March 20, 2024

Thank you, Senator.
Senator Robinson, over to you.

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Yes. If I could squeeze my
final question in.
Under Works & Engineering on page C -6 still,
[cost centre] 75042, I am sure most of the community will be very happy to see such a large increase to Road
Works to $5,050,000. My question is, Is the current infrastructure of Works & Engineering staff -wise, administration -wise prepared and able to undertake this particular huge increase and endeavour? And also, have there been methods used to figure out how best to keep
the roads maintained despite such torrential rain and
weather? I would hate to see such l arge spending and
then the roads are back in disrepair in under six
months.

Thank you, Senator.
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Mr. Chairman, I just have a response to the Senator’s questions regarding schools,
the maintenance of the school grounds. I think his
questions were, Why did the revised amount decrease
when the original amount was for the school grounds?
And are the schools being sufficiently covered? I think
those were his questions. Our answer is that yes, the schools are being covered sufficiently. The marked decrease is less than 10 per cent. There is an increase in
estimated expenditure for $535, 000 as an estimate,
taking into consideration work which may not have
been completed in the previous year.

Thank you, Senator.
We just have less than four minutes left. I will
allow Senator Leslie Robinson to finish responding to
the outstanding questions.
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Mr. Chairman, thank you.
302 20 March 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Regarding the solar project, the Cabinet will
soon consider the agreement, and the department has
budgeted should the Cabinet approve this.

We are in our last minute now before I
will ask Senator Leslie Robinson to move these heads.

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Mr. Chairman, I have one more
response.
Question on [cost centre] 91001, Training and
Apprenticeship, Head 81, for 2024/25. This allows the
recruitment of five apprentices and two trainees. This year we could not fully recruit, to meet budget constraints.

Good afternoon, everybody.
Senators, we are back in Committee of the
whole [Senate] for further consideration of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure. Heads 9, 13 and
43 are to be debated. We have started at 2:00 pm. And
Minister Darrell will be speaking to these heads.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Good afternoon, Madam
Chairman. Just give me one second and I will get started.

[Pause]

CABINET OFFICE

HEAD 9 —CABINET OFFICE

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam Chairman, I will
now start with Head 9, which is the Cabinet Office.
Madam Chairman, the Cabinet Office operates
at the centre of the public service providing leadership,
advice and guidance to ensure delivery of the Government’s policies and services. This leadership continues
to be seen in the fiscal discipline within the Cabinet Office and, Madam Chairman , it gives me great pleasure


Bermuda Senate to present the budget for Head 9, the Cabinet Office,
found on pages B -42 through B -47 of the Budget Book.
Madam Chairman, the total expenditure as
seen on page B -43 is estimated to be $12,171,000 for
2024/25 and represents a decrease of $19,592,000, or
approximately 62 per cent, from the original budget of
2023/24. This decrease is mainly due to the transfer out
to the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport of the tour-ism grant of $19 million, the cultural and entertainment
support grant of $540,000, as well as the Regulatory
and Policy Hotel Administration unit of $386,000. The only increase for the department ’s budget not readily
seen due to the significant decrease consists of salary
uplifts in the amount of $334,000.
Madam Chairman, the Subjective Analysis for
the Cabinet Office can be found on page B -44 of the
Estimates Book. Please allow me to highlight the material object code increases as well as the decreases.
Salaries, line item 1, estimated at $6,7 73,000, shows
an increase of $24,000. Madam Chairman, while not
material in amount, the variance is worth mentioning to simply highlight that, despite the mentioned salary uplift
of $334,000, the transfer out of the Regulatory and Policy Hotel Administration unit minimi ses the increase.
Madam Chairman, within Wages, line item 2,
there is an increase of $102,000, or 68 per cent, compared to 2023/24. This does not represent an overall
increase to the department, but merely a transfer out from salaries to that of student employment wages to
categorise int ernship within the London Office correctly. Within P rofessional Services, line item 9, there
is a decrease of $1 51,000, or 5 per cent , compared to
2023/24. The reduction was achieved through minor
cuts throughout the various sections of the C abinet Office. Madam Chairman, although decreased, please allow me to briefly outline the main budgeted fees that
contribute to the $2,711,000 we see stated here.
Madam Chairman, diversification of the economy in promoting economic growth results from key in-itiatives that require the focus of specialists and leaders
in various fields. Therefore, implementation team funding of $750,000 remains budgeted within the Cab inet
Office to commit to the continued engagement of those specific resources intended to further drive the greatly needed economic growth. Madam Chairman, the foreign consultancy contracts include our [Washington,]
DC, lobbyists, $240,000; our Middle East ern Affairs
consultancy contract, $240,000; our representative at
the Brussels Office, $157,000; as well as the fees paid
to Firehouse Communications, a business and brand consultancy firm; and Dods , a political, intelligence and
policy consultancy firm within both the London and
Brussels Offices.
Firehouse Communications continues to assist
in proactively managing the Government’s global public
relations and international media engagement. As a re-minder in relation to Dods, the services they provide relate to monitoring of the UK and European Parli aments. In total, the fees for these services average about $178,000 annually.
Our foreign contracts also include our [Washington,] DC, Office consultant, who receives an annual
allocation of approximately $133,000. Madam Chair-man, regarding the mention of the Middle Eastern Affairs consultancy, the engagement of which began in
April of 2023, I would like to take a moment to present
a quick summary of the completed UAE [United Arab
Emirates] engagements to date. [They are as follows:]
• Established economic, cultural and trade ties,
as well as laid the foundational relationships for
commercial engagement with the UAE and Qa-tar.
• Positioned the recognition of Bermuda, relatively unknown in the UAE due to a lack of diplomatic presence. This was built via outreach
and Government bilateral engagement, including the organisation of media appearances
such as the Premier’s announcement on Dubai
TV, as well as the Deputy Premier’s podcast
with Bloomberg.
• Arranged the UAE Government’s first official
delegate visit to Bermuda, organising both the
agenda as well as the planned site visit.
• Hosted bilateral meetings with the high- ranking
Government Ministers across the UAE Government and associated entities.
• Developed a Foreign Direct Investment Strategy aligned to the Economic Development
Strategy.
• Initial advancement and groundwork drafting
made for the signing of the required international instruments between Bermuda and several GCC (that is Gulf Cooperation Council)
countries such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab E mirates.
• Developed and published the creation of an investment brochure targeting GCC - and
COP28 -related interests on behalf of the Ministry of Economy and Labour and the Bermuda Business Development Agency. And, Madam
Chairman,
• Organised the MOU [memorandum of under-standing] between the Ministry of Economy
and Labour and the Emirates Family Office Association, which is in the process of setting up
a Bermuda branch for 2024 quarter 3, quarter 4 delegation visits.
Madam Chairman, also included with Professional Services is $264,000 relating to the PATI and PIPA Requests unit. Bermuda must operate in an international privacy landscape which is evolving dramatically. The advice and support of information and pri-vacy p rofessionals is critical to our PATI and PIPA unit.
As previously mentioned PIPA will soon be coming into
force, which requires strategic programming and policy
development, creation of guidance tools and templates,
304 20 March 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate as well as other initiatives and advice. This budget item
includes professional and legal fees for local and overseas support for the PATI and PIPA unit.
Madam Chairman, also included is $190,000
for Bermuda’s CARICOM contribution; $164,000 for all board and committee fees, a cross section of the Cabinet Office; and small contractor fees in such areas of
protocol as foreign offices, head of public service as
well as within policy and strategy. A total of $150,000 is
held within the administrative cost centre for unforeseen occurrences, which understandably is a regular occurrence within the Cabinet Office, whether legal in
nature or unexpected- but-urgent mat ters requiring professional expertise.
Madam Chairman, $125,000 has been budgeted for the Wellness Programme, which will be
touched on further within this brief, contained under those initiatives falling under the umbrella of the head
of public service.
Finally, $120,000 has been set aside for the
Public Sector Negotiating Team [PSNT]. These are
non-public officers who represent the government at
the negotiating table with our union partners. The
PSNT is supported by public officers who are not members of their respective unions. They are charged with
negotiating. Relatedly, in the industrial relations space,
former industrial relations programmes and partnership
activities will be strengthened to build on the successful round of negotiations concluded in fiscal 2023/24 with
the Bermuda Industrial Union, the Bermuda Public Ser-vices Union, the Prison Officers Association, the Fire Services Association and the Bermuda Union of Teachers. Agreements were reached with all of these bodies
in the best interests of the employees as well as the
government.
The formal industrial relations activities
planned for 2024/25 will include
• the identification of working groups to advance
commitments reached as a part of the negotiations process; and
• formalising the Central Consultative Commit-tee process and, where applicable, adding
members who might add valuable contributions in partnering on employee programmes designed to reach specific members of various
bargaining units.
We are committed to a productive and harmonious
workplace.
Madam Chairman, returning to the variances.
The remaining material variance is seen in Grants and
Contributions, the last line item, which shows an allocation of $75,000 (decreased by $19 million from
$540,000 from 2023/24). As mentioned earlier, this is
due to the transfer out of the tourism grant of $19 million, along with the cultural and entertainment support grant of $540,000, now both more suitably housed
within the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport.
Madam Chairman, as highlighted on page C -
17 of the Budget Book, the Cabinet Office continues to maintain the Natural Disaster/Hurricane relief fund, now at $25,000, as well as two youth grants amounting
to $50,000 [comprising of] $25,000 to Future Leaders
and $25,000 in education grants.
Madam Chairman, also on page B -43, please
note that the $114,000 increase seen under programme 0902, Economic Policy and Foreign Affairs, is
a result of minor operational increases throughout the
foreign offices, with the exception, Madam Chairman,
of a one- off $50,000 increase to the Brussels Office allocation which relates to the events currently being
planned for the 15
th year London Office anniversary,
coinciding with the 5th year anniversary of the representation in Brussels.
Overall reductions seen under the Subjective
Analysis line items on page B -44 such as Professional
Services, Rentals, and Repair and Maintenance lessen the impact of the Foreign Office increases and ensure
no effect to the bottom line.
Madam Chairman, turning to page B -45 in relation to employee numbers, we see a total decrease of
three full -time [equivalents] in 2024/25 compared to the
original [FTE] estimate in 2023/24. This results from the
net effect of the transfer out of five FTEs, four within
business unit 19065, Regulatory and Policy Hotel Administration transferred to the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport; and one relating to the defunding of a
vacant post within business unit 19015, Policy & Strat-egy. These five reductions are netted against an increase within the General Administration business unit
19000. The funding of two vacancies, one PS post as well as one administrative assistant, resulted in the bottom line decrease of three FTEs.
You will note, however, that General Administration shows an increase of three as opposed to the
stated two FTEs. Madam Chairman, this additional FTE
is merely an internal result of a transfer in of a post cur-rently housed under business unit 19040, Ministry Administra tion, to the General Administration business
unit 19000. You will note that this serves as explanation
for the decrease in business unit 19040—again,
Madam Chairman, having no effect on the bottom line.
Madam Chairman, if we quickly turn back to page B -43,
the same post transfer -out corresponds to the $90,000
decrease seen under programme 0903, Government Reform, business unit 19040, Ministry Administration.
Madam Chairman, in relation to capital expenditure, you will note that in accordance with page C -
4, there are no funds allocated for capital development
for 2024/25 or within capital acquisition, as seen on page C -9.
Madam Chairman, I shall now turn my attention
to Performance Measures. The measures developed for the Cabinet Office are found on pages B -46 and B -
47. Most of these measures outlined in 2023/24 have been or are anticipated to be realised by May 31 [sic]
of this year, with continuance throughout the 2024/25
period. Madam Chairman, kindly allow me to expound
further upon a few of the measures.


Bermuda Senate As seen on page B -46 within business unit
19015, Policy and Strategy (also known as PSS), all
targets set were achieved in terms of response rate to
both policy advice and service requests. The unit also
continued to monitor and evaluate the progress of t he
annual Throne Speech initiatives. Madam Chairman, in
2023 addition contained 48 initiatives and more than a
dozen Bills with responsibility for implementation of
these spread across all ministries. Progress is tracked
and collated by the PSS for future reporting purposes
and to show value for money spent implementing each
initiative.
It should be noted that not all Throne Speech
initiatives were expected to be completed during the fis-cal year, and therefore some information would naturally be phased out (or naturally be phased). In addition
to evaluating the Throne Speech initiatives, Madam
Chairman, the unit also provided
• training on making public policy to senior officers participating in the Executive Leadership
Development Programme that forms part of the
succession planning initiatives led by the Department of Employee and Organizational Development;
• strategic and technical guidance to the Cabinet
Office as well as weekly support to the Public
Service Executive (also known as the PSE) to
ensure proper recording and ongoing progress with public and administrative policy initiatives;
• strategic and technical advice on the development of public policies across ministries;
• training for officers via workshops on writing
cabinet memos;
• valuable assistance to the Public Service Negotiating Teams during their latest round of negotiation with the six unions and/or [associations] representing the government workforce. The PSS ensured that negotiations with the
Government for two of the negot iating entities
were fully and accurately recorded and ac-counted for and provide strategic support, research and guidance as needed by the Public
Service Negotiating Teams, including the lead
negotiators; and
• technical and management support to the Project Management Office, which monitors, rec-ords and reports on the progress with the 30
initiatives contained in the Economic Recovery
Plan.
PSS also performed the important function of
Information Officer for the Cabinet Office, a function that ensured that the public authority, Cabinet Office, was compliant with its legal obligations as outlined in
the Public Access to Information Act [PATI]. Under the
Act, all public authorities are required to report annually
to the Information Commissioner’s Office on the scope
and status of PATI requests, as well as ensure that the
information statement is accurate. Madam Chairman, as seen on page B -43, Policy and Strategy, business unit 19015, has been allocated $666,000 for 2024/25, a decrease of $53,000 below the current budget. The decrease is mainly a result
of the defunding of the administrative assistant post that became vacant during 2023/24, previously mentioned under the employee numbers explanation. With
the 2024/25 allocation, the unit will continue to provide
the necessary guidance and support outlined in the
2023/24 highlights.
Madam Chairman, back to page B -46 under
business unit 19020, Safety and Health. You will note
that in 2023/24 two safety and health audits were undertaken. One audit involved an inspection of the
Tynes Bay Facility that included a thorough examination of i ts past self -inspections, as well as an examination of the systems used to track implementation progress in addressing any identified issues. This review
process is crucial, Madam Chairman, in ensuring regulatory compliance, enhancing operational efficienc y
and maintaining safety standards at the power plant. The audit also included the following:
• reviewing manuals and operational procedures
of the facility;
• reviewing an inventory of all fire equipment on site;
• discussing storm water management, and establishing and implementing practices for outside loading and unloading of liquid materials.
This aims to prevent spills and contact between liquid materials and storm water runoff;
and finally, Madam Chairman,
• reviewing the Contingency and Emergency
Response Plan, focusing mainly on the steps
taken in emergency situations occurring during operations.
Madam Chairman, looking at the second
measure, safety policies and programmes development to enhance safety management systems, I am
pleased to report that there has been an increase in
safety communications sent out to health and safety
committees to hel p re-energise participation. Feedback
from the materials shared monthly has been positive
from the departments. For the year 2023, the Drug and
Alcohol Procedures and Guidance document was focused on. The Drug and Alcohol policy has been ap-proved, with nex t steps ensuring that the National Drug
Control, the government -led DEOD [Department of
Employee and Organizational Development] and all unions have reviewed the D&A [Drug and Alcohol] Procedures document.
This procedures document, Madam Chairman,
will aid in implementation of the policy and training re-quired for public officers. The training material will be
produced by DEOD, the Department of Health and the
National Drug Control. The training will have a similar
rollout such as the Public Service Standards training, utilising in- person training, video- and web- based
306 20 March 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate methods for ensuring all employees have correct information.
The third measure, level of completion of workplace and building inspections, involved inspections in
2023 of various departments such as the Registrar General, Cabinet Building, Devonshire Preschool,
Hamilton Health Centre and Southside Government
Labs, to name a few.
Finally, Madam Chairman, the last measure, to
increase compliance rate. Cabinet Office is pleased to
inform that Health and Safety training was continued in 2023 to enhance safety education within the public service. The OSH [occupational safety and healt h] officer
has requested that safety orientation be included in the
onboarding process for new employees to help set the
tone for the organisational safety culture. This includes
the Health and Safety Policy slide at the onset of em-ployee orientation, show ing the organisation’s commitment to health and safety. The policy helps to foster
positive attitudes toward safety and highlights the organisation’s direction toward providing and maintaining working conditions that are safe and free from recognisable haz ards and risks to the safety, health and well -
being of all workers.
Training will continue in 2024/25 to engage
staff with the rules and laws that govern health and safety, such as the Occupational Safety and Health Act
1982 and the OSH Regulations 2009. Madam Chair-man, three main courses were provided:
• Introduction to Occupational Health and
Safety;
• Accident in Workplace Investigation; and
• The Health and Safety Committee Training.
New courses, such as Chemical Safety, will also be added to the list for 2024/25. You will note that as the
health and safety culture increases within the departments, the target number naturally decreases as more employees are engaged in health and safety training.

While we pause, I will remind that this
is a two -hour allotment for these heads. So we finish at
4:00.
Thank you, Minister.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam
Chairman,
Madam Chairman, directly below Safety and
Health, you will note that business unit 19035, the Lon-don Office, has achieved the ongoing 2023/24 objective set with plans continuing throughout the upcoming 2024/25 budget year. If we turn, Madam Chairman,
back to page B -43, it is seen under Economic Policy
and Foreign Affairs that the office has been allocated
$1,235,000 for the 2024/25 fiscal year. Madam Chair-man, this year the [London] Office celebrates 15 years
of service to Bermuda as the official representative of
the Government in the United Kingdom. A pivotal function of the office continues to be the maintenance of our
relationship with the United Kingdom through the highest levels of dialogue within the UK Government and by continuing engagement with departments of His
Majesty’s Government across Whitehall.
The office works in cohesion with governments
of the Overseas Territories on shared policy areas and continues to engage with the UK Parliament; the UK
Diplomatic Corps such as embassies and high commissions; the United Kingdom Overseas Territories Association; the Commonwealth Secretariat; along with all
UK-based Commonwealth associations; the general
UK public to include the private sector, civil society and those who have a general or vested interest in Bermuda; and finally, Bermudians living in the UK, including students.
Madam Chairman , the London Office continues to provide the necessary immediate assistance
and guidance to its consular function to Bermudians liv-ing and studying in the UK and throughout Europe. With
the increase in Bermudians relocating to the UK, the
London Office has experienced an increased number
of consular cases and as such will be looking to in-crease its level of resources and personnel, starting
with the creation of additional posts reporting to the
Cabinet Office.
Madam Chairman, as you know, the Brussels
Office is overseen by the Government’s Senior Advisor
of European Affairs and Policy, and we see that for 2024/25 on page B -43, the office has been allocated
$393,000.
Madam Chairman, at this time I would like to
take the opportunity to extend my thanks to all of the
staff at the Cabinet Office for their ongoing contributions and dedication to serving the people of Bermuda.
Madam Chairman, that concludes my presentation on Head 9.

[Pause]
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam Chairman, just
give me one second.

[Pause]

HEAD 13 —BERMUDA POST OFFICE

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam Chairman, I
would like now to move to Head 13, the Bermuda Post
Office. Madam Chairman, I present the budget for
Head 13, the Bermuda Post Office, found on pages B -
48 through B -54 of the Budget Book.
Madam Chairman, the Bermuda Post Office is
governed by the Post Office Act 1900, the Post Office
Regulations 1933 and the Post Office Departmental
Administration Regulations 1933. Postal services are
provided from the General Post Office (known as the
GPO), located on Church Street and Parliament Street,
the Mail Processing Centre (also known as the BMPC)
and located at New Venture House on Mills Creek. Currently the Post Off ice operates seven sub- Post Offices


Bermuda Senate located throughout the Island. Sub- Post Offices are located in Crawl, Devonshire, Flatts, Mangrove Bay,
Southampton, St. George’s and Warwick.
Madam Chairman, the overall mission of the
Post Office is To provide all residents of Bermuda with an affordable, reliable and accessible postal service
that is also customer focused. The Bermuda Post Office is a member of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) and works to ensure that it meets its universal service obligations as Bermuda’s national postal service pro-vider. The Post Office is 212 years old and was the first to offer domestic letter, parcel and package delivery
services. It is 100 per cent Bermudian and continues to
provide postal products and services as a cost -effective
alternative.
Madam Chairman , the Post Office continues to
meet its local delivery standards. That is, it delivers
98 per cent of all local and international letter mail received into Bermuda within four working days and delivers all customer notifications of international parcels, packages and express mail, to advise the addressee of the mail arriving in to Bermuda in their name within two
working days (most of the time).
Madam Chairman, as a UPU member, the Post
Office meets its international requirements, expecta-tions and standards in delivery. The Post Office has passed both security and process standards certifica-tion by the UPU. In fact, Madam Chairman, the Bermuda Post Office is gold certified for mail security. Bermuda also sits on the management board of the Carib-bean Postal Union (CPU) and currently chairs its task force to modernise its constitution and regulations. The Post Office’s disaster risk management pl an and attributes are also being used as part of a pilot project to help determine the disaster risk management certification
and credentials for the Universal Postal Union. As the
Bermuda Post Office was first in the region for security
certification, they have been deemed (though unoffi-cially now) DRM certified and should receive a gold cer-tificate in May.
Benefits of membership in the CPU include access to postal benchmarks, best practices and align-ment with regional postal administrations to help grow the postal industry and to build resilience. Bermuda Post Office staff also benefit from training and dev elopment opportunities as regional and UPU workshops are
held.
Madam Chairman, annually traditional letter
mail is declining and the Post Office needs to retool and
to reinvent itself to remain relevant. This means provid-ing a balanced approach between service offerings based on taxpayer funding received and providing an
efficient and quality service. For example, MyBermudaPost was implemented in November 2021 to help in-crease revenues for the Post Office. Membership now stands at 4,000 local residents, entrepreneurs and many small to mid- size businesses. I will repeat that
again, Madam Chairman: Membership now stands at
4,000 residents, entrepreneurs and many small to mid-size businesses. Its homepage also encourages residents to shop locally.
Residents can continue to visit
www.bermudapost.bm t o track -and-trace incoming and outgoing
parcels, packages, registered mail items and letters containing merchandise and goods. Residents can
open an online account to make mail forwarding services smoother and can find information on all postal products and services on the Post Office website.
Stamp collectors and interested parties can also utilise the Post Office [philatelic] link on the website to buy re-tail items, physical stamps and first day covers.
Madam Chairman, the Bermuda Post Office
comprises the Administration Division and the Opera-tions Division. The Administration Division includes Ad-ministration, Finance, Information Technology, [Phila-telic Services] and Quality Assurance. The Operations Division is made up of the Bermuda Mail Processing
Centre [BMPC], the General Post Office [GPO], SubPost Offices and the Facilities and Procurement De-partment.

Expenditure Overview
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam Chairman, as indicated on pages B -49 and B -50 of the Budget Book
the Bermuda Post Office has been allocated a total of $9,620,000 for the financial year 2024/25. This amount reflects an increase of $335,000, or 3.6 per cent, from
the original [2023/24] budget allocation of $9,285,000. The percentage difference as has been stated in other budget briefs represents negotiated salary increases effective 1 April 2024 and related staff salary increment changes.
Madam Chairman, you will note on page B -50
that Salaries and Wages continue to be the largest item at 81 per cent of total expenditure. The total estimate of salaries and wages for 2024/25 is $7,820,000. While full-time equivalents remain at 125 staff members. For
2023/ 24, full -time equivalents were revised to 125
against the prior year as Post Office staff retire or resign due to an ageing workforce. To offset, staff are reas-signed and operations are maintained by making pro-cesses efficient and more effec tive.
Back onto page B- 50 you will note that Operational Expenses for the Bermuda Post Office make up
the remaining 19 per cent of the expenditure for
2024/25. The major operational expenses included in
the Post Office budget include inflation and market in-creases in rent, repairs and maintenance, energy costs, and materials and supplies.
Training cost for the 2024/25 budget is static at
$20,000, as the Post Office continues to commit and encourage staff to train, enrol and take advantage of online job- related courses to develop and improve
technical skills.
Communication expenses is estimated to be
$72,000 [for 2024/25], with no change from the 2023/24
revised total. This expenditure includes telephone
308 20 March 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate rental equipment, local and overseas calls, GPS devices and mobile devices for couriers and customer
communications in delivery.
Madam Chairman, Rental expense for the
2024 /25 budget cycle remains at $396,000. The allocation represents rent for the Post Office Mail Processing
Centre, [which is located at ] New Venture House, Mills
Creek, at current market rate.

[Pause]

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Just a second. I am just
trying to get to a specific spot.
Madam Chairman, the Bermuda Post Office
has a unique responsibility to provide a postal service.
That service is expected to be efficient and provide taxpayers with value and quality service.
From a revenue perspective, the total revenue
estimate for 2024/25 can be found on page B -51 and is
$2,829,000. This is an increase of $181,000, or 7 per
cent, from the 2023/24 versus the revised amount of $2,648,000, as the postal industry struggles to r eturn to
pre-COVID -19 mail volumes and resulting revenues.
Madam Chairman, the main revenue source
for the Bermuda Post Office continues to be Frankpost or postal meter sales, bulk mail, Post Office Box rentals, terminal dues revenue and general stamp sales.
Madam Chairman, Post Office Box rental fee
revenue projections are estimated to be $419,000 for
2024/25. Compared to 2023/24 revised revenue of
[$369,000], or a 14 per cent increase. The Post Office
continues to market PO Box usage as an affordable,
secure and private 2 4-hour service. PO Box late penalty fees are estimated to be $29,000 for 2024/25.
Terminal Dues, or mail revenue received from
international postal administrations for the Post Office
to deliver mail received into Bermuda is conservatively estimated to be $250,000. As the letter mail product
shrinks annually, terminal dues, receipts received, decreases. It is hoped that the Post Office can continue to
explore other products and services.
Customs Declaration Fees, namely MyBermudaPost Processing and Post Office front counter service fees are expected to be $523,000, or a 9 per cent
decrease versus the 2023/24 estimate of $574,000. For
2024/25, parcel revenues are estimated to be $75,000.
Madam Chairman, the Other smaller revenue
line items include Mail Handler Licence fees of $45,000, Courier Service fees of $32,000 and Postage
Paid [Indicia] fees of $15,000, among miscellaneous revenue receipts.
Madam Chairman, the Bermuda Post Office
also continues to collect revenue for other government departments. During 2023/24 and as of 31 January
2024, the Post Office collected agency receipts of
$1,176,000. This amount is broken down as follows within the Post Office net work:
• HMS Customs duty collected; • Department of Public Transportation bus
passes, tokens and tickets;
• Department of Education pre- school and after-school vouchers; and
• Department of Environmental Protection dog
licence fees, as well as others.
These collections represent a testament from
residents who still value the service and postal network
that the Post Office provides.

Capital Expenditure
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam Chairman , the
Bermuda Post Office Capital Expenditure budget for 2024/25 can be found on page C -9 of the Capital Acquisition Estimates [Schedule C]. The Bermuda Post
Office has been allocated $15,000 for computer equipment (and you find that on page C -4), Capital Development of $500,000 to renovate the General Post Office
main floor to help improve operational efficiencies and
customer service.
Funds received will also be used to help start
the remedial work and planning to move the Post Of-fice’s mail processing centre to the General Post Office over the next two budget cycles. This significant move
will ensure greater economies of scale, better customer
service overall and improved capacity in staffing.

Plans for the Upcoming Year
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam Chairman, the
Bermuda Post Office’s high level objectives for the next
budget year are
• to modernise the postal legislation to reflect the
changing postal industry both locally and internationally in line with ensuring compliance with
UPU acts and mandates and international laws
concerning mail, electronic data transmissions
and mail data electronic declarations;
• to increase market share to be more relevant
by embracing digitisation and to diversify services for continued growth;
• to introduce new postal products and/or ser-vices; and
• to continue to empower and train staff to serve
customers better.

Madam Chairman, the Bermuda Post Office
plans to have four stamp issues inclusive of the Presen-tation Pack for 2024/25 and a private stamp issue later
this year. The tentative stamp programme will include the following:
• Bermuda Fruits;
• Mary Prince;
• Alternative Bermuda Christmas Trees; and
• Presentation Pack 2024, a combination pack of all of the stamps issued in the year.
Madam Chairman, the Bermuda Post Office is
the only government department that has direct


Bermuda Senate competition that impacts its revenue generation and
services. To remain relevant and to survive, the Post
Office must shift its operating model to embrace or
even reconstruct its universal service obligation to
maintain a postal service that is affordable and accessible to all. I will repeat that once again, Madam Chairman: We have an obligation to maintain a postal service that is affordable and accessible to all. The Post
Office business model, mail delivery and government
policy for the Post Office role continue to be reviewed.
The Bermuda Post Office is meeting most of its
customer service needs. This is evidenced by a customer service survey conducted in January 2023 which
gave the Post Office an overall customer service satisfaction rate of 76 per cent. Other survey responses indicate that 72 per cent of respondents are satisfied with
the Post Office’s MyBermudaPost mail product. Sev-enty-two per cent, Madam Chairman, of respondents
are satisfied with the Post Office’s MyBermudaPost
mail product. [Sixty -five] per cent of respondents are
satisfied with the value for price paid and timeliness of
delivery and 65 per cent feel that the Bermuda Post Office should become more competitive. Sixty -five per
cent, Madam Chairman, feel that the Post Office should become more competitive!
Madam Chairman, from a competitive perspective the Post Office was the first to offer international package and parcel services in Bermuda. E -commerce, such as online shopping and delivery of parcels
and postal packages, are areas where the Post Office
needs to grow to survive.
Additionally, a Post Office analysis of MyBermudaPost customer transactions compared to if they would have used other services since inception is cal-culated to have saved local residents and businesses
almost $1 million in transport and other related cost s.
These savings allow local businesses the opportunity to hire more staff, to pay them better —a trend of serving the people, Madam Chairman —and to grow and increase residential and business disposable income
within Bermuda. Fundamentally, these savings ad d to
the premise and concept of government’s service obligation to its people. May I repeat that, Madam Chairman? Fundamentally, this $1 million in savings add to the premise and concept of government’s service obligation to its people.
By 1 May, a UK address should be in place with
a future start date to be announced and MyBermu-daPost will be a one- stop payment portal soon, meaning quicker post office to residential and business doorstep deliveries. The Post Office’s mail forwarding service will be marketed so small to medium- sized enterprises can sell their products to international customers
via a low price point to ship overseas with reliability in
delivery. During this budget year, the Post Office hopes
to provide residents with access to input mail forward-ing dispatches online, then come to the Post Office to
weigh, pay and ship. For inbound mail items, addressees will be receiving electronic customer notices for arriving mail
items into Bermuda to aid in pickup and delivery, in addition to the use of parcel lockers with 24- hour access.
(Wow! Sounds like Amazon.) I will say that again. For inbound mail items, addressees will be receiving electronic customer notices for arriving mail items into Bermuda to aid in pickup and delivery, in addition to the
use of parcel lockers with 24- hour access. (You know
Bermudians can relate to that , Madam Chairman.) The
Post Office is making processes more efficient as it
strives to provide the best service propositions to its
customers.
Courier and postal transformation has been accelerated to a future norm. Bermuda has one of the
most accurate addressing systems in the world, and
the Post Office, local business and private delivery ser-vices will continue to capitalise on this benefit. F or local
packages, the Post Office’s drop- and-deliver service is
a package pickup and drop off delivery service. Cus-tomers can drop off packages to any office, pay local
postage rates and the Post Office will deliver them
within 24 hours. Alternatively, customers can ask the
Post Office to pick up and deliver pre- addressed packages anywhere in Bermuda within 24 hours at a cost of
only $7.50 each, Madam Chairman, for packages up to
20 pounds.
Madam Chairman, lastly, the Post Office continues to serve the local community in need. They have a general delivery service in the General Post Office so
residents who are homeless and without a home address can use the General Post Office as an address.
Staff served wi thin the community throughout the year,
and each World Post Day staff do volunteer work to
help those in need. Annually, the Post Office has its
own in- house centre and welcomes hundreds of school
children for pictures with Santa Claus and for takeaway
goodies. They also get free postcards to mail to their
parents, guardians and relatives. I can tell you this,
Madam Chairman, that my mail delivery mail -person is
a joy to see coming into the neighbourhood on a daily basis. So I can attest to how she, along with her colleagues, serves our local community.
Madam Chairman, I conclude by thanking the
hard- working and dedicated staff of the Bermuda Post
Office; the Postmaster General, Mr. Samuel Brangman, Jr.; and his senior management team for their
continued commitment to deliver mail and to provide an
efficient postal serv ice. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
That concludes Head 13, the Bermuda Post
Office.

[Pause]

Do you want to proceed with the next
head, 43?

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: No problem.

310 20 March 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate HEAD 43 —DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION AND
DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES

Mission

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam Chairman, I will
now proceed with the Head 43 budget brief, and this is
from page B -60 to page B -63, as well as page C -9 in
the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure Book. And this is related to the Department of Information and Digital Technologies, also known as I DT.
Madam Chairman, it gives me great pleasure
to present the budget Head 43, the Department of Information and Digital Technologies, found on pages B -
B-60 through B -63 of the Budget Book. The mission of
the department is T o provide information and digital
services that streamline processes to facilitate the government’s strategic business objectives .
Madam Chairman, the department seeks to fulfil its mandate by securing and maintaining its IT infra-structure that hosts applications that are used within government departments. IDT will continue to improve
on its security posture. This will provide a safe and secure pl atform to build the future upon. IDT will continue
to provide governance and oversight to monitor and
control the use of key systems. IDT will also provide
analysis tools which will allow for data- driven decision -
making. The department delivers and manages IT and
telecom services used by government departments, as
well as delivers a digital reform solution for select government business processes.
To fulfil its mandate, t he department has nine
business units as shown on page B -60 and they are as
follows:
• Business unit 53000, Administration and Management
• Business unit 53030, Device Support
• Business unit 53035, Network Support
• Business unit 53040, Service Support
• Business unit 53050, Digital Services
• Business unit 53060, Business System Support
• Business unit 53070, System Support
• Business unit 53080, Training
• Business unit 53090, Security

Expenditure Overview

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam Chairman , the
total current expenditure of the Department of Information and Digital Technologies, found on page B -60,
is estimated to be [$8,505,000] for 2024/25. This is an increase of $287,000, a 3.5 per cent [increase] over the
2023/24 budget of $8,218,000.

[Pause]

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: One second, Madam
Chairman. Madam Chairman, the subjective analysis of
current account estimates of the Department of Information and Digital Technologies is found on page B -61.
The focus will be on the line items with the greatest ab-solute change. Please note that most of our budget increase will be in Capital which will be addressed under
the Capital heading.
Consultants line item increased by $141,000,
or 62 per cent, to $370,000 over the 2023/24 budget of
$229,000. This increase is due to the need for additional security staff. Currently there are two security po-sitions. After the cyberattack, IDT needs to have additional security resources.
Salaries, on line item 1, increased by
$348,000, or 7 per cent, due to salary uplifts and [defunding] of four vacant formerly funded posts. These
unfunded posts are Service Analysist Support and Business Analyst and Business Process Analyst.
These posts ar e under the business section and would
have no effect on security. There were also two additional posts which have been filled: Network and System Engineer posts. These two positions are critical to
the long- term operational successes of the department.
Training decreased by $34,500, or 100 per
cent, as there are other critical expenses. To address
the training shortfall, IDT has in place an extensive
online training catalogue which is available for use by all staff members.
Other Personnel Costs decreased by $12,000,
or 20 per cent. The costs include network security and
system staff to be on call for response to issues. Improved systems and enhanced monitoring should minimise risk and result in a reduction of call responses.
Communications decreased by $63,000, or
4 per cent. Communications included data lines and
telephone systems. The decrease is because of system stability and enhanced staff skills.
Rentals decreased by $83,000, or 11 per cent.
The change is because of lower rental costs at Link
Bermuda facility and other sites utilised by the department.
Repair and Maintenance decreased by
$10,000, or 2 per cent. This item includes software
maintenance and application licensing costs.
Capital Expenditure. Madam Chairman, the
Capital Acquisition for the Department of Information
and Digital Technologies, found on page C -9, makes
the provision for new capital expenditure in the amount
of $5,846,000, which is an increase of $2,441,000, or 72 per cent, over the Capital budget for 2023/24 of
$3,405,000.
IDT will be able to launch and complete major
system upgrades to our infrastructure, implement a testing environment, improve systems security with
24/7 monitoring and additional tools to assist with detection and prevention of cyberthreats. This also includes upgrading legacy servers, upgrades to network
switches, upgrades to cabling and our uninterruptible
power supplies (UPS). IDT will also upgrade the ISeries


Bermuda Senate platform as well as improve our backup systems. Investments in our infrastructure will ultimately lay the
groundwork for our digital transformation initiatives.
The 2024/25 budget adjustments in the capital
expenditure affect the following areas:
• Increase the funding for Infrastructure Computers of $200,000 which brings the total Infrastructure Computers budget to $500,000. This
includes replacement workstations, lap- tops,
monitors, inventory, et cetera.
• Development Projects funding was decreased
by $5,000 at $690,000.
• Increase funding for Network Upgrade of
$470,000, which brings the total Network Upgrade budget to $1,000,000. Replacement of current switches, cabling upgrade, network monitoring tools, licences and firewall upgrades. This includes the unified communications and networks costs. The UC costs are for
telephone software, business critical ser -vices,
collaboration support, Cisco room kits and end-points as well as related items — $700,000.
Network costs are Cisco Edge, switch replacements, Cisco total data centr e, network assessments and Cisco Digital Network Architecture Center (DNAC) implementation. These
funds also include the Fortinet equipment systems services and licensing. Our switches are
at the end of life, Madam Chairman. Cabling
and power supplies are outdated, and we need
the additional equipment for monitoring and support. Madam Chairman, an additional
$300,000 is needed for these tasks.
• Increased funding for ISeries Systems —
$325,000 which brings the total ISeries Sys-tems/Servers budget to $555,000. [This would
include] hardware system and software upgrades. This is to purchase an IBM Power10
Server and an additional storage area network
and data access storage devices as our cur-rent system is no longer supported by IBM and
at present it is a significant security risk. This is
significant for our E1 systems.
• Increased funding for Wintel Systems/Servers
of 1,251,000, which brings the total Wintel Systems/Servers budget to $1,601,000. This increase is to upgrade servers, licensing, storage and additional maintenance costs. This
funding will also provide for licences for Office365 which will enable Microsoft Exchange to be moved to a more secure environment and
in the cloud. Our systems are at end of life and
need to be upgraded. This will alleviate many
of the issues that we are currently experienc-ing.
• Government Portal/Website funding remains
the same at $400,000.
• Increased funding for E -Government Initiatives
Digital Reform of $100,000 which brings the total E -Government Initiatives or Digital Reform to a total of $600,000. To support the Government Reform Initiative, these funds will support the digital reform Requests for Proposals
(RFP), Request for Information (RFI), evaluation, onsite demos as well as proof of concept
pilots. This will also include IDT’s assistance with other departmental initiatives such as applications in the cloud and applications that use
artificial intelligence. Yes, Madam Chairman,
AI. IDT will continue to support management
consultant services as the Project Management Office for government reform. Delivery of
100 per cent of the priority initiatives set out in
the Government Reform Strat egic Plan Framework 2019– 2023 were tracked using a cloudbased project management tool, Achieveit.
This system is open to 125 users to monitor
and report on the implementation of the Government Reform Initiative. As a note and to validate government effici ency endeavours,
Achieveit is also being used to project manage other large- scale initiatives inclusive of the
Economic Recovery Plan and the Education Reform Plan. The maintenance of this licence
is $70,000 annually.
• Increased funding for IT Security —$100,000
which brings the total IT Security budget to $500,000. Security is our top priority, Madam
Chairman. I will say that again. Security is our top priority. These additional funds include
software, monitoring, penetr ation testing and
additional tools. Additional security tools include, but are not limited to, extended detection response (XDR), topology mapping and
Fortinet analyser tools, 24/7 monitoring and testing and additional tools also to respond to
cyber incidents.

Manpower

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: The Manpower for the
Department of Digital and Information Technologies is
shown on page B -61 and has increased by one. There
are 49 full -time equivalents in 2024/25, one less than
50 last year. The department is working with the De-partment of Employee and Organizational Development to fill eight additional vacant funded positions to
increase our operational capabilities to meet our mandate. These positions are filled currently with temporary
additionals. Madam Chairman, I am hap py to report
that recruitment for some of our critical posts has been
completed. The Deputy Chief Information Officer, two
Department Relationship Managers, a Network Engi-neer and a Systems Engineer. Two of the remaining
critical positions to be filled inc lude a Chief Systems
Engineer currently filled with a temporary additional.
IDT is working with the DEOD on recruitment
for this critical post. A Security Manager, we are
312 20 March 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate working to upgrade this position with a full Chief Information Security Officer to assist the department with
recommendations, guidance implementation as well as
leading and implementing the security initiatives as it
relates to IT and the government.
Madam Chairman, IDT recruitment programme
is ongoing and will enable us to better manage government’s IT resources and consequently allow us to meet
the department goals. Recruitment will also supplement project management resources and oversight
with resp ect to ongoing government -wide IT projects.
Additional staff will also allow IDT to support a future
digital government and security.

Output Measures

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam Chairman, the
Department of Information and Digital Technologies Performance Measures are found on pages B -62
through B -63 of the Budget Book. Selected indicators
under each of the business units are outlined as follows:

Business Unit 53030 —Device Support

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Indicator: Resolve and
repair service tickets within service level targets. The original forecast for 2023/24 was 80 per cent to be completed with service level targets. Revised forecast for
2023/24 achieved 89 per cent within service level targets due pri marily to staff turnover. The target outcome
for 2024/25 is 90 per cent due in part by filling an additional post and the implementation of modernised device management systems and desktop upgrades.

Business Unit 53035 —Network Support
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Indicator: Network monitoring, resolve repair tickets within service level targets. Original forecast of 2023/24 was 75 per cent. Revised forecast of 2023/24 achieved 75 per cent due to
telephone system stabilisation initiative related to telephone inciden ts. The target outcome for 2024/25 is
likewise 75 per cent.

Business Unit 53040 —Service Support

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Indicator: Manage tickets
and resolve account administration within service level
targets. The original forecast of 2023/24 was 95 per
cent. Revised forecast remains of 2023/24 achieved
95 per cent due in part to a fully manned service desk.
There are other business units such as the business
system support.

Business Unit 53060 —Business Systems Support

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Indicator: Conduct routine monthly service level review meetings with key departments. The original forecast, Madam Chairman, for 2023/24 was 70 per cent. The revised forecast of
2023/24 achieved 60 per cent and the target outcome
for 2024/25 is 70 per cent, due in part to the cyberattack
and the introduction of a new IT governance model.

Minister, I will just interject to say that
there is about 45 minutes remaining. I don’t know if you
are spending time on the performance measures,
whether they can be taken as read to leave enough
time for questions.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Absolutely.
We will talk about business unit 53090.

Business Unit 53090 —Security

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Indicator: Disaster Recovery Exercises planned, and servers checked
monthly. Original forecast for 2024/25 was 100 per
cent. Revised forecast of 2023/24 is zero per cent due
in part to IDT not having additional security staffing and
time. The target outcom e for 2024/25 is 100 per cent,
as all E1 upgrades have been completed and IDT work-ing along with the Accountant General will focus on coordinating and executing a full disaster recovery exercise.

Projects in the Past Year
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam Chairman, here
are some of the projects that took place in the past
year. The following IT projects were accomplished dur-ing the 2023/24 fiscal year:
• Cybersecurity attack investigation and restoration. The Bermuda Government was hit by a
cyberattack during the past fiscal year. This
had a significant impact on services delivered
and moving projects forward as all IT resources were focused on recovery. H owever,
though the systems were impacted, IDT was able to get some things accomplished.
• Portals, automation of the Cabinet memorandum process (phase one), online payment portal, Flu Express and the gov.bm portal up-grade.
• Digital services. The issuance of Smart Government Partner Request for Information (RFI);
assisted with the National Digital Health Strategy; assisted with the Judicial Enforcement
Management System (JEMS) system replacement.
• Business services. A manual mission critical
tool created to assist and prioritise outages after the cyber incident, restoration of ManageEngine for ServiceDesk; assist with the decryption of service and desktops.


Bermuda Senate • ISeries. Maintained 100 per cent uptime for
server platform prior to and during the cyber incident.

Madam Chairman, I would now like to read
out some of the plans for the upcoming year.

Plans for the Upcoming Year

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: The Department of Information and Digital Technologies will continue with the
development of its core services in the upcoming year by focusing on four strategic areas. The following four areas make up our IT strategy:
1. Ensuring a Trusted Environment. Building a
trustworthy and dependable IT infrastructure.
2. A Secure Environment. Security has been and
will continue to be a top priority. IDT will con-tinue to focus on protecting systems, networks
and data from unauthorised access, breaches
and other cyber threats. Due to the recent
cyberattack, IDT will be adding extra resources
such as enhanced monitoring tools to take advantage of artificial intelligence (AI) and staffing to increase our cyber awareness even further. By investing in these resources, we fortify
our defences and maintain vigilance against
potenti al threats, fostering an environment
where safety and security are paramount concerns. IDT will implement a more stringent process to ensure the safety of our stakeholders and systems. By remaining vigilant and adaptable to the evolving cyber threat landsc ape,
IDT stands ready to confront and mitigate
emerging risks effectively.
3. Reliable Environment. Committing to ensuring that IT systems and services are consistently
available and perform well.
4. A Robust Environment. Ensuring that system strength and resilience in the face of chal-lenges are embedded within all that falls under
the IDT purview.
Madam Chairman, IDT has created a draft 18month strategy that lays the foundation to deliver a
more secure environment while increasing operational
stability thereby creating a catalyst for the Digital Reform Initiative in 2024/25.
Madam Chairman, as I close this section, I
think that it is important to note that this Government continues to make investments into technology and
that these investments will yield significant productivity
improvements in future fiscal years. I hasten to also
thank the entire Information and Digital Technologies staff for the service that they continue to provide Bermuda, especially with the multiple challenges and staff
shortages. It is important to repeat that again, Madam
Chairman. I want to thank the entire staff for the service that they continue to provide even in the face of multiple
challenges and staff shortages. They have done a great job, Madam Chairman, over the last year serving the Government and the people. And I commend them
for their efforts.
Thank you, Madam Chairman. This concludes
my budget presentation for Head 43.

Yes. Thank you, Madam
Chairman. And I want to thank the Minister for the brief
and also providing us enough time to get into the questions. And of course, the One Bermuda Alliance also
extends its thanks and gratitude to the staff. Anyone
who has worked in IT knows that it is not an easy job,
and I imagine it was particularly tough for them.
I am going to start off on page B -60, business
unit 53996, Cyber Incident, Madam Chairman. I am going to ask a question, and I would like the Government
to answer the question, or resolve it before we move on to the next questions, because I know sometimes they
can get lost in the wash. Can the Government state if a
ransom was paid, Madam Chairman?

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Is that his question? Because I’m telling you I will answer it for the next 40
minutes.

I would like to comment,
Madam Chairman.
I do not understand what is so complicated. Because he can clearly waffle and waste the Chamber’s
time, and the public could certainly observe how he
chose to waste the public’s time. He could also answer
314 20 March 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate a yes. He can answer a no. He could answer, I am unable to answer for reason “X.”
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Point of order, Madam
Chairman. Point of order. I don’t think —

Do any other Senators have . . .
I see Senator Wight.
Thank you.
Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam Chairman.
Most large private companies outsource cyber
assessment and control the third- party providers on the
basis that cyber is a very complex, unique risk with the
operational risk and reputation of an organisation too
much to assume through internal resources only. So
my one question is: Is there a Government plan for
2024/25 in this regard?
Thank you, Madam Chairman. That is my one
question.

Would any other Senator . . .
Senator Robinson.
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you, Madam Chairman.
I just wanted to support my colleague with a
quick question here on page B -60 under line item 4301,
we have 53090 Security. And I realise that in the revised 2023/24 it is $136,000 less than the 2023/24 original. And it appears as though with $136,000 les s paid
out there in that revised 2023/24 that it might have been
a bit neglected or understaffed. And then we have a
jump of $433,000 in the 2024/25 estimate which suggests that it was indeed underfunded. I just wanted to know whether or not this funding, which was less than the 2022/23 actual and less
than what was budgeted in 2023/24, is what may have
made us slightly more vulnerable to this cyber incident.
Also, over in Employee Numbers (Full -Time
Equivalents), in business unit 53090, there were two in
the actual 2022/23 staff. And we saw that reflected as
well in the 2023/24 original estimate. But we see that
there was only one staff member retained in that
2023/24 revised, and we see the Government is at-tempting to hire again in this Security brief to the origi-nal two.
I just ask this to get a bit of clarity as to whether
or not we were operating, you know, at half -mast in our
security section and this is what may have contributed
as well to our vulnerability to possible cyberattacks and
cyber incidents.
Thank you, Madam Chairman.

Senator Tucker.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam Chairman.
My question comes from page C -9, and that is
with regard to the IDT, all of the things that were named
as far as upgrading systems and equipment. So, my
question really is, that is only half the story, right? So,
to prevent other cyber issues, I would lik e to know what
type of training and cyber prevention plans are planned
for the staff because the staff are oftentimes the greatest defence against a cyberattack.
So what plan . . . we talked a lot about systems
and software and network servers and all that type of
thing. But what is being done for the staff so that they become part of the protection plan?
Thank you, Madam Chairman.

Thank you, Madam
Chairman.
I turn attention to the performance measures
on page B -63, business unit 53090, Security. I believe
I heard that no disaster recovery exercises were done
last year due to staff shortage. Could the Minister inform us how many are planned each year in general? So, how many were planned that year? How many are
planned in the year forward coming? And what is their
frequency —quarterly, twice a year, so forth?
My second question related to that performance measure is: Do those exercises include actually exercising a recovery from the backup systems to ensure that the backups are in fact correctly working?
I am going to, if you allow me, Madam Chairman, move to a different topic while I am asking questions since I believe the Minister expressed the desire
for me to put them all out to him. We have heard that
MyBermudaPost has now saved $1 million for people.
It has been running for a few years. And the past few
budget debates we have asked this question, but


Bermuda Senate based on the statement, it does sound like this year the
Government does have enough information to accurately answer it.
So, the first question is a factual question and
the second question will be a question about the Gov-ernment’s policy which they did get into in the brief, if
you will recall. My question is: On an annual basis, what
are the expenses and revenues allocated to the MyBermudaPost?
Let me just preface this. I know that in the past,
they have talked about how that is complicated to do. But like I said, they seem to have done the math, the
numbers in the brief. And we have heard about other
business units and heads that seem quite capable of
allocating their costs and so forth. So, to repeat the
question, what are the costs or expenses and reve nues
allocated to MyBermudaPost?
The second question: Can the Minister confirm
if it is Government policy that they should be operating
an express parcel post service as a basic government
service even if that entails taking a loss and subsidising with the taxpayers’ money?
My last question of this tranche, Madam Chairman: Turn back to page B -44, business unit 8316, PATI
Fees. There is a $50,000 PATI fee budgeted. Does the Government plan to instate a PATI fee this year? Or
what is behind that $50,000 allocation?
I will take a pause. Thank you, Madam Chairman.

Would any other Senator wish to
speak on these heads?
Senator Wight.
Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam Chairman.
Just for clarification, just looking at the employee numbers, I noted in the Minister’s brief just now that he referenced the understaffing of IT. I just want to
better understand that comment in that the staffing
numbers for the 2022/23 year have been co nstant for
the last two years. Government is not budgeting any additional full time equivalents in the coming year. So,
I would just like some clarification on the reference to the understaffing in prior years that may have caused some disturbances in the IT area.
Thank you, Madam Chairman.

And Minister Darrell, we have half an
hour remaining so if you have any answers to provide at this time.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam
Chairman.
Madam Chairman, I find it a little disingenuous
that the Senator will continue to ask the question that
has been asked in another place multiple times. It was asked in this Chamber yesterday during a F inance debate. The Government has been very transparent as to
answering this particular question on multiple— Sen. Dr. Douglas De Couto: Point of order, Madam
Chairman.

POINT OF ORDER
[Misleading]

He is misleading the Senate. The Government has not been transparent.
Thank you.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam Chairman, we have been transparent in answering the questions. So
I will give you the answer again.
What I cannot seem to understand, Madam
Chairman, is why i t is once again Senator De Couto will
come to this place and grandstand. Because if he
opens the daily that you see, Madam Chairman, [he] will see that the question clearly was answered yesterday, and it was printed in the daily.
But Senator De Couto would waste the people’s time. Instead of hearing important stuff, he wants
me to repeat this same transparent answer that the
Government has given time and time again. Then he
would want to remind me of how much time I have to
answer questions. So I would say, Madam Chairman,
that I am not sure if Senator De Couto actually wants to
hear the majority of the questions that I have to answer today, Madam Chairman.

We are quite keen to
hear the Minister’s answers, Madam Chairman. I would
just like him to understand that.
Thank you.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: I will go back to answering the question, Madam Chairman.
There have been multiple press releases.
There have been M inisterial Statements in another
place. Ministerial S tatements have been done here.
There were meetings that the Government held with
the Opposition. So quite frankly, this is another exercise that Senator De Couto has become very popular
with, and that is the exercise of grandstanding.
So I will answer it one more time. As the Minster has said, as the Premier has said, as Senator
Hodgson said yesterday, the cyberattack of 2023 is still
under active investigation. And I cannot understand,
316 20 March 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Madam Chairman, what part of an active investigation
Senator De Couto does not get.
But I will go even further. As we have been
transparent in saying time and time again, the matter of
the cyberattack in its entirety will be addressed at a joint select committee process. And I do not know if the
members have been selected yet, Madam Chair man.
Senator Doug De Couto is so fixated on this one particular question that his name should be the first on the
list. And then after that he can give us all the suggestions he has, because clearly, he claims to be the smartest guy going in all of the Legislature. Yet —

Please, proceed, Minister Darrell.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you.
So, I hope this time Senator De Couto has
heard the answer because I would hate in tomorrow’s
debate on E ducation or Transport that he decides that
it is appropriate to ask the same question again. And
then he would tell me how much time I have left so the
public can hear all of the wonderful things that the Post Office, IDT and the Cabinet Office are doing to serve the people of Bermuda.
I will go to the questions that I have answers
for as we go through this ( that have been [asked] ). And
I am sorry, Madam Chairman, at this point I do not know who asked them, but I will answer them as I do receive
the answers.
There was a question that was asked regarding page B -60, line item 4301. And it was asked about
if it was $136,000 less than in 2024? Is this reduced
funding? Did it make us more vulnerable to a cyberattack? The answer to that is no, it did not.
Another question was asked in regard to a staff
member that was retained in 2023/24. I think the ques-tion was: Is Government attempting to hire again? Was
Government operating at half -mast in the security section? And could this have contributed to our vulnerabil-ity in the cyberattack? And the answer to that is no,
Madam Chairman.
There was a question on page B -63 regarding
security and how many disaster recovery exercises are usually planned. What is their frequency? Do these exercises include recovery from the backup systems to ensure that they are working? The answer is yes. This
happens twice a year. We have completed some of
these exercises in part. Moving forward, we will be conducting and will continue to conduct two disaster recovery exercises per year.
There was a question on MyBermudaPost: On
an annual basis, what are the expenses and revenues
allocated to MyBermudaPost? The revenues for
MyBermudaPost are clearly stated in the Budget Book,
Madam Chairman. And expenses for MyBermudaPost
are consolidated with all other operating and staff expenses. MyBermudaPost is just another product which
the Post Office provides to its customers and, as I did
say in the brief, Madam Chairman, providing a much -
needed service to the people of this country.
There was a question around, is it Government
policy that we should be operating an express parcel
post service that is in service even though it loses
money? All postal products, as I said, Madam Chairman, are operating at a deficit to ensure the Univers al
[Service] Obligation mandate. And as I did point out in the brief, these are services that are for the public. So ,
there is another one. And I will give you an example. A
local letter costs $3.50 to deliver. And because we are
a service to the people, w e at the Bermuda Post Office
are charging businesses and customers $ 0.50. And as
I said, there are many users in the public who appreci-ate the service that the Government is providing for
them.
There was a question about a PATI fee of
$50,000 . . . sorry, $50. Does Government plan to have
a fee following from 2023/24? The revenue from these
fees is projected to be $50,000. However, amendments to PATI are considered. The projected revenue level
will have to be adjusted accordingly. Once details are
determined and tabled, this information will be communicated.
There was a question about the IDT system upgrades and equipment on page C -9, and it was: To prevent other cyber issues, what type of training and cyber
prevention plans are being planned for staff? IDT are
planning further security training for staff. There are
other things planned, but as Senator De Couto hopefully can appreciate, we are not going to put what those plans are in the public domain due to security concerns, Madam Chairman.

—questions.
On MyBermudaPost . . . I am looking on page
B-51. And I know that the Minister did say that MyBermudaPost revenue is displayed there, but if he could


Bermuda Senate perhaps direct me to the appropriate revenue code, I
would appreciate that.
I want to thank the Minister for confirming that
MyBermudaPost does lose money. And I do actually
have a question on the Frankpost Sales, which I see are budgeted to go from $350,000 this year up to
$600,000. And, given the trends that he was talking
about, could he perhaps help us understand, for example, are they going to raise the postage rates or are they
anticipating an event that will create a new volume of
mail? It is quite a large increase from last year’s budget of $400,000 —50 per cent above that —and an even
higher percentage than what actually came in.
Thank you, Madam Chairman.

Senator Robinson and then Senator
Tucker.
Thanks.
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you, Madam Chairman.
I just have a bit of clarifying supplementals. So,
we see a jump of $433,000 invested in security under
53090. And the Minister’s response was that (and I am
paraphrasing) the funding that was originally delegated did not cause any vulnerabilities to the cyberattack. But
I just wanted to kind of have a follow -up as to if that is
not the case, then this huge jump of $433,000 being
invested in security suggests that it is indeed meant to
bolster security and to fill in some of the gaps that we
may have had t hat led to this cyberattack. So, I just
wanted a bit of clarity as to if that is not the case, then
what is that increased $433,000 for under line item
53090?
And also, a supplemental to another answer
that the Government was not operating at half -mast despite having one employee down from what it had budgeted for. So a supplemental to that would be if , under Employee Numbers (Full -Time Equivalents), business unit 53090, Security , we could get a bit of insight
and clarity as to how the Ministry and that department made up the loss of that additional person and how the
individual employee was able to do the work of two people. As we see, it is budgeted for two, so we have to
assume by that logic that it is optimal for two. So I would
just like some clarity on that please.
Thank you, Madam Chairman.

And Senator Tucker.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam Chairman.
The Minister did mention that they were aware
that the IT systems were nearing the end of their life. So, I just want to know at what point were they aware ,
and what steps were being taken prior to the cyberat-tack to secure the systems? That is one question.
Then also, if we could get some information
around . . . because there was mention about there being the cycle for cyber disaster recovery simulated exercises that happen twice a year. I would be interested to know when the last one was prior to the attack.
Then the third question would be: What or how
. . . when was the last sort of pen test done? The penetration test, he did mention that in his brief. So when
was the last one done prior to the cyberattack?
Thank you, Madam Chairman.

Yes. I think , Senator De Couto, you
had some outstanding questions. Senator Wight has some outstanding questions. So I am hoping Minister
Darrell has some answers.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: All right. So the follow -
up question about MyBermudaPost. Check on page B -
51, object code for revenues will be code 83 . . . hold
on . . . 8312.09. You will see it there. Or maybe it’s . . .
I will get back to that. Hold on. So, it’s 8312.09. That is
where you will find that information.

Thank you.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: The question about
MyBermudaPost. I guess that is another one of Senator
De Couto’s favourite topics. I have thoughts as to why,
but I will leave that alone for today, Madam Chairman.
MyBermudaPost is priced competitively for the
market. Without it, the Bermuda Post would be another
$350,000 in deficits. The Post Office continues to look
for more revenue streams to offset the deficits in accordance with the Universal [Service] Obligation.
Just going back to the other one where it does
say, “Customs Declaration Fee. ” That is correct. That
is where Senator De Couto would find it. It comes under
customs. The E1 coding is called “customs .”

[Pause]
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam Chairman, when
was the last penetration test done? And you know, I
understand, Madam Chairman, because you sit in the
318 20 March 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Chamber as well. And you know, we are used to a lot
of the political posturing that comes from the other side.
So I know why they are trying to dig in on these questions . But we all do have cyber security and Bermudians at heart. These type of questions . . . they would
know —especially Senator De Couto would know —that
when you start asking specific questions about the se-curity of your systems, it actually makes you more vu lnerable.

I do have a P hD in Computer Science and specifically in computer networking.
And I believe it is well understood in the security world that, often, more information can create security by ensuring that people have the right information and know
that the right processes and procedures are being followed. Normally, this security by obscurity as they call it—
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam Chairman, I know he wants to take up the rest of the time, but I am
going to answer his question.

Okay. I am mindful of that. There are
about six minutes remaining for questions. So let’s see
if we can get through the remaining questions.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Senator De Couto, while
we are so grateful for you to remind us of your credentials and that you have a P hD in this section, I would go
on to say that the professionals that work in the IDT . . .
maybe they can hire you.
But nonetheless, Senator Tucker, your question was: When was the last penetration test done before the cyberattack? And from the security experts and
the IDT, as a Government, we prefer not to answer that
question at this time due to putting the security c oncerns in the public domain. And we do not want to, you
know, put ourselves out to any further vulnerability. So
that is a question that, you know, we are not going to
answer at this time.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Madam Chairman.

Senator Tucker.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Point of information.

POINT OF INFORMATION

Sen. Robin Tucker: The date of a past penetration test, I do not see how that would be any kind of security
risk. If the Minister could explain.
Thank you.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: I will be happy to explain,
Madam Chairman, that as I said at the beginning, this is a full- fledged investigation that is going on. And I
think maybe Senator Tucker could put her name down
along with the P hD in computer systems, Senator Doug
De Couto, and they could both be on that joint select
committee so that they can let us all know how we can
bolster up our security. But you know, in the few moments that I have left, I want to give some of the answers to the public, Madam Chairman.
There was a question from Senator Robinson.
I was happy to hear from him today. He was a little quiet
over there today. Nice. So the $433,000 in Security, it
was asked: Why was that increased? And as he would
know , and I am sure his colleague, the P hD in computer
sciences , would let him know that security in the IDT
world is an ongoing initiative and we will ever improve
our posture as new threats present themselves. We need to be able to continue to invest further. So that
$433,000 [increase] does not hav e anything to do with
what happened in the past. And all of that will be discussed in the . . . again, I will repeat it for those who
might be just tuning in. That will be addressed . . . because the One Bermuda Alliance has difficulty under-standing this. That will all be addressed in the joint select committee process when we do a full investigation
of this cyberattack of last year. So, I hope that answered Senator Robinson’s question as far as the
$433,000.
I am going back up to the questions that probably have been answered previously. One s econd.

A reminder, my question
about the contracts or the breakdown of the costs underneath the cyber incident —
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Yes, that is a very large
question. And we are working on getting the answer to
that. I am not sure if we will get it in the next two
minutes. But we are working on that very feverishly for
you right now, Senator De Couto.


Bermuda Senate Sorry. I must have lost it here. Senator Wight’s
question was on staffing?

Do you want to just briefly repeat —

Sen. John Wight: There was one on . . . well, I guess
the first one I asked was: Is there a plan for 2024/25 to
have an independent cyber expert assess the cyber
risk of the Government’s systems, in that cyber is a very
complex and unique risk and we cannot —

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Yes, I think I touched on
that in the brief. I believe I did talk about that as to what
we are doing as far as consultants to assist us with that.
Sen. John Wight: What I heard was a lot of internal
resources are being used for this purpose, which is very
helpful. But I was curious as to whether there is going
to be an independent third- party cyber risk assessment
to ensure that what happened in 2023 will not happen
again.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Again, we are not going
to get into the details of answering those security issues
in public and what our strategies are going to be. But rest assured that they will be looking at all angles as to
how to improve the security of the Government’s IT infrastr ucture.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: We are not going to s ay
due to security concerns.
Yes, Madam Chairman, that I think is all the answers that I have for her at this time. Again, there are
some that are outstanding that we are still researching and trying to get.

Okay. So I think we are now at time,
and my understanding is that you will provide the answers that you have indicated to the Senators that
asked. Is that what I have heard you say? You are researching and that you will get the answers .

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: I said that they were researching and unfortunately that the time allotted, as
you just said, has run out.

Yes.
Senator, would you like to move these heads?

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Yes, Madam Chairman,
I would.
Madam Chairman, I move the following heads:
Head 9, Cabinet Office; Head 13, Post Office; Head 43,
Department of Information and Digital Technologies be now taken under consideration . . . sorry , be approved
as printed. Sorry.
I move that heads 9, 13, and 43 be approved
as printed.

Senators and the listening audience,
we will continue with the last debate today , which is the
Ministry of Youth and Seniors. Heads for debate under this Ministry are Head 86, Ministry of Youth, Social Development and Seniors Headquarters; Head 23, Department of Child and Family Services; and Head 55,
Financial Assistance.
The number of hours allocated to these heads
are three. The Senator in charge is Lindsay Simmons.
The start time is 4:03 so we will finish on or before 7:03.
Senator, how do you wish to proceed?

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, I move that the following heads:
Head 86, the Ministry of Social Development and Seniors Headquarters; Head 23, Child and Family Services; and Head 55, Financial Assistance be now taken
under consideration.

Thank you, Senator.
Please proceed.

MINISTRY OF YOUTH, SOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT AND SENIORS

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, I am pleased
to present the 2024/25 budget estimates for the Ministry of Youth, Social Development and Seniors which
320 20 March 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate comprises the Headquarters, inclusive of Ageing and
Disability Services, the K. Margaret Carter Centre, the
Office of Youth Affairs, the Department of Child and
Family Services and the Department of Financial Assistance.
Mr. Chairman, three hours have been allocated
for this Ministry and I will now do my best to give time
to the Opposition to ask questions or seek clarification
on the fiscal year 2024/25 Estimates of Revenue and
Expenditure for the Ministry. As a note, the Opposition
was given the opportunity to send questions in advance so that the answers could be provided but none were
received.
Mr. Chairman, the Ministry focused on many
national priorities during the last budget year which are
ongoing and will continue in the upcoming 2024/25
budget year. I will briefly highlight these as follows:
Mr. Chairman, ensuring the best interest protections and safeguarding of our children is crucial. The
National Child Safeguarding Committee which falls under the remit of the Ministry of Youth, Social Develop-ment and Seniors, finalised its National Child S afeguarding Policy entitled “Working Together to Safeguard Children.” Children’s needs should be at the
heart of a safeguarding system; therefore, a child- centred and coordinated approach to safeguarding children was adopted. This approach, which is reflec ted in
the policy, encourages the collaboration of [ multiple ]
agencies through the sharing of information and the undertaking of robust risk assessments. Mr. Chairman,
the main objectives of the National Child Safeguarding Policy are to strengthen
• the legislative framework;
• the collaboration framework; and
• the community protection framework.
The policy provides a guide for the National
Child Safeguarding Committee, stakeholders and the community to further enhance child safeguarding
measures in Bermuda, which places the country in a
better position to report on compliance with the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Mr. Chairman, during fiscal year 2023/24, the
Ministry also released a five- year National Plan for
Adults with Intellectual Disabilities and their Families
[National ID Plan]. To facilitate and underscore meaningful inclusion for persons with disabilities, an accessible easy -to-read version and an audio recording of
this version of the national plan is also available in the
public domain. This national plan aims to examine our
services and support for adults with intellectual disabil-ities to ensure that they are at the standard or moving
toward key standards identified in the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Mr. Chairman, the National ID Plan identifies
five priority areas of action:
1. Quality Support and Services;
2. Training and Education for Support Workers;
3. Policy, Regulations and Accountability;
4. Financing; and 5. Advocacy and Communication.
These priority areas are guided by the principles of rights, independence, choice and inclusion.
Mr. Chairman, the Ministry established the National Intellectual Disabilities Plan Steering Committee
so that a coordinated approach is undertaken when
working through the action tasks. This multi -ministry
steering committee includes 13 members inclusive of
the chair, who represents various sectors in the community —that is, government ministries, departments,
organisations, non- profits and persons with disabilities.
Mr. Chairman, last year you may recall that
Bermuda’s first -ever Gender Affairs Council was established comprising 10 members who collectively bring a
depth of knowledge, skills and experience relevant to
gender issues in Bermuda, and who represent nonprofit civil society organisations and entrepreneurs. Mr. Chairman, the Council has completed its Terms of Reference that sets out the purpose, role, expectation and
duties of the Council to further the advancement of gender affairs in Bermuda. The Council has also submitted
recommendations to the Ministry on what could assist
the advancement of gender affairs in Bermuda and a
work plan that will guide the Council in achieving their
intended deliverables during the upcoming fiscal year.
Mr. Chairman, to raise further awareness in our
community and educate the public about gender -based
violence, in November 2023 the Ministry participated in
the observance of the United Nations International Day
for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and organised its second awareness campaign for gender -
based violence with information tables set up at Washington Mall [in Hamilton]. The United Nations theme was UNITE! Invest to prevent violence against women
and girls .
Mr. Chairman, this collaborative partnership
between the Government and key agencies representing women advocates such as the Centre Against
Abuse, One Love Foundation and the Women’s Resource Centre is to address and prevent violence
against women and gir ls. At the campaign, the Ministry
distributed safe sound personal alarms used as a form
of protection if someone should feel threatened or in
danger. The Ministry endeavours to continue to educate the public about matters concerning gender affairs to empow er our women, girls, men and boys to eliminate gender -based violence within our community,
which many times gets overlooked.
Mr. Chairman, the Ministry continues to be involved in the United Nations Joint Sustainable Development Goals [SDG] Fund Programme entitled Building Back Equal through Innovative Financing for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment. The joint
programme ai ms to help diversify Bermuda’s economy
by supporting the growth of new opportunities for small businesses. This approach aims to empower women,
youth and persons with disabilities to engage in key economic industry sectors.


Bermuda Senate Mr. Chairman, this [fiscal] year 2023/24, a delegation from the UNDP Multi -Country Office in Jamaica
and UN Women Caribbean made two mission trips to
Bermuda. The first visit in October 2023 involved the
following:
• the re- engagement of project partners and
stakeholders to progress continued buy -in and
successful implementation of the programme;
• validation of the draft curriculum and implementation plan for the Gender [Equitable] Finance and Accelerator Programme;
• meetings with ministers for cross -ministry initiatives;
• training for public sector officers and financial
institutions; and
• meetings with the Ministry to explore other programming opportunities in Bermuda.
Mr. Chairman, the second mission trip in February 2024 was highly targeted in that three consultants
as hired by UN Women engaged in several meetings in their efforts to conduct assessments of Bermuda, focusing on businesses owned by women, youth and per-sons with disabilities. The data collected will fee d into
the work of the joint programme. These assessments
included the following:
1. a feasibility assessment on financing mechanisms for gender equality;
2. a needs assessment of financing tools and instruments; and
3. a training needs assessment on climate- and
shock -resilient needs of businesses.
Mr. Chairman, the Ministry continues to partner
with the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation [BEDC] which is the government’s expert agency in the areas of micro, small and medium- sized enterprises
[MSMEs] as we work with our UN Women and UNDP partners to undertake these assessments and progress this joint programme project, which is a momentous opportunity for Bermuda.
Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to share some of
the core initiatives the Ministry has been working
through in collaboration with other entities for the social
betterment of the community.
The Ministry collaborated with the charitable
organisation HOME and the Homelessness Advisory Panel to review a work plan to end homelessness in
Bermuda. On World Homelessness Day, 10 October
2023, a community survey was launched to gather data
on the publ ic’s views about homelessness in Bermuda,
which would feed into strengthening the homelessness work plan that had been developed. Subsequently, the
Homelessness Advisory Panel undertook a thorough
review of the draft Plan to End Homelessness in Bermuda. [T he draft plan] was later made public from December 2023 to February 2024 for the general public to
review and give their views on the recommended action
items for ending homelessness. This work will continue into the 2024/25 fiscal year. Mr. Chairman, the Ministry is committed to putting in place solutions to bridge the gaps in services for our seniors. While the National Seniors Strategy is still
being developed, in October 2023 the Ministry
launched a six -month Dementia Care Services Pil ot
Programme to ensure persons living with dementia
who are uninsured or under -insured have access to the
core dementia care community support services. In
monitoring the dementia care services provided to
date, the pilot programme is meeting a definite ne ed as
the number of clients has steadily increased. Therefore, funding has been secured in the upcoming fiscal
year to continue the pilot programme which will be ultimately sustained as the National Seniors Strategy is
implemented.
Mr. Chairman, as per the Children Act 1998,
litigation guardians are appointed by courts to be the voice of the child. In essence, litigation guardians serve
in a statutory role of safeguarding the interest of children. As of December 2023, there were 29 active litigation guardian cases. Of this total, 27 were new cases
for 2023 and 20 cases were closed by the end of the
year. The closure of cases within 12 months is evidence of the strengthening of the Ministry’s Framework
for Litigation Guardians. For thi s upcoming fiscal year
2024[/25], the Ministry has set aside $150,000 to support the framework, which will cover the cost of litigation guardian services and the appointment of legal counsel
by the courts for children.
Mr. Chairman, the monies budgeted for this
Ministry for the past fiscal year have been invested in steering programmes and initiatives that have and will
directly impact for the better our vulnerable populations across their lifespan.
Mr. Chairman, I will now move on to the summary of the [fiscal] year 2024/25 current account budget estimate for the Ministry of Youth, Social Development and Seniors, which is found on page B -287 of
the Approved Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for th e year 2024/25. The Ministry’s total budget estimate for the fiscal year 2024/25 is $85,295,000. Mr. Chairman, this represents an increase of $4,735,000,
or 6 per cent, compared to the original estimate of
$80,560,000 for [fiscal] year 2023/24. Mr. Chairman, the breakdown of the Ministry’s current account budget estimate for 2024/25 by head as shown on page B -287
is as follows:
• Head 86, Ministry Headquarters, $11.494 mil-lion, 51 per cent increase;
• Head 23, Child and Family Services, $19.680
million, 5 per cent increase;
• Head 55, Financial Assistance, $54.121 million, no increase or decrease; and
• Ministry total, $85.295 million, an increase of
6 per cent.
Mr. Chairman, this summary shows that the
2024/25 current expenditure allocations for both Head
86 and Head 23 have increased, while remaining the
322 20 March 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate same for Head 55. I will explain the details of these
changes further in this budget presentation.
The total number of employees for these three
heads combined is 224. Mr. Chairman, the estimate for
2024/25 for Head 86, Ministry Headquarters, is $624,000 and for Head 23, Child and Family Services
the estimate revenue is $192,000.

HEAD 86 —MINISTRY HEADQUARTERS

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Head 86, Ministry Headquarters, [can be found on] pages B -287 through B -292.
Mr. Chairman, the mission of the Ministry of
Youth, Social Development and Seniors Headquarters found on page B -288 is The protection of all individuals
during their lifetime and facilitation of well -being. The
objectives of the Ministry Headquarters are found on the same page.
Mr. Chairman, the current account expenditure
for Head 86, Ministry Headquarters, will now be pre-sented and can be found on page B -289 of the Estimates Book.
The Ministry Headquarters is responsible for
the budget of nine business units, as follows:
• 96000, Administration;
• 96040, Ageing and Disability Services;
• 96050, K. Margaret Carter Centre;
• 96060, Policy Development;
• 96070, Grants to the Third Sector;
• 96080, Youth Development Administration;
• 96090, Youth Grants and Investments;
• 96100, Youth Community Centres; and
• 96110, Before, After and Out of School Programmes.
Mr. Chairman, page B -289 shows that the total
budget allocation for the Ministry Headquarters for financial year 2024/25 is $11,494,000, distributed across nine business units.
Mr. Chairman, the total budget allocation represents a net increase of $3,869,000.

Administration Budget

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: I will now share details of
each of these business units commencing with business unit 96000, Administration, page B -289.
Mr. Chairman, the 2024/25 budget for the Administration business unit 96000 of $1,352,000 com-pares to the $1,815,000 originally budgeted in financial
year 2023/24. This reflects a decrease of $463,000, or
a decrease of 26 per cent, as shown on page B -289.
The decrease in budgeted funds reflects
• the shift of $70,000 to grants and contributions
for the charitable organisation HOME which is
now budgeted for correctly under the third sector;
• less monies budgeted for the National Seniors
Strategy of $125,000 which is being undertaken locally instead of hiring overseas
consultants; and
• less monies budgeted for the overseas treat-ment of vulnerable youths of $268,000, as one
youth is no longer under the care of the Director of Child and Family Services.

Ageing and Disability Services

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, [I will now present the budget for ] business unit 96040, Ageing and
Disability Services (or ADS) has budgeted allocations of $1,332,000 for the fiscal year 2024/25. This alloca-tion is 36 per cent, or $352,000 more than the budget
allocation in fiscal year 2023/24, reflecting the budgeting for three new posts —two social workers and a policy analyst —who were approved during the year as a
result of a Management Consulting Services organisational review.
Mr. Chairman, the primary focus of the Office
of Ageing and Disability Services is on adult protection
through their [case ] management programme; however, ADS also develops and implements public education and awareness initiatives to enhance the com-munity’s understanding of its services, actions and issues pertaining to seniors and persons with disabilities.
Mr. Chairman, the United Nations International
Day of Persons with Disabilities is recognised world-wide each year on December 3; however, the day was
acknowledged in Bermuda on December 4, 2023, inclusive of a proclamation. The day aims to promote the rights and well -being of persons with disabilities in all
realms of society and helps to increase awareness of
the challenges they face. The 2023 theme for the International Day was United in action to rescue and
achieve the sustainable development goals for, with
and by persons with disabilities . Sustainable development goals [SDGs] are a set of 17 interconnected goals
established in 2012 by the United Nations and adopted
by world leaders in 2015. They are designed to address
global challenges and promote sustainable development. The benefits of these goals are multifaceted and
impact various aspects of society, the economy and the
environment.
As an ex officio member of the Disability Advisory Council (DAC), ADS remains committed to sup-porting disability initiatives. As such, representatives
from DAC continue to support community organisations by advocating for the advancement of works to help i mprove the lives of persons with disabilities.
Mr Chairman, another key collaborative area
for ADS is the support of clients with complex support
needs due to intellectual disabilities, their diminished
capacity resulting in their inability to consent, safety risks due to their behaviours and minimal t o no family
support. For the past three years, ADS in conjunction with Mid -Atlantic Wellness Institute continue to support
one client overseas due to the absence of appropriate
services on Island. In the coming weeks, the


Bermuda Senate aforementioned entities, along with the overseas facility, will identify and develop a plan to transition the individual back to Bermuda. However, this will take time
as we need to ensure the appropriate structure, with
the required resources, is developed locally to meet
their needs in alignment with the scale of care they are
receiving overseas.
Mr. Chairman, Bermuda requires a centralised
[repository ] for the collection of accurate and current
data regarding persons with disabilities. In this regard,
the Ministry of Youth, Social Development and Seniors is committed to developing and introducing a formal database for persons with disabilities. The data gathered
through a disability database can inform the development and implementation of inclusive policies and programmes. Government and organisations can use this
information to tailor their initi atives to better address the
diverse needs of persons with disabilities, promoting inclusivity in areas such as education, employment,
health care, and accessibility. This provides a means of
monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of policies and programmes aimed at supporting persons with disabilities.
By tracking the progress of individuals registered in the system, authorities can assess whether the
implemented measures are making a positive impact
and identify areas that may require further attention or
improvement. Further, the existence of a disabil ity register can serve as a powerful advocacy tool, as it can
help advocates and organisations working for disability
rights and inclusion to demonstrate the impact of poli-cies and practices on individuals with disabilities. Empowering persons with disabil ities through accurate
data representation is crucial for promoting and encouraging their active participation in society.
Mr. Chairman, a previous function of ADS was
to provide guidance to community individuals and gov-ernment partners to ensure accessible building and environmental design. To that end, the office conducted
accessibility assessments and consultations and provide advice to developers on accessibility requirements
and best practices relevant to building code requirements in relation to the built environment. The former
accessibility officer retired on September 30, 2023, and
conducted 39 accessibility/consultati on assessments
before his departure. However , this service will not be
lost, as the planning application review process trans-ferred to the Department of Planning on October 1,
2023, ensuring that the continuum of amenity remains.
Additionally, under this remit ADS is also responsible for processing duty relief exemption requests
for materials to facilitate persons ageing at home. To
that end, ADS received and approved two duty relief
exemptions this year compared to five in 2022/23.
Mr. Chairman, I now take this time to segue to
an important initiative that is currently underway, as the Ministry of Youth, Social Development and Seniors has
advanced steps to fulfil its platform promise of developing [and implementing] a National Seniors Strategy [NSS] for Bermuda. In September 2023 Ageing and
Disability Services, in conjunction with the Bermuda
Health Council, inaugurated a plan to engage with community stakeholders to obtain feedback from seniors
and other members of the public about w hat should be
included in the National Seniors Strategy, as their collective ideas are instrumental in shaping policies that
promote positive ageing, ensure access to health care
and needed services, foster social interconnectedness
and safeguard seniors’ rights.
The Ministry’s goal for the strategy is to produce a framework that guides comprehensive, coordinated and cost -effective actions for addressing the diverse and changing needs of our ageing population.
During January and February 2024, ADS and
the Bermuda Health Council held small group consultation meetings with various senior groups across the Island. This was to allow seniors to communicate in
spaces where they were comfortable to share their
thoughts and views on what they believe should be included in any National Seniors Strategy, and identify challenges and plausible solutions to aid in the development of an effective framework. On February 7, the
Ministry hosted a National Seniors Strategy Forum at the Bermuda National Sports Centre Pavilion. The
theme for the event was Collecting Wisdom. Two sessions were held, one in the morning and one in the
evening, and approximately 70 persons of varying ages
were in attendance. The purpose of the forum was to
obtain data from the public/seniors about their preferences related to housing (assisted l iving, senior communities), health care, ageing in place, transportation, age-friendly services and environments, et cetera. This
was undergirded by guiding principles, a vision, mission and helping to identify what ageing means for all.

Education and Awareness

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, education and
awareness are important mandate components that
have been limited in [recent] years due to ongoing resource challenges and COVID -19. However, during the
fiscal year ADS increased its outreach and stands at 17 presentations to d ate. This includes ADS’s first Seniors
Tea. This successful event hosted nearly 100 seniors
and was supported by organisations such as the Bermuda National Library, the Department of Archives,
Age Concern, the Bermuda College Life Long Learning
Centre and the Bermuda Police Service. The programme for the Seniors Tea included presentations on
how to prevent and protect oneself from abuse, and information from community partners that encourage social engagement. The feedback from participants and
partner agencies was extremely positive and resulted
in invitations to seniors clubs for more presentations on
abuse awareness and prevention.
Mr. Chairman, other community awareness activities included the following:
• radio interviews for abuse awareness;
324 20 March 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate • presentations to bank staff and clients;
• professional development training to KMCC [K.
Margaret Carter Centre] staff; and
• disability awareness and inclusion presentations to RUBiS.
We would like to take this time to acknowledge
RUBiS, who embraced International Day for Persons with Disabilities by inviting ADS, in partnership with the
Disability Advisory Council Chair, to present to all of their staff.
Mr. Chairman, ADS continues to engage with
community partners on key issues impacting our sen-iors, such as financial exploitation, cybercrime, client
welfare and receivership.

Case Management

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, case management represents the largest staffing component and primary programme of ADS. Case management clients include seniors and persons over 18 years old with longstanding disabilities. General case management services include needs and service identification, system
navigation and support coordination. Adult protection
pertains to ADS case management clients at risk of abuse, neglect or self -neglect, which include but is not
limited to senior abuse cases.
Over the past year, despite the complex cases
that have arisen, the case management team has done
well serving our vulnerable persons, particularly when
the individual lacks the capacity to make decisions for themselves. During fiscal year 2023/24, ADS ope ned
287 new cases (an increase of over 10 per cent from
the previous fiscal year).
These included the following:
• 33 case management referrals for persons un-der 65 years of age with disabilities, with eight
of these including reports of abuse;
• 165 case management referrals for persons
over 65 years of age; and
• 89 reports of alleged senior abuse:
o 35 per cent were for financial exploita-tion;
o 25 per cent were for physical abuse;
o 24 per cent for psychological abuse;
o 12 per cent for neglect, and
o 5 per cent were for sexual abuse.

Policy and Programme Development

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, Policy and
Programme Development within Ageing and Disability
Services supports the planning, development and coordination of policies and programmes for seniors and
persons with physical and intellectual disabilities.
Mr. Chairman, it is important for all to understand the challenging work of adult protection. Adult
protection demands the rights of the adult to be paramount while working to reduce risk and provide support. Ageing and Disability Services is faced with
situations that include self -neglect; strained, unhealthy
and abusive family dynamics; and also limited family resources. Therefore, to advance the protection work
undertaken by Ageing and Disability Services, the Min-istry is committed to implementing a comm itted and
consistent approach to ensure vulnerable adults are
protected from abuse. The Senior Abuse Register Act
2008 is currently being reviewed with the aim of amending the legislation to protect seniors from the prospect
of financial abuse. Further wor k is in progress to design
the required framework needed for an Office of the
Public Guardian.
I extend thanks to the ADS team for their efforts
to reduce risk and promote the quality of life in very difficult circumstances, as well as their commitment to
supporting individual, agency and system- wide solutions.
The ADS’s Case Management programme has
made significant advances this year, many of which highlight the strength and importance of collaborating
with community partners:
• ADS continued its National Adult Protective
Services Association [NAPSA] core competency training for social workers and supervisors, which were opened to our collaborative partners including the Bermuda Police Service,
Department of Health Social Workers and
KEMH social workers. Expanding adult protection, knowledge and skills is essential in our community to ensure best practice is known
and implemented across our agencies to protect persons at risk and ensure their rights are
upheld.
• ADS continues as a core member of
o MARAC [Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference], the multi -agency
team for high- risk domestic violence
cases; and
o the Transition Team, established to
help identify and plan for service needs for persons with intellectual disabilities.
• As a result of the Ministry’s commitment to dementia support services, a dementia pilot managed by ADS was started in October 2023 that
provides assessment and case management,
including dementia navigation and support ser-vices, to persons in the community . This pilot
is being provided by NorthStar Dementia who, as of the end of January, has served nearly 40
persons. This service is not only critical support
to families and individuals with dementia, but
also to the ADS case management section whose high caseloads limit the support for clients and families.
• Finally, the 2023/24 budget provided ADS with
funding for the first phase of a Structured Decision Making Framework approved by Cabinet.


Bermuda Senate A Structured Decision Making Framework (or
SDM) is an evidence- based method to identify
and define populations served, service priority and response times, servicing planning and
closure. This framework will not only help staff with consistent decision- making, but also generate the necessary data to develop ADS programmes for further office development.
In addition, Mr. Chairman, ADS has led and
supported work toward systemic solutions and
changes. This includes
• consultation and development of the National
Seniors Strategy in collaboration with the Bermuda Health Council;
• consultation and development of the first
phase of the Senior Abuse Register Act 2008
amendments to address in particular financial exploitation, but also to start developing the
wider legislative framework needed for adult
protection;
• advocacy and support to the development of
an Office of Public Guardian and the ratification
of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities;
• the development of a National Disability Regis-ter which commenced alpha and beta testing
phases in February of 2024 with the aim to roll
out the voluntary registration process during the first quarter of the new fiscal year.
Mr. Chairman, I want to take this time to
acknowledge the committed efforts of the ADS team. Adult protection work is innately challenging. With an
ageing population, the workload is steadily increasing,
the complexity of the cases is rising, but despite t his the
team remains focused and supportive of their clients
with the goal to reduce risk and support the rights of the client, which they keep central.

K. Margaret Carter Centre
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, the K. Margaret Carter Centre (or KMCC) provides direct support for persons with intellectual disabilities in the community
through day programming services and case management. For the fiscal year 2024/25, K. Margaret Carter
Centre has a bu dget allocation of $1,890,000, which
funds 16 staff in delivering direct client services to 44 service users, participating in six different programmes
(as shown on page B -289).
Mr. Chairman, we are now moving beyond the
previous restrictions associated with COVID -19 and the
impact they had on services offered at the K. Margaret
Carter Centre. As of April 1, 2023, KMCC has been
back to full capacity and able to provide up to five days
a week of programmes for all clients. This year has largely been spent on refurbishing programmes to expand the opportunities for clients by exploring other local and overseas programmes to glean better insight to missed opportunities for engagement. KMCC plans to continue to deliver high- quality, person- centred programmes that allow clients to have a better quality of life. Overall, KMCC has increased the number of clients
participating in onsite programmes to ensure more individuals have access to high- quality programmes.
A total of 41 per cent of clients currently have
access to physical therapy, occupational therapy and
psychological therapies through continued partnership
with the Community Intellectual Disability Team [CIDT].
The partnerships with community stakeholders have
grown from 12 in 2022/23 to 13 this year, 2 023/24. This
increase includes re- engagement with WindReach Bermuda and Summerhaven, as well as a new partnership
with Meals on Wheels. We continue to engage with
other organisations with overlapping remits, yet these
partnerships enable us to better colla borate to create
events and opportunities for our clients who would otherwise not have the opportunity. These collaborations
allow for further development of social connections and
better programming, leading to clients having a more
fulfilling quality of life.
Mr. Chairman, over the past year, KMCC provided the following services and improvements:
• Development of a multi -disciplinary meeting on
a monthly basis with the community intellectual disabilities team in order to better determine the needs of clients and ensure they are being
met.
• Re-instatement of the transition team who
meet to identify clients who are going through
transitional periods at various stages of their
life cycle and implement supports to ensure the move from the education system to KMCC is a smooth one.
• Continuation of a client -led hot lunch programme on a weekly basis to 50 per cent of the
clients attending the programme and ensure
they have the opportunity to receive a well -balanced meal.
• Successfully hosted the annual Valentine’s
Day dance, inviting community partners to attend along with other community clients. This
was a huge success.
• Expanded support to Special Olympics Bermuda. This enabled six clients to attend the
2023 World Games in Germany, as well as two
staff who attended as coaches.
• Increasing the community in- house work contract programme from seven community partners in fiscal year 2022/23 to eight in fiscal year
2023/24, adding on a partnership with Summerhaven.
• Expanded the client fitness initiatives over the past year to include water aerobics, a walking
programme, access to a fitness centre, track
and field practice, chair yoga and aerobics to
ensure clients are maintaining their fitness.
• Developed a working relationship with a local
business who has supported KMCC with the
326 20 March 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate development of their very own beauty supply
programme. Clients are involved in pricing
goods, collecting consumer feedback and selling the finished products on site and to the local
community.
Mr. Chairman, as clients’ needs change and
develop, KMCC has worked hard to ensure programmes expand and evolve to enhance the lives of
adults living with disabilities in the community. It is anticipated that over the next year we will have to further
develop and evaluate the success of KMCC pro-grammes while potentially expanding services to include a more diverse and complex client group. To facilitate the growing demand for services, the Ministry
will look to do the following:
• improve the existing facility infrastructure for
additional space to better meet the needs of
current clients as well as incoming clients; and
• remodel the existing day programme for individuals age 55 years and older to help improve
overall service delivery to clients while increasing the number of individuals who can receive
day programming services.
Overall, it is anticipated that KMCC clients will
re-engage in community work programmes across local businesses and have access to meaningful employ-ment while relationships are being built with key partners.
Mr. Chairman, the Ministry of Youth, Social Development and Seniors will continue to implement the
measures needed to improve the quality of life of the
KMCC clients, to increase their independence and ensure clients are receiving high- quality care at all times.

Policy Development

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, I will move on
to business unit 96060, Policy Development, page B -
289. For fiscal year 2024/25, a total of $155,000 was
allocated for policy development. This is an increase of $1,000 represented by a $5,000 salary uplift offset by decreased telephone, stationery and subscription expenses totalling $4,000. The Policy Development sec-tion has one full -time equivalent, as shown on page B -
290. This policy resource supports the Ministry’s policy
commitments which include Throne Speech initiatives
and the Government’s platform promises.
Mr. Chairman, $3,105,000 has been allocated
for the fiscal year 2024/25 for business unit 96070, Grants to the Third Sector, as shown on page B -289.
This is an increase of $165,000, or 6 per cent, reflecting
the inclusion of a grant for the charitable organisation HOME and an increase in funding for nursing homes.

Youth Affairs

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, for fiscal year
2024/25 the allocation was $516,000 for business unit
96080, Youth Development Administration, and $100,000 has been allocated for business unit 96090,
Youth Grants and Investments, as shown on page B -
289. Mr. Chairman, the remit of the Ministry expanded in November 2023 to include the Office of Youth Affairs
whose mission is To form a unified approach to tackle issues faced by Bermuda’s young people and provide
them with the support to have positive and productive
futures .
Mr. Chairman, the Office of Youth Affairs administers three programmes and four business units.

Programme 8602, Youth Development
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Business unit 96080, Administration, has a budget allocation of $516,000 for fiscal year 2024/25, page B -289. This reflects monies budgeted for salaries, training, recreational services, supplies and other funds to ensure efficient and effective
administr ation. Mr. Chairman, this programme is responsible for overseeing and executing of the National
Youth Policy activities. The working group for the policy
just completed its first year of implementation of the
eight policy goals focusin g on developing and empowering Bermuda’s youth. The working group consists of representatives from government ministries and departments, youth organisations and groups, youth activists, youth creatives, youth entrepreneurs and youth working in corporate B ermuda, all supported by an
ex officio officer from the Office of Youth Affairs.
Mr. Chairman, the allocated budget (found on
page B -289) for business unit 96090, Youth Grants and
Investments, of $100,000 provides funding to youth service agencies working with young people. All youth organisations and groups will be afforded an opportunity to participate in an introductory safeguarding
workshop to be hosted in conjunction with the Department of Child and Family Services. This initiative aligns with Goal 1 of the National Youth Policy.
Mr. Chairman, a total of 14 grants were distributed to youth organisations and groups during [fiscal
year] 2023/24 who continue to invest countless hours
into the social development of our youth and are committed to making positive change. The work of thes e
organisations align with our National Youth Policy Goals and include Albina Vision [Trust], Bermuda Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Delta NetFest Tournament; Bermuda Alumnae Chapter
of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Get Literary Book
Club; Bermuda Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. GEMS [Growing and Empowering Myself
Successfully] Mentoring Programme; Bermuda Sloop
Foundation Spirit of Bermuda educational programmes; Big Brothers and Big Sisters; Devonshire Colts Youth Leadership Development Programme;
Dibia DREAM Bermuda; The Family Centre Youth
Leadership Academy; North Village Community Club
youth programmes; Raleigh International Bermuda;
Skills Development Programme; Bermuda Autism


Bermuda Senate Early Intervention Centre. Tomorrow’s Voices; and
WindReach Bermuda.
Mr. Chairman, the Office of Youth Affairs provided one youth investment during the year to a senior
school student who was given the opportunity to partic-ipate in the UN’s Climate Change Conference on
COP28 Business and Philanthropy Forum in Dubai
from Nov ember 28 through to December 12, 2023.
COP28 Business and Philanthropy is an international forum where global heads of state, business CEOs and
philanthropists meet to discuss ways and means to pro-gress climate action and industry transition. The senior
school student attended as a Youth Climate Ambassador alongside the Bermuda delegation participating in
the YOUNGA 2023 global festival, which focused on
climate change and management. The event was
geared toward intergenerational collaboration and in-novation.
This investment award aligns with the National
Youth Policy Goal 5, Youth Sponsorship Programme, providing short -term sponsorship to young people who
wish to pursue their recreational passions in areas including arts, oration, culinary arts, science, technology,
engineering and math [STEM].

Programme 8603, Youth Outreach

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, the budget allocation of $1,578,000, found on page B -289, supports
the operational activity of three community centres.
Namely, the Eastern Zone Community Centre located in St. George’s, the Sammy Wilson Central Zone Community Centre in Hami lton and the Western Zone Community Centre in Sandys.
Mr. Chairman, the Youth Outreach full -time
equivalent (FTE) count is 20 for fiscal year 2024/25,
page B -290. These staff facilitate a wide range of programming for seniors, adults, youth and children while
providing engagement and participation opportuniti es
for families whilst promoting the philosophy for the section’s mission.
Mr. Chairman, the three community centres
provide safe, structured programmes with trained staff
and an opportunity to build positive and long- lasting relationships. The programming provides a wide range of
recreational and social experiences year -round that reflect the needs and interests of the community.

Programme 8604, Youth Services

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, business unit
96110, previously Youth Programmes, is expanding to
meet the needs of parents and guardians. The Office of
Youth Affairs is committed to protecting young people
from harm. This business unit aims to provide safe
spaces during out -of-school time to facilitate engagement during the school mid- term breaks, infusing developmentally appropriate recreation activities. In support of education reform, experiences have been carefully crafted to focus on areas such as career exploration and promoting healthy social, emotional and
physical growth. This unit is slated to open its first pilot
Before- School Programme in September of 2024.
Mr. Chairman, the Before, After and Out of
School programmes increased their average number of
participants from the prior year with supplementary
funding from the Department of Education to open
spots to wait -listed students. The Before, After and Out
of School programmes are aligned with the public
school calendar year to support the working parent and guardian. We are pleased to be able to serve the community in this way, providing safe, fun and local recreation year -long.
Mr. Chairman, the 2024/25 budget allocation
for business unit 96110 is $1,466,000, found on page
B-289.
This funding level provides for staffing, communications, materials and supplies for 16 youth programmes.
Currently Youth Services supports approximately 550 preschool, primary and middle school age
participants in after -school programmes, 1,650 preschool, primary and middle school participants in out -
of-school programmes across 16 sites throughout the
Island. These [programmes] employ over 60 seasonal
workers of whom just under half are local college stu-dents, along with two full -time Programme Senior Supervisors. There are also modifications made available
for students with exceptionalities.
Mr. Chairman, to support the growth of this programme, the Office of Youth Affairs advanced the National Youth Policy Goal 4 which is to Increase Employment and Entrepreneurship opportunities. In this regard, a Leadership in Training [LIT] programme will be
launched during the 2024 summer break. Senior school
students will learn the basics of leadership through
childcare, infusing safety and executing general day
camp management. They will gain an increase in
knowledge of camp activities whi le learning how to
work with children and rotate through different age groups and activities where they will use their skills as
a counsellor.
Mr. Chairman, the Office of Youth Affairs also
serves youth organisations and groups across the Is-land with training opportunities. To date, six organisations, namely, the Family Centre, Footy Promotions,
the Bermuda Sloop Foundation, Bermuda Sea Cadet
Corps, Phenomenal People and WindReach Bermuda
completed Safeguarding Across All Borders, which is
an introductory course to assist youth organisations
with drafting internal child safeguarding policies.
Mr. Chairman, on January 25 and 26 this year
the National Youth Policy Working Group hosted a
youth conference that was held at the Botanical Gardens for senior, middle and primary -aged students. The
National Mini Youth Conference is deemed a first, as such an event has not been held for almost three decades. Several young creatives and entrepreneurs
328 20 March 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate presented at the conference in support of the National
Youth Policy Goal 3—Minimize antisocial behaviour;
Goal 5—Engage youth in sport, culture and recreation;
Goal 7—Enable participation in civic engagement; and
Goal 8—encourage Diversity and Inclusion.
Mr. Chairman, the Community Centres completed the pilot year for community enrichment pro-gramming that supports the social development of the
whole family. These programmes will continue to run in
all three community centres with seniors, adults, youth
and children’s programming.
Mr. Chairman, I take this opportunity to extend
appreciation for the dedicated staff at the Office of
Youth Affairs for their commitment to youth, their families and our community. Lastly, it is important for me to
recognise the significant contributions made by our
youth organisations and groups and the critical role they play in in spiring our youth to achieve their full potential.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes the presentation
on the fiscal year 2024/25 budgetary allocation for Head 86 for the Office of Youth Affairs.

Grants
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, the breakdown of the budget allocation for the Ministry grants can be seen on page C -21 of the Estimates Book. In
fiscal year 2024/25 the following charities and organisations will receive a grant from the Ministry of Youth,
Social Developme nt and Seniors to provide our community with the resources and social services needed
to support our vulnerable population [groups]:
• A grant to external bodies has been allocated
$20,000 for ad hoc requests made by social
services organisations during the year.
• Voluntary youth organisations that provide
youth services and programmes in alignment
with the goals of the National Youth Policy will
receive in aggregate $100,000.
• Age Concern programmes will be provided
with the allocation of $25,000.
• To uphold the Ministry’s commitment to our senior population, grants totalling $1,170,000
has been allocated to nursing homes Matilda
Smith Williams and Lorraine [Rest] Home.
• A grant of $75,000 has been allocated to the
Women’s Resource Centre.
• The Centre Against Abuse will be allocated a grant of $150,000.
• Care of the Blind is the only organisation on the
Island to provide a full range of specialist services for persons with low or no vision. They will receive [a grant allocation] of $15,000.
• A grant of $50,000 has been allocated to Meals
on Wheels, which supports vulnerable persons
in our community through the lunch services of
Meals on Wheels. • Salvation Army. The Government is committed to our homeless population and to ensure they
have accommodations and services. A grant
for $550,000 will be given to Salvation Army
Shelters.
• The Summerhaven facility provides residents
of our community who have physical disabilities the opportunity to live independently and
will be given a grant of $600,000 to support their operational costs.
• The Packwood Nursing Home has been allocated $350,000.
• The charitable organisation HOME will receive
$70,000 to continue its work with the homeless.
• Tomorrow’s Voices will be given a grant of
$30,000.

Subjective Analysis of Current Account Estimates
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, I will now present the combined subjective analysis of current ac-count estimates for the Ministry as found on page B -
289 of the Estimates Book.

Salaries

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, the budget allocated for salaries is $4,229,000 for fiscal year
2024/25, an increase of $2,018,000. This salary allocation covers the Ministry’s 80 full -time equivalents (found
on page B -290). The salary increase reflects four new
posts appr oved for Ageing and Disability Services and
Community Centre Supervisors and Community Workers employed by the Office of Youth Affairs.

Wages
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, the increase
in the budget allocation for wages of $1,577,000 supports the employment of caretaker, grounds -persons,
youth programme supervisors, programme coordinators and programme workers for the community centres
which fall under the operation of the Office of Youth Affairs.

Training

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, $13,000 has
been allocated to facilitate quarterly professional train-ing for recreation workers at the community centres.

Transport and Travel

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, the budgeted
monies for transport increased by $3,000 to cover ex-penses paid by the Office of Youth Affairs for transport-ing materials and supplies to the community centres.
The increase of $29,000 for travel is budgeted to cover


Bermuda Senate overseas travel for conferences and technical meetings.

Communications

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, communications, inclusive of phones, courier and postal costs, are
budgeted at $121,000 for fiscal year 2024/25, which
represents an increase of $69,000. The increase reflects the additional expenses for telephone rentals and
cell phones for the Office of Youth Affairs and community centre workers.

Advertising and Promotion

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, advertising
and promotion costs increased by $4,000. This minor
increase is attributable to the Youth Development Administration section, budgeted funds for promotions related to the National Youth Policy initiatives.

Professional Services

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, professional
services of $1,143,000 for fiscal year 2024/25 decreased by 32 per cent, or by $543,000. This lower
level of funding reflects the re- allocation of grant monies, decreased funding for the National Seniors Strat-egy and less monies budgeted for overseas treatment
of vulnerable persons.

Rentals
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, $234,000 was
budgeted for rentals, an increase of $131,000. This rent
increase accounts for the rental cost of venues used by the Office of Youth Affairs for workshop sessions, camps and mid- term break programmes.

Repair and Maintenance
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, in fiscal year
2024/25 repair and maintenance has been allocated $168,000, or $54,000 more than the budget allocation for 2023/24. This increase in funding covers the cost of
a variety of repair and maintenance expenses anticipated by the Of fice of Youth Affairs including but not
limited to office cleaning, office and copier machines,
grounds, equipment, air conditioning, pest control and
minor common area maintenance. Also, additional funds have been allocated to maintai n an ageing vehicle held by the K. Margaret Carter Centre.

Insurance
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, $114,000 was
budgeted for insurance costs for clients at the K. Margaret Carter Centre who do not have insurance. A nominal insurance amount of $1,000 has been budgeted by the Youth Development Administration in relation to vehicles.

Energy

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, energy costs
increased by $63,000 to $154,000. This increase includes the costs of electricity, gas and diesel for the Office of Youth Affairs, as well as an increase in electricity
costs for the K. Margaret Carter Centre.

Clothing, Uniforms and Laundry
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr Chairman, costs for clothing, uniforms and laundry account for $11,000. The in-crease of $8,000 will cover the costs to replenish uniform shirts, jackets and protective wear for the care-taker, groundsman and community programme staff.

Material and Supplies

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, $257,000 has
been allocated for materials and supplies for fiscal year
2024/25. This represents an increase of $132,000
which reflects the extra costs of office supplies, cleaning supplies, food, water and recreational supplies for
the Offic e of Youth Affairs.

Equipment

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, equipment expenses have an allocation of $42,000. This is primarily supporting the refurbishment of fire and safety systems at the three community centres, in addition to minor audio-visual equipment.

Other Expenses

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, $20,000 has
been allocated for other expenses, which is an increase
of $12,000. This is due to the Office of Youth Affairs
budgeting for the provision of food and beverages for
parenting events, open houses, holiday activities, as
well as working group meetings.

Grants and Contributions
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, grants and
contributions were addressed earlier in my presentation. The allocation increased by $265,000. The increased budget accounts for grants offered by the Office of Youth Affairs, an increase in monies for nursing
homes, and the shift in the HOME grant, which was
budgeted under Administration, business unit 96000, in
the prior year and is now shifted appropriately to grants.

Revenue Summary

330 20 March 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Page B -290, the majority of
the $634,000 in revenue earnings reflects after -school
vouchers purchased by parents and guardians to have
their children participate in the after -school programmes offered by the Office of Youth Affairs.
Employee Numbers (full -time equivalents or
FTEs), page B -290. Mr. Chairman, on page B -290, you
will note that there are 80 full -time equivalent positions
for the Ministry of Youth, Social Development and Sen-iors [Headquarters] for fiscal year 2024/25. This covers
four full -time equivalents for Headquarters Administration, 11 full -time equivalents in Ageing and Disability
Services, 16 full -time equivalents employed with the
K. Margaret Carter Centre and 49 full -time equivalents
for the Office of Youth Affair s. The increase in the number of FTEs compared with fiscal year 2023/24 reflects
the four new full -time equivalents in Ageing and Disability Services and 49 FTEs from the Office of Youth
Affairs.

Performance Measures
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, performance
measures for sections in the Ministry Headquarters are
outlined on pages B -291 through B -292. Mr. Chairman,
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Ministry
Headquarters team for their diligence and for remaining
commi tted to delivering the requisite services for our
community.
Mr. Chairman that concludes my budget
presentation for Head 86.

Thank you, Senator.
Please proceed to Head 23.

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you.

HEAD 23 —DEPARTMENT OF CHILD AND FAMILY
SERVICES

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, I now wish to
present the 2024/25 Estimates of Expenditure for Head
23—the Department of [Child and] Family Services,
which are found on pages B -293 through B -300, C -8,
C-16 and C -21 of the Estimates Book.
Mr. Chairman, as found on page B -293, the
Department of Child and Family Services [DCFS] mis-sion is Protecting children by strengthening families .
The objectives of the department are also found on page B -293.
The department carries out its objectives by
providing investigative services; day care services;
care and protection services for children; residential and home- based services for families; and assessment, intervention and counselling services for chil-dren, adolescents and families.
Mr. Chairman, the current account estimates
for Head 23 begin on page B -294 of the Estimates
Book. A total of $19,680,000 has been allocated for Head 23 for fiscal year 2024/25. This represents an increase of $866,000, or 5 per cent. 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, and that meet the
challenges they face. These challenges can include but
are not limited to uninvolved parenting, limited parenting capacity, social and life skills, housing, employment, budgeting, abuse of substances, antisocial behaviour, cognitive debilities, education, mental health conditions and anger management.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Child and
Family Services is responsible for promoting and pro-tecting the best interests and social well -being of children, adolescents and their families. The Department [of Child and Family Services] meets these responsibi lities via the operations of five programmes:
1. Programme 2301, Services to Children and
Young Persons;
2. Programme 2302, Services to Individuals and Families;
3. Programme 2303, Residential Treatment Services;
4. Programme 2304, Administration; and
5. Programme 2305, the Mirrors Programme.
Mr. Chairman, the US Council on Accreditation
has approved the Bermuda National Standards, which
is used locally for accreditation of entities including the
departments who manage children. The Bermuda National Standards Committee provides that review and
accreditation. I am happy to report that, in accordance
with the requirements from the Council on Accreditation standards, five sections within DCFS (Intake and Investigations, Assessments, Counselling and Life Skills
[CLS], Family Preservations and Foster Care) all are
accredited.
Mr. Chairman, I will now address each programme and business unit for the department as set
out on page B -294:

Programme 2301, Services to Children and Young
Persons

The Happy Valley Child Care Centre

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Found on page B -294, Mr.
Chairman, the Happy Valley Child Care Centre, business unit 33010, has an estimate for the fiscal year 2024/25 of $1,094,000, an increase of $33,000, or
3 per cent. The output measures for the Happy Valley
Child Care Centre are fo und on page B -297 of the Estimates Book. Mr. Chairman, Happy Valley Child Care
Centre is the only government -operated child care facility on the Island, which provides high- quality child
care for a maximum of 44 children whose ages range
from three months to four years of age. Priority is given
to children referred by helping agencies such as the
Department of Child and Family Services, Teen


Bermuda Senate Services, the Department of Health, the Child Development Programme and the Department of Financial Assistance. These agencies, along with families experiencing various challenges, account for 60 per cent of
the centre’s intake.
Mr. Chairman, each year there is a consistent
demand for childcare placement at the Happy Valley Child Care Centre. For the school year 2023/24, 172
applications were received for the 16 available spaces,
as follows:
• infant spaces, six;
• toddler spaces, five; and
• preschooler spaces, three.
The application process for the 2024/25 school year
begins on April 1, 2024.
Mr. Chairman, the estimated revenue for the
fiscal year 2023/24 school year, page B -295, is
$19[2],000. It is important to note that the actual cost per child is approximately $2,009 per month so that a subsidy is also built into the fees, which are considerably less than private child care [services]. Despite the
low cost to parents, Happy Valley Child Care Centre is
a first -class facility that is specifically designed to meet
the comprehensive needs of young children. [The centre] provides an extensive curriculum of high academic standards with trained teachers who are continuously
involved in professional growth and development. The
centre offers enrichment programmes that encourage
family and community involvement and build upon child
development.
In 2023 Happy Valley received a five- star rating certificate for day care centres from the Childcare Regulation programme star rating licensing requirements, receiving a score on items such as health,
safety, supervision, developmental activities, and parent and family engagement using a standard inspection
form. Five stars equates to 90 [per cent] to 100 per
cent.
Mr. Chairman, in July 2023, there were 15 children who graduated from the programme and were all well prepared to attend preschool. Their accomplishments were celebrated with a school -leaving ceremony
at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute [BUEI].
Mr. Chairman, during this fiscal year, Happy
Valley Child Care Centre was painted inside and out by
the Department of Works and Engineering and received a five- star licence rating status from the Health
Department’s Child Care Regulation Programme. Happy Valley Child Care Centre endeavours to main-tain a first -class facility while educating children in a
safe, healthy and caring environment.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff of the Department of Public Lands and Buildings in the Ministry of Public Works for
maintaining the physical facility of Happy Valley Child
Care Centre throughout the year.
Mr. Chairman, Happy Valley Child Care Centre
continues to operate at best practice standards. This fiscal year Happy Valley Child Care Centre staff were
nominated for the Public Service Excellence Award.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to take this opportunity to
thank all the staff at the Happy Valley Child Care Centre, the Centre’s active Parent Teacher As sociation
[PTA], volunteers and community partners for their continued dedication to Bermuda’s most valuable treasures—Our Children, Our Future.
Mr. Chairman, I will now speak to programme
2302, Services to Individuals and Families, found on
page B -294.
Programme 2302
Services to Individuals and Families
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, the 2024/25
estimate for the four business units [33020, 33030, 33200 and 33250] is $6,235,000. This represents an increase of $176,000, or 3 per cent, compared to the
fiscal year 2023/24 budget allocation.

Investigating and Screening
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, business unit
33020, the Intake, Investigation and Assessment sec-tion is responsible for providing comprehensive investigations and assessments to children who are referred
for services. This budget estimate is $2,512,000. This
represents an increase of $239,000, or 11 per cent,
over the 2023/24 budget.
Mr. Chairman, when a referral is made to the
Department of Child and Family Services a screening
is conducted to determine if it meets the threshold for
abuse and/or neglect. The Structured Decision Making assessment tools is utilised to [designate] the
timeframe required to initiate contact with a child and/or
their family. The performance measures for intake and
assessments can be found on page B -297 of the Estimates Book.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Child and
Family Services is mandated to provide services and
operates 24 hours a day. Coverage is provided after
work hours, weekends and on public holidays on a crisis basis to the police, the hospital and members of the
community. The department responded to 18 on- call or
call-out referrals in 2023. Mr. Chairman, the Investigation team received 1,006 new referrals in 2023. This is
an increase from 2022, when 984 new referrals were
reported to the Department of Child and Family Services. Mandated reporters referred 865, and 141 were referred from other sources in the community. The department has one central screening system, which allows investigations to be processed and assigned in an
expedited manner. All mandated referr ers are provided
immediate feedback on whether the referral meets the
threshold for investigation, and they are given the designated response time.
Mr. Chairman, the Investigation team utilised
the structured decision- making screening assessments
to determine the required response times. A total of 222
332 20 March 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate cases were screened out, as they did not meet the
threshold for child abuse investigation or were duplicate referrals from another source; 741 were screened
in for investigation; and 43 were screened directly to
the Counselling and Life Skills section for substance education.
Referrals were received for the following types
of abuse:
• Neglect, 322;
• Sexual abuse, 175;
• Physical abuse, 112;
• Behaviour problems, 1;
• Emotional abuse, 56;
• Service requests, 21;
• Suicidal ideations and/or attempts, 6;
• Family in need of assistance, 44; and
• Welfare check, 4.
Mr. Chairman, of the 1,006 new referrals in
2023, the total number screened- in for investigation
was 741. The total number of referrals represents 704 children and [564] families for 2023. The number of children referred to the Department of Child and Fami ly
Services for the first time was 283. Mr. Chairman, the
referral numbers by age and sex are as follows:
• 0–4 years, 161;
• 5–9 years, 183;
• 10–14 years, 229;
• 15–18 years, 131.
A total of 351 males, 349 females and 4 gender
unknown [in utero].
Mr. Chairman, the department is required to respond within 24 hours, five days or ten days depending
on the nature of the referral and the designated
timeframe. The department received 232 referrals that required a 24- hour response, 462 referrals required a
five-day response and 47 referrals required a 10- day
response.
Mr. Chairman, the second purpose of the investigation is to conduct an assessment of the immediate service needs of the child and their family. This involves assessing the child’s safety and risk or future
risk of neglect and/or abuse within the home and d etermining the family’s need for intervention, counselling
and/or support services. The Department of Child and Family Services collaborates with the Bermuda Police
Service on referrals received for physical abuse, sexual
abuse, severe neglect and behaviour problems.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Child and
Family Services is required to investigate mandated
professionals such as but not limited to doctors, daycare providers, teachers, coaches, religious officials
and youth leaders if an investigation identifies them as
an alleged perpetrator. A total of 23 investigations were
conducted, which required the investigation social
workers to conduct interviews with the children, their parent or guardian, the mandated professional and all
relevant witnesses. This is a decrease from 2022 when
there were 41 investigations of professionals. After each investigation, an outcome report is provided to the
organisation or employer of the investigated professional.
Mr. Chairman, the investigation social workers
completed 445 safety assessments. This engagement with parents allows the Department of Child and Family
Services to ensure that the child or children are safe
while working to preserve the integrity of the fa mily.
Risk assessments are always completed after conduct-ing a home visit and prior to a case being transferred or
closed. The team completed 480 risk assessments. In-vestigations that are referred for abuse outside of the
home do not require the Structured Decision Making
Assessment tools, as the alleged perpetrator is not living in the home and therefore the household is deemed
safe.
Mr. Chairman, the Investigation Team provided
14 Presentations on Mandatory Reporting to the Bermuda Police Service recruits and all watches, private
and public schools, Youth and Sport after -school programme, and Bermuda College students. These presentati ons provide professionals with education on
the Children Act, their duties as mandatory reporters
and the reporting process for child abuse matters.
Mr. Chairman, the timeframe for the completion of assessments ranges from a minimum of 45 days
to a maximum of several months, depending on the time required to build rapport; the complexity of the
case; the degree and consistency of client engagement; rec eipt of the requisite information from collateral
sources; and the length of time it takes to administer,
score, interpret and write the assessment report. A
feedback session is held after the assessment process with parents; the child/adolescent (as appro priate); and
if consent is given, with case management workers
from other departmental teams; as well as schools.
Mr. Chairman, the Assessment Team mainly
receives referrals internally from within the Department
of Child and Family Services and externally from the
Family Court and Supreme Court. Service provision entails three main areas:
1. individual assessments (child and/or adult);
2. family assessments; and
3. consultations.
Mr. Chairman, there were 45 clients serviced
which include 14 cases carried over from 2022. In
2023, there were 31 new referrals received including 25
male clients and 20 female clients. In 2023, there were
21 clients closed. The closures included 10 males and
11 females.
Mr. Chairman, the sources of referrals to the
Assessment Team from within the Department of Child
and Family Services included the following:
• Investigations Team, 20 cases;
• Family Preservation, 7 cases;
• Foster Care, 1 case;
• RTS, 3 cases.
Mr. Chairman, the ages of the children within
the families serviced are as follows:


Bermuda Senate • zero– 4 years, 2;
• 5–9 years, 15;
• 10–14 years, 17; and
• 15–18 years, 11.
There were 14 assessment reports completed
for the year. Three clients declined services. Based on
data collected for 2023, several trends were identified
and similar to trends reported on last year.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff of the Screening and Investigations Team and the community stakeholders for their
commitment to being the first responders in promoting
the safety and health of families while protecting children from abuse and neglect. I would also like to thank
the Assessments Team for empowering the family and
enhancing family functioning through the comprehensive assessments they completed on at -risk children
and families.
Mr. Chairman, the foster care section, business unit 33030 is responsible for providing alternative
living arrangements for children under the age of 18
years old who need out of home placement . The budget
estimate for the fiscal year 2024/25 is $2,384,000. This
represents a decline of $257,000, or 10 per cent, and
reflects a decrease in foster care fees and the nonfunding of a temporary relief post.
Mr. Chairman, during the 2023 calendar year,
a total of 58 children occupied foster care beds. The team was also responsible for case management duties for the children’s birth families and foster families.
This represents a numerical decrease by five from the
prior year. As was stated last year, the team remains
concerned about the complexity of the cases, which
has magnified in terms of mental health, behavioural issues and school difficulties.
During the last budget year, the Foster Care
Programme serviced a total of seven therapeutic foster
children. Out of those [seven children], one was referred to an overseas facility for a comprehensive assessment and was recommended for further overseas
placement.
By the end of 2023, a total of seven children
left the Foster Care Programme. Two were placed into
the full custodial care with relatives. One was deemed
to be in need of overseas inpatient care. One was
placed into a pre- adoptive placement, pending finali sed
adoption. And three were reunified with their parents.
The year 2023 was a very busy year for foster
parent recruitment. The Foster Care Coordinator interviewed 13 interested persons for foster parent recruitment. Out of those, six were approved and became foster parents. Despite the constant addition to the pool of available foster parents, the department continues to
remain hard- pressed to recruit enough foster parents to
be open, available and suitable for emergencies and for
hard- to-care- for children.
In May 2023, Foster Care Month, the Foster
Care Team held its Annual Appreciation Tea for Ber-muda’s foster parents. The keynote speaker was Ms. Sierra Reid, who spent time in foster care as a youth
and is now a Master’s Degree- level Special Education
Teacher. This event was held at the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club.
The Foster Care Programme ended 2023 with
Christmas gift donations for all foster children. Items
were generously donated from anonymous members of
the public, the RenRe Insurance Company and the
Pembroke and Hamilton Rotary Clubs.
Mr. Chairman, the department would like to
acknowledge the foster parents of Bermuda. These are our unsung heroes who provide loving, stable homes to
children who have experienced significant trauma as a
result of abuse and/or neglect.
Appreciation and recognition must also go out
to the Foster Parent Association, a registered charity.
They work in partnership with the Foster Care Team. They provide extra support to foster children and foster
families in the form of financial support for educational
trips, specialised recreational programmes, laptops for
senior school and tertiary education scholarships for
foster youth post high school completion.
The Foster Care Team is to be commended as
well for working through some very serious, complex
and challenging cases.

Counselling and Life Skills

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, the purpose
of the Counselling and Life Skills (CLS) business unit
33200 is to advance and promote the emotional well -
being of youth up to 18 years of age and their families. The budget estimate for the [fiscal] year 2024/25 is $1,189,000. T his represents an increase of $43,000, or
4 per cent. This is due to an increase in salaries
charged to the business unit.
Mr. Chairman, CLS provides individual, family
and group counselling. Since post COVID -19, the CLS
team has resumed back to in- person sessions and
used other [modes] such as Cisco Webex, Zoom,
WhatsApp, telephone and email when clients cannot
do in- person s essions. The CLS’s counsellors through
these methods were able to complete specific [assess-ments] or screening tools required for the formulation
of services plans.
Mr. Chairman, referrals are mainly received
from external entities such as the Department of Education, Child and Adolescents Services (CAS), and the
public. These referrals are screened through the de-partment’s Investigation/Screening Section, and decisions on appropriate interventions are determined by
the use of the SDM [shared decision- making] tool and
then assigned for services. Mr. Chairman, the number
of referrals [that were received] for 2023 was 126, of
which, 120 received services and 6 were denied. The
referrals that were denied were based on clients being
involved in external services prior to the referral. There
were 68 females and 58 males.
334 20 March 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Mr. Chairman, the sources of referrals to the
CLS team in 2023 are as follows:
• DCFS Teams (Investigations, Foster Care,
Family Preservation, RTS and Adoptions), 96
cases;
• Court Social Workers, 2 cases;
• Schools, 22 cases; and
• Other (Police, KEMH, CAS), 7 cases.
Mr. Chairman, the CLS team noticed that in
2023 vaping is still a trend continuing amongst adolescents, along with CBD edibles/gummies. And this trend
has moved to younger children experimenting with vaping as well as edibles and gummies. Substances such
as marijuana and alcohol are still also prevalent among
adolescents. The data for 2023 revealed that young people are still choosing to use substances as a coping
strategy for dealing with life stressors, trauma and grief.
The complexity of their family sys tems also showed in
2023 that co- parenting support and coping strategies
and skills for parents need to be implemented so that
children and their families can effectively deal with their
mental health issues.
Child Safeguarding
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, business unit
33250, was allocated $150,000 and will fund a new
Child Safeguarding Programme. As per the Child Safeguarding Act 2019, children who are victims of sexual offences or who are convicted of sexual offences and
serious personal injury receive both physical and psychological services which translates to costs incurred for psychosexual assessments and counselling services. Currently, two children are being serviced for
sexual offences.

Residential Treatment Services

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, I will now
speak to programme 2303, Residential Treatment Services, found on page B -294. Mr. Chairman, the activity
covered in programme 2303 is Residential Treatment Services. For financial year 2024/25, this programme
has a budget allocati on of $8,770,000. This represents
an increase of $987,000, or 13 per cent, over the fiscal
year 2023/24.
Mr. Chairman, the budget estimate for business unit 33060, Family Preservation, for fiscal year
2024/25 is $1,735,000. The estimate is a $227,000, or
15 per cent, increase over the original budget for fiscal
year 2023/24. This increase is related to a real ignment
of staff within the organisational structure.
Mr. Chairman, DCFS’s Family Preservation
team operates under a sound case management and
assessment model, which comprehensively assesses
family and child needs and develops service plans with
the family, child and stakeholders to maximise intervention and positive outcomes for children and their families. Mr. Chairman, Family Preservation Services
are provided to clients of the Department of Child and
Family Services either via consent of the parents or under the authority of a court order. If a child’s safety is
an assessed concern as per the [Children] Ac t 1998
and its revisions, Family Preservation Services will be
mandated if deemed so, via the courts.
Mr. Chairman, in order to achieve its goal,
Family Preservation Services requires its social workers and social work assistants to manage cases in compliance with the Council on Accreditation Child and Family Services standards, the policies and procedures
of the department and the structured decision making
(SDM) assessment system for child protective services.
The Family Preservation Section has been accredited by the Bermuda National [Standards] Commit-tee in accordance with the Council on Accreditation
Standards from 2018 to present and follows best practice and provide quality service to the community.
Mr. Chairman, I will now highlight the performance of the Family Preservation team and the client
outcomes for the calendar year January through December 2023. The following data provide an overview
of the statistical outputs and outcomes for the family
preservation team:
• For the calendar year January through December 2023, the Family Preservation team has
served a combination of 136 families and 240
children. Caseload complexities and risk levels remained high throughout 2023, thus requiring
a high number of face- to-face c ontacts, multiple court appearances, family conferences and
consultations with community and government
stakeholders.
• [The year] 2023 saw 81 new cases referred to
Family Preservation. Throughout the year a total of 37 cases were closed. Eight cases were
transferred to out -of-home services (Foster
Care and Residential Treatment Services) due to the increased safety risk in the home.
Mr. Chairman, Family Preservation workers attended 87 court hearings over the year. This is an in-crease of 20 hearings over 2022. The court appearances were for domestic violence protection orders,
protection intervention or emergency protection orders,
custody/access matters, supervised visitation, Juvenile
Court, supervision order applications and reviews, and
care order applications, reviews and discharges. Mr. Chairman, all families involved with Family Preservation receive Family Strengths and Needs As sessments
and are reassessed every three months.
Mr. Chairman, needs assessments completed
on parents during 2023 have identified the following as
the top four areas of need affecting our parents/care-givers. Interventions must be targeted to improve outcomes in these areas:
1. coping skills, mental health, cognitive functioning;


Bermuda Senate 2. parenting skills;
3. household relationships/family violence; and
4. resource management.
Mr. Chairman, needs assessments completed
on children during 2023 have identified the following as
the top three areas of need affecting our children; interventions must be targeted to improve outcomes in
these areas:
1. Emotional/Behavioural challenges.
2. Educational Concerns/Needs.
3. Family Relationship Challenges.
Mr. Chairman, in 2023 the Department of Child
and Family Services hosted Visit Coaching training fa-cilitated by the developer of the programme, Ms. Marty
Beyer. An invitation was extended to the Coalition for
the Protection of Children to also attend this valuable
training. Visit coaching is an intervention method used
for court -ordered supervised visits between parents
and children. Visit coaching supports families to make
each visit fun for their children and to meet the unique
needs of each child.
Mr. Chairman, at the core of Family Preservation is the understanding that if we can improve the
functioning and circumstances of the parents/adult
caregivers of the children, we can reduce the risk of abuse and neglect of children. As such, it is vital that
we equip our staff to increase their skills in engaging
and providing intervention services to our families.
Mr. Chairman, the Family Preservation Team
continues to strive to provide effective service to chil-dren and families. Performance improvement is an on-going endeavour, thus enhancing the opportunity for
improved client outcomes. The Department of Child
and Family Services commends the Family Preservation Team and its coordinators for their commitment to
families throughout 2023.
Mr. Chairman, I will now speak to the following:
• Brangman Home, business unit 33070;
• Youth Development Centre, business unit
33080; and
• Observatory Cottage [referred as Oleander Cottage], business unit 33090.
Mr. Chairman, the financial year 2024/25
budget allocation for business unit 33070, Brangman
Home, is $1,257,000. This is an increase over the
2023/24 budget allocation of $44,000, or 4 per cent,
which mainly represents an increase in salaries due to
the realignment of the department’s resources.
Mr. Chairman, business unit 33080, Youth Development Centre’s allocated budget for fiscal year 2024/25, is $288,000. This is an increase of $42,000,
or 17 per cent, in comparison to the budget allocation
of fiscal year 2023/24.
Mr. Chairman, Observatory Cottage, which
comes under business unit 33090, has an allocated
budget for 2024/25 of $1,483,000, which is an increase
of $115,000, or 8 per cent, in comparison to financial
year 2023/24. Mr. Chairman, Residential Treatment Services
(RTS) provides group living intervention services to children between the ages of 12 and 18 years. These
are adolescents who are deemed to be at risk in the
community and require care and protection in a safe and structured residential environment. All children
placed in this service have had their situation and circumstances considered by the Family Court, where it
has been deemed appropriate for them to be placed on
a care order and as such become the responsibility of
the Director of Child and Family Services.
Mr. Chairman, we continue to see the impact
of complex trauma on the adolescents whom we serve.
Complex trauma is caused by the children’s exposure
to multiple traumatic events, often invasive and interpersonal in nature and is often wide- ranging with lasting effects. This impacts the goal of having children
transition within 12 months. As a result, the services
provided by RTS remain under a trauma responsive
lens. And this is translated into the intake and assessment process, family engagement practice, c risis intervention, and both individual and group counselling. The trauma lens is also utilised in the reflective supervision
of the staff and treatment team involved in the child’s
care.
Mr. Chairman, in the last fiscal year, clients’
services included crisis intervention and referrals to both internal and external services to respond to critical
incidents. Both genders demonstrated externalising
and internalising problem behaviours at RTS . Strong
case management of children was essential through
crisis management meetings, ongoing individual assessments and service plans. Client profiles for 2023 indicated that 100 per cent of children had come from
single parent households. Additionally, both male and
female profiles continue to reflect 100 per cent of the
children experiencing trauma that included abandonment, abuse, grief and domestic violence. Eighty per
cent had learning challenges. These data demonstrate the wide range of specialist s ervices required for dealing effectively with children and families.
Mr. Chairman, RTS met the performance targets with 100 per cent of residents having independent
treatment plans, 100 per cent having service plans and
100 per cent of residents having individual crisis management plans.
The team focused on ensuring all plans were
aligned to offer the best care for residents. Over 200
coordinated services were provided with community partners, over 260 individual counselling sessions, 277
groups were held and over 152 family engagements.
RTS held seven joint family group activities to build
connections while engaging in prosocial activities.
Mr. Chairman, RTS implemented client satisfaction surveys over the past year and received 100 per
cent positive feedback responses from residents and
their families about home visits. [A full] 80 per cent of
the residents indicated they feel emotionally safe, and
336 20 March 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate 100 per cent reported feeling physically safe at the last
check -point in December 2023.
Mr. Chairman, RTS engaged in training to support the growth and development of the team. They participated in Your Voice, Our Future: Resetting the
Standard with an overseas expert in residential treatment services with Discovery Ranch team, Code of
Conduct, Ethics, Investigation and Mandatory Reporting and a Quantum Learning Workshop to name a few.
All staff participate in Relias training weekly.
Mr. Chairman, with a primary focus on establishing trauma -responsive environments for the children in our group homes, we continue to ensure review and amendments are made to our policies and procedures to reflect the principles of group home living. During the 2023/24 budget year, the DCFS administration
continued to partner with the Ministry of Public Works,
specifically the Department of Public Lands and Buildings, in enhancing RTS physical structures. All buildings utilised by RTS have received several maintenance upgrades that included roof repairs, replacement of ceiling, ceiling tiles in the bathroom, painting, replacement of security cameras, door replacements for
additional security, and air conditioning issues were addressed.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff at the Residential Treatment Services and the community stakeholders for their
commitment in providing trauma- responsive services to
the residents of group living [with the aim of] restoring hope and building resiliency in their lives.

Psycho -Educational Programme
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, the PsychoEducational [Psycho- Ed] programme, business unit
33100, was developed to clinically address children who could not be effectively treated in Bermuda or
those who had exhausted all available local therapeutic/treatment services. The budget estimate for business unit 33100 for the fiscal year 2024/25 is
$2,114,000. This represents an increase of $6,000 for
the fiscal year 2024/25.
Mr. Chairman, our local psychologists, psychiatrists and educational therapists have demonstrated an improved ability to diagnose various psychological,
behavioural and educational problems. However, more
Bermudian children are being identified with variou s
psychological, social/emotional and psychiatric condi-tions beyond the ability of our local service providers. The Psycho- Ed programme allows the Department of
Child and Family Services to have external input concerning clinical therapeutic intervention a nd after -care
services.
The Psycho- Ed Committee comprises representatives from the following:
• the Child and Adolescent Services;
• the Ministry of Education; • the Department of Child and Family Services; and
• the Ministry of Health.
Mr. Chairman, 15 children participated in the
Psycho -Ed Programme in 2023. One child received local case management and after -care planning. One
child received a substance abuse assessment from an overseas therapeutic facility and returned to the local
jurisdiction for case management and after -care planning. Of the remaining 13 children in the Psycho- Ed
programme, 4 children completed an overseas neuro-psychological assessment at Huntsman Mental Health
Institute (HMHI) and 1 received a psycho- sexual assessm ent at Harbor Point Behavioral Health [Center].
Recommendations from the completed neuropsychological assessments at HMHI resulted in three
children being referred for a long- term overseas therapeutic placement. One child who completed a psycho-sexual referral at Harbor Point Behavioral Health [Center] was recommended for a long- term overseas therapeutic placement. Three children who were referred to
Psycho -Ed completed a 90[ -day] wilderness placement
at RedCliff Ascent Wilderness [Therapy] Programme. One child who was referred to Psycho- Ed was admitted
directly into an overseas therapeutic facility for a longterm placement of nine to eighteen months, and four
children were already currently enrolled in a long- term
overseas placement.
All Psycho -Ed clients [serviced] overseas received the Global Assessment of Functioning [GAF]
with a scoring range of 20 to 50. A score of 50 is defined
as having serious symptoms or serious impairment in social, occupational or school functioning, and 20 is de-fined as having a danger of hurting self and/or others.
The result of low Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scores required that all Psycho- Ed clients
receive intensive clinical treatment with a longer duration of treatment options coupled with one- to-one staff
interventions, psychotropic medications, freq uent team
meetings, psychiatric hospitalisations, family interven-tion programmes, and overseas therapeutic visits.
Mr. Chairman, the Ministry of Education
(MOED) and the Bermuda Hospitals Board’s (BHB)
Child and Adolescent Services (CAS) have limited resources and are not equipped to service clients who are
diagnosed with conduct disorder, experiencing severe
mental he alth challenges or those who are high- risk in
the community. Consequently, several applications are
made to the Psycho- Ed Committee requesting an overseas therapeutic placement for a young person who
cannot be serviced in our local school environment or
within the current therapeutic milieu at CAS.

Youth Residential Treatment
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, business unit
33110, Youth Residential Treatment, budget allocation for fiscal year [2024/25] is $1,243,000. This reflects a $97,000, or 7 per cent, decrease in funding. This


Bermuda Senate decrease is a result of the realignment of staff within
the Department of Family Services organisational
structure. Mr. Chairman, Youth Residential Treatment
is the [administrative] and professional services section
that provides all of the necessary accounting, manage-ment, counselling and clinical services to all of the residential homes and programmes. This unit identifies all
of the training needs of staff, clinical needs of all of the
children involved in the programme and management
of repair services with all facilities, and all performance
quality improvements and making sure all of the pro-grammes within Residential Treatment Services meet
and maintain accreditation standards.

Independent Living Programme

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, in the 2022/23
budget, capital funding was allocated for the establishment of the Independent Living Housing regime. The
Independent Living Programme is the first of its kind in
Bermuda whereby we are providing a lifeline/safety net to young adults ageing out of the care of the Director,
affording them the best opportunity for success as they
transition into adulthood.
Mr. Chairman, the business unit 33240 has
been allocated $650,000 for the 2024/25 budget year.
This programme was implemented in March 2023, at
which time its funding was embedded within the depart-ment’s Administration, business unit 33120. This programme now has its own business unit with increased
funding for operational activities. During the year, there
have been a total of 10 referrals, three males and seven
females, of which eight were approved and two were
declined.
Out of the eight approved, six moved into the
programme. The Independent Living Programme [ILP] housed two males and four females. Two were terminated from the programme, one due to non- compliance, and the other due to pregnancy and was referred to the appropriate agency.
Mr. Chairman, three residents were employed
before their move- in date, but two lost their jobs during
their probationary phase. Five residents enrolled with Workforce Development. Two obtained employment through Workforce Development. Two residents had
employment through other means. At the end of 2023,
three of the four residents were employed, with the
fourth beginning in January 2024.
Mr. Chairman, the coordinator, support staff
and client travelled to the 35
th Annual National Independent Living Conference in August 2023 to participate in workshops and network with other agencies
who are providing this support to young people. This
conference provides [resources] and training to professionals around a variety of evidenced- based practices
and how to promote improved outcomes for our young
adults. The conference was also geared towards supporting young adults currently in the Independent Living
Programme, providing them with leadership and teambuilding opportunities and highlighting those who
had success despite their circumstances.
Mr. Chairman, the Independent Living Programme expanded its reach this year and introduced
the Level -Up Programme for 17- and 17- and-a-halfyear-olds providing an opportunity for this age group,
as they approach 18, for exposure to the different aspects and expectations of adulthood while providing
first-hand experience of what the Independent Living
Programme has to offer.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff at the Independent Living Programme and the community stakeholders for their commitment to providing a lifeline/safety net to young adults
ageing out of the care of the Director, with t he aim of
them becoming independent and self -sufficient contributing members of our society.

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, I will now
speak to programme 2305, the Mirrors Programme,
business unit 33140.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY CHAIRMAN

SENATE VISITORS

Senator , if I can just interject just for a
second. I just want to acknowledge and welcome two
ladies who have just joined us in the Chamber. Renee
Brown, Senior Manager of Child and Family Services and Maureen Trew, Project Manager with Child and
Family Services. Ladies, welcome. Thank you.
Senator, back to you. Thank you.

[Committee of Supply, continuing]

The Mirrors Programme

Sen. Lindsay Simons: Thank you.
I will now speak to programme 2305, the Mirrors Programme, business unit 33140.
The 2023/24 [budget] year has been one of
embedding the Mirrors Programme within the Depart-ment of Child and Family Services as a [substantive]
permanent programme. The budget allocation for
2024/25 is $699,000. This represents a decrease of
$53,000, or 7 per cent, and reflects operating and programming costs.
Mr. Chairman, Mirrors continues to focus on
life coaching, social -emotional development and the element of transformation, especially with the follow -up
on impact of COVID -19. Mirrors has transitioned into
the Department of Child and Family Services as its prevention and life coaching arm. The programme continues to produce results in the short, medium and long term to build a resilient community for youth with positive life outcomes in education, employment and lawfulness. The two- year post data of the cor e programme
remain consistent, with 93 per cent of clients served
338 20 March 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate demonstrating lawfulness (not [offending] or reoffending), 82 per cent of students connected to education
(graduating or currently in school) and a slight increase in employment from 39 per cent to 42 per cent of students currently employed at the last check- point in
2023. Mirrors mid- term outcome markers provide the
necessary check -point for measuring the success of
the programme for the overall [societal] benefit.
Mr. Chairman, Mirrors cancelled the Super -
Camp Senior Forum in October 2023 to focus on the
transition process into the department. Cohort 18 com-pleted their coaching in June 2023, and Cohort 19 is
expected to begin in October 2024. To date, Mirrors
has served 8,224 youth and trained 7,721 adults including parents, teachers and volunteers in positive youth
development.
Mr. Chairman, 556 middle school students participated in the “All In! 8 Keys of Excellence” character
development programme at Sandys Secondary Middle
School, Dellwood and Whitney Institute. Thirty -one
middle school students participated in the combined
prefect leadership training to support peer leadership at
their schools, and teachers delivered the All In! curriculum at least twice weekly in advisory periods. All trainings received 100 per cent positive experience in content and experience this year.
Mr. Chairman, PeerForward Bermuda travelled
overseas with a team of 15 peer leaders, four advisors, two college coaches and two support staff for the Mirrors-endorsed college and career readiness programmes at Berkeley Institute and CedarBridge Academy. PeerForward is projecting to serve Berkeley and
CedarBridge children for the 2024/25 school year with
a PeerForward programme.
Mr. Chairman, Mirrors continues to find ways
to engage parents to attend training to build skills for positive youth development. Mirrors has a secondary focus of building social -emotional development in
adults serving children. Seventy -five educators and
youth workers attended the World Summit 2024 powered by Mirrors and Quantum Learning Global with
world partners who travelled from across the globe, the
USA, Argentina, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore,
South Korea, Dominican Republic and Taiwan. The team was thanked for bringing the Elevate and Summit
workshops to our shores.
Mr. Chairman, 140 people participated in the
Mirrors Field of Learning providing 540 community ser-vice hours in the garden. Students were able to take
some vegetables home, and the majority was donated across the Island to seniors. The Mirrors Alumni and
Friends Association will continue to support Mirrors in
the upcoming year through the volunteer recognition
scheme, the annual Bermuda themed art competition,
community service project at Southlands, PeerForward
and [other] community engagements.
I take this opportunity to sincerely thank the
corporate Bermuda, the Alumni Board members and the Mirrors team for their commitment to the development of Bermuda’s youth.

Administration

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, I will now
speak to programme 2304, found on page B -294,
which covers business unit 33120, Administration, and business unit 33130, Grant Funding. The budget estimate for fiscal year 2024/25 is $2,882,000, reflecting a
budgetary decrease of $277,000, or 9 per cent.
Mr. Chairman, the Administration section of
DCFS is responsible for the general supervision of the
sections within the department and the oversight of the
Psycho -Educational Programme and the Mirrors Programme. The budget estimate for the fiscal year 2024/ 25 is $2,336,000. This represents a $277,000, or
11 per cent, reduction compared to 2023/24.
Mr. Chairman, to ensure that the staff at DCFS
remain skilled and current with best practice standards, the Administration section has continued their [ membership] with Relias Learning Systems as the core
training vehicle for staff professional development in
the field. Relias has become DC FS well based training
partner. Orientation training has been custom designed
for each section within the department based on the
core needs of the department as well as each section.
Mr. Chairman, during last year, DCFS staff received training in forensic interviewing with children
with disabilities that has assisted these professionals in
being more effective and therapeutic when interviewing
special needs children. The introduction of the [child]
safeguarding legislation, an amendment to the Children Act 1998, requires that the administration section of
DCFS develop a training programme that will certify
counsellors to assess and provide counselling to all
children accused [of] and vi ctims of sexual abuse. During this year, various trainings were offered in this area
that were delayed as a result of the pandemic.
Mr. Chairman, the Multi -Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) was established in keeping
with the 2022 Speech from the Throne to address the
myriad of issues arising from domestic abuse and family violence on the Island. In 2022 the focus was on the
systems -wide assessment of the current local landscape, to identify opportunities for improving the response, early intervention, and the prevention of domestic abuse. As stated in the [2023] Speech from the
Throne, one of the most significant outcomes of the 2022 review was the need to establish a Domestic
Abuse Strategy for Bermuda. This is now a priority for
the MARAC team for the 2024 reporting period.
Mr. Chairman, one of the recommendations for
the [SafeLives] review was the hiring of a domestic
abuse specialist. The required approvals for this position have been granted with the expectation that recruitment for this specialist will occur within the upcoming months. In collaboration with the Centre Against
Abuse, this individual will promote education and


Bermuda Senate community awareness about domestic abuse, offer
case management support, crisis intervention and
safety planning.
Mr. Chairman, in 2023 the department hosted
a series of workshops on Domestic Abuse and its im-pact on children co- facilitated by the Centre Against
Abuse and the Bermuda Police Service. In attendance
were stakeholders from the department, magistrates,
pane l members, the Coalition for the Protection of Children and the Bermuda Housing Corporation. With the onboarding of the domestic abuse specialist, we will be able to increase the number of workshops for professionals and the community through the year.
Mr. Chairman, from April 2023 to January
2024, [there were] 96 families referred to MARAC for
review. These include families with children and seniors experiencing family abuse. During this upcoming year, the data collected and processed will be enhanced to provide more detailed [analytics] such as
number of recurr ence of domestic abuse among those
referred, the number of children in households and the
number of seniors.
Mr. Chairman, it should be noted that of the Department of Child and Family Services total number of investigations for the year was 157 and [were] for child exposure to family violence/domestic abuse. This is an
increase from the year 2022 where there wer e 139 investigations for children exposed to family violence and
domestic abuse.
Mr. Chairman, at this time I would like to thank
the Administration section of the Department of Child and Family Services for their leadership during the
2023 year.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE CHAIRMAN

SENATE VISITOR

Senator, if I could just interject one
more time. I just want to welcome Nadine Henry from
Youth Affairs who has joined our Chambers. Welcome.
And just to give a time check, it is now 6:13 pm.
We finish up at 7:03 pm. Senator, if you can allow time
for fellow Senators to ask questions, that would be very
helpful.
Thank you.

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Almost finished.
Mr. Chairman, the budget estimate for business unit 33130, [Grant Funding], for the [fiscal year] 2024/25 is $546,000 which remains unchanged from
the 2023/24 budget allocation. The grant funding, as
shown on page C -21, provides $375,000 to Teen Services/Teen Haven, $75,000 for a cross- ministry initiative to assist families in crisis and $96,000 to support the Multi -Agency Risk Assessment Committee.

Subjective Analysis of Current Account Estimates
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, I will now discuss the subjective analysis of current account estimates on page B -295 [for the Department of Child and
Family Services], Salaries.
Mr. Chairman, the budget allocated for salaries
is $10,245,000 for fiscal year 2024/25, an increase of
$393,000, or 4 per cent, more than the original budget
for fiscal year 2023/24. The increase in salary expenses is largely due to salary uplifts, coupled with a
[net] increase of one full -time equivalent.
Wages. Mr. Chairman, the estimate for wages
is $176,000 [for fiscal year 2024/25], compared to
$5,000 in 2023/24, representing an increase of
$171,000. This is due to the reclassification of expenses related to weekly paid employees. In 2023/24
all wage ex penses were included within the salaries
budgets with the exception of business unit 33200,
Counselling and Life Skills. For [fiscal year] 2024/25 the
wages for two BIU posts within Happy Valley Child
Care Centre (totalling $112,000) and one post within
the Brangman Home ($59,000) are now separated out
from salaries and allocated to the respective wages budget.
Other Personnel Costs, Training and Transportation. The budget expenditures for the line items Other
Personnel Costs, Training and Transport have remained unchanged.
Travel. Mr. Chairman, total Travel expenses
have been budgeted at $246,000 for fiscal year
2024/25, an increase of $39,000, or 19 per cent. This
is largely due to the new Child Safeguarding programme of which travel expenses account for $31,000.
The travel is necessary for children to be escorted overseas for assessments. The Mirrors and Family Preservation programmes together account for the additional
$8,000 to cover workshop and training facilitators.
Communications. Mr. Chairman, Communications, inclusive of phones, courier and postal costs, are
budgeted at $188,000 for fiscal year 2024/25, which
represents a $4,000, or 2 per cent, reduction of the
budget allocation for [fiscal year] 2023/24. This decrease is due to a total reduction of funding for telephone equipment rental costs and the cost of overseas
calls of $11,000 for the Youth Development Centre and
Youth Residential Treatment Centre. This reduction in
funding was offset by a $7,000 budget allocation for telephone equipment rentals and local calls for the Transitional Living Programme.
Advertising and Promotion. The budget estimates for Advertising and Promotion remains un-changed from fiscal year 2023/24 to fiscal year
2024/25.
[Professional] Services. Mr. Chairman, Professional Services budgeted at $4,104,000 represents an
increase of $142,000. This is due to the new [Safeguarding] programme which has been granted a total
of $61,000 to hire local and overseas consultants who will provide comprehensive clinical assessments. Also,
$50,500 has been allocated to this programme to
340 20 March 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate partially cover the costs of medical services such as
medications and specialist services.
Additionally, the Transitional Living Programme has been granted $26,000 to hire a service
provider as needed to cover shifts and/or to maintain the client monitoring of a 1:1 ratio. And $6,000 has
been allocated for specialist psychological services for
clients.
Rentals. Mr. Chairman, the estimate for Rentals for budget year 2024/25 is $1,690,000, an increase
of $275,000, or 19 per cent, over budget year 2023/24.
This increase will cover the leasing costs of the Garrison Building in St. George’s, which houses the Transitional Living Programme.
Repairs and Maintenance. The budget estimate for line items Repair and Maintenance and Insurance have remained unchanged from fiscal year 2023/24 to fiscal year 2024/25.
Energy. Mr. Chairman, for fiscal year 2024/25
the Energy budget has been allocated $304,000, rep-resenting a $38,000, or 14 per cent, increase over fiscal year [2023/24]. Almost 95 per cent of the increase
will cover the costs of electricity at the Transiti onal Living Programme, with 5 per cent being attributable to
small increases to cover electricity expenses by other programmes.
Clothing, Uniforms and Laundry. Mr. Chairman, for fiscal year 2024/25, $181,000 has been budg-eted for Clothing, Uniforms and Laundry [expenses].
This is a $6,000, or 3 per cent, increase that will cover
the costs of clothing for children within the new Chi ld
[Safeguarding] programme.
Materials and Supplies. Mr. Chairman, the estimate for Materials and Supplies for fiscal year
2024/25 is $376,000, representing a $6,000, or 2 per
cent, increase over the 2023/24 [budget] allocation. The $5,000 increase is due to additional assessment materials that will be purchased by the Counselling and
Life Skills programme. The balance is attributable to
minor increases to cover the costs of office supplies.
Equipment (Minor Capital) and Other Expenses. The budget estimates for line items Equipment
(Minor Capital) and Other Expenses have remained unchanged.
Grants and Contributions. Mr. Chairman, the
amount allocated for Grants and Contributions for fiscal
year 2024/25 is $1,136,000, representing a $200,000,
or 15 per cent, reduction in funding from fiscal year
2023/24. The decrease is attributable to less funding being allocated to foster care fees. Mr. Chairman, as shown on page C -21, $590,000 has been allocated to
cover foster care fees. Average expenditure for foster
care fees over the past five years has been roughly
$518,000.
Employee Numbers and Full -time Equivalents.
Mr. Chairman, on page B -296 you will note that there
are 106 full -time equivalent positions at the Department
of Child and Family Services. This is an increase of one
full-time equivalent. Mr. Chairman, this concludes our presentation
for Head 23. I would like to thank all of the staff at DCFS
for their dedication and commitment to the children and
families of Bermuda.

Oh, I am sorry. I missed one.
Go ahead. Sorry.

HEAD 55 —DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL
ASSISTANCE
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, I will now present the estimates of expenditure and revenue for Head 55, the Department of Financial Assistance,
which can be found on pages B -301 through B -304 and
C-21 of the Budget Book. Mr. Chairman, the role of the
Department of Financi al Assistance [DFA] is to ensure
that individuals with insufficient financial resources have access to services to gain, maintain or regain a minimum standard of living, while encouraging personal and economic independence. The service enables the individu al to maintain dignity and self -worth,
and encourage the development of personal skills and
resources.
The mission of the Department of Financial Assistance is To assist vulnerable Bermudians to maintain a minimum standard of living during challenging
economic times , as indicated on page B -301. The department embodies this mission, and the [ethos] is very
clear when delivering its mandate. The Government is
committed to reducing poverty and inequality in Bermuda and will strengthen the support to families to assist t hem in becoming self -sustaining. Building a
stronger community will result in a safer and mor e confident nation.
Categories of Financial Assistance Awarded.
Mr. Chairman, Financial Assistance is intended to assist with partial or full financial awards, in accordance
with legislation, for such items as
• food;
• rent;
• rest and nursing home fees;
• utilities;
• health insurance;
• disability services;
• home care;
• child day care allowance.
Approval for financial assistance is based on
proven need and a means test . This means test will assess the basic needs for a household to sustain
monthly obligations either in whole or in part. Eligible


Bermuda Senate and qualified clients in receipt of financial assistance
and child day care allowance are categorised in one of
the following five main categories:
1. Pensioners;
2. Disabled;
3. Earnings -Low Employed;
4. Abled- Bodied and Unemployed; and
5. Child Day Care Allowance.
As of January 2024, the largest category of
persons in need of financial assistance pertained to Pensioners and represented 52 per cent of total persons in receipt of financial assistance. The next highest
category was Persons with a Disability at 37 per c ent,
then Persons Employed with Insufficient Earnings at
6 per cent, followed by Able- bodied Unemployed Persons at 5 per cent. [There were] approximately 218
children being supported in the Child Day Care Allowance Programme during the same period.
Mr. Chairman, the monthly average number of
new applications received by the department currently stands at 59. The vetting process for each new application is meticulous and extensive, as information is requested from third parties such as landlords, rest and
nursing homes, financial institutions and other government departments to ensure applicants are accurately means tested . The officers of the department adhere to
a turnaround timeframe of approximately two to three weeks from the time of receipt of each new application to completion of the vetting process. This strict
timeframe ensures that the needs of the public are prioritised and financial assistance relief is provided within
the shortest possible time. Whilst vetting new applications, the department continues to successfully service
all existing eligible financial assistance and child [day] care allowance clients without interruptions.
Objectives and Performance Measures. Mr.
Chairman, the department’s objectives can be found on page B -301 and its performance measures on page B -
304. These performance measures are deliberately concise and precise, as they focus on measuring outcomes from [the department] objectives and other business improvements to articulate the ability of the department in achieving effectiveness and service delivery.

Expenditure Overview
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, the total current expenditure for fiscal year 2024/25 is estimated to be $54,121,000, as shown on page B -302. This amount
remains unchanged from the previous fiscal year’s original budget for 2023/24.

Manpower

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, the department conducts frequent reviews of resource utilisation
to identify any structural deficiencies and [capability]
gaps. The Speech from the Throne 2022 highlighted new Financial Assistance reform initiatives that resulted in amendments to the Child Day Care Allowance
Act 2008, Child Day Care Regulations 2008, Financial
Assistance Act 2001 and Financial Assistance Regulations 2004. These amendments are aimed to expand the pool of parents who can qualify for the Chi ld Day
Care Allowance and provide social protection systems
that will guarantee all families, regardless of their current economic standing, access to resources that will
allow them to meet their basic needs.
In addition, Financial Assistance reform will assist households requiring immediate assistance with
expenses to meet short -term needs. As a result, these
initiatives will grant easier accessibility and eligibility to
Child Day Care Allowance and Financial Assistance.
Therefore, it is anticipated that this will result in an even higher number of [application] submissions. As such, approval was granted for five new positions to manage
the increase in service deliverables which explain the
variance of four ful l-time equivalents as shown on page
B-202. The total [full -time equivalent] count is 38
[funded] substantive positions.

Expenditure and Subjective Analysis

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: The 2024/25 budget estimates are listed on page B -302 as business units
65050 Grants Administration and 65080 General Ad-ministration.
Mr. Chairman, business unit 65050, Grants Administration, is estimated at $49,643,000, as shown on pages B -302 and C -21. This is a reduction of $365,000,
or less than 1 per cent, from the prior year.
Funds under business unit 65050 are earmarked for the following [financial assistance] programmes:
• Financial Assistance: $46,913,000;
• Child Day Care Allowance: $2,100,000; and
• Short -Term Relief Programme: $630,000.
Mr. Chairman, the total estimate for business
unit 65080, General [Administration], for 2024/25 is
$4,478,000, as shown on page B -302. This is an increase of $365,000, or 9 per cent.
Mr. Chairman, the [subjective] analysis is
found on the same page as follows and explains the
breakdown in expenditures for business unit 65080.
Salaries. Mr. Chairman, as previously explained under Manpower, Salaries increased by five
new positions for a total of $481,000. One position was
abolished, causing a decrease of $111,000. Also, a
two-year salary uplift of $159,000 has been factored in.
Therefore, the net change in salaries show an increase
of $529,000 from the prior fiscal year.
Professional Services. Mr. Chairman, the
budget estimate of $473,000—this reflects an overall
decrease of $195,000 due to the reduced need to hire
local consultants as new positions were created under
Salaries.
342 20 March 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Materials and Supplies. Mr. Chairman, the increase in materials and supplies of $28,000 is due to
anticipated higher [operational] expenditure to accommodate the Short -Term Relief Programme, Financial
Assistance reform measures and overall price increases due to inflation.
Minor Equipment. Mr. Chairman, the increase
in Minor Furniture and Fixtures for equipment of $2,000 will facilitate minor purchases due to ageing and obsolete equipment. Mr. Chairman, the department will continue to identify key levers of success and failures, while deploying short -term planning cycles and aligning
forecasting tools during this time of uncertainty.

Investigations
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, the department’s [investigative] officers conduct investigations
and pursue individuals or entities that commit fraud and
abuse the system. At the time of this brief, 49 active
cases were under investigation for which a total reim-bursable am ount due to the government is $359,466.
This is comprised of 43 active cases that were referred
to the Attorney General’s Chambers, and six cases that
are currently under the remit of the department’s [inves-tigative] officers.
Mr. Chairman, the public can report incidents
of Financial Assistance fraud on the department’s hot-line at 297- 7867, 297- STOP.

Financial Assistance Social Workers

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, during
2023/24, the Financial Assistance [FA] Social Workers
continued to streamline internal processes. In particular, the process for the submission of client progress reports by residential mental health treatment facilities was addressed to ensure continuity of care for clients
served, and [to ensure] that the process for a client’s step- down to a lesser level of care was effectively facilitated when deemed appropriate.

Collaborative Partnerships
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, during the [fiscal year] 2023/24, the FA social workers worked collaboratively with the Bermuda Health Council to validate
the bed capacity of each of the rest and nursing homes.
[Increased collaboration occurred between] social
workers at t he King Edward [VII] Memorial [Hospital
and] Ageing and Disability Services. Partnership expansion and strengthening efforts [will continue] by
scheduling ongoing quarterly [or] bi -annual meetings.
The [FA social workers collaborated w ith the] Salvation
Army in support of persons with housing challenges
and [visited] the facilities to survey the existing accom-modations as well as a newly built container home.

Child and Family Services Sen. Lindsay Simmons: [The Department of] Child
and Family Services [DCFS] as they prepared to open a new residential facility for the Independent Living Programme [collaborated with the] Department of Immigration, Department of Health, Ageing and Disability Ser-vices and the Government of Bermuda’s London Office
to coordinate the return of FA clients back to Bermuda.
And the Department of Education on a joint ministerial
initiative to facilitate the transfer of 3- year old children
that receive financial ass istance into the public preschool Bright Start Programme.
Plans for the Upcoming Year
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: [The department will continue to collaborate with] the Department of Workforce Development to encourage client participation in em-ployment opportunities to create avenues for recipients
to become financially independent.

Community Outreach [and] Support

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, the department attended an open house hosted by Focus Coun-selling Services to strengthen community partnerships.
The open house presentation identified the organisation’s objective [of] supporting men and women with substance use disorder. D uring the [fiscal year]
2023/24, the Department of Financial Assistance purchased school clothing (summer and winter) for over 40
clients with school -aged children. This activity involved
the preparation and payments of over 200 purchase or-ders, the order and the collection of clothes and shoes from various Bermuda retail stores and distribution to
the parents before the start of the 2023/2024 school
year.

Major Legislative Changes

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, as part of Financial Assistance reform, amendments to the Finan-cial Assistance Act 2001 and Financial Assistance
Regulations 2004 will take effect in April 2024. The department’s staff have been trained, and the department’s dedicated software has been configured to ac-commodate these changes. Also legislation for the
short -term relief programme is expected to be finalised
and will take effect within the new fiscal year of
2024/25.
Mr. Chairman, staff at the Department of Financial Assistance demonstrated professionalism and the commitment to support disadvantaged and vulnerable Bermudians. For this, I applaud the hard work and
[dedicated] actions demonstrated by this department.
Mr. Chairman, this ends my presentation on
Head 55, the Department of Financial Assistance, and
my presentation for the Ministry of Youth, Social Development and Seniors.



Bermuda Senate ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE CHAIRMAN

SENATE VISITOR

Now, would any other Senator care to
speak on these heads?
I am guessing Senator Tucker . . . over to you.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and
also thank you to the Junior Minister for bringing the
brief here today. I do know that she made reference to
the offer for questions to be asked in advance but it is always very helpful to have the brief, to listen to the
brief, because that is also helpful in crafting the questions appropriately. So I just wanted to make that very
clear.
My first question comes from page B -283, Subjective Analysis of Current Account Estimates and it is
the line item for Rentals. This question did come up last
year . . . I raised the same question last year and this
has to do with the amount of rent payabl e for the Ministry’s headquarter office in this building because I
could not find that line item mentioned in any section
through pages C -26 to C -28 either. So if we could get
some clarity on that.
Also on page C -21, and this is also in connection with Grants and Contributions. [Page] C -21, the
business unit is 6882 and there is an allocation for this
year for $100,000 for voluntary youth organisations. I
actually noticed that there was an $8,000 al location in
Youth and Culture for that same line item. So, if we can
get some clarity around, you know, why there are two
entries there for the very same thing, that would be
helpful.
Also, in Grants and Contributions on page B -
289. So if we look at page C -21 the line item is 6932,
Centre Against Abuse, the original estimate for 2022/23
was $75,000. In the 2024/25 Budget Book, the actual
amount . . . the grant that was received for 202 2/23 was
$400,000. I would like to know if that is an error, if there
is some sort of explanation as to why that large amount there.
Mr. Chairman, can I get a time check?

Certainly, yes. It is 6:40 pm and we are
going to finish at 7:03 pm, so it is 23 minutes remaining.
Thank you, Senator.

Sen. Robin Tucker: I promise I will not take up all the
time because I know my colleagues have questions too. So I promise not to take up all the time. I would also like to know . . . page B -289 again
Grants and Contributions. On page C -21, so this is in
connection with [page B -]289, but more so the line
items on page C -21. There is a list of organisations that
get annual grants, and these organisations have been
mentioned for several years in a row. My question really is whether the Junior Minister can advise whether
financial statements and annual reports are required to
be submitted for these grants to be paid. So Summerhaven, Salvation Army, Age Concer n, all of those are
listed and they have been listed for several years. So, I
just want to know what the administrative matters
around those are.
Shall we do that one or shall I ask all my questions?

Yes, thank you, Senator Tucker.
Would any other Senator . . . yes, Senator
Robinson.

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Just more of a housekeeping question as I
know that Youth Affairs, Youth Outreach and Youth Services are most likely being transferred into this department from their previous Ministry. I just wanted to
know if there were any disruptions in that transfer over and whether or not any hiccups or anything like that occurred during that transfer.
Also, the original and revised estimates for
these particular line items are not directly next to the
2024/25 estimate, and I just wonder if they are indeed
in their former Ministry and, if so then I would like to be
navigated to where I could find those previous ones or
whether they are just completely new. Because I will
not be able to tell whether or not there are any increases or decreases in those particular line items. I
am speaking in reference to [line items] 8602 Youth Affairs and Youth Outreach and [line item] 8603 Youth
Services.
Heading down to Travel in Expenditure under
the Subjective Analysis of Current Account Estimates.
I just wanted to get a little bit more clarity here in regard
to the travel portion because I remember it being mentioned, but it was a very long brief, and I just wanted to
get a clarifying answer on what this Travel line item is covering with the increase from $32[,000] in 2023/24
revised to the $53,000 in the 2024/25 estimate. So just
wanted to get a bit of clarity on that increase.
344 20 March 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate With the transfer of this new department into
this Ministry, when it comes to youth, I am just going to
go to Employee Numbers (Full -time Equivalents) and
just inquire as to whether or not this department, these Youth Development Admin under [line items] 96080 and 96100 are coming over fully staffed or will they still
be hunting for staff. And if so, is the Ministry confident
that it can fully staff these departments? As it is quite a
big jump from 29 to 80, but understandably so.
I will yield to other Senators if they want to have
some questions.

Okay, why don’t we wait until we finish
on this head, if other Senators —
Senator Tucker, do you have another question?
Sen. Robin Tucker: I do. I have another question as it
relates to Head 86 and that is . . . actually we can apply
that across all heads, the question that I have across all heads, and that is the total number of funded but
unfilled positions.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Senator Tucker. Any other
Senator —Senator Robinson.

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Yes, thank you.
Just going to performance measures, I just
wanted to inquire about the percentage of senior abuse cases open after three months. I just wanted to inquire
as to whether or not this percentage here in the revised
forecast 2023/24 was what was considered an acceptable percentage by experts in the field. Because I
see that the forecast was 15 per cent and we have kind
of exceeded that by a large amount and then the target
outcome for 2024/25 is 30 per cent. I just wanted to get
a bit of clarity as to why these cases are . . . why we
are not hitting our targets for these cases that are open past three months in regard to senior abuse.
And also just moving down to the next line item,
which is percentages of cases active one year after be-ing open, it seems that we have managed to hit our . . .
well, come underneath the original forecast here with
13 per cent to 15 per cent. But that is st ill very close.
And the target outcome for 2024/25 is 15 per cent. So
we are sitting in the right percentile for that, but I just
want to know why are these particular cases with one year being open meeting their forecasted performance
measures and those open after three months are not.
Thank you. I will yield to anyone else. The Chairman: And that is from [page] B -291 just for
clarification.
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Yes, Mr. Chairman.

Okay, why don’t we start with the answers.

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: So the rental amount to be
paid by the Ministry comes under the responsibility of the Department of Public Land and Buildings to include
in the Budget Book.
The question about youth grants allocation. I
am unaware of the Culture’s grants.
And [page] C -21 the annual grants listed, the
submission of financial statements and annual reports from each organisation is mandatory for all the [issuance] of grant allocations.
For the DFA, as of April 2024 there will be three
vacant, unfunded positions.
The question about Youth Affairs. The former
department Sport and Recreation has reported on the
2023/24 year. There has been no interruptions of Youth and Family Services, after school programme, out of
school programme, community enrichment programmes an d community centres. The section Youth
Affairs has transferred with all relevant staff to maintain existing services and programmes.
That is all the answers I have so far.

Okay, well, why don’t we move on to
the next two heads then. I think Senator Bell you had a
question about Head 55, so . . .

Sen. Kiernan Bell: Thank you, Mr. Chairman .
Yes, on Head 55, page B -302. I had a couple
of questions related to Training. I saw that there is only $8,000 allotted to Training for the 33, and now 38, projected staff members, which is just over $200 per employee. Could you indicate what that training is and how
many employees receive it? That is one question.
The second question concerns the $15,000
budgeted for Travel. I just was curious as to what that travel was for . . . whether it was for doing site visits or
for some other purpose.


Bermuda Senate Turning then to the performance measures on
page B -304, and I think, Mr. Chairman, I heard it described as deliberately concise. I think they are very,
very concise. And I wondered and if it was possible to
explain the performance measure which is To reduce
the number of “able- bodied” and/or “earnings low” clients from the prior year , that is, that are processed.
This to me did not seem in keeping with the mission of Financial Assistance to actually process applications
for Financial Assistance to as many people who might
need it. It actually is a performance measure which re-wards performance for reducing the number of applications which are processed. I thought I must misunderstand how that is measured. So could that be clarified?
I also wondered why there are no performance
measures which truly align with the delivery of services
to Financial Assistance clients. There are only three performance measures and only two of those relate to
delivery of services and one of those I have j ust
touched on.
I would actually like to know how many ablebodied and/or earnings low clients were served last
year and how many were served this year so that we
can understand if that number did reduce by 10 per
cent.
One of the stated performance measures, the
other one related to service delivery, is to reduce the
number of legitimate complaints from the prior year. And it is stated that this was reduced by 50 per cent this
last year. Mr. Chairman, my question is, What was the
total number of complaints lodged last year? How many of those complaints were deemed to be legitimate complaints? Mr. Chairman, what is the process for determining if a complaint is legitimate or not? And what was
the outcome of those complaint s?
Finally, Mr. Chairman, if you will permit me and
then I will be finished, the brief indicated that there are on average 59 monthly new applicants for Financial Assistance. What is the average monthly number of completed and vetted applications? And of those, how
many monthly applicants are successful in obtaining
any form of Financial Assistance? Again, an average is
fine.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, very quickly. This is Head 55, and I was looking
at the performance indicator Recoverable Debt. Was Financial Assistance involved in COVID -19 relief payments and can they provide an update on how many of
the erroneous COVID -19 relief payments have been recovered to date?
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Chairman: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Senator Tucker.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My
question is very much aligned with Senator De Couto’s
question. But mine is really, Can we get an update on
the total amount of recoverable debt . . . sorry, unrecoverable debt that the Ministry is going after? Looking at,
again, the performance measures on page B -304. The
actual outcome for 2022/23 was only 7 per cent and
then they have . . . it was reforecast to 15 per cent.
Which in my mind seems a bit low. So if we can get
some explanation as to whether 15 per cent is just a
low target or if there is a specific reason why it is as low
as 15 per cent.
And then the second question I have is from
page B -303 Employee Numbers. If the Junior Minister
can provide a breakdown on the staffing positions and
what is the caseworker to case load/client ratio. And I
would also like to know what international best practice
is for that ratio.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Senator Simmons, over to you. Thank
you.
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you. I have some
more answers for you.
DCFS will have three unfunded positions in this
budget year. Also Ageing and Disability Services has
three vacant funded posts.
Financial Assistance Training will be for local
training.
The increase in travel for the Ministry Headquarters reflects travel for the Minister and technical officers to attend [an] overseas meeting regarding gender
equality and youth affairs.
For FA, able -bodied unemployed persons currently stand at 81.
The Ministry headquarters will have only one
funded but unfilled post on 1 April 2024.
Still waiting on more answers, but that is what
I have so far.

Okay, Senator Tucker.

Sen. Robin Tucker: All right, great.
I have not asked any questions on Head 23 as
yet. So I would like to know from page B -295, Current
Account Expenditures on Travel. Can the Junior Minister tell us the number of visits the Director of Child and
Family Services conducted welfare checks for, for the
children in Psycho- Educational programmes at overseas therapeutic facilities during fiscal 2022/23 and
2023/24? And if they could provide the breakdown of travel costs associated with each of those visits,
please.
On Page B -296, Employee Numbers Independent Living [Programme]. There were no employees listed in the FTEs for that business unit, for the Independent Living [Programme] business unit. So can
the Junior Minister explain why there was no staffing
included in the Employee Numbers? And as well as, are there any staffing plans to address that particular
initiative?
I would like to know, again, in connection with
[page] B -294, Psycho- Ed, how many children are in
therapy today and their ages.
And then another question would be, again
same page, same Psycho- Ed, if the Junior Minister can
tell us the amount that has been budgeted for this year
for Huntsman [Mental Health Institute] for assessments for children. So for the, obviously, fiscal 2024/25.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Senator Tucker.
We are now on 7:00 pm, so we have three
minutes left. Senator Simmons and the—
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: I have some more answers
coming in.
For able- bodied unemployed, the reduction
from year to year is based on the total number of persons on FA from year to year.
Senior abuse. Many of our senior abuse cases
are open three months versus one year due to the fact that many of these cases involve investigations conducted by the Bermuda Police Service and said cases
may take longer than three months to investigate. Due
to the case complexities, and particularly financial exploitation cases, many of these cases are also often
dependent on the input and advice from the Department of Public Prosecutions. Finally, some of these
cases often transition to case management once clients assess ADS services.
The Youth Development Programmes, [business unit] 8602 will have an increase of $100,000 over the financial year 2023/24 budget due to the cost of
rent, covering costs formerly covered by Youth and
Sports section.
The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport has
youth performance. Junior athletes’ achievement award grants are for youth athletes. The Ministry of
Youth, Social Development and Seniors award grants
are for youth organisations and groups.
For DFA clients, complaints are received either
by the de pth or directed to the Minister’s office directly.
All complaints are responded to [expeditiously]. In addition, there were only two board appeals by clients
compared to four from the previous year, a reduction of
50 per cent.
We have eight children overseas at the moment. Their ages range from 12 to 17.
The Youth Outreach Programme, [business
unit] 8603 will have an increase of $185,000 due to salaries and costs of work to be done to repair fire and
safety systems.
I think I have two more coming in.

Two more coming in. Okay. We have
one minute, Senator, so . . .

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: The Department of Financial
Assistance staff comprise of one director, one deputy
director, four managers, sixteen officers, one controller,
two accounts officers, two investigative officers, five social workers, one executive assistant, seven relationship administrators and one relationship coordinator.
The funding allocated for Psycho- Ed does not
break out specific funding for Huntsman [Mental Health Institute]. It is for the entire programme which includes
assessments and further treatment as recommended.

Thank you, Senator.
Any objection to moving those heads?
Hearing none, these heads are so moved.
Thank you, Senator, and thank you everybody.


Bermuda Senate [Motion carried: The Ministry of Youth, Social Development and Seniors Heads 86, 23 and 55 were approved and stand part of the Estimates of Revenue and Ex-penditure for the year 2024/25.]
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Mr. Chairman, I move that
the Committee rise and report progress and ask for leave to sit again.

And now I transfer the Chair to Madam
President, Joan Dillas -Wright.
[Pause]
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Nobody wants to stay?
Everybody is leaving.

Senate resumed at 7:04 pm
[Sen. the Hon. Joan E. Dillas -Wright, President, presiding]

REPORT OF COMMITTEE

ESTIMATES OF REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE
FOR THE YEAR 2024 /25

The President: Good evening, Senators. Is there any
objection to the Committee rising and requesting to sit
again on [Thursday]?
No objection. So moved. I would like to take
this opportunity to thank Vice President Kiernan Bell and Senator John Wight for chairing the Committee today during the budget debates. Thank you and thank
you all Senators for your participation.
We will move on then with our agenda. Senators, I would like to inform you that Item 2 will be carried over and that is the [Government] Loans Amendment Act 2024.
So we will proceed with Item 3 which is the second reading of the Payroll Tax Amendment Act 2024 and that is in the name of Senator Arianna Hodgson, the Junior Minister for Finance.
Senator Hodgson, when you are ready you can
proceed.

STANDING ORDER 25
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I would like to start by moving that the provisions of Standing Order 25 be granted so that the Senate may now proceed with the second reading of the Bill entitled the Payroll Tax Amendment Act 2024.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.

[Motion carried: Leave granted for the Payroll Tax
Amendment Act 2024 to be read a second time on the
same day as the first reading.]

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that the Bill entitled the Payroll Tax
Amendment Act 2024 be now read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to the second
reading?
No objection.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.

BILL

SECOND READING

PAYROLL TAX AMENDMENT ACT 2024

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, I am
pleased to present the Payroll Tax Amendment Act
2024 . T his Bill will make amendments to the Payroll
Tax Act 1995 [the Act] by extending the relief under
both the new hire relief provisions of 2018 and 2020 from April 1, 2024, through March 31, 2026. The Bill will
also update the baseline date to April 1, 2022.
Madam President, this Bill will play an important part in the continued growth in our economy. The 2018 and 2020 reliefs have been very successful in adding to the Bermuda workforce, and it is anticipated that this extension will continue the trend for the
Island. The modifications are as follows:
• The extended period for the payroll tax relief will commence April 1, 2024, and is due to expire March 31, 2026.
• The base year will be amended to 2022 for the
purpose of determining matters in relation to
payroll tax relief for new hires.
• The relief will be applicable to all businesses
with annual remuneration of $500,000 or more.
• A qualifying employer is entitled to the new hire
relief for each of the tax periods commencing
April 1, 2024, and ending March 31, 2026, in
respect of qualifying employees, which will
generally include all new hires.
Madam President, in accordance with the relief
provided, a qualifying employer will not be liable to pay
the employer portion of payroll tax otherwise payable under this Act in respect of the employees who fall
348 20 March 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate within scope. However, a qualifying employer will not
be entitled to new hire relief if the employer is in arrears
with payment of payroll tax. Further, there is no entitlement to this relief for an applicable tax period unless
the total number of full -time employees is maintained
throughout the tax period.
Madam President, during the period in which
this programme has been in force, we have seen con-tinued increase in new hire relief applications particularly within the international business sector. Over
3,200 applications have been received to date from both the 2018 and t he 2020 new hire relief initiatives,
with 77.0 per cent of these being from the international
business sector. It is notable that since 2020 the inter-national business sector became Bermuda’s largest
employer, growing on average by 5.1 per cent annually. Further, the sector’s level of employment is now at
the highest that it has ever been recorded, surpassing
its peak in the 2008 pre- financial crisis. Between 2019
and 2023 the number of jobs in this sector has increased 22.1 per cent.
However, we would also note that this relief is
also available as a benefit to companies in the domestic sector. And as noted in the figures previously provided, there are domestic companies who have been able to take advantage of this relief.
Madam President, extending the programme
at this time is important to provide continued incentive for businesses to add to their employment pool. This
helps to create additional employment opportunities for
Bermudians and moves the country forward in expand-ing the workfor ce, which is critical to future economic
stability and sustainability. Therefore, it provides bene-fits to both the business community and the Bermuda community at large.
Changing the base date is also important as
there are some new businesses which have been op-erating in or from Bermuda which have started since
2018 and have not paid any employer tax, shifting the
burden disproportionately to our older, more established b usinesses. As has been indicated, it is anticipated that this change to the Act will contribute $30 million to our revenues, which is a positive development.
The $30 million revenue estimate is due to the replac-ing of the 2018 and 2020 initiatives with thi s new updated relief. We are pleased that employers have benefited from this employer portion relief; however, with
the improvement in the economy the Government can
now realise revenue in this area.
Madam President, as I conclude, I would again
like to highlight the continued positive changes that this Government has made to the payroll tax regime since
we have come into office, which has not only seen continued growth in revenues despite the pandemic, but
has also b eneficial to both the business community,
their employees and the country at large.
Thank you, Madam President .

The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson. Before I open the floor, I would just like to welcome two members of the Finance Ministry who are
with us tonight. Welcome to you both.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Senator De Couto, you have the floor.

Yes, thank you, Madam
President, and thank you to the Junior Minister for her
presentation. It is much appreciated.
We are certainly happy to support. As you
know we are, in the One Bermuda Alliance, big fans of
helping to get the economy going, helping to encourage
businesses starting up, helping to encourage employment at all levels of the economy, including IB, and also
including—very importantly, Madam President, very
much importantly —the local businesses.
I do have one or two questions that I hope the
Junior Minister might be able to answer or clarify for
me. My first question is, Do we see a need for having a
continuous rolling new hire relief to always stimulate
starting up businesses or helping start -up businesses
(at all levels) get back on their feet without having to perhaps come back in two years and revisit legislation?
I would like to know the Government ’s thoughts on that.
And then a little more of a technical question is,
if I have read all the Acts correctly, I feel like . . . and I
may have missed something because I know we have
had quite a lot of change in the payroll tax regime, even
this year, I feel. If I read this correctly, I feel like local
businesses with a payroll of less than $200,000 will not
be eligible for this relief. If the Junior Minister can confirm if I have got that correct —and I may not —and if I
do have it correct, if we can explain the thinking on that.
Because I am thinking about like a small shop, maybe
a small family business that is thinking of taking on an
assistant or a junior apprentice and what have you.
Like I said, we are very happy to support, with
just a few questions around the edges there, Madam
President .
Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
And while the Junior Minister is preparing to
answer the question, would any other Senator care to
ask questions?
Senator John Wight, you have the floor.

Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President .
Along with my Senate colleagues, I am happy to support this Bill.
Thank you.

The President: Thank you.
Senator Hodgson, when you are ready you can
respond to the questions.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: To Senator De Couto’s second question, I just wanted to clarify that the relief is
applicable to all businesses with annual remuneration


Bermuda Senate of $500,000 or more. I do appreciate his comments, but
that is the policy decision at this time.
And I will get some clarity regarding whether or
not we do see a continuous need for this type of benefit.

The President: With that said then . . . we will wait for
you for clarification.
[Pause]
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, the short
answer to Senator De Couto’s first question would be
that these decisions were made based on the economic realities of today and so we would likely revisit to see whether or not it is something that needed to be extended. But at this time we would not be able to con-firm. It is of course a policy matter for the Minister of Finance himself.
The President: Senator De Couto.

Thank you, Junior Minister.

The President: Proceed to move your Bill.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that the Bill entitled the Payroll Tax
Amendment Act 2024 be now read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to the second
reading?
No objection.

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I move that [Standing Order] 26 be suspended in respect of this Bill.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President. I move that the Bill entitled the Payroll Tax
Amendment Act 2024 be now read a third time.
The President: Is there any objection to the third reading?
No objection.

BILL

THIRD READING

PAYROLL TAX AMENDMENT ACT 2024
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that the Bill do now pass, and I thank
Members of the Senate for their support this evening.
The President: It has been moved that the Bill entitled
Payroll Tax Amendment Act 2024 do now pass.
Is there objection to that motion?
No objection. The Bill is passed.
[Motion carried: The Payroll Tax Amendment Act 2024 was read a third time and passed.]
The President: Thank you, Senator Hodgson, and
thank you all Senators for your support.

MOTION
The President: Minister Darrell, I believe, has a motion. Minister Darrell, when you are ready, you can pro-ceed.

TOURISM INVESTMENT (HAMILTON PRINCESS
AND BEACH CLUB) ORDER 2024

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President .
Madam President, per the provisions of Standing Order 16, I hereby present for the consideration of
Senate the
Tourism Investment (Hamilton Princess and
Beach Club) Order 2024 pr oposed to be made by the
Minister responsible for tourism, with the written agree-ment of the Minister of Finance, in exercise of the power conferred by section 5 of the Tourism Invest-ment Act 2017. I give notice that at the next day of meeting I will move that the said draft Order be approved.
Thank you, Madam President .

The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell, so moved.
Copies will be distributed.

350 20 March 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate CONGRATULATORY AND/OR OBITUARY
SPEECHES

The President: Would any Senator care to speak?
Oh? Nobody wants to speak.

ADJOURNMENT
The President: Minister Darrell.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I do ask that the Senate now
adjourn until Thursday , 21 March 2024.

The President: Thank you.
Would any Senator care to speak on the motion to adjourn?
It seems that no one wants to speak on the motion to adjourn. So, Senators, we have reached the end
of our day, and we will meet tomorrow at 10:00 am as
usual.
Senate stands adjourned. Thank you all.
[At 7:16 pm, the Senate stood adjourned until
10:00 am, Thurs day, 21 March 2024.]