again.

It has been moved that the Commi ttee rise, report progress and seek leave to sit again.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
Agreed to.
[Gavel]

[Motion carried: The Committee of Supply agreed to rise and report progress, and sought leave to sit
again.]

House resumed at 7:36
[Hon. K. H. Randolph Horton, Speaker, in the Chair]

REPORT OF COMMITTEE

ESTIMATES OF REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE
FOR THE YEAR 2017/18

All right. Honourable Member s, we
have completed the debate on Heads 02, 63, 71, 20,
23, 52 and 55 and the Committee will meet again on Wednesday, 8 March, and report progress.
We have Orders 2 through 9, I believe, are all
carried over. If that is not true then please speak up
now. So Orders 2 through 9 are carried over and the
Chair will recognise the Honourable Premier.

ADJOURNMENT

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker .
I move we adjourn until Wednesday.

Zane De Silva, yes.

ADJUDICATION AND STAMP DUTIES ON PRO PERTIES
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight
because I have a few things on the agenda. And one I
have mentioned several times in this House and it is one that I think is very important, Mr. Speaker . And
the couple of times I have raised it I have not yet had any sort of response from anyone from the OBA and,
in particular, those on the front bench.
And my plea tonight goes out the Premier,
and specifically to the Finance Minister, because, Mr.
Speaker , you will know that I have mentioned it se veral times and I think I owe it to the people of Berm uda, to my constituents, in particular, who have asked me to beat this drum until it can be beat no more. And
that is, Mr. Speaker , the adjudication and stamp duties on properties on this Island.
Now, I have told Members from the OBA, from
this position where I stand right now. In fact, the Honourable Member from constituency 22, the Minister of
Development and Commerce, has said N o, no, no,
no, no. It is tens of millions of dollars, Mr. Speaker .
Tens of millions of dollars that are being held up and I have said this several times, but yet I have not seen the Finance Minister, Premier, or anyone deny the fact
that there are tens of millions of dollars —not thousands, tens of millions of dollars —that are being held
up because we do not have the staff to adjudicate property that has been put in the Tax Commissioner’s Office for stamping, et cetera.
Now, Mr. Speaker, so we have two problems
with that. One is that tens of millions of dollars are not being put in the Government coffers that could be go-ing toward programmes that the OBA have trashed over the last four years, number one. Number two, it could be going to the debt that we have . . . interest
payments, Mr. Speaker. That is where it could be going.
And, Mr. Speaker, more importantly what I
want the Honourable Ministers opposite to understand is that you may have a house that goes up to the Tax Department to be registered as a primary homestead
after someone’s parent has died, Mr. Speaker . Because not everyone was on the ball, not everyone registered their homes as primary homesteads. And what happens, Mr. Speaker , is that before an estate can be
sent in for probate, before it can be sent for probate, Mr. Speaker, you are waiting for the stamping of that
primary homestead so that you can get the tax r educed for the beneficiaries, Mr. Speaker . It cannot be
done unless they say, Well, I’ll submit it and I’ll pay
the tax.
And what worries me, Mr. Speaker, and one
of my constituent’s worry is this, this is their problem.


Bermuda House of Assembly The house has been left to the family and there are
four people in the family. They are struggling, Mr.
Speaker . So what happens is mommy, bless her soul
. . . daddy died, now momma died . . . they did not
register their home as a primary homestead. Luckily, the laws allow you to do the paperwork after one’s death.
So what happens, Mr. Speaker , is you have
Mr. and Mrs. Smith’s children who now could maybe sell the house and get a hundred, two hundred, a couple of hundred thousand dollars each, Mr. Speak-er, and they cannot do it. They may need that money
to help pay for the family’s expenses, i.e., children’s
education. Mr. Speaker, this is important, and I i mplore the Finance Minister to look into it yet again. At
least give it . . . prove me wrong. I will gladly put up
my hand and say, OBA Ministers, I made a mistake; I
was given wrong information. But prove me wrong!
Tens of millions of dollars.
One thing I know for sure, Mr. Speaker, and I
will put my hand up, I have owned several properties myself that I am waiting for adjudication in stamp duty.
One particular person, Mr. Speaker , your constitue nt (I will tell you who he is later if you like), has
been waiting three years, Mr. Speaker . Three years.
Three years, Mr. Speaker, he has been waiting for
adjudication in stamping on a property so that he can get the inheritance that was left to him. This is not acceptable, Mr. Speaker .
Now, the thing is you are talking about expanding the civil service or, as the OBA like to say, that they are going to reduce the civil service. Mr. Speaker , you are right back to square one. Well, do I
pay two or three staff $100,000 a year each to collect several million? Of course it makes sense. So let us get on with it. This is important, Mr. Speaker , it is very
important and I will not stop. I will get up every motion to adjourn during this Budget period unless we get
some answers.
So be prepared, OBA, to listen to it every
night during this Budget speak and thereafter. Prove
me wrong!

Dropping the ball again.

CASINO GAMING FEE

Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Look after the people that
you say you care about. Look after them.
Now, Mr. Speaker, two other things on my
agenda. We had gaming legislation here a few weeks
ago and one particular piece that really got under my bonnet was the fact that we had this gaming fee that
amounted to $3 million. Now, we kno w that it went to
another place and it was peeled back I understand, it
was not passed.
Now, can someone in the OBA tell us tonight
what is going on with the gaming fee? Because my understanding is, Mr. Speaker, that there are some people that are expecting to have gaming licences in
this Island and have said, Uh-uh, not happening. Now
the Honourable Member from constituency 22 said
that night, Everyone’ s been consulted. They didn’t
have any problems with it.
Mr. Speaker , I want that Honourable Member
to get up tonight and say that he consulted everyone
and that they were okay with it because it is my u nderstanding that they are not. They are not okay with
it. And there will not be certain developments that take place unless that fee is changed. And I will stand here
and I will wait for a reply and I will wait to be shut down on it and if I am wrong I will apologise. But the
information that I have is that it is not happening. Red
flags are up. Green flags are down, Mr. Speaker .

ST. GEORGE’S HOTEL

Hon. Za ne J. S. De Silva: Now, Mr. Speaker , the
other thing that I think must be mentioned tonight . . .
and since we will be meeting three days a week for
the next couple of weeks I would like someone from the OBA to confirm to this House that the hotel in St. George’s will be built first. Now, the Honourable Junior
Minister, Mr. Bascome from constituency 1, I think it
is, or 2 . . . number one, I am asking him to ask his
colleagues to confirm if the hotel in St. George’s will be built first before any other construction takes place on that site.
Now, Mr. Speaker, I have had a lot of little
birds whispering to me over the last week, so one little bird told me that that hotel is not going up first. And, again, I will put my hand up and apologise if I am proven wro ng.
But Mr. Speaker , I want the Honourable
Member from constituency 1 (and maybe he will do it
tonight) stand up and confirm to us in this House and the people of Bermuda that that hotel is guaranteed to go up first like we were told by the OBA when that
legislation was passed in this House.

[Inaudible interjection]

Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Well, [the] honourable colleague from constituency 24 asked, W ell, why . . . why
would I say that?
Well, Mr. Speaker, we understand that some
residences will be built before the hotel goes up.
Now—

[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: To raise a few pennies . . .
you could not have said it any better, my colleague,
Mr. Scott.
So, Mr. Speaker , we really would like to know.
And why do we say this? Because the OBA, the F inance Minister, in particular, during his Budget
910 6 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Speech mentioned that hotel five, six, seven times in
his speech —the hotel development.
So, Mr. Speaker , I have to ask the question.
Minister, Can you confirm that that hotel will be buil t
first? Can anybody in the OBA confirm that that hotel
will be built first? Why do we want to know, Mr.
Speaker ? Because we were told so. When that legi slation was passed we were told that that hotel would be built first and, therefore, jobs could be in the bal-ance if it is not.
What is going to happen to that lease if, all of
a sudden, foundations —not the hotel, Mr. Speaker ,
but for some other phase in that development —start
getting dug? That is the question we need answered.
And, Mr. Speaker , the gaming fees are i mportant because that, again, is a show stopper. Now, the OBA know that they promised 2,000 jobs in 2012, they also know that they have lost a further 2,000 jobs since —

Dropped the ball.

Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: —and they are the ones
saying, We’ve got hotels going . . . there is a buzz . . .
the tourism numbers are up . . . all this . . . all these
positive things, but are they really? Talk to us about
the gaming fee and talk to us about that hotel.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker .

Good evening.

OBITUARY SPEECH
Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker , of course, earlier
there was time for congrats and obits and I did not get up, of course, because the name had not been r eleased.
But it is, of course, with a heavy heart that I
rise to express condolences, yet again, on this floor to
another family of another member of the community that has lost their life. In a senseless murder last
evening young, Raymond Butterfield, lost his life. And
for that, of course, his family is mourning, his friends are mourning. Many of his friends who just 29 days ago also . . . actually it is probably 28 days to the day
of losing another one of their friends, Mr. Jahni Outer-bridge.
So I say that to say this, Mr. Speaker, not in
any way, shape or form to make the situation any more dramatic, but it reminds us that the work which we do in this Chamber is important. And the only thing which I would like to say is I would like to express to the Honourable Premier, I would like to express to the Honourable Minister of Finance, that going forward
that consideration is given, especially when adequate
time is allo tted, for us to have issues of substantive
debate on very important ministries, especially when we are talking about ministries which are dealing with curtailing the very social issues which we have inside this society, that Members would allow the time for a
fulsome debate and to ensure that they complete their
briefs in a good time to allow the Members of the O pposition and any other Members of the backbench that would like to participate, as these are important issues. We are dealing with items that matt er. It ma tters what we do up here for the people of this country
and it does not make sense when we have assigned
adequate time to have debates on these issues for them to be shortened because of whatever tactics may want to be deployed by Members of the G overnment benches.
So all I am asking, Mr. Speaker, is when we
go forward, I am asking the Premier and I am asking the Minister of Finance, understanding the nature of what we are dealing with right now and understanding the importance of what we have to deal with right now, to please have that type of consideration so that we
can actually have a debate and to actually examine
what the spending will be so that we can do right by the people who we represent.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker .