February 28, 2024

We received notice from the following
Members that they will be absent today: the Premier,
who is attending the 46
th CARICOM Heads of Government meeting; Minister Hayward; Minister Campbell;
MP Famous; and MP Simmons -Wade will also be absent. MP Susan Jackson is attending the CPA UK Re-gional Caribbean Public Accounts Committees and
Trade Scrutiny Workshop in Trinidad. Those Members
have all notified sufficiently, so we duly noted it.

MESSAGES FROM THE SENATE

Thank you, Mr.
Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have been able
to table earlier today the
Audited Financial Statements
of the Bermuda Housing Trust [th e Trust]. The audit
was successfully completed by the Office of the Auditor General before the end of the last calendar year 2023 and within nine months of the close of the most recent
570 28 February 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly financial year for the Trust, March 31, 2023. Honourable Members should note that it is yet another clean
and unqualified audit for the Housing Trust conducted
by the Auditor General.
Mr. Speaker , Members may remember that
this Trust, established by statute nearly 60 years ago in
1965, was created to provide affordable rental accommodation for seniors. It now consists of five properties
spread throughout the Island : Heydon Trust, Dr. Cann
Park, Elizabeth Hills [Park] , Purvis Park and Ferguson
Park at Southside, St. David’s , providing homes for approximately 200 seniors.
Mr. Speaker , the financial statements show
that the Trust appears to be in a healthy financial posi-tion. While on paper that might appear to be so, the
trustees would not want me as the Minister responsible
to be misled and, by extension, Members of this House
or the general public. There is much work still to be
done, and the trustees have asked that I share with you
what it is that they are facing as they seek to fulfil their
mission of providing affordable rental accommodation for our sen iors.
Mr. Speaker , the first challenge is the demographic the Trust looks to serve. As M embers are
aware, the numbers of people over 65 years is growing.
And as our seniors live longer and lead healthier lives ,
they very much prize affordable rental accommodation that is within their budget but provides them as well with a quality of life that allows them to live independently —
i.e., without dependency on , or being a burden to , their
families. Frankly, it is probably what we all want for our
parents and ourselves as we grow older.
Mr. Speaker , based on current trends, the Bermuda Housing Trust anticipates that that demand will not diminish. Further , Members will be aware from recent reports on Bermuda’s ageing population that it is anticipated that by 2026, seniors 65 years and older will
represent one quarter of our population. The Housing
Trust maintains a constant waiting list of 100 applicants for homes . And bear in mind that the Trust does not
entertain applications until people reach the age of 65.
Mr. Speaker , the second challenge for the
Trust is prioriti sing accommodation where it can for
those in urgent need on the waiting list , which is no
easy task. But even more challenging is keeping up
with maintenance of its current stock while at the same
time maintaining its long- standing policy of not raising
the rent on any of its sitting tenants. To date, their tenants have been able to rely on the fact that their rent
will remain the same throughout their tenancy, whatever the length.
Mr. Speaker , the Bermuda Housing Trust
would like to maintain that policy for the benefit of our seniors who, in almost all cases, need that kind of support. That said, the trustees oversee what is an ageing
stock of homes which place greater and greater demands on maintenance and maintenance costs. Meanwhile , maintenance costs are increasing, and contractors are not always easy to secure for what is in some cases major work. Work must also be scheduled around what their tenant seniors can accommodate.
Some of that outstanding work also remains as a holdover from what could not be tackled when COVID -19
struck and precautions had to be taken to protect the vulnerability of seniors.
Mr. Speaker , the Trust is determined to tackle
this outstanding work and get routine maintenance back on track, but it is going to take time and money.
The commitment is there, and to make the Trust more
effective in meeting the needs of its clients, the Trust now has a permanent full -time staff of two. Until this
year, it had tried to function with just one, as remarkable
as that might sound. The Trust now has an Executive
Director, Ms. Chandra Arandjelovic , and an Office Administrator , Ms. Sharon Smith. The Trust has also engaged a part -time property maintenance manager under a contract of services, Mr. Ross Roberts, and as
well Ms. Judy Knight continues to assist part -time two
days a week, principally looking in on tenants and on
the condition of their premises.
Mr. Speaker, Members will appreciate the
strain that this places on the Trust budget. But the former way of trying to function well was no longer possible. A further change was necessitated when the Trust
found that it had to change its office location. A new central office was essential , and after an extensive
search the Trust was able to locate new premises in
Washington Mall Lane just off of Church Street and just
down from the Hamilton City bus terminal. The new rent
represented an increase but was sec ured at a reasonable rent and with much- needed additional office
space.
Mr. Speaker , one other additional expense that
remains a continuing burden on the finances of the
Trust is the outstanding loan that was taken out to construct Dr. Cann Park in Southampton. As Members can
see from the financial statements, that loan was for
$12.5 million. Those statements also show that the
Trust has successfully been paying down on the loan
to where it now stands at just under $3 million. The trustees would like you to know that this is no easy task
when it holds the line on rents at Dr. Cann Park . But the
cost of maintenance at the property alone climbs , and
that is because the infrastructure there is part prefab,
four blocks , three storeys high, with wooden steps. In
the coming financial year, the Trust is having to tackle
two major projects which together will cost more than
$250,00 0, and this is on top of regularly scheduled
maintenance and anything else that might unexpectedly arise.
Mr. Speaker , Dr. Cann Park consists of 100
one-bedroom units and no rent is greater than $1,000
a month. With its commitment to the bank [HSBC ] to
pay off the loan monthly, Members will appreciate the
challenge trustees are facing when it comes to funding major and routine maintenance. The Bermuda Housing
Trust does not receive any funding from the Government of Bermuda, but the Ministry of Public Works and


Bermuda House of Assembly the Bermuda Housing Corporation have been able to
provide in- kind support from time to time. Architectural,
engineering and project management support have
been provided on a regular basis. The trustees work on
behalf of the Housing Trust for a welcome and muchneeded cause: affordable homes for our seniors.
Mr. Speaker , I would like to publicly
acknowledge and thank the trustees of the Bermuda Housing Trust for their tireless work and commitment to
this important work over many years. Thank you to the
Hon. John Barritt, Chairman; Deputy Chair , Mrs. Rochelle Simons; Mr. Anthony Mouchette; Mr. Daniel
Robinson; Mr. Juan Smith; Ms. Thelma Hart; Mr. Marco
Bortoli; and Mr. Alexander Abbott. All of whom, I am
pleased to report, will be joined this current calendar year by new member, former Head of the Public Service, Dr. Derrick Binns.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again for the listening public, we are at
day number two of the annual Budget Debate. This
morning we will start with the debate on the Ministry of
Legal Affairs. And that will be a four -hour debate. A gain
for the listening audience, once we get into the Committee of Supply for those debates , the Speaker will not
be in the House. It is in the hands of the Chairman under the direction of the Deputy Speaker.
And we will now call on the Deputy Premier to
lead us into Committee. And the Chairman for this
morning will take the first session.
Deputy Premier.

Hon. Walter H. Roban: Good morning, Mr. Speaker.
Good morning to the listening public and colleagues.
I move that the House do now resume in Committee of Supply to consider the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for 2024/25.

Good morning Honourable Members .
We are now in the Committee of Supply for further consideration of the Estimates of Revenue and Expendi-ture for the year 2024 /25, with the current h eads to be
done. Heads 87, 3, 4, 74, 75 and 88 are now to be debated.
I call on the Minister, or the Attorney General ,
in charge to proceed.
Minister, you have the floor.
MINISTRY OF LEGAL AFFAIRS

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Good morning, Mr.
Chairman, and good morning, Members, and good morning to the listening public.
I move, Mr. Chairman, the following h eads:
• 87—Ministry of Legal Affairs Headquarters;
• 3—Judicial Department;
• 4—Attorney General’s Chambers;
• 74—Department of Court Services;
• 75—Department of Public Prosecutions; and
572 28 February 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly • 88—National Drug Control
be now taken under consideration.

Go ahead, Minister.

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, it would be remiss of me not to
preface my remarks by acknowledging my Comptroller,
Onika Mendes; and the Head of the Ministry, Permanent Secretary Gina Hurst -Maybury, who are with us
this morning in the Chamber.
I also would like to acknowledge the hard work
of the public officers who actually have put these
budget briefs together. And I say that because this is
not just about numbers. These officers have worked
tirelessly to ensure that our expenditure fits within the
cash limit delivered by the Ministry of Finance, and they have done a great job. I have four hours to present their
contributions, which is never enough time. But I will do
my best to discharge my responsibility within the limit
provided.
So I would like to extend gratitude to the DPP
Cindy Clarke; the Solicitor General Melvin Douglas ;
and his deputies Solicitor General Shakira Dill -Francois; the acting CPC (that is Chief Parliamentary Counsel) Amani Lawrence; the Senior Legal Counsel from
Legal Aid, and that would be Susan Moore- Williams;
from the staff of the FIA [Financial Intelligence Agency],
or to them, great thanks for their contributions; Consumer Affairs, Karen Marshall; the Financial Sanctions Implementation Unit, our head is Renee Foggo; the
NDC [National Drug Control] Director, Joanne Dean; the Director of Court Services, Derek Flood; and the Registrar of the Judicial Department, Alexandra Wheatley. Thank you so much for the time and effort that you put into this exercise this morning.

HEAD 97 —MINISTRY OF LEGAL AFFAIRS
HEADQUARTERS

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: So, Mr. Chairman, I am
pleased to present the budget brief for the Ministry of
Legal Affairs. The mission statement and department
objectives for the Ministry Headquarters begin on page
B-77 of the Estimates Book. The Ministry will plan and
prioritise its operational programmes and activities to
achieve tangible outcomes within the upcoming financial year. All resources will be utilised to enhance deliverables whilst remaining responsibly within the fiscal allocation.
With regard to current expenditure, Mr. Chairman, the Legal Affairs Ministry’s current expenditure al-location commences at page B -77 of the Approved Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year
2024/25, which we refer to as the Budget Book. A budget ceiling of $33,210,000 is allocated to the entire Ministry for the 2024/25 fiscal year. This represents a
mere $11,000 decrease from the current 2023/24 fiscal year, which means it is almost flat in its allocation. A balance will be attained between optimi sing spending
limits without overly compromising the efficient delivery
of services and programmes. Focus will be given to
evaluating programme effectiveness over the next two -
year period.
Mr. Chairman, overall expenditure allocations
to the Ministry by department are as follows:
• the Ministry of Legal Affairs Headquarters, $5,803,000;
• Attorney General’s Chambers, $5,702,000;
• the Department of Public Prosecutions,
$3,703,000;
• the Judicial Department, $9,551,000;
• the Department of Court Services, $4,397,000; and
• the Department of National Drug Control,
$4,054,000.

Mission Statement and Objectives

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: The mission statement of
Headquarters is to provide a fair administration of access to justice and also protect consumer interests.
The Department Objectives , Mr. Chairman:
The Ministry of Legal Affairs Headquarters continues to
expand upon its existing initiatives and will in the up-coming fiscal year embrace new initiatives as far as
practically possible, exercising fiscal prudence in mak-ing good use of its allocation. The objectives of the Ministry of Legal Affairs Headquarters are as follows:
• to advance the Government’s policy initiatives
under the direction of the Minister of Legal Affairs;
• to ensure the Government’s legal services mandates are upheld through the delivery of
effective legal representation;
• to effect synergies amongst Ministry departments to ensure overall policy objectives are
met;
• to implement and monitor the targeted financial sanctions regime and to ensure Government’s
compliance with UN’s and UK’s obligations and
to mitigate any associated risks; and finally,
• to ensure that consumer products are safe
through effective enforcement standards and
regulation of business practices.
Mr. Chairman, the Ministry’s overall budget priorities are structured to ensure effective execution of
the mandates of essential programmes and to advance
the implementation of the Government’s strategic direction, utilising the allocat ed resources. Its overall responsibilities are immensely targeted and far -reaching
to impactfully benefit the community.
Mr. Chairman, some of the programmes and
mandates through its vast portfolio provide critical legal services which have a direct impact upon the administration of justice. In addition, they protect vulnerable

B ermuda House of Assembly witnesses in the criminal justice system, deliver effective family management regimes and provide certified education, treatment, prevention and awareness to protect our youth and adults from the scourges of ad-diction to illicit drugs and alcohol. All of these will be expanded upon within respective individual departments’ budget briefs.
With regard to revenue, Mr. Chairman, I begin
with a brief synopsis of the Ministry’s revenue stream
as I expound upon the overall budget. The department’s sections under the Ministry’s portfolio whose
mandates directly entail generating revenue are the Judicial Department, the Department of National Drug
Control and the Consumer Affairs Section of Ministry Headquarters. The Judicial Department’s revenue stream, Mr. Chairman, is projected to yield $4,329,000 during the 2024/25 fiscal year. This amounts to $1,198,000, or 22 per cent, less than the 2023/24 original estimate.
Mr. Chairman, the National Drug Control Department’s projected revenue is $7,927 for partial pay-ment of rent for transitional living facilities. Ministry Headquarters has projected additional revenue of
$59,000 which will be earned from licence fees and penalties under the Consumer Affairs business unit, which now falls under Ministry Headquarters. There-fore, cumulatively within the Ministry, the revenue is ex-pected to be $4,396,000.
Mr. Chairman, with regard to the current expenditures chart, Ministry Headquarters, the figures for the estimate of expenditures show an anticipated de-crease in spending for fiscal year 2024/25. Mr. Chair-man, a total of $5,803,000 allocated to Headquarters
represents a decrease of $203,000, or 3 per cent —
[Crosstalk ]

Members, if we could use our dulcet
tones when having conversations.
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Okay. I cannot shout for
too long, colleagues.
—or 3 per cent from the 2023/24 original estimate. The adjustments will be reflected in each corresponding section.
Mr. Chairman, the Ministry of Legal Affairs
Headquarters is subdivided into seven fiscally identifia-ble programmes, or business units, as follows:
•97000, Administration;
•97010, Financial Intelligence Agency, which is
a grantee;
•97020, Consumer Affairs;
•97030, the Legal Aid Office;
•97070, the Justice Protection Programme;
•97080, the Financial Sanctions Implementation
Unit; and
•97100, which represents the Law Reform
Commission.I will proceed to address these business units
individually, Mr. Chairman, as follows.
Administration, 97000
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: This Administration business unit provides for the administrative and personnel
costs associated with the daily operation of the Ministry
Headquarters for which a total of $542,000 has been
allocated. This represents , Mr. Chairman, a notable decrease of $291,000, or 35 per cent, from the 2023/24
original es timate. The reduction is mainly due to decreased expenditure for consulting services , software
maintenance, training and overseas travel costs.
Funding from the Administration cost centre
will be used for s alaries for four staff in the amount of
$344,000. Also, $100,000 is allocated for c onsulting
costs. Telephone expenses have an allocated cos t of
$49,000. And $12,000 is allocated for office supplies .
The remaining funds are allocated for food, hospitality,
training, repair and maintenance in the amount of
$37,000. Throughout fiscal year 2023/24 to date
$32,000 was expended on telephone expens es. Out of
the consultancy allotment, collectively, $46,000 was
spent on consulting fees for research on models for establishing an Office of the Public Guardian and engaging support for approximately two months during the
transition of the former Law Reform Policy and Strategy
Counsel until a new postholder was on board. A total of
$18,000 was s pent on office supplies.
Ministry Initiatives
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, I will
now detail some of the principal initiatives undertaken
by Ministry Headquarters in the 2023/24 fiscal year.
Any further re-quired actions for thes e initiatives will
be carried over into fiscal year 2024/25.
Mr. Chairman, Ministry Headquarters’ support
for preparations for jurisdictional peer review of Bermuda to assess and ensure our compliance with anticorruption standards remains active. Section 22 of the
Bribery Act 2016 establishes a National Anti-C orruption
and Bribery Committee, which is chaired by the Commissioner of Police. The implementation review mechanism (or IRM, as they refer to it) will evaluate how effective agencies are in detecting, investigating and
prosecuting c orruption matters. There are no identified
budgetary allotments for this initiative, as a jurisdictional peer review is principally underwritten by the
United Nations.
Mr. Chairman, the Government continues to
recognise the myriad of benefits that cannabis reform
can bring. And the Ministry will continue to provide support for the advancement of this initiative in compliance
with international conventions . Approximately $50,000
is allocated for the projected adminis tration of this initiative. Implementation will require further funding consideration as the programme progresses . Mr.
574 28 February 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Chairman, the provisions within the Cannabis Licensing Bill 2022 as approved by the Legislature remain
valid options under further consideration for education
and other services to protect the community. Members
will recall the objective of the exercise was to establish
the Cannabis Licensing Authority to be the statutory
regulator to oversee the issuance of licences, inspection, compliance and enforcement of the cannabis licensing regime. The Authority w ill also make recommendations to the Minister respons ible for drug prevention and related policy issues, and the administration of the Act.
The intention is to usher in a new regulatory regime licensing all activities involved directly or ancillary to the cultivation, import, export, production, sales, supply, use or transport of cannabis or medicinal cannabis
or products derived from cannabis or medicinal cannabis in Bermuda. An objective is to restrict access for
young persons and discourage inducement to use cannabis. Specifically, persons under 21 are not permitted
to consume or use cannabis. Work remains actively en-train to finalise a cons tructive resolution and compliance with international conventions. And, Mr. Chairman, you will hear updates from me before this session
is over in regard to this initiative.
Mr. Chairman, Ministry Headquarters continued work toward advancing a framework toward imple-mentation of the Office of the Public Guardian. It was realised that with restrictions in the budget, this initiative is best advanced in collaboration with the Min istry
of Youth, Social Development and Seniors, with ongoing partnership with the Ministry of Health. We all recognise the need for advocacy and services for vulnerable citizens who cannot themselves manage their health or legal and financial affairs. Ther efore, the collaboration will further advance this initiative toward the necessary administrative responsibilities for implemen-tation. Further undertakings will be explored thereafter
with a thorough review of the ultimate resource requirements and securit y of the needed funding.
Mr. Chairman, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (or CICB) has the mandate of providing
financial rewards to victims of violent crime and/or their
families as per the Criminal Injuries (Compensation)
Act 1973. The Board ’s activities are supported with an
allocated budget of $ 208,000 for 2024/25. This is a
$117,000, or 36 per cent, decrease from the 2023/24
fiscal year allocation. Two compensation awards were
made in the 202 3/24 fiscal year amounting to approximately $10,100.
Mr. Chairman, following a Supreme Court ruling, ex gratia payments will be made to five applicants
whose claims for compensation were rejected by the Board. This occurred in the wake of an historic administrative anomaly being identified within the scheme. In
particular, there was no deadline specified on the application form for the submission of applications. Therefore, applicants did not submit their documentation in a
timely manner and as per the Act, the Board declined any award in those matters. All application forms have
now been amended to clearly highlight the deadline.
Mr. Chairman, the administrative support for
the Board was undertaken by administrative personnel
within the Ministry. However, this has proven to be bur-densome. Therefore, alternative means of providing
the support will be explored. Policy development lea ding to recommendations for legislative amendments will
be conducted in the upcoming fiscal year so that the
framework for granting awards is revised to be more
cost-effective and compliant with local jurisprudence.
Whilst the Ministry Headquarters has in recent
years been responsible for the administration of the
programme, the funding lies within the Judicial Department’s budget allocation. And I expect it will soon be
moved over to Ministry Headquarters.
Mr. Chairman, the Headquarters for this Ministry also has responsibility for managing applications for
the expungement of criminal convictions for possession
of small amounts of cannabis, per the Expungement of
Convictions Act 2020. I am pleased to highlight that the
Expungement of Convictions (Criminal Records) Reg-ulations 2023 made allowances for a targeted deeming
provision, and as a result 43 expungement orders have been issued, an 83 per cent increase from the numbers
made previously. This is a testament to our commit-ment to assisting members of the public to eradicate convictions for small -amount possessions incurred before those amounts were decriminalised.
Mr. Chairman, the amendment made provisions so that when the amount of cannabis is not stated
on the conviction record, the amount is deemed to be
less than or equal to the statutory threshold of seven grams for purposes of making expungement orders
pursuant to the Act if (a) a cannabis possession conviction was prior to December 20, 2017; (b) the expungement applicant’s BPS criminal record does not state the amount of cannabis for which the applicant was convicted; and, as Members will recall, (c) the pena lty upon
conviction did not exceed $1,000 or 12 months conditional discharge. The above deeming criteria was devised after careful analysis of information contained in
expungement applicants’ BPS criminal records.

And for the listening audience, we are
in the Committee of Supply debating Head 87 under the
Ministry of Legal Affairs.

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, the Ministry Headquarters remains responsive to the eff ectiveness of the Public Notification for Sex Offenders protocols , which are intended to prevent repeat of one of our most heinous
crimes on our children. Two public notifications were
issued this past year pursuant to section 329H of the
Criminal Code, specifically the amendment of 2018
[Criminal Code (Sex Offender Management) Amendment Act 2018],. Notwithstanding, in all cases of


Bermuda House of Assembly offender s’ being released from incarceration, under the
protocol’s notification is given to the victim and/or their
family prior to the offender ’s release from the correctional facility . The protocols remain under review with a
view to implementing recommendations for improvements as necessary.
Mr. Chairman, comprehensive review of the
outdated landlord and tenant legislation is well under-way. The policy objective is to improve the quality of the
landlord and tenancy regime to the benefit of both the
property owners and renters. Further steps toward suc-cessful implementation of a revised regime that is mutually beneficial are anticipated once approved by Cabinet and passage through the Legislature.
Mr. Chairman, we have recognised and shared
previously that the Government cannot directly control
food prices. However, the Cost of Living Commission has statutory powers under the Cost of Living Commission Act 1974. Hence the Cost of Living (Essential
Commodities) Regulations 2022 aim to provide duty relief to retailers so that, ultimately, customers see reductions in their bills at the cash register for essential food
items. In mid- fiscal year 2023/24 the newly appointed
Cost of Living Commission commenc ed its work to provide recommendations on essential commodities and
to build the necessary infrastructure to ensure accountability and understanding for compliance with the regulations. This remains a work in progress as the com-missioners are volunteers and the work required is understandably intensive.
Mr. Chairman, the Ministry’s Pupillage Programme highlights and salutes two aspiring female lawyers: Ms. Ashley Fubler and Ms. Tjana Wharton, who
enrolled in the programme and have since been admitted to the Bermuda Bar in December 2023 and February 2024, respectively. The third pupil, Mr. Audley Quallo, is in the final stages of his pupillage rotation as he commenced after the other pupils, and it is anticipated that he will have the same success by June of
this year.
Ministry Headquarters has remained fully committed to supporting the Minister’s promises (my promises) to promote the development of pathways for Bermudians to join the legal profession. The sections within the Ministry continue to provide mentoring and
development opportunities to our young aspiring barristers who derive measurable dividends under the tutelage of dedicated pupil masters within the Ministry. The
well-rounded rotations expose the pupils to varying operational areas of law throughout this por tfolio.
Mr. Chairman, the Pupillage Programme will
continue to operate under the leadership and supervision of highly experienced senior lawyers, with an allocation of $24 5,000 for the 2024/25 fiscal year. This
makes provision for three additional pupils to reap the
benefits and to later be admitted to the Bermuda Bar.
Mr. Chairman, of note, the responsibility for
constitutional reform was removed from this Ministry in
October 2023 and transferred to the Ministry of Home Affairs Headquarters. Hence, we no longer speak to
this initiative.
Mr. Chairman, during the upcoming 2024/25
fiscal year, the Ministry of Legal Affairs Headquarters
will enhance existing initiatives and programmes with a
reduced budget allotment. This will include amendments to the Landlord and Tenant Act 1974, review of
specified programmes such as the Women’s Treatment
Centre, review of models for strategic and sustainab le
law reform, and review of infrastructure and resources necessary to deliver on existing programmes, priorities and services.
I will now detail the budgets and key highlights
for each section within the remit of the Ministry Head-quarters.

Consumer Affairs

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Consumer Affairs is business unit 97020. We will start there. Mr. Chairman, the
original estimate for 2023/24 was $917,000, and the
estimate for 2024/25 is $977,000, which is an increase
of $60,000, or 7 per cent. Mr. Chairman, the Consumer
Affairs’ budget allocation can be found under the Min-istry of Legal Affairs Head 87 on pag e B-78 of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for this upcoming
year.
The mission and objectives, Mr. Chairman, or
the mandate of the Consumer Affairs business unit is
to consistently deliver proficient and professional ser-vices that empower consumers to make informed decisions, to effectively protect consumer rights and to ensure compliance, licensing and self -regulation by commercial enterprises, debt collection agencies , vacation
rentals and residential landlords.
In support of its mandate, the mission statement of Consumer Affairs reflects the values which
drive its regulatory activities , and I quote, “T o operate
with integrity, transparency and efficiency in the fulfil-ment of its mandate and the protection of consumer interests. ”
Mr. Chairman, i n order to consistently achieve
its purpose, Consumer Affairs ’ mandates require that
their focus areas include the following:
• providing a market that is fair, equitable, transparent and accountable, thus providing an
economy that works for both businesses and
consumers;
• providing the appropriate level of support and
advice to consumers through active consumer
engagement, education, empowerment and
enforcement to build confidence and trust with
all stakeholders within a given transaction;
• establishing and enforcing product safety
standards;
• providing the appropriate level of support and
advice to commercial businesses, debt collection agencies and residential landlords through active oversight, education and assistance;
576 28 February 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly • providing timely responses to consumer complaints received;
• providing timely responses when receiving applications for issuing debt collection licences,
vacation rental licences , rent increase assessment appeals and product safety recalls;
• ensuring residential tenants are protected from
unlawful evictions and landlords are afforded a
fair economic return on their rental units ;
• providing external stakeholders with the assistance and guidance needed to assist disadvantaged and vulnerable members of society;
• providing accurate information, advice and assistance with respect to the management of
civil court proceedings;
• remaining mindful of international methods of
best practices and industry developments that
may impact consumer interests; and finally,
• collaborating and consulting with various government departments and public sector stakeholder groups.

Expenditure Overview
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, the Consumer Affairs Business Unit has a budget of $9 77,000,
which as previously stated is an increase of 7 per cent
over last year ’s budget. The majority of the various areas of expenditure have remained the same as the 2023/24 allocation.
The Consumer Affairs Board and Cost of Living
Commission fees remained at an amount of $50,000.
The Community Outreach budget will be $12,000 to ac-commodate the website education initiatives.
As part of phase 1 of the development of Consumer Affairs’ website, educational content regarding
the provisioning of consumer goods and services was
uploaded to ensure that consumers are equipped with the information needed to actively protect their consumer interests and interact with commercial entities.
Phase 2 of the Consumer Affairs website educational
guidance was generated to specifically educat e and
guide local businesses on how to navigate Bermuda’s
Consumer Protection legislative framework and high-light general methods for best practice when conducting business with consumers.
This educational content was utilised by the
Bermuda Economic Development Corporation as part
of their ongoing initiative to assist entrepreneurs in the
pursuit of their commercial interests. Phase 2, money management, reflects the feedback received from
presentations made at lunch- and-learns; school seminars; and meetings with different ministries, organisations and charities. Topics covered are money management, mortgage, insurance, credit cards, declarations of bankruptcy, appearances in Magistrates’ Court and debt collection practices.

Revenue Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, t he Revenue Summary for the Ministry Headquarters is found on page B -76. It is projected that Consumer Affairs will collect $ 59,000 during the fiscal period from the collection
of licensing fees for debt collectors seeking a new li-cence at $2,000, and the renewal of an existing licence
is $1,000. Vacation rentals licensing fee is $1,500 per
year, and a rent control appeal is $150. This revenue is
recorded against the revenue for the Ministry Headquarters.

Staffing

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, the Consumer Affairs business unit comprises eight FTE (full -
time equivalent) posts for a total cost of $764,000. Out
of the eight FTEs, one administrative post has been transferred from the Ministry of Home Affairs Headquarters. Mr. Chairman, the Consumer Affairs Board
was established t o make provision for the protection of
consumers in respect of unfair business practices and the safety of consumer goods.
One of the primary responsibilities of Consumer Affairs is to preserve, protect and enforce consumers ’ rights when purchasing goods and services.
Consumer Affairs also license and regulate debt collec-tors and provide complete oversight on how debt is managed and pursued to ensure fairness and consistency within this industry.
Mr. Chairman, the current year expenditures to
date for this section are realised in the following areas:
• $3,000 spent on office supplies;
• $21,400 spent on online advertising and promotions;
• $5,900 for electricity; and
• $47,000 for building rental.
Mr. Chairman, Consumer Affairs officers engage with stakeholders to gain a clear understanding of their efforts to navigate an ever -changing commodities
landscape while seeking workable solutions to address consumers’ demands and protection. The global conflict has significantly affected the sto ck market exchange rates, inflation, food and product supply, oil and
government coffers as they deploy initiatives to ease
the burden on families and businesses through the essential commodities list, subsidies and reduced taxes.
The escalating conflicts in the trade routes such as the
Red Sea are having a negative effect on Bermuda’s
consumers and business as the re- alignment of global
alliances is showing signs of de- globalisation due to the
shifting trade balances and routes.
Consumer Affairs will continue their work with
industry stakeholders to find viable solutions to meet
the needs of local consumers.

And for the listening audience, we are
still on Head 87 under the Ministry of Legal Affairs, with the focus on Consumer Affairs.


Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, the global conflict has permanently changed the landscape on how consumers behave, think and spend. Many of the complaints to Con-sumer Affairs are different in nature, as consumers face
escalating debt, reduction of employment hours or
layof f, trying to keep old cars working, second- hand
nightmares, and it goes on, along with those who needed guidance and introduction to agencies that
could assist them, all whilst providing support through the process. There were a total of 2,900 complaints t o
this section in 2023.
One of the interesting trends, Mr. Chairman,
that was noted by the section was the increase of fathers having total custody of their children. Many of the
fathers whom we see are either in seasonal jobs or work for themselves. They expressed feelings of being
overwhelmed financially and emotionally but carry with
them a sense of pride and love for their children. Consumer Affairs assist by listening and offering validation and guidance to address their concerns.
Mr. Chairman, Consumer Affairs is also responsible for rent -controlled vacation rentals. This past
year Consumer Affairs was tasked with the implemen-tation of the Vacation Rentals (Application and Registration) Fees Act 2023. This required operational
changes to the vacation rental industry in the following ways:
• Owners will now apply for a licence, not a certificate.
• The property inspections are more comprehen-sive, using the same criteria as Tourism.
• A valid licence now has a set time for applica-tion, as the licences are operational from September to August of the following year.
• If the property meets the inspection criteria for
a licence, an invoice is sent to the applicant to
pay the licensing fee in full. The fee for those
licences that fall under rent control is $1,500 per year.
Mr. Chairman, the Consumer Affairs Office has
outlined their plans for the upcoming year. Over the
next fiscal year, a number of policy priorities and reforms are earmarked for Consumer Affairs. Included in
these are amendments to
• the Landlord and Tenant Act 1974;
• the Rent Increases (Domestic Premises) Control Act 1978; and
• the Rent Increases (Domestic Premises) Con-trol Rules 1972.
This will bring landlord and tenant law up to
date with jurisdictional and market trends and further
reduce landlord/tenant disputes.
Developing a regulated environment and effective oversight for boarding houses and private home room rentals (i.e., lodges) is slated to occur. Amendments to the Consumer Protection Act 1999 to broaden
its protection and scope and to create new civil penalties for breaches. Establishing a greater collaboration with the Bermuda Monetary Authority to
strengthen pathways for investigation and resolution of
consumer complaints about financial institutions. The
BMA and Consumer Affairs are having discussions on how we can as a team address consumer concerns in
respect of mortgage reform. To explore staffing levels
to meet the proposed and additional legislation that
may come into effect and to further advance the replacement and implementation for a fully operati onal
and fit -for-purpose case management system. The
highlight, Mr. Chairman, [is] that the Management Consultancy Section of the Department of Employee and
Organisational Development has been contracted to
conduct a comprehensive review of this section al ong
with accompanying recommendations.
Mr. Chairman, the Consumer Affairs Annual
Report provides an accurate account and information
about its overall operations, roles, mandates and responsibilities. This report was released in April 2023. I
highlight an excerpt from that report on Consumer Affairs, and I quote, “ensure that commercial entities
providing consumer goods and services do not subject
their prospective customers or consumers to ‘ unfair
business practices ’, ‘unconscionable acts ’ or products
unsafe for consumer consumption or use.”
Considering this one area within their remit
alone, Mr. Chairman, this is by no means a minor feat.
The Consumer Affairs Section provides a wide range of
services to the general public, and their roles cannot be
underestimated. Given the raft of initiatives planned
and as the areas of responsible regulation evolved under Consumer Affairs’ mandate, Ministry Headquarters is committed to exercise all best efforts for the upcoming fiscal year to ensure appropriate resourcing for all
aspects of Consumer Affairs. That commences with the
request for a review of this section by the Management
Consulting Section of the Department of Employee and
Organisational Development, which is now underway.
Mr. Chairman, I recognise the challenging work
delivered by the Consumer Affairs Section, and we extend personal thanks once again to the executive officer and all personnel of this section for their diligence
and commitment even in facing adversity in the volume
and complexities of the consumer complaints that they
manage. We also acknowledge the arduous work of the
Consumer Affairs Board and the Cost of Living Commission.

Legal Aid Office

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, I now
move on to the Legal Aid Office, which falls under busi-ness unit 97030. Mr. Chairman, t he Legal Aid Office ’s
purpose is to ensure that legal advice and representation is readily available to those who need it most and
who, because of limited financial means, would otherwise be unable to secure access to justice. T he office’s
mission statement is T o provide high- quality legal
578 28 February 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly representation to those who qualify for assistance under the Legal Aid Act 1980. The office fulfils this role by
providing clients who qualify for the scheme with quality professional legal services in a timely and efficient
manner. Mr. Chairman, the Legal Aid Scheme is ad-ministered by the Legal Aid Committee under the authority of the Lega l Aid Act [ 1980 ].
For 2024/25, its budget allocation is
$1,867,000. This is a $ 41,000, or 2 per cent, increase
from the 2023/24 original estimate allocation. Of the
2024/25 allocation, Mr. Chairman, $ 1,036,000 , or
55 per cent , represents salaries for the administrative
and managerial staff , as well as in- house Legal Aid
counsel. A total of $600,000 , or 32 per cent, represents
costs allocated for legal services paid to external counsel. The remaining $23 1,000, or 13 per cent , represents administrative expenses inclusive of committee
fees and the mandatory professional indemnity insurance and cost of annual Bermuda Bar Association fees
for the complement of in- house counsel.
Mr. Chairman, the Legal Aid Office ensures
that all assisted persons, persons in treatment courts and young persons receive quality representation and
timely access to justice. Internally, the office made
great strides in the areas of team- building, recruitment
and increased administrative efficiency. Legal fees remain the largest area of expenditure with the exception of salaries. Accurate prediction of legal fees over this period was challenging because fees paid to external
counsel were dependent on a number of difficult -to-predict factors.
There was unfortunately a steady increase in
the rate of murder and serious criminal offences from
2020 to 2023. Many cases where individuals were charged with serious offences between 2020 and 2022
could not proceed to trial until this fiscal period due t o
the impact of the pandemic on the operations of the court and related departments. Focused efforts by the
courts, the Department of Public Prosecutions, the Legal Aid counsel and external counsel to address the
backlog of cases necessarily increased the cost of legal
fees in this time period.
Mr. Chairman, the Legal Aid Committee required briefing proposals from external counsel to en-sure legal fees were strictly necessary and reasonable.
But it was difficult to forecast in which fiscal period a
trial would actually proceed, and counsel would s ubmit
an account. In this period, a number of accounts were
submitted for serious trials completed in the previous
period. Mr. Chairman, three Privy Council matters were approved by the committee, while savings to the plan
were realised by the use of Legal Aid counsel as local
instructing counsel. In some cases, United Kingdom
counsel was necessary to efficiently move applications
and appeals forward in that jurisdiction.
Multi -defendant trials, Mr. Chairman, for serious offences required that external counsel represent co-defendants. Generally, only one defendant in a
multi -defendant case can be represented by in- house counsel due to potential conflicts of interest between the position of each defendant.
Mr. Chairman, there were a number of retrials
after successful appeals or hung juries. Costs to the
Legal Aid plan increased whenever the DPP deter-mines it is necessary to try individuals for a second or
third time for the same offences. Mr. Chairman, Lega l
Aid cases in the criminal arena, particularly Supreme
Court matters, currently comprise approximately 54 per
cent of the indictments scheduled to be heard in 2024. The Legal Aid Office continues to collaborate with the Judiciary and the DPP to reduce the backlog of trials
for offences that were committed prior to 2023 and to
ensure all assisted persons receive equal and expeditious access to justice.
For the current fiscal year, expenses incurred,
including salaries, are as follows:
• legal fees for external counsel of $594,0000;
• telephone expenses of $5,700;
• no fees were paid out for consultants over the
period under review;
• $7,300 was spent on board and committee fees;
• $90,000 was apportioned for electricity, rent
and maintenance;
• $8,800 was allocated for cleaning; and
• $18,700 was allocated for office supplies, print-ing, books and professional law periodicals.

Legal Services

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: I now turn to Legal Services, Mr. Chairman. Between the period 1 April 2023
and 31 January 2024, the Legal Aid Office processed a
total of 170 new applications. There were 112 criminal
matters, 41 civil matters and 17 matrimonial matters. Of
the total 170 new applications for funding, 102 matters
were approved and 68 were declined.
Mr. Chairman, individual client cases managed
by in -house counsel over the period under review resulted in cost savings of approximately $590,000 in le-gal fees which would otherwise have been paid to external counsel. Cost savings were realised in many areas with the strategic use of Legal Aid counsel to assist individuals before the courts. The Legal Aid Office provides representation in criminal and civil cases, which
includes the Family Court. Legal Aid counsel do the bulk of the duty counsel work for t he Plea Court, Juvenile Plea Court, Drug Treatment Court Programme,
Driving Under the Influence Treatment Court Pro-gramme and Mental Health Treatment Court Programme. Without the work of Legal Aid counsel in these
important court programmes, the cost to the public for private counsel would be far greater and access to justice for many of these clients who present with unique
challenges simply would not be possible.
Mr. Chairman, there is an increasing demand
for Legal Aid counsel in the Juvenile Court, as the number of young people being tried for serious matters in


Bermuda House of Assembly that court has increased. Legal Aid counsel appear as
duty counsel for the Juvenile Court each week, and
thereafter represent young people who are granted Legal Aid certificates by the committee. Mr. Chairman, the
implementation of child safeguarding provi sions, which
protect the rights of children and ensure their voices are
heard in all types of cases before the courts, has resulted in Legal Aid counsel frequently being called
upon to represent children who come before the courts
as witnesses, victims and the subject of Family Court
litigation regarding their care and custody.
Mr. Chairman, in addition to providing legal
services, the administration team in the Legal Aid Of-fice continue to process applications for Legal Aid certificates within 10 working days where all of the required
information and supporting documents have been submitted. The Legal Aid Office also process es applications for Temporary Certificates, commonly known as
Emergency Certificates, within three working days. Applications for Temporary Certificates can be approved
by the Senior Legal Aid Counsel for a maximum period
of 28 days where it appears that the applicant is likely
to fulfil the conditions under which Legal Aid may be
granted and it is in the interest of justice to grant Legal
Aid as a matter of urgency.
Mr. Chairman, the office has improved data
collection processes to be able to provide meaningful statistics regarding the cases managed by in- house
counsel over the fiscal period, including the calculation
of fees for matters assigned to in- house counsel, utilising the same fee rates set out in the Legal Aid (Scale
of Fees) Regulations 1980 for external counsel. By
keeping an accurate record of the work done by Legal
Aid counsel and the fees that would otherwise be paid to external counsel, there will be en hanced transparency regarding the annual cost savings to the public in respect of the overall expenditure on legal fees.

Staff

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, I will turn
to staff. At present, Mr. Chairman, the Legal Aid Office
comprises three administrative posts and five legal
posts. The three administrative posts are that of the of-fice manager, accounts manager and one administrative assistant. The five legal posts are as follows:
• the senior legal aid counsel;
• two legal aid counsel;
• one junior legal aid counsel; as well as
• one paralegal.
Mr. Chairman, the recruitment in respect of the
junior legal aid counsel post was completed, and the
successful candidate commenced employment on the
1
st of June 2023. The Legal Aid Office therefore now
has enhanced capacity to represent legally aided clients. Mr. Chairman, recruitment for the remaining administrative post of accounts officer is anticipated to be
completed by March 2024. The duties of this post have been covered by a temporary relief over the period under consideration.
With regard to training and development, Mr.
Chairman, they both remain important objectives. Weekly case management meetings are held to review
and assign cases, discuss legal issues and consider
novel points of law affecting a broad spectrum of Legal
Aid clients. Mr. Chairman, a team- building exercise
was held in August 2023 for all staff, with the objective of enhancing the communication and cohesiveness of
the Legal Aid team through the identification of common values and objectives related to the provi sion of
quality service to the public.
Mr. Chairman, the diversity of legal work in the
Legal Aid Office continues to make it an attractive op-tion for pupil barristers, law students and summer stu-dents. It is integral to facilitating this Ministry’s goal to
train and retain competent and qualified Bermudians
for the legal profession, especially for the Criminal Defence Bar which has significantly depleted.
I reiterate my earlier comments, Mr. Chairman,
about Ms. Tjana Wharton completing her three- month
rotation (this is more specific) with the Legal Aid Office
over the period July to October 2023. And as previously
stated, having completed her Pupillage Programme
she was called to the Bar on the 2
nd of February 2024.
The second pupil, Mr. Audley Quallo, completed his ro-tation with the Legal Aid Office over the period October
2023 to January 2024.

Future Initiatives

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, I will now
turn to their future initiatives, which are as follows:
• to promote growth and development of inhouse counsel through the creation and improvement of essential electronic repository of
caselaw, templates, submissions, judgments
and other relevant materials in respect of Legal
Aid cases;
• to promote transparency and consistency by working with the Minister to draft a comprehensive set of policy directions to be followed by
the Legal Aid Committee in the performance of
its functions pursuant to section 5A of the Legal
Aid Act 1980;
• to continue to collaborate with the Ministry, Judiciary, DPP, Department of Child and Family
Services, Court Services and other relevant
stakeholders to improve timely access to justice for all individuals;
• to deliver quality, effective and efficient legal
services within a framework of good governance and accountability; and finally,
• to enhance skills and promote the well -being
and cohesion for staff through training and team- building exercises.

Justice Protection Programme
580 28 February 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, I now turn
to business unit 97070, which is the Justice Protection
Programme. Mr. Chairman, the Justice Protection Programme has been allocated a budget of $275,000 for
fiscal year 2024/25, which represents a $25,000, or 8 per cent, decrease from the prior year. The Justice
Protection Programme, Mr. Chairman, is operated pursuant to the Justice Protection Act 2010. The pro-gramme provides protection and relocation services for
critical prosecution witnesses who meet the legislative
requirement s for entry into the programme. Specific details about the programme are absolutely protected
from public disclosure by the operation of provisions
from the Justice Protection Act 2010 and as contained
in the Public Access to Information Act 2010.
Thus, Mr. Chairman, we proceed with great
caution in representing figures and data which would be put together with other information to unwittingly reveal the identity of participants in the Justice Protection
Programme. That would ultimately prejudice the effectiveness and security of the programme, which remains
essential to justice programmes. Mr. Chairman, t here
were four participants at the start of the 2023/24 fiscal
year. Over that same period there was one new partic-ipants added to the programme.
Programme participants are afforded protection whilst they provide evidence in high- profile or highrisk cases before the courts. In the 13 years since the
programme has been in existence, Mr. Chairman, there
have been 40 participants , which represent s 58 people
who were protected in total. We note that on one occa-sion, the participant’s spouse, children or partner were
also assisted to promote family unification. T his contributed to the total of 58 .
The average duration of enrolment in the programme for protection or assistance is three years.
Over the 13 years of the programme’s existence, a total
of 11 additional applications were considered but were
denied entry in to the programme, as assessed risks
were sufficiently addressed by assistance that was already provided or available to those individuals. Mr.
Chairman, by way of example, payments made under
the programme are vetted and structured to meet a participant’s reasonable living expenses includi ng, where
appropriate, living expenses of his or her accompanying family members.
Payments are also made for other reasonable
financial assistance, as well as for the purpose of meeting costs associated with relocation and settlement.
This can often include providing assistance to the par-ticipant as they seek and secure employment or as they
access education and health care. Other assistance
can be provided with a view to ensuring that the participant becomes more self -sufficient to sustain their
needs.
Mr. Chairman, the success and value- formoney of the Justice Protection Programme is supported by the fact that over the 13 years there have
been 30 trials where the participants have testified. Convictions were obtained in all but four of these cases.
This amounts to an 8 7 per cent conviction rate for
cases where a witness in the Justice Protection Pro-gramme gave evidence. Mr. Chairman, t he indispensability of this programme to the administration of justice,
rule of law and wider public safety is justified from the
clear increase in successful prosecutions, particularly
in those cases that are gang related and involve violent
offenders. The success of Bermuda’s Justice Protection Programme remains markedly formidable .
Mr. Chairman, looking ahead to fiscal year
2024/25, the work of this programme will continue
within its budgetary allocation to protect the privacy and
locations of the participant witnesses in the programme. The end result will continue to support the
successful prosecution of some of the most heinous
crimes in our jurisdiction.

And for the listening audience, we are
still on Head 87 talking about the Justice Protection
Programme under 9707, which comes under the Ministry of Legal Affairs headed by the Honourable Attorney
General.
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Financial Sanctions Implementation Unit

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will now turn to the Financial Sanctions Implementation Unit, which is business unit 97080. Mr.
Chairman, the Financial Sanctions Implementation Unit
(which we refer to as the FSIU ) continues to play a key
role to ensure that Bermuda maintains its reputation as
a cooperative jurisdiction in the robust sanctions framework to ensure the effective implementation of targeted
international financial sanctions. Implementing and
monitoring compliance with financi al sanctions and
trade sanctions is a key component in protecting our
financial institutions and national economic interests as a leading global financial centre. Additionally, the FSIU
advises the Minister of Legal Affairs on wider matters
including anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism and proliferation.
For fiscal year 2024/25, Mr. Chairman, the
FSIU’s budget allocation is $353,000. This is an in-crease of $15,000, or 4 per cent, from the estimated allocation for the 2023/24 fiscal year . Ninety -eight per
cent of the FSIU’s budget is allocated for salaries . The
remaining 2 per cent is allocated for office supplies, telephone expenses and membership fees for the two
counsels. There has been no change in the expenses
incurred to date.
With regard to staff, Mr. Chairman, the FSIU is
comprised of two posts, the Head of the FSIU and one
legal counsel. The FSIU team is responsible for
• implementing targeted financial sanctions as
well as trade sanctions , and bringing relevant


Bermuda House of Assembly Overseas Territories Orders in Council into
force in Bermuda;
• public outreach , Mr. Chairman, to industry, supervisors and government agencies for sanctions compliance purposes, including maintenance of a web- based repository of sanctions
notices in effect in Bermuda;
• providing legal advice and technical support to
the Minister of Legal Affairs in conducting her
delegated functions;
• renewing licence applications in respect of the
various sanctions regimes;
• consulting with Government House and UK authorities on sanctions matters; and finally,
• assisting the Ministry of Legal Affairs Head-quarters with Bermuda’s AML/ATF global obligations.
Mr. Chairman, under the international framework as implemented into Bermuda law, Her Excellency the Governor is the competent authority in Bermuda, making her ultimately responsible for the implementation of financial sanctions. Her Excellency’s pow-ers are set out in the various Overseas Territories Orders that are in force in Bermuda pursuant to the International Sanctions Act 2003 and International Sanctions Regulations 2013. Since September 2018, the
Minister of Legal Affairs has had delegated responsibi lity to perform certain functions related to implementation of financial sanctions pursuant to the International
Sanctions (Delegation of Governor’s [Functions] ) Notice 2018.
Mr. Chairman, Bermuda’s sanctions regime
must be current , fully implemented and effective for the
specific purposes of each financial sanction. As an
Overseas Territory , Bermuda’s sanctions regime corresponds with those sanctions which are similarly implemented in the United Kingdom. To meet international obligations , the FSIU ensures that all applicable Overseas Territories Orders that detail new sanctions or amendments to existing sanction regimes are expedi-tiously brought into force in Bermuda. All updates to
Bermuda’s sanctions regime are listed in Schedule 1 of
the International Sanctions Regulations 2013.
Mr. Chairman, the FSIU’s role includes providing legal advice and technical support to the Minister of Legal Affairs in carrying out delegated functions. For instance, under the Bermuda sanctions framework, the
Minister of Legal Affairs has the power to
• obtain evidence and information by taking such
steps as considered appropriate to cooperate
with any international investigation relating to
the funds, economic resources or financial transactions of a designated person;
• issue and revoke licences, with the consent of
the Secretary of State, and may grant a licence
authorising an activity that would otherwise be prohibited under the said Orders. Such licence
can be varied or revoked by the Minister at any
time with the cons ent of the Secretary of State; • serve as a reporting depository to whom a relevant institution reports or informs if it credits a
frozen account pursuant to an Order;
• authorise persons with power to search and investigate suspected ships, aircrafts and vehicles; and finally,
• specify by regulations in the currency of the territory the amount which is to be taken as equivalent to sums expressed in sterling in the rele-vant Order.
With regard to output measures, Mr. Chairman,
there continues to be an increase in licence applications under the Russia (Sanctions) (Overseas Territories) (Amendment) (No. 4) Order 2022 regime. In particular, in 2023 the Minister (myself) issued two general licences (which we refer to as GLs): a GL for Russian oil price caps on 17 March 2023, which permits the supply or delivery of Russian oil and oil products by ship,
as well as provision of as sociated services subject to
the price cap terms being met; and a GL wind- down of
trust services provided to designated persons which
permits persons to undertake activity necessary to terminate an arrangement to provide a trust services regime between them and a designated person, provided that the terms of the general licence are met. The GLs
are uploaded on the Sanctions Measures web page.
In addition, Mr. Chairman, seven specific licences were issued in 2023, five financial and two
trade. The FSIU continues to process these applications and provide support to the Minister. And currently,
the FSIU are waiting decisions from the UK Secretary of State for five sanctions licence applications. Moreo-ver, the FSIU continues to receive a number of compli-ance- reporting forms from industry under the Russia
Sanctions regime. To date, $2,583,548.63 in frozen as-sets has been reported and logged with the FSIU.
With regard to outreach, Mr. Chairman, in addition the FSIU ensures that the sanctions web page of the government portal is updated within 24 hours of re-ceiving updated notifications from the UK Treasury.
These updates are required to notify the public of additions or de- listing to the various sanctions regimes in
force in Bermuda. Thus, upon notification from the HM
Treasury’s Office of financial sanctions implementation,
the FSIU updates the web page and notifies supervisors to immediately advise their supervised entities of
these changes.
Moreover, the FSIU will continue its outreach
initiative to relevant government ministries and depart-ments, as well as to industry , to ensure that persons
know and understand their sanctions obligations , in addition to the role of the FSIU in the implementation of targeted financial sanctions. Mr. Chairman, t he FSIU
also continues to work closely with UK counterpart authorities, overseas territories’ counterparts and domestic operational partners to ensure effective implementation of targeted financial sanc tions and trade sanctions in Bermuda.

582 28 February 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: And to the listening audience, we are
under Head 87, the Ministry of Legal Affairs, under Anti -
Money Laundering Sanctions unit headed by the Attorney General.

Law Reform Commission
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will now turn to the Law Reform Commission, which is programme 97100. Mr. Chairman, the Law Reform Commission has been allocated a budget dis-bursement of $ 164,000 for fiscal year 2024/25. The
amount is a $3,000, or 2 per cent, decrease from the
2023/24 estimates. The only decrease is in telephone expenses. The Law Reform Commission , Mr. Chairman, is an independent public body established by statute, namely , the Law Reform [Commission ] Act 2009.
The functions of the Commission are to study and keep
under review the laws of Bermuda with a view to their
systemic development and reform.
Bermuda’s first Law Reform Commissioners
were appointed in July 2019, and a new cohort is being presented for approval . The membership of the Commission comprises a chair person and between four and
seven commissioners who, in the opinion of Her Excellency the Governor , are suitable for appointment (by
her appointment) by reason of their qualifications, training and experience. The c ommissioners are appointed
by Her Excellency on the nomination of two of either
the Attorney General, the Chief Justice or the President
of the Bar Council.
Mr. Chairman, the Commission has commenced meet ing again regularly following the resignation of the former Law Reform Policy and Strategy
counsel in April 2023. And the newly appointed incumbent commenced in mid- September 2023. The chairman and commissioners are nominally compensated ,
respectively , per the Government Authorities (Fees)
Act 1971. The allocation for members ’ fees for the
2024/25 fiscal year is $ 4,800 .
Mr. Chairman, the fiscal year 2023/24 budget
disbursement for the Law Reform Commission established it as a new business unit . This represents important first steps toward building the institutional independence of the Commission. However, as we continue to devise operational savings within the overall
budgetary restraints, the Ministry Headquarters continues its financial stewardship of the Commission. This is
done by identifying symmetries and resource- sharing
which will continue into the next fiscal year. As such,
the statutory role of the Director of the Law Reform Commission , per section 9 of the L aw Reform Commission Act 2009, was designed and approved by the Public Service Commission to be a shared role with the Ministry Headquarters via the full-time equivalent post
of Law Reform Policy and Strategy counsel. A total of
$164 ,000 is allocated in fiscal year 2024/25 for that FTE
salary , membership fees and board and committee
fees. Mr. Chairman, we welcom e the Law Reform
Policy and Strategy counsel, Mr. Keivon Simons , who
commenced mere days before the memorable cyber -
attack . Mr. Simons’s job requires a sharing role as administrator providing directorship to the Law Reform
Commission, which is in addition to policy and strategy
work at the Ministry Headquarters. All options to provide directorship and requirements to advance the
mandate of the Law Reform Commission to keep
apace of targeted modernisations and reforms to our
laws will be exhausted within the confines of the budget
allocation.
To date the Commission has received proposals from the public including, of note, a proposed
overhaul of domestic abuse laws in Bermuda, as well
as amendments to the Limitation Act 1984 with respect
to tort claims. Also, as we enter into the 2024/25 fiscal
year, the administration costs of the Law Reform Commission and its general operational costs will continue
to be met by the shared assistance of an administrator
from the Ministry Headquarters and the prudent deployment of fiscal resources as the need ar ises. This is not
the optimal expectation and/or necessary recommendations for renewal of the roles, and responsibilities will
be undertaken so that Bermuda retains a superb jurisdictional reputation and that the laws which govern us
remain relevant. This ever -evolving work will modernise reforms in Bermuda and/or align standards and
practices across the Commonwealth and the wider
world.

Grants

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: The budget allocation for
Grants for fiscal year 2024/25 is found at page C -17 of
the Approved Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure
for fiscal year 2024/25—again, the Budget Book. We
highlight that $1,6 25,000 has been allocat ed, which
represents the same allocation as the 2023 /24 fiscal
year.

Financial Intelligence Agency

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: With regard to the FIA
[Financial Intelligence Agency], Mr. Chairman, the original estimate for 2023/24 was $1,625,000. The estimate for 2024/25 is also $1,625,000. There has been
no change.
Mr. Chairman, i n continuation of the Government's efforts to combat money -laundering and terrorist financing, the FIA was established under the Financial Intelligence Agency Act 2007. The F inancial Intelligence Agency is the independent agency authorised to
receive, gather, store, analyse and disseminate infor-mation relating to suspected money -laundering and financing of terrorism, which is received in the form of a suspicious activity report or suspicious transaction report. The F inancial Intelligence Agency is empowered
to disseminate such information to the Bermuda Police


Bermuda House of Assembly Service , foreign intelligence authorities and other relevant local authorities .
A total of $1,625,000, as previously stated, was
allocated, and the statutory mandate for the FIA dictates that the agency must report its quarterly expenditure and provide an annual audited report to the Minister of Legal Affairs. All of the above requirements have
been adhered to. It is anticipated, Mr. Chairman, that
this agency will continue its work to counter terrorist financing, money -laundering and proliferation financing
to provide outcomes that guard the public interests.
With regard to training, Mr. Chairman, the F inancial Intelligence Agency continues to participate in
various virtual training webinars relative to sanctions,
cryptocurrency, corruption, proliferation financing,
money -laundering and terrorist financing, which have
been delivered by specific organisations that specialise
in Anti -Money Laundering/Counter -Terrorist Financing/Proliferation Financing matters.
For example, the Association of Certified Anti -
Money Laundering Specialists, International Compli-ance Association, the Association of Certified Financial
Crime Specialists, the Financial Intelligence Agency,
Mr. Chairman, also received virtual training webinars
delivered by entities and organisations that deal with digital assets and cryptocurrencies including those
hosted by the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence
Agencies , the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force
and the Financial Action Task Force. So they all deliver
these webinars. The FIA hosted a representative from
the United Nations on Drugs and Crime specifically to address goAML, which is one of their training tools for
staff of the FIA.

Highlights

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: I will now turn to the highlights as provided by that office. In the year 2023/24,
the Financial Intelligence Agency has had some ac-complishments as they continue to be involved and offer support as it pertains to the numerous operational
responsibilities and projects identified, both loc al and
foreign. The priority matters that affect Bermuda have
been noted by the Financial Intelligence Agency and
continue to be addressed , for example, the National
Action Plan and the Mutual Evaluation Follow -Up report.
Of note, the CFATF [ Caribbean Financial Action Task Force] plenary in November 2023 was productive and attended by the Director and the Senior Le-gal Counsel. At plenary, the following were addressed:
• The FIA, alongside other local counterparts
and overseas colleagues, completed a report
for the CFATF Risk Trends and their Methods
Group entitled “Concept Note: Potential Implications of the De- Criminalisation, Legalisation
or Hardware Approach of Cannabi s on
AML/CTF.” The Director and Senior Analyst
were involved in gathering and preparing this report. The report was shared with plenary and
approved for publication.
• The FIA Senior Legal Counsel represented Bermuda and the FIA well with her team during
the assessment of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The report was approved at the Financial Action Task Force Plenary in January and published in January.
• The Director chaired a group invited to judge
the best CFATF case submission at the November plenary.
• Also, the Director and Senior Analyst participated and contributed to the Digital Asset Business Risk Assessment, which involved providing the data to support the risk assessment.
• The Director of the Financial Intelligence
Agency attended the annual Egmont plenary in
July and working groups in January for the first time post -COVID -19.
• In addition, the Financial Intelligence Agency
continues to attend National Anti -Money Laundering Committee working groups and actively
participates in national initiatives to combat money -laundering, terrorist financing and the
proliferation of financing.
• The Director and Senior Analyst also partici-pated in a working group to address data privacy, breaches of privacy and compliance programmes.
• The Senior Legal Counsel participated as a
panellist at a conference hosted by Financial
Women’s Association, where she spoke about
the work of the FIA and the importance of how
they fit in Bermuda’s financial regime.
In terms of future spending for the 2024/25 fiscal year, the Financial Intelligence Agency will continue
to focus on training for staff, increasing the number of
staff for the office and updating aspects and features of
its IT infrastructure including goAML (which I mentioned previously) , which is the Financial Intelligence
Agency’s operating platform.
With regard to statistics, Mr. Chairman, in 202 3
the reporting entities continued to file suspicious activ-ity reports and suspicious transaction reports to the Financial Intelligence Agency. This year the Financial Intelligence Agency received a total of 758 such reports.
Throughout 202 3 the Financial Intelligence Agency
conducted analysis and completed disclosures for the
attention of local law enforcement, local competent authorities and overseas financial intelligence units. To
assist in their analys is the Financial Intelligence
Agency had sent out 15 outgoing requests for information to 11 overseas financial intelligence agents and
4 outgoing requests to their local counterparts.
The Financial Intelligence Agency also utilised
its power to gather information, using section 16 of the
Financial Intelligence Agency Act which allowed them to send out 124 requests to 18 different reporting entities. As a result of these inquiries , the Financial
584 28 February 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Intelligence Agency , Mr. Chairman, has disclosed 129
reports to local law enforcement, local competent authorities and overseas financial intelligence units utilising 275 suspicious activity reports or suspicious transaction reports [SARs/STRs]. This breaks down to 101
disclosures disseminated locally and 28 disclosures to
foreign financial intelligence units.
Also in 2023, the Financial Intelligence Agency
received a total of 52 incoming requests for information— that is, 26 from local counterparts and 26 from
foreign financial intelligence units. In conclusion, the
FIA remains steadfast in delivering its mandat e. The
role that they play is invaluable as they continue to
combat financial crimes and protect our community.
I extend gratitude to the board and staff at the
FIA for their tireless efforts.

And for the listening public, we are on
Head 87, Ministry of Legal Affairs, headed up by the Honourable Attorney General.

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, the budget allocation for capital
expenditures can be found on page C -10 of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure. The Ministry of Legal Affairs Headquarters has been allocated a total of
$414,000 for fiscal year 2024/25. A total of $201, 000
has been allocated for video- conferencing equipment
and infrastructure for the Judicial Department. And $200,000 has been allocated for the Legal Aid case management system. The remaining $13,000 will be
used to purchase computer equipment.
The Ministry of Legal Affairs Headquarters
budget is not simply, Mr. Chairman, an application of
arithmetic. The disbursement of these appropriations in
2024/25 will be a testament of our collective fiscal re-sponsibility and guided stewardship of resources . Our
team of public officers will ensure that we continue to facilitate fair and equitable administration of and access
to justice through legal services, policies and legislation
that preserve the rule of law and affirm social justice
progress for the people of Bermuda.
I am confident that the delivery of high- quality
public services by the Ministry will continue into 2024/25 through sustainable programme delivery, improvements and priorities which uphold and advance
Bermuda’s reputation as a flare of internal self -governance and sound rule of law.
Finally, Mr. Chairman, we note the overall decrease in our fiscal allocation in compliance with government -wide directives and highlight that careful consideration will be given to prioritise service delivery and
programming. It is anticipated that the Mi nistry of Legal
Affairs Headquarters budget allocations for 2024/25 as detailed and presented today will enable the Ministry to successfully fulfil its mandate with careful monitoring
and the continuing exercise of financial prudence. Mr. Chairman, in concluding this representation of the fiscal activity and plans for the Ministry of
Legal Affairs Headquarters, I humbly once again thank
all personnel for their firm support and dedication to the
work of the Ministry. That completes [Head] 87.

And for the listening public, the Honourable Attorney General has just completed Head 87
and is now going to go on to Head 3 under the Ministry
of Legal Affairs.

HEAD 3 —JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The current account estimates for Head 3, the
Judicial Department, begin on page B -84 of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure book. A total of $9,551,000 has been allocated to Head 3 within the
Ministry of Legal Affairs. This amount [ represents a ]
$159,000, or 2 per cent , increase from the 202 3/24 fiscal year. Additional funding allocated to the department
primarily reflects salary increases pursuant to BPSU
negotiations. Revenues are projected at $4,329,000.
Mr. Chairman, the Judiciary is established by
the Constitution as a separate and independent branch of government. Its task is to adjudicate charges of criminal conduct, resolve disputes, uphold the rights and freedoms of the individual and preserve the rule of law.
The mission statement of the Judiciary is To administer
justice through the effective management of the courts
of Bermuda . The mission statement of the Administrative section is To provide the services and support necessary to enable the Judici ary to achieve its mission.
The judicial system of Bermuda consists of the
Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court (Criminal, Civil,
Commercial, Appellate, Family and Matrimonial Courts,
and Probate Registry) and Magistrates’ Court (Criminal, Civil and Family Courts). Ancillary activities include
Bailiff servic es. The Honourable Chief Justice is the
head of the Judiciary. The Registrar is the head of the
Judicial Department with a staffing complement of 70
officers, none of whom require a work permit. There are
currently 56, or 80 per cent of, substantive posts filled .
Six, or 9 per cent of, posts are filled by temporary relief
employees and temporary additional employees, and
14, or 20 per cent, are vacant posts.
With regard to highlights of 2023/24 as provided by the Registrar, Mr. Chairman, generally 2023
was another successful but challenging year for the courts. While it was funded and resourced to a significant degree, the lack of critically needed resources provided to the courts continues to be extremely burdensome. Such resources include funding human


Bermuda House of Assembly resources, buildings, accommodations and technology,
which they are required to manage. Without being provided the required infrastructure to ensure members of
the public access to fair hearings before an independent and impartial court, there will be cont inued challenges which will be a large feat to overcome.
And I am pleased to report as I stand here today that the necessary synergies and cooperation with the affected government departments is being provided
to the Judicial Department to ensure that they can overcome some of these burdens.
Mr. Chairman, the cyberattack on the government’s network in 2023 was a significant challenge to
the court in particular in which the courts undertook
best efforts to continue all court services. And you will
know, Mr. Chairman, that the entire government was
affected by this cyberattack. With this in mind, as we think about the independence of the Judiciary, now
would be an opportune time to plan for the separation
of the courts’ information technology from regular government departments, much the same way as other
quango entities are separate. And again, Mr. Chairman, we look forward to receiving proposals from the
department with regard to said separation.
In 2024, since the cyberattack in September
2023, there continue to be daily challenges with the network which cripple the ability to provide services. Some
of us continue to rely on hard- copy printouts of the daily
court calendars, which are amended sever al times a
day for all of the courts. And some of us have not had access to all of our shared calendars since the cyberat-tack. Generally during the year, the Court of Appeal,
the Supreme Court and the Magistrates’ Court were
only provided with two laptops from the government’s
IDT Department.
And I will pause and say here that the IDT Department is to be applauded for their efforts to accom-modate all government departments during and post
the cyberattack.

Technology

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Following the Honourable Premier and Finance Minister’s general support in
December 2022 to provide funding for a new case management system, the process or the compilation of the
procurement process, as well as the drafting of the
courts’ business proces ses, is continuing with the hope
of being able to obtain a system by the end of 2024. Regrettably, due to a lack of adequate resources, this initiative has taken far longer than was anticipated. And
the Registrar extends her appreci ation to the Department of Information and Digital Technologies, as well
as the Office of Management and Procurement, who
are assisting them with these processes. And that is
good news.
Mr. Chairman, efforts to modernise and increase efficiencies of the courts’ administrative and judicial functions must continue in order to uphold our reputation as a top- tier jurisdiction. Several initiatives
must be carried out to see these to fruition as long as
we are providing the adequate resources to do so. And
the Registrar has said that they must take steps to commence the process of having an i ndependent Judiciary,
which is provided for in the Bermuda Constitution. And
this, Mr. Chairman, you wil l note is an ongoing exercise
that has been spoken of for some time.
They also want to complete the review of current job descriptions while simultaneously updating the
organisational structure of the courts to ensure that gaps in current services are filled to relieve some of the
burden members of staff experience due to i nfrastructure deficiencies which have been experienced for
quite some time as a result of the significant expansion
of matters heard by the courts over the last decade.
This will also increase efficiency of all services provided to members of the public.
The courts also wish to push forward with recruitment so that any areas of courts which are under -
staffed, in those areas members of staff affected can
be provided with some relief. They also wish to continue and finalise the procurement process for the replacement of the court’s case management system to
enter into a contract with a vendor and commence implementation of the new system. They wish to continue
working closely with the Ministry of Public Works. They
must be applauded for pushing forward the re novations
to be completed at the Dame Lois Browne- Evans Building, which will include a green project timeline. They wish to submit proposals for the civil commercial courts
to be relocated to the Dame Lois Browne- Evans Building so that the entirety of the Judiciary and staff are in
one location.
The Registrar reports that the final stages of
the implementation of the increase in all court fees, which was hoped to be implemented by March 1,
2024 —and I can confirm that instruction was given by
the new Chief Justice and that all is in order for that
implementation day.
Also, with the support of all administrative staff,
the members of the Judiciary as well as the members
of the Bermuda Bar, it is firmly believed that they can
excel in raising their standards to ensure members of
the public have access to fair hearings before an inde-pendent and impartial court.

[Pause]
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, it cannot
go without saying that the staff of the Judicial Depart-ment have always played a vital role in ensuring that
the people of Bermuda obtain their constitutional right
of access to justice. Notwithstanding the courts’ continued challenges with the lack of sufficient resources,
staff have continued to demonstrate resilience and a
team mentality to ensure our services are provided at a
high standard. All staff play a crucial role in the daily
running of the courts , and for this I give them my utmost
586 28 February 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly appreciation. And I will extend much appreciation to my
Permanent Secretary, Ms. Gina Hurst -Maybury, who
has played a pivotal part in addressing, along with the Registrar, some of the administrative challenges that
have arisen over the past fiscal year, and which we hope will not continue into this present fiscal year.
With regard to accommodations, Mr. Chairman, the lack of a designated courtroom for the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court, Matrimonial/Family Division, as well as the need for more court space for the Civil and Commercial Division, continues to be unset-tled. Having said this, we are meeting closer to the light
at the end of the tunnel. Planning approval has been
granted for th e renovations to be completed at the
Dame Lois Browne- Evans Building. There are some
slight adjustments, the Registrar reports, that need to
be made following a meeting with the architects and the Minister of Public Works in January 2024. However, the
next step is for Public Works to commence the tendering process for a general contractor to complete the
renovations. I am hopeful that construction will . . . the
Registrar is hopeful that construction will commence
prior to the end of December 2024.
A phased plan of works will be considered with
whoever the general contractor is so that that department can ensure the members of staff are in a healthy
and safe environment, as well as providing minimal disruption to court cases which may require obtaini ng a
temporary, additional space to hold trials whilst renovations are underway. And I am sure representations will
be made to the Department of Public Works with regard to the needs of the Judicial Department in this regard.
Whilst this project has been under works for four years,
the Registrar remains optimistic and appreciative of the quality of work being provided by the architects, as well
as the dedication of Public Works in completing the pro-ject.
With regard to other matters, the rules of the
Court of Appeal, which were amended in 2023, will be made effective March 2024 as it relates to the increase
in court fees. On March 1, 2024, the fee increases set
out in the following rules will be effective from March 1,
2024: Firstly, the rules of the Supreme Court Amendment Rules 2023 (and Members will recall that we passed [that] some time ago); and secondly, the Civil
Appeal Amendment Rules 2023. And the department
remains hopeful that the core fees and expenses rules
regarding the Magistrates’ Court fees will be effective
by April 1, 2024.
Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to provide an analysis by business unit of the budget estimates for the
Judicial Department for the upcoming fiscal year in
compar ison to 2023 /24. I note that the statistics stated
reflect the actual outcome for the period 1 January to 31 December 2023 unless otherwise stated. The first
business unit is 13000, which is the Criminal Injuries
Compensation . The original estimate for 2023 /24 was
$325 ,000. The estimate for 2024/25 is $265,000, which
is a decrease of $117,000, or 36 per cent. Mr. Chairman, t his cost centre provides for
payments to victims of criminal acts as decided by the
Board. While administrative responsibilities of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board have been transferred to the Ministry of Legal Affairs Headquarters, the
expense remains in the Judicial Department’s cost centres. The decrease in funding comes as a result of
budget management.
Under c ost centre 13010, Supreme Court, the
original estimate for 2023 /24 was $984,000. The estimate for 2024/25 is $1,024,000, which is a n increase of
$40,000, or 4 per cent . Mr. Chairman, t his cost centre
provides for the salaries and operational expenses of
the administration of the Supreme Court Registry for
which there are 10 posts, including the a ssistant registrar, manager, accounts and a dministrative officers.
The increase in funding reflects salaries per BPSU salary scale’s increase, other allowances, local consulting
services, and bank charges and commissions, which
were previously underfunded in this cost centre.
Mr. Chairman, in 2023 there were 443 new civil
matters filed and 138 divorce petitions filed according
to court records.
Under cost centre 13015, we find Courtrooms
and Chambers . The original estimate for 2023 /24 was
$2,627,000, and the estimate for 2024/25 is
$2,722,000, which is an increase of $95 ,000, or 4 per
cent. Mr. Chairman, t his cost centre provides for the
salaries and operational expenses for the courtrooms
and chambers of the Supreme Court (Criminal, Civil
and Commercial , and Family/Matrimonial). There are
20 posts including the Chief Justice, Puisne Judges and the Registrar’s post. The increase in funding reflects salaries per the BPSU salary scale’s increase, including temporary relief and outreach for staff provided
with acting opportunities.

And for the listening audience, we are
in Head 3, the Judicial Department, with a focus on the
Supreme Court, which is being led and presented by
the Honourable Attorney General.

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Court of Appeal

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, I move on
to business unit 13020, which represents the Court of
Appeal. The original estimate for 2023/24 was
$995,000. And for 2024/25, the estimate is $1,002,000, which is an increase of $7 ,000, or 7 per cent. Mr. Chairman, t his cost centre provides the sitting and retainer
fees of the President of the Court of Appeal, four Justices of Appeal, and the salaries of two posts, an administrative officer and an administrative assistant. The
Court of Appeal meets three times a year , and sessions
are three weeks long.



Bermuda House of Assembly Court Technology Office

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Under business unit
13025, in particular the Court Technology Office , the
original estimate for 2023/24 is $459,000. The estimate for 2024/25 is $472,000, which is a decrease of
$13,000, or 3 per cent. Mr. Chairman, t his cost centre
provides salaries for the Information Technology Section for which there are three posts: the IT manager, the
IT assistant and a data entry clerk. This funding also
includes the costs for transcription services and maintenance fees for the Court’s court reporting system, which is called CourtSmart . The Court’s IT equipment and software applications must be maintained and kept up to date and will ultimately have to be replaced when necessary.

Magistrates’ Court

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: I turn now, Mr. Chairman,
to the Magistrates’ Court. Under business unit 13040,
we have adjudication. The original estimate under this
cost centre for 2023/24 wa s $1,040,000. The estimate
for 2024/25 is $1,061,000 , which represents an increase of $21 ,000, or 2 per cent. Mr. Chairman, t his
cost centre provides funding for the Senior Magistrate,
four Magistrates and acting appointments where necessary. The increase in funding is as a result of the
BPSU salary scale’s negotiations.
Mr. Chairman, t he Magistrates’ Court is presided over by the Worshipful Senior Magistrate Maxanne J. Anderson, the Worshipful Tyrone Chin, the
Worshipful C. Craig Attridge, the Worshipful Maria Sofianos and the newly appointed Worshipful Aura Lee
Cassidy, all of whom bring a wealth of knowledge and
experience to the Magistracy. The Worshipful Khamisi
Tokunbo recently retired after approximately two dec-ades of exemplary service as a magistrate.
Mr. Chairman, t he Magistrates’ Court is multi -
jurisdictional, having conduct of civil, criminal, traffic
and family matters. There are also the Treatment Courts such as the Mental Health Treatment Court, the
Drug Treatment Court and the Driving Under the Influ-ence (DUI) Court which continue to reduce recidivism by addressing the drug, alcohol and mental health challenges of offenders. Mr. Chairman, the Case Management Court is conducted once a week and is designed
to resolve all disclosure, evidential and procedural issues before a matter proceeds to trial and this has continued.
As a result, instances where a trial would not
have proceeded because of such issues have been
significantly reduced from previous years. Mr. Chairman, in 2023 the Senior Magistrate created the Probation Review Court [PRC]. This is conducted once a
month and is designed to encourage compliance by persons who have been placed on probation with routine reviews. And the Senior Magistrate is to be applauded for this. The PRC will enable persons to get back on track and to assist them in addressing their crimino genic and mental health needs, secure employment and housing and, most importantly, to be produc-tive members of their community and their families.

Civil Records

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: I now turn, Mr. Chairman,
to business unit 13050 which represents Civil Records. The original estimate under this business unit for
2023/24 was $258,000. The estimate for 2024/25 is
$261,000, which is an increase of $3,000, or 1 per cent.
Mr. Chairman, t he administrative arm of the Civil Section is reflected in this cost centre. It is overseen by the
office manager who has under their remit one senior
court associate and two court associates. The increase
in this cost centre reflects salaries as per the BPS U salary scale’s negotiations.
Mr. Chairman, t his section provides case management and court services for the resolution of civil claims up to $25,000, landlord and tenant matters under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1974 and the Rent Increases (Domestic Premises) Control Act 1978. Mr.
Chairman, Civil Court filings include, amongst other
things, eviction proceedings and the recovery of rental
arrears. These documents were received from various
entities which include, but are not limited to, law firms,
credit agencies and person -to-person, e t cetera.

And for the listening audience, we are
in Head 3 under the Magistrates’ Court.

Family and Child Support

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Under business unit 13060 comes the Family
and Child Support. The original estimate for 2023/24
was $474,000, and the estimate for 2024/25 is $511,000. There is no change—well, $37,000. But it is
regarded as nil percentage at 8 per cent. Mr. Chairman,
this cost centre provides for the salaries and operational expenses for the Family Support Section of the
Magist rates’ Court. There are six posts, including the
Family Support Officer, Enforcement Officer and Administrative Assistant and three Court Associates. The
increase in funding reflects salaries per the BPSU salary scale’s increase.
Mr. Chairman, t here are two Family Courts,
each compris ing a magistrate and two special panel
members (male and female), pursuant to the Magistrates Act 1948. This Court continues to exercise its jurisdiction in cases involving children who have not yet
attained the age of 18 years and children who have
continued in full- time education beyond 18 years of
age.
Mr. Chairman, t he Family Court is a special
court which was created to handle the specific needs of
children whether born within or outside of marriage,
588 28 February 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly and matters arising in respect of their custody, care,
maintenance and violations against the law (juvenile offenders). Mr. Chairman, of particular note is that the
sensitivity and complexity of Family Court matters have
increased , which requires the Family Court Panel to exercise the utmost judicial care in resolving such matters. Mr. Chairman, the Special Court Panel had 36
members serving in 2023, each of whom represent a
diverse range of individuals from various walks of life.
The panel members assist t he magistrates in decisionmaking. Their value to the Family Court and its continued success is immeasurable.
Mr. Chairman, t he Family Support Office
serves the public and the Magistrates ’ Court by providing customer services, records management and financial control. This Office also provides services to other
government agencies such as the Department of Child and Family Services and Court Services. Mr. Chairman, the total amount of child support payments received in 2023, which is $2,821,314, is less than a
13 per cent decline when compared to the amount received in 2022. The family court continues to always put the welfare of the child as the paramount consideration.

Administration

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: I move now to business
unit 13070, which represents Administration. The original estimate for 2023/24 was $1,260,000, and the estimate for 2024/25 is $1,279,000, which is an increase of
$19,000, or 2 per cent . Mr. Chairman, this cost centre
provides for the salaries and operational expenses of the administration of the Magistrates’ Court, for which there are six posts including the Court Manager, Office
Manager, Accounting Officer and Administrative Public Officers. The increase in funding reflects salaries as
per the BPSU’s salary scale’s increase.
Mr. Chairman, the Cashiers Section collected
$7,233,437 in 2023, which is inclusive of child support
maintenance payments. The Cashiers Section are
again to be commended, Mr. Chairman, for their ability
to adapt to the Bermuda Government -wide cyberattack
which halted normal day -to-day operations and resulted in the cashiers’ having to manually input all pay-ments received in the Magistrates’ Court. We are hopeful that the court fees and extensive rules regarding the
Magistrates’ Court fees will increase, effective 1
st of
April 2024.

Criminal and Traffic Records

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: I now move, Mr. Chairman, to business unit 13080, which represents Criminal
and Traffic Records. The original estimate for 2022/23
was $446,000, and for 2024/25 the figure is $464,000,
which is an increase of $ 18,000, or 4 per cent. Mr.
Chairman, t he Criminal and Traffic Records Section of
the Magistrates’ Court provides case management and court services related to the resolution of criminal, traffic and parking ticket cases , as well as manage all record requests. There are three posts which include a Records Supervisor and two Court Associates.
As stated in prior briefs, a record request at the
Magistrates’ Court continues to be disproportionately
low at $10 per application, when a similar report from
the Bermuda Police Service is $100. We will continue
to pursue an increase in this fee. And I l ook forward to
reading the proposals surrounding this from the Judicial Department.

And for the listening audience, we are
under Head 3, which is Magistrates’ Court, Criminal
and Traffic [Records]. This is going to be headed by and presented to us by the Honourable Attorney General.

Bailiff’s Office

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I move now to the Bailiff’s Office, which is business unit 13090. The original estimate under this unit
for 2023/24 wa s $524,000. And for 2024/25, the figure
is $547,000, which is a n increase of $2 3,000, or 4 per
cent. Mr. Chairman, this cost centre provides for the
salaries, service and execution of court papers inclusive of Civil, Family, Supreme Court and Foreign Service. There is one Head Bailiff, a Deputy Provost , Marshal General, one administrative assistant and four
bailiffs who travel throughout the Island serving court
processes. The increase in funding reflects salaries as
per the BPSU salary scale’s increase.
Mr. Chairman, for the fiscal year 2023, a total
of 1,660 documents were issued under the civil jurisdiction of the courts for service of which 1,368 were re-turned for the attention of the courts, representing an
82 per cent service rate by the bailiffs. A further 388
outstanding documents from previous years were also
processed for a total of 1,756 returned documents for
this year.

Revenue

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: With regard to revenue,
Mr. Chairman, revenue reported in this section is for the
calendar year 2023. With regard to traffic and parking
fines, the major components of revenue are traffic and
criminal fines. There was an overall decrease in fines collected for traffic, parking and criminal fines in 2023,
which may be a result of the relaxation of COVID -19
protocols. The total amount recorded for traffic fines was $2,809,000, which is an increase from $2,365,335
in 2022. Six million six hundred, I should say . . . maybe
I’ll pass that.
Mr. Chairman, it should be noted that there remains a concern that the Magistrates’ Court Cashiers
Section provides all of the resources to collect parking


Bermuda House of Assembly ticket fines on behalf of the Corporation of Hamilton;
these resources are funded by the Bermuda Government. There is no financial reimbursement by the Corporation of Hamilton to cover the costs of collecting
their fines as 100 per cent of fines collected are transferred directly to the Corporation of Hamilton. It results
in a loss of revenue to the Bermuda Government.

Court Fees for the Supreme Court

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Regrettably, Mr. Chairman, the fees collected for Supreme Court matters
have not been historically recorded as revenue. The
majority of the Supreme Court fees are paid by way of
revenue stamps , and c ounsel and parties purchase
these through the Accountant General ’s Office . This
uncaptured revenue needs to be recorded to show the
true revenue of the Judiciary. Consideration has been
given, and successfully given , to increasing the court
fees, and the department is currently in discus sion with
the relevant government departments to amend the fee structure. I am pleased to report, Mr. Chairman, that
this initiative has been successfully discharged in collaboration with the Ministry of Legal Affairs Headquarters to a very large extent, as briefly mentioned in this brief.
And I will turn to the court fees for the Magistrates ’ Court . Mr. Chairman, t he revenue received for
civil fees for 2023 was $80,875. As with the fee structure in the Supreme Court, it is hoped that the increases
will be instituted as it relates to civil fees payable in the Magistrates ’ Court through the necessary legislation.
And as reported earlier, this is very far in train.
With regard to liquor licences, Mr. Chairman,
the revenue collected by the Magistrates’ Court in liquor licence fees was $850,000 in the 2023 calendar
year. (I will pause for one second.)

[Pause]

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: And in the interest of
time, Mr. Chairman, I am going to move on to court fees
for the Magistrates’ Court as colleagues will all be
aware that liquor licensing now lies under the remit of National Security. That regime has moved.
Mr. Chairman, with regard to court fees for the
Magistrates’ Court, the revenue received for civil fees for 2023 was $240,000 for the fiscal year. Fees for
Overseas Registered Associates and court fee
charges. Fees received for Overseas Registered Associations and applications in 2023 was $17,000, and
$34,000 was collected from April 2023 to January
2024. Fees received for court fees and charges in 2023
. . . (I will move on.)
Mr. Chairman, total revenue for 2023/24, the
original estimate for 2023/24 is $5,527,000. The esti-mate for 2024/25 is $4,329,000, which is a decrease of
$1,198,000, or 22 per cent. And these revenue estimates can be found at page B -85 of the Budget Book. With regard to capital expenditure, there was
no capital expenditure allocated for 2023/24. However, for 2024/25 the allocation is $800,000. So that is worthy
of note. And that concludes Head 3, Mr. Chairman.

With the conclusion of Head 3, we do
have about 15 minutes until we go to lunch. Would you
like to go into Head 4 now, or did you want to break for
lunch early? So we can go through, just do the 15 minutes and go through until 12:30.

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Okay.

HEAD 4 —ATTORNEY GENERAL’S CHAMBERS

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: I am pleased now, Mr.
Chairman, to present Head 4, which is the Attorney
General’s Chambers. The mission statement , department objectives and current account estimates for the Attorney General’s Chambers, Head 4, begin on page
B-92 of the Estimates Book. The mission statement,
Mr. Chairman, is To provide high- quality legal advice,
representation and drafting of legislation for the Government . I will turn to expenditure. A total of $5,702,000
has been allocated for Chambers. This represents an
increase of $158,000, or 3 per cent, from 2023/24. Mr.
Chairman, the Attorney General's Chambers objectives
are to
1. provide quality legal services to the Government of Bermuda;
2. advise all government ministries, departments
and entities on the law applicable to their operational requirements;
3. draft legislation as required to implement the
Government's legislative agenda, to maintain
Bermuda's legislative database and to support
law reform;
4. draft contracts, international instruments for mutual tax information exchange, conveyances and other documents required for public
purposes , and to provide advice on Private
Bills; and
5. conduct litigation in the civil courts of Bermuda
on behalf of the Government.
Mr. Chairman, the Attorney General's Chambers is functionally divided into six programmes accounted for as follows:

Administration

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Business unit 14010 represents Administration. Mr. Chairman, t he original estimate for 2023/24 was $420,000. And for 2024/25, [the
estimate is] $435,000, which is a n increase of $1 5,000,
or 4 per cent . Mr. Chairman, A dministration provides
administrative support to the Attorney General, Solicitor General , Deputy Solicitor General, Senior Crown
Counsel and Crown Counsel. This cost centre provides
salaries for an office manager, a customer service
590 28 February 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly representative, a records management administrator
and an accounts officer. It also supports the purchasing
of office supplies that are common to all sections of the department.
The modest increase is due , Mr. Chairman, to
increase in funds allocated to drinking water, repair and
cleaning services. In addition to the salaries provided
for in this cost centre, it also provides $ 46,000 for repair
and cleaning services , $25,000 for office supplies ,
$20,000 for telephone services , $13,000 for drinking
water , $31,000 for repair and maintenance of office
equipment and $4,500 for hospitality expenses. Mr. Chairman, i n the budget year 2023 /24 this cost centre
provided for and spent $38,000 on repair and cleaning
services, $25,000 on office supplies , $2,400 on drinking water, $18,000 on telephone expenses, $1,900 on
courier services and $3,400 on hospitality expenses.

Advisory Section
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Business unit 14020, Mr.
Chairman, represents the Advisory Section. The original estimate under this business unit for 2023/24 was
$2,485,000. The estimate for 2024/25 is $2,440,000 which represents a decrease of $45 ,000, or 2 per cent.
Mr. Chairman, t he Advisory Section is responsible for
providing quality legal advice to all government depart-ments and conducting litigation matters brought by or against the g overnment. Additionally, Advisory is responsible for recovering debts owed to the government
and processing mutual legal assistance requests . This
cost centre provides salaries for one Solicitor General,
two Deputy Solicitor s General, two Senior Crown
Counsel, six Crown Counsel, two administrative assistants , one paralegal to the Solicitor General and one
pupil.
The budgetary difference in this cost centre is
mainly due to an increase for the uplift in salaries. However, the recruitment for one post has been deferred for
five months. Mr. Chairman, i n addition to the salaries
provided for in this cost centre, it also provides
$167,000 for consultant services , $100,000 for legal
services, $20,000 for software maintenance, $15,000
for membership fees , $11,000 for books and subscriptions and $11,000 for office supplies. In the budget year
2023/24 this cost centre provided for $9,000 on legal
services; $13,000 on membership fees ; $8,000 on office supplies ; $2,000 on books, periodicals , and subscriptions ; and $2,000 on consultant costs.

Legislative Drafting

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: I now move on to business unit 14030 which represents Legislative Drafting.
The original estimate for 2023/24 wa s $1,948,000 . The
estimate for 2024/25 is $2,097,000, which is an increase of $149,000, or 8 per cent . Mr. Chairman, the
Legislative Drafting Section • advises regarding proposals to introduce or
amend legislation;
• drafts primary and subordinate legislation for all government departments; and
• provides advice and support to Ministers in the
House of Assembly and Senate as their respective legislation progresses.
Mr. Chairman, t his section also provides advice to Ministers and the Government on legal and constitutional issues and on matters of parliamentary pro-cedure. The salaries provided for in this cost centre include those of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel, Deputy Chief Parliamentary Counsel, six Parliamentary
Counsel, two Assistant Parli amentary Counsel, a Legislative Database Manager, a Legislative Editor, a Leg-islative Administrator and a Legislative Database Ad-ministrator. The budgetary increase is due to an additional temporary Assistant Parliamentary Counsel post budgeted for nine months only.
Mr. Chairman, i n addition to the salaries provided for in this cost centre, it also provides $3,000 for
local training, $10,000 for overseas training, $8,000 for
membership fees and $20,000 for office supplies. In the
budget year 2023 /24 this cost centre provided for and
spent $ 1,145 on online and local training, $ 7,350 on
membership fees , $24,168 on office supplies and $614
on hospitality expenses .

Revised Laws of Bermuda
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: And I will finish my
presentation this morning with a quick overview of business unit 14040, which represents Revised Laws of
Bermuda. The original estimate for 2023/24 wa s
$216,000. The estimate for 2024/25 is $244,000, which is an increase of $28,000 , or 13 per cent. Mr. Chairman, this cost centre supports the consolidation, periodic revision and publication of the Laws of Bermuda.
It is responsible for providing M embers of both Houses
of the Legislature, businesses, lawyers and t he general
public with access to the revised statutes and regula-tions of Bermuda. It also supports the ongoing consolidation of primary and subordinate legislation.
The budgetary increase is due, Mr. Chairman,
through implementation of a user acceptance testing
environment to the LIMS software to enable better system support and an upgrade in security to the online
[legal ] database. A total of $203,226 was spent i n
budget year 2023 /24 for maintenance, hosting services
and upgrades to the Bermuda Laws website.
And I am happy to pause at this juncture to
catch myself and have the Deputy [Premier] adjourn us.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Deputy Premier, would you like to take
us to lunch?

Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I do move that we adjourn until 2:00 pm.


Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: Any objections to going to lunch until
2:00 pm?
With no objections.

Proceedings in Committee suspended at 12:25 pm

Proceedings in Committee resumed at 2:00 pm

[Mr. Scott Simmons, Chairman]

COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY

ESTIMATES OF REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE
FOR THE YEAR 2024/25

MINISTRY OF LEGAL AFFAIRS

[Continuation thereof]

Good afternoon, Honourable Members, and welcome back from our break for lunch.
Honourable Members, we are now in Committee of Supply for further consideration of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year 2024/25. And we will be debating today under Legal Affairs Heads 87, 3, 4, 74, 75 and 88.
By my clock, I do believe that we will go to
about 3:48. (About 3:48, Minister.) And that is what we
will be doing. This will be in the name of the Honourable
and Learned Member, Kathy Lynn Simmons, JP, MP.
Minister, we recognise you. You have the floor.

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, with your indulgence, I would
like to revert back to the Judicial Department just to en-sure for the avoidance of doubt that the figures are actually correct. I did notice an anomaly, and I would like
to make sure that the public has the correct information
as per the Budget Book.

Absolutely. Thank you, Minister.
The Minister wishes to clarify certain matters.
Minister, go right ahead.

HEAD 3 —JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT

[Recommitted]
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you. I will simply
go through the figures as reported in the Budget Book
for the avoidance of doubt.

Clarification of Budget Estimates

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: So on the current account expenditure, the original estimate for 2023/24
was $9,392,000. The estimate for 2024/25 is
$9,551,000. The increase is accordingly $159,000, which is 2 per cent. And I believe that was reported correctly.
This is unit 13000, which represents Criminal
Injuries Compensation. The original estimate for 2023/24 was $325,000. The estimate for 2024/25 is $265,000, which represents a decrease of $117,000, or
36 per cent.
Under business unit 13010, which is the Supreme Court, the original estimate for 2023/24 was
$984,000. The estimate for 2024/25 is $1,024,000,
which is an increase of $40,000, or 4 per cent.
And I acknowledge, Mr. Chairman, that some
of these figures have already been correctly reported,
but I am just making sure. It probably has correct infor-mation.
Under business unit 13015, Courtrooms and
Chambers, the original estimate for 2023/24 was $2,627,000. And the estimate for 2024/25 is
$2,722,000, which represents an increase of $95,000,
or 4 per cent.
Under 13025, which is Court Technology Office, the original estimate for 2023/24 is $459,000. The estimate for 2024/25 is $472,000, which represents an
[increase] of $13,000, or 3 per cent.
Under the Court of Appeal business unit
13020, the original estimate for 2023/24 was $995,000.
The estimate for 2024/25 is $1,002,000, which is an in-crease of $7,000, or 7 per cent.
Under the Magistrates’ Court, Adjudication,
business unit 13040, the original estimate for 2023/24 was $1,040,000. The estimate for 2024/25 is
$1,061,000, which is an increase of $21,000.
Under business unit 13050, which represents
Civil Records, the original estimate for 2023/24 was $258,000. The estimate for 2024/25 is $261,000, which
is an increase of $3,000, or 1 per cent.
Under business unit 13060, which is Family
and Child Support, the original estimate for 2023/24 is
$474,000. The estimate for 2024/25 is $511,000, and
there is pretty much a nil per cent increase there.
Under business unit 13070, which represents
Administration, the original estimate for 2023/24 is
$1,260,000. The estimate for 2024/25 is $1,279,000,
which is an increase of $19,000, or 2 per cent.
Under business unit 13080 , which represents
Criminal Traffic Records , the original estimate for
2023/24 was $446,000. The estimate for 2024/25 is
$464,000, which represents an increase of $ 18,000, or
4 per cent.
Under the Bailiff’s Office, business unit 13090,
the original estimate for 2023/24 was $524,000. The
estimate for 2024/25 is $547,000, which represents an
increase of $23,000, or 4 per cent.
The total Revenue, Mr. Chairman, for 2023/24,
the estimate was $5,527,000. The estimate for 2024/25
is $4,329,000, which is a decrease of $1,198,000, or 22 per cent.
The capital expenditure for Judicial, the original
estimate for 2023/24 remains the same in 2024/25,
592 28 February 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly which is $800,000. There was nothing in 2023, I should
say. And I have already explained that.
So, I trust that that brings clarity to that Head,
and I will continue my presentation for Head 4, which is
the Attorney General’s Chambers. And I was on to business unit 14050, which represents Debt Collection.

Mm-hmm.

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your indulgence.

HEAD 4 —ATTORNEY GENERAL’S CHAMBERS

[Continuation thereof]

Debt Collection

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: The original estimate under this business unit for 2023/24 was $316,000. The
estimate for 2024/25 is $338,000. It is an increase of $22,000, or 7 per cent. Mr. Chairman, t he Debt Enforcement Unit within the Attorney General ’s Chambers
was established by the Government to assist the De-partment of Social Insurance and the Office of the Tax Commissioner in the recovery of unpaid social insurance contributions, payroll tax, land tax and other taxes
owed to the government. The cos t centre provides salaries for one Crown Counsel, one Junior Crown Counsel, and an Administrator. The budgetary increase is
due to the uplift in salaries.

Law Library

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Business unit 14060 represents the Law Library. The original estimate for 2023/24 was $159,000. The estimate for 2024/25 is
$148,000, which is a decrease of $11 ,000, or 7 per
cent.

For the members of the public, the Attorney General has just moved ahead on Head 4.
Go ahead, Minister. Thank you.

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, t his programme provides for the
cost of maintaining the Law Library in the Attorney Gen-eral’s Chambers, which includes the purchase of books
and periodicals, and the provision of access to leading
online legal information sources such as Lexis/Nexis ,
Lex, Practical Law and Westlaw. The decrease is due
to the Law Library’s moving from primarily hard- copy
subscriptions to almost entirely digital subscriptions. A total of $113,124 was spent in budget year 2023/24 for
electronic subscriptions services and books .
Capital Acquisitions

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: With regard to Capital
Acquisitions, Mr. Chairman, the original estimate for 2023/24 was simply $3,150. The estimate for 2024/25 is $10,065, which is an increase of $6,915.

Capital Expenditures

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, t he
budget allocation for Capital Expenditures is found at page C -10 of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure. The Attorney General ’s Chambers has been allocated a capital amount of $10,065 for fiscal 2024/25.
Funding for this amount will be used to purchase computer equipment.

Output Measures

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: With regard to output
measures, Mr. Chairman, during the 2023 calendar
year, 36 Acts were enacted and 105 Statutory Instruments made. In addition to the annual budget legisla-tion, there were a number of new and amending Acts
to give effect to the Government ’s legislative agenda
on topics including anti-doping in sport, corporate income tax, personal information protection, tourism investment and trademarks.

Bermuda Laws Online

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, t he Bermuda Laws website, which contains all of Bermuda ’s
current laws and supporting legislation, is updated in
real time from within Chambers , and we are continuing
to make improvements to the site. Since November 2018, Statutory Instruments ( which we refer to as BRs,
[Bermuda Regulations] ) are now gazetted by publication on the website which clearly indicates the operational date. Updating the eGazette from within Chambers allows regulations to be published and take effect
immediately.
Mr. Chairman, over the past budget year we
received eight Mutual Legal Assistance requests,
which is relatively consistent with the number of requests we received in the previous year. The Advisory
Section also acts as attorneys for the Enforcement Authority under the Pr oceeds of Crime Act 1997. The Enforcement Authority is charged with recovering proceeds of crime in civil proceedings. Mr. Chairman, over
the past budget year there were no civil recovery confiscation proceedings. However, we completed two
section 51 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 1997 cases ,
which resulted in $21,741 in cash being confiscated.
Mr. Chairman, w ith regard to staffing, there are
currently three vacant posts within the Civil Advisory
and Litigation section of the Attorney General ’s Chambers, namely, one Deputy Solicitor General , one Senior
Crown Counsel and Senior Crown Counsel Specialist.
Recruitment for the vacant post of Senior Crown Counsel and Senior Crown Counsel Specialist has commenced. The current staffing levels of the Civil Advisory
section are one Solicitor General , one Deputy Solicitor


Bermuda House of Assembly General , six Crown Counsel, one Junior Crown Counsel, one temporary additional Junior Crown Counsel ,
two administrative assistants and one paralegal to the
Solicitor General.
Mr. Chairman, in July of 2023, Ms. Shacolbi (I
hope I am pronouncing her name right) Thomas was
appointed to the post of Accounts Officer. And in January of 2024, Crown Counsel Ms. Cindy Du ookeran was
appointed to the post of Crown Counsel within the Ad-visory Section of Chambers. We wish to congratulate
both ladies on their respective appointments to the posts, Accounts Officer and Crown Counsel.
In the Drafting section of Chambers there are
two vacanc ies for the Chief Parliamentary Counsel and
Deputy Chief Parliamentary Counsel following the retirement in August 2022 of experienced drafter, Mrs. Cathryn Balfour -Swain , and in November 2023 another
experienced drafter, Mrs. D. Lorraine Welch, who completed 11 years’ service in Chambers. And she was actually our former Chief Parliamentary Counsel. We
thank Mrs. Welch for her dedicated work and commit-ment to Chambers and wish her well in her endeavours .
We will be seeking permission to create three
additional posts for one Deputy Chief Parliamentary Counsel and two Senior Parliamentary Counsel to sup-port professional and leadership progression and to
convert one temporary additional post to an established
post so that a Bermudian Assistant Parliamentary Counsel can b e promoted during this financial year.
There are currently six Parliamentary Counsel and two Assistant Parliamentary Counsel. In addition to these dedicated lawyers who are responsible for draf ting all
Government Bills and statutory instruments, the section is fortunate to have an excellent administrative team comprising four persons, each of whom plays a vital
part in the timely production, publication and consolida-tion of legislation.

Training and Development

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: With regard to Training
and Development, Mr. Chairman, the Attorney General’s Chambers includes within its mandate the development of its professional and administrative staff.
Members of the Civil Advisory and Administrative sections of Chambers attended training and personal development courses offered by the Department of Employee and Organisational Development. In addition,
the Advisory section has bi -weekly counsel meetings to
discuss legal issues and provide input to counsel w ho
currently have matters before the court. Further, in September 2023 the Deputy Solicitor General attended
the Financial Action Task Force Policy Development
Group meeting on Asset Recovery at the OECD Conference Centre in Paris.
Mr. Chairman, during the course of the budget
year the Solicitor General coordinated the P upillage
programme of the Ministry, and one Crown Counsel
acted as pupil master for one of the three pupils who completed their pupillage within the Ministry. The Pupillage programme provides each pupil with a unique
and enriched training experience within the Office of
the DPP, Legal Aid, and Drafting and Advisory. And I
already earlier highlighted the tenure of the three pupils
in our programme. And we once again applaud their
success.
In December 2023 , an Assistant Parliamentary
Counsel, Miss Lorendae Symonds, completed the first
year of online studies with Athabasca University for a
Graduate Diploma in Legislative Drafting. A nd we wish
her continued success in completing this demanding
course. She actually is one of our high- flyers, a young
Bermudian who is very dedicated and very talented.
Through our partnership with the Whitehall
Parliamentary Counsel Office, both Assistant Parliamentary Counsel have been able to participate in
monthly discussions on drafting topics with colleagues
in London and have been invited to visit for a work
shadow experience during the forthcoming financial
year. Mr. Chairman, members of the Drafting section
attended various training and development webinars and online training sessions on topics including developments in legislative drafting, FinTech, law reform,
personal information protection, leadership, management, health and safety, leadership and well -being.
Members of the Drafting section give in- house presentations and lead roundtable discussions on drafting matters. A team -building and staff wellness initiative is
planned during the forthcoming financial year.
With regard to initiatives in the forthcoming
year as they pertain to the Advisory section, Mr. Chairman, a principal focus will continue to be on the development of Bermudians in Chambers and pupils, partic-ularly in using Senior Crown Counsel and Crown Counsel to assist Junior Crown Counsel and pupils with advice and guidance on advisory and litigation matters.
The Advisory section intends to fill the vacant posts of
Solicitor General, Senior Crown Counsel, Office Manager and Deputy Solicitor General in the forthcoming
fiscal year. Two of the advisory staff, Mr. Chairman, will
be retiring, having completed their eligibility for retire-ment.
Of particular note is Mr. Melvin Douglas, the
Current Solicitor General, who will be retiring from the Office of Solicitor General after completing 31 years of
service in Chambers and having held the post of Solicitor General for the past 10 years. And many kudos to
Melvin. He will be sorely missed for his vast institutional knowledge.
In addition, Mr. Chairman, Ms. Linda Simons,
the current Office Manager who will also be retiring after completing 21 years of service as the Office Manager. We wish to thank both Mr. Douglas and Ms. Simons for their dedicated work and commitment to
Chambers. And we wish them both well in their future
endeavours.
Mr. Chairman, e nsuring that Chambers has
two dedicated specialist posts for land law , and
594 28 February 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly conveyancing and planning law will continue to be an
initiative that we will seek to achieve without increasing the number of posts within Chambers. To this end, we have revised one of the job descriptions for Senior Crown Counsel and are currently reviewing the vacant post of Crown Counsel. Mr. Chairman, i mproving the
personal development of staff will remain paramount by providing them with the opportunity to attend training
courses offered by the Department of Employee and Organisational Development.
The Advisory Section will continue to
• review contracts for the various ministries and
departments to aid the same in making better
decisions in contract negotiations;
• provide more administrative support to the
Debt Enforcement Unit to assist both Junior
Crown Counsel and Crown Counsel in management of debt enforcement with the aim of providing updated progress reports on debt enforcements ;
• review the assignment of specific counsel to
provide advisory and litigation representation
to ministries and departments;
• seek to improve our case management system
to reduce our demand for paper resources through the better use of our ProLaw software
and our electronic filing systems;
• provide more in- house presentations by counsel on a variety of legal topics;
• provide mentoring and training to Junior Coun-sel to enhance their skill sets in a variety of legal subjects; and finally,
• coordinate the Pupillage programme of the
Ministry and Chambers.

Legislative Drafting Staff and Training

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: A principal focus will continue to be on the development of Bermudians in legis-lative drafting. Experienced drafters will continue to train and mentor the Assistant Parliamentary Counsel so that they will be able to draft independently. This is
essential for purposes of succession planning in this
very specialised area of law.
Mr. Chairman, focus will be placed on the organisational restructuring of the section to bolster suc-cession planning in the section, thereby supporting professional and leadership development.

Legislative Information Management System (LIMS)
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, the legislation is produced quickly and accurately using LIMS, which is customised to our Bermuda drafting style.
This, combined with the important role of the Legislative Editor, has kept the number of errors and inconsist-encies found in legislation during House and Senate
debates to a minimum, thereby expediting the legisla-tive process. The maintenance of LIMS is through a Canadian vendor who provides timely professional as-sistance and technical support wher ever necessary,
and regularly updates our software with the latest ver-sions.
Mr. Chairman, it is intended to continue to improve our database and to post new laws within a week
of enactment on the Bermuda Laws O nline website,
www.bermudalaws.bm
, which is hosted locally by Fireminds Ltd. and One Communications Ltd. Mr. Chairman, consolidation, which is the incorporation of amendments into existing laws, is more time consuming since the amendments are checked by the drafter
as well as the Legislative Database Manager. The goal
is to continue to complete the process within one month of the enactment of the amending legislation, which was achieved in the last few years. To date we have
reached the intended outcome in 95 per cent of enactments.
The output of the Drafting section includes 140
Acts and Statutory Instruments in 2023. And this speaks directly to the value and tenacity of this dedicated team.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That completes
Head 4. And I will now move on to Head 74, which is
the Department of Court Services.

Thank you very much, Honourable and
Learned Attorney General.
Members, we are in Committee of Supply for
further consideration of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year 2024/25. And we have just completed Heads (I do believe) 87, 3 and 4.
I recognise the Honourable and Learned Attorney General.

HEAD 74 —DEPARTMENT OF COURT SERVICES
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, t he current account estimates for Head
74, the Department of Court Services, begin on page B-95 of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure
book. A total of $4, 397,000 has been allocated to Head
74 within the Ministry of Legal Affair s. This amount represents a 4 per cent decrease from the current 202 3/24
fiscal year. This decrease is reflective of the decision to
defer several recruitment drives throughout the year as
a cost -savings measure. This amounts to an overall reduction of $451,312 in salaries for the year.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Court Services (DCS) budget disbursement is comprise d of salaries for personnel and operational expenses. The department , as per legislation, is responsible for the assessment, rehabilitation, treatment, supervision and
case management of offenders in the community who
are subject to statutory orders. The department also delivers comprehensive assessments, makes referrals to treatment agencies for substance abusers via the
Bermuda Assessment and Referral Centre ( which we


Bermuda House of Assembly refer to as BARC), and furthermore conduct s drug and
alcohol screenings. Additionally, t he department supervises and monitors clients, many of them high- risk sexual offenders, violent offenders on probation and/or supervision orders for those serving life sentences who are on licence. The manpower figures for the Department of Court Services are on page B -96 of the Estimates Book. Mr. Chairman, the department has been challenged with an ever -increasing cadre of clients needing
therapeutic interventions due to unresolved trauma in childhood and/or adulthood and the negative, lingering
effect on their ability to function acceptably in our society. These multi -dimensional clientele w ho exhibit with
various degrees of risk need not only supervision and monitoring, but assistance in acquiring social skills and
thus requiring complex or intensive clinical intervention. Mr. Chairman, many of the socio- economic community
concerns are exacerbated by our clients’ economic
hardships and the lack of affordable residential accommodations.
Persistent and insidious issues which are pervasive amongst our client population include unemployment, mental health issues, lack of housing, misuse and abuse of substances, parenting challenges, anger issues, gang affiliations, cognitive deficits, ineffective role models, negative peer influences and educational deficiencies . The challenges in dealing with the
risks posed by the client requires vigilance and ongoing
training. The department has been using opportunities
to have officers act in more senior positions if deemed
appropriate.
It remains difficult finding and securing Bermudian forensic psychologists, and thus we have had to recruit from overseas. This is not unique to our department, as this has been an ongoing challenge with our department as well as with the Department of Correc-tions.
Mr. Chairman, the department continues to operate seven cost centres within three distinct programmes. I will deal with the first, which is Administration, business unit 84070, which refers to Court Services Administration.

Continue.

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: And I will go to Administration generally, which is [programme] 7402. And the
original estimate for 2023/24 was $1,389,000. The estimate for 2024/25 is $1,262,000, which is a decrease
of $127,000, or 9 per cent.
And I will move back over to the business unit,
as previously stated. Mr. Chairman, the budget for the
Administration unit [cost centre 84070] is made up of
salaries for senior management, a Technical Support Administrator who is critical to maintaining the depart-ment’s ability to function in a progressively electronic
data environment, and administrative support personnel. The allocation is $620,000 for personnel salaries.
The remaining expenditure of $6 42,000 covers building
security, training, software and electronics or technology, office cleaning, apprenticeship, counselling, and
operational equipment and supplies.
Mr. Chairman, departmental training to maintain certification standards for specialised service delivery related to many of our highest -risk individuals such
as sex and violent offenders, as well as those suffering
from drug and/or alcohol and nicotine abuse or addictions . And additionally, offenders guilty of intimate partner abuse remain a priority. We will partner with stakeholders toward achieving positive outcomes for this de-mographic. Planning to establish a Domestic Abuse Treatment Court, Mr. Chairman, remains a work in progress. Further, with the introduction of a Juvenile Treatment Court, which is currently in its pilot stage, interventions in these critical areas will be intensified.
These specialty court programmes, as with
other treatment court programmes, are consistent with
the aim to promote the continuum of care and interventions for the specific clients enrolled. No additional
funds have been requested this year.
Mr. Chairman, community sentences under the
remit of this department motivate offenders to examine their behaviours, challenging them to alter their criminal
thought patterns as well as lifestyles by confronting the
challenging issues that they face. Part nerships with
stakeholders in wider criminal justice ventures will as-pire to enhance fiscal interfaces in delivering these much- needed collaborations within a highly reduced
budget. This may include resource- sharing. And I applaud the creativity that is necessary to keep within our budget allotment.
Mr. Chairman , the s pecialist treatment court
programmes operated under this department maintain
effectiveness in meeting the needs of participants and
curbing their offending behaviours. The team environment s, which are led weekly by the sitting magistrate,
promotes more effective interventions and interactions to meet client needs, as well as meet programme expectations.

Case Management

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, [programme] 7401 represents the Case Management Unit.
The original estimate for 2023/24 wa s $1,326,000 . The
estimate for 2024/25 is $1,327,000, which an increase
of 1 per cent, which is pretty much negligible.
Mr. Chairman, t he Case Management Unit is
overseen by a Manager and comprises the Drug Treatment Court Programme [ DTCP ], and Probation and Parole Teams. Presently the unit is supervised by an acting Manager, who also functions as the Senior Probation Officer for the Probation Team.
596 28 February 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Cases are still managed according to the offenders’ assessed risks as well as their needs , hence
embracing the universally established risk/needs principles . We acknowledge that the recruitment for the
Manager post has been deferred by five months in the
upcoming fiscal year as a cost -savings measure. Staff
members within this unit assist in ensuring this department can continue to give representation on several inter-agency committees and groups. The aim is to enhance collaborative efforts and communications, promote training and generate data collection across all agencies involved in the criminal justice system.
The 2024/25 budget allocations for the Case
Management Unit will be dis bursed in the following
three cost centres: the first being cost centre 84010,
which represents Probation Services . The original estimate under this cost centre for 2023/24 was $464,000 .
The estimate for 2024/25 is $432,000, which represents a decrease of $32 ,000, or 7 per cent. Mr. Chairman, t he Probation Team oversees probation orders
ordered by the courts, which are designed as utilising
assessment tools to determine the areas of our clients’ lives which need intervention, as well as the risk in and
to the community.
These interventions support offenders in
changing their offending behaviours, lifestyles and
criminal thought patterns. These are reinforced through
office and field visits, as well as contacts with their significant others to ascertain a more accurate synopsis of
the clients’ functioning and responses to supervision.
There were 39 persons sentenced to this form of supervision during the year, with 24 persons completing
probation orders . At present there are 50 offenders on
probation orders.
The allocated Probation Services budget of
$431 ,000 is broken down as follows:
• [There was] $415 ,000 for employee expenses
such as salaries. The other operational ex-penses of $16,000 include cell phone usage,
assessment materials and outsourced treatment services as required.
• With the acquisition of a new Forensic Psychologist, the department sees the financial
outlay for outsourced clinical services is ex-pected to diminish.
• With the recent recruitment of a new Supervisory Forensic Psychologist, the department
has begun to recognise a decrease in expenditures for outsourced clinical services.
Mr. Chairman, the goal to implement a Probation Review Court programme has been realised and
has already proven fruitful in getting clients before the
courts sooner when they are not performing well. This
programme has also allowed staff to highlight suc-cesses and strides by the clients in a more regular, judicially led intervention environment. This has enabled the criminal justice partners to have a more systemic
and predictable schedule for client reviews in court.
Therefore, responses are more immediate and effective. This will not affect emergency cases which may need more immediate attention. Those particular
matters will be arranged for individually so as to be
heard more expeditiously.
Mr. Chairman, successful delivery of the Probation Team’s services in the upcoming fiscal year will
continue to include more accurate and comprehensive data analysis and refined site visits to observe offenders in their living, work and social environments. This
will assist officers in mitigating risks, adequately as-sessing needs levels and creating impactful responses.
Whilst there are concerns about the overall outputs for
this team with the deferment of recruitment against several posts, this will be evaluated on an ongoing basis to
mitigate risks in and for clients, officer safety and effectiveness and risk to the gov ernment and community
safety.
And I would like to point out at this juncture, Mr.
Chairman, that during the year the services and pro-gramme delivery are always assessed by the Permanent Secretary and the team so that if monies are
needed to be deployed from other areas where we
have additional funds, we will do so. So there is no
need for any alarm in terms of any perceived under -
funding.

Mm-hmm.

Parole Services
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Yes.
Cost centre 84020 represents Parole Services.
The original estimate for 2023/24 was $409,000. The
estimate for 2024/25 is $424,000, which represents an
increase of $15,000, or 4 per cent. Mr. Chairman, i ndividuals released from the Department of Corrections
[DOC] on early conditional release to serve the remainder of their sentence in the community by the Parole
Board are supervised for the remainder of their sentences under the supervision of an officer from the Parole Team. This means that in addition to finite sentences, persons serving a life sentence are supervised
by the department for the rest of their natural life. At
present, there are 49 individuals on parole. Of those,
41 per cent are under supervision for the remainder of
their lives, referred to as “lifers.”
Mr. Chairman, t he allocated Parole Services
budget of $4 24,000 is broken down as follows:
• $411,000 to cover employee expenses ( such
as salaries); and
• $13,000, as previously stated, for operational
expenses.
To promote the successful delivery of supervision services and interventions amongst gang- involved
and other high- risk parolees , electronic monitoring devices (which we refer to as EMDs) can be required as
conditions for supervision. This ensures that identified
persons refrain from visiting high- risk places and limit s
the degree to which these individuals can associate


Bermuda House of Assembly with each other . Along with curfew checks, this has
proven to be effective in mitigating and monitoring risks
for these clients under a 24/7 basis.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, the respective orders for the 49
[individuals ] on parole vary according to their need for
supervision coupled with the risks that they pose to themselves and others in the community . During the
past fiscal year six persons completed parole and two
offenders were recalled to the Department of Corrections for violations of their orders or for reoffending.

Drug Treatment Court

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Under c ost centre 84080
we have the Drug Treatment Court p rogramme. The
original estimate for this programme for 2023/24 was
$453,000. The estimate for 2024/25 is $471,000, which
represents an increase of $18,000, or 4 per cent . Mr.
Chairman, t he Drug Treatment Court p rogramme remains the principal model for a team approach to of-fender supervision over all other treatment courts .
There were 21 new referrals in the Drug Treatment
Court programme during the year in addition to those
observed for potential admittance into the programme.
Mr. Chairman, t he team has maintained quick response
times to client non- compliance issues a nd facilitated
the transition of clients across the various phases and levels within the treatment continuum.
An adjusted stream for offenders convicted of
driving under the influence (or DUI ) offences is continuously being built upon and may move from a pilot to a
full-fledged programme. There were 29 new referrals in
the DUI stream. Both streams require the officers to en-gage in intensive case management to ensure that the treatment needs as well as any social, medical and
mental health needs are also met. Mr. Chairman, t he
budget allocation of the Drug Treatment Court p rogramme [DTCP] is distributed for the rehabilitation of offenders whose offending is directly attributable to
their substance abuse, and includes urinalysis assess-ments, counselling and training. Allowing stakeholder
use of department facilities for interventions and educational groups for mutual clients is expected to assist
these individuals to address their substance abuse and
drug infractions.
Mr. Chairman, t o promote the successful delivery of supervision services and interventions amongst
gang- involved and other high- risk parolees , the electronic monitoring devices can be required as conditions for supervision. This ensure s that identified persons refrain from visiting high- risk places and limit s the degree
to which they can associate with each other . (Mr. Chairman, I have already covered that.)
Mr. Chairman, private psychological and counselling services were utilised to augment the department’s clinical interventions which assist ed in addressing issues that contributed to the offenders’ use of substances. It is anticipated that this need will increase
even more once the remaining departmental Psychologist post is filled. We note that whilst the department
was successful in recruiting a Bermudian Forensic Psy-chologist years ago, that individual has embarked on
more personally fruitful and financially rewarding endeavours. Such posts remain difficult to retain Bermudians for sustainability, as the law in private practice is
most attractive and more lucrative.
Mr. Chairman, funds for DTCP represent salaries in the amount of $422 ,000. The remaining funds of
$49,000 cover operational as well as assessment and
treatment services for the programme. In essence, this
has enabled offenders whose substance misuse contributed to their offending to be afforded treatment, and
upon the successful completion of the programme their
index offence can be expunged. Mr. Chairman, the
Case Management Unit has been training to utilise a
more clinically focused approach to augment it s current
supervision and monitoring functions in the upcoming
fiscal year. This should allow the department to service
more of the needs of our clients than they were previously able to. This does not, however, impact the required enforcement measures.
Mr. Chairman, performance measures have
been revised for future outcomes, and application of enhanced standards will ensure effective enforcement
of the requirements of statutory o rders for accountability of clients .

Assessment and Treatment

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: I will now move to programme 7403, which represents the Assessment and
Treatment Unit. Under this programme, t he original estimate for 2023/24 was $1,875,000 . The estimate for
2024/25 is $1,808,000, which is a decrease of $ 67,000,
or 4 per cent. Mr. Chairman, the Assessment and
Treatment Unit of the Department of Court Services
provides accurate, comprehensive and detailed clinical
assessments, reports and treatment programmes that identify risks , criminogenic behaviour and thinking , and
drug and alcohol abuse patterns that clients exhibit. These interventions guide service delivery and assist in
reducing relapse and/or reoffending rates , as well as
substance abuse and use.
The assigned personnel operate under the direction of the U nit Manager. Currently, the Report Writing Coordinator provides this function as the acting
Manager while also continuing to supervise the suspended [sic] team. The unit’s four teams, each under
598 28 February 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly the supervision of a coordinator, or clinical supervisor,
operate under three cost centres. A priority of this unit
is ongoing regulation of its procedures and assessments . As these current functions are therapeutically
focused, staff in these areas require special training
and academic degrees, and many of their job functions
are specialist, post -graduate designations and are regulated and/or certified .

For the benefit of Members, the Honourable and Learned Attorney General continues under
Head 74, Department of Court Services. She is currently in the Budget Book on page B -95, programme
7403, Assessment and Treatment.

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I will now move to c ost centre 84030, which
represents Aftercare and Community Integration Ser-vice. Mr. Chairman, t he original estimate for 2023/24
was $281,000. The estimate for 2024/25 is $174, 000,
which is a decrease of $107,000, or 38 per cent. Mr.
Chairman, this programme includes Community Service Orders and the Mental Health Treatment Court
Programme, with the staff consisting of three officers who are supervised by a coordinator.
During the past fiscal year, individuals were
sentence d to 4,169 hours of community service by the
courts. This was up from 3,100 hours in 2022. Of these
hours, 3,282 hours were completed within the year. Several clients have also found job placements in their assigned community service agencies after their court -
mandated hours have been completed. It should be noted that with the economic downturn, more commu-nity service hours are being ordered for persons who
are unable to pay their fines. Mr. Chairman, the Mental Health Treatment
Court Programme is a valuable programme for individuals who come into the criminal justice system with diagnosed and treatable mental health issues. The numbers of participants in this programme fluctuate, sometimes quite dramatically. A significant challenge for this
team that continues year to year is the inability for these
clients to access the relevant residential treatment ser-vices and housing opportunities. This is critical for them
to receive the necessary treatment and social stability
which they require for their self -actualisation and motivation to change. This situation is especially prevalent
with individuals dually diagnosed with mental illness es
and substance addiction. In several instances, many of
the individuals are not ill enough to be hospitalised, but too ill for residential placement.
Mr. Chairman, as a developmental opportunity
and to keep abreast of trends in the field, the Team Su-pervisor was sent to the National Association of Drug
Court Professionals (which is the umbrella organisation
for treatment courts), where they were able to return
with up -to-date knowledge on programmes, therapies
and procedures to assist treatment court participants to better thrive in the community. This knowledge has proven invaluable and assisted the department in conducting assessments, analysis of results and treatment
planning. Alternative methods of enhancing additional
staff members’ skills and knowledge will be pursued.
Mr. Chairman, s ignificant activities for the upcoming fiscal year include the ongoing dire need to secure residential treatment options for dually diagnosed
clients for numerous years, and we continue to work
collectively with other ministries and NGOs toward this
end despite challenges. This department continues to utilise all available resources to assist clients and will
continue to do so.
The salary estimate is $149,000. The additional fiscal outlay of $25 ,000 is for specialised mental
health and vocational assessments, and maintenance
of programme equipment . Additionally, vehicle fuel and
cell phone expenses are incurred, as we need to ensure and raise the safety level of staff in the field. Often,
staffing home checks or curfew checks are dealing with
dangerous individuals in their home environments,
which are also located in high- risk areas and very inhospitable hours, especially during w eekends and holidays. As a result, the officers must be able to be in immediate communication with supervisory staff or the
police at a moment’s notice. During such visits, officers
must be accompanied by at least one other officer.
Mr. Chairman, c ost centre 84040 represents
the Community Based Programmes Team. The original
estimate for 2023/24 under this cost centre was
$467,000. The estimate for 2024/25 is $463, 000 which
is a decrease of $4 ,000, or 1 per cent.
Mr. Chairman , the Community Based Programmes Team continues to deliver accredited and
certified programmes by special ly trained senior probation officers for high- risk offenders such as sex and violent offenders. The team had been without a forensic
psychologist or team leader for much of the year. As a
result, provision s were originally made for the staff of
this team to receive clinical supervision via electronic
conferences with a United Kingdom- based clinician.
Additionally, a former departmental Forensic Psychologist remain ed an active support via a contractual agreement.
For half of the fiscal year, the department was
able to fill our Psychologist 1 post, which is a supervisory post, albeit by a non- Bermudian. In doing so, outsource expenses have decreased significantly. And the
new Forensic Psychologist has already embark ed on
an aggressive training programme to better equip staff
to deliver more clinically based assessment and service delivery. This will aid in their future development
and application of accredited service standards.
Mr. Chairman, during the six -month period that
the new Psychologist began employment, the team has
seen 19 of the high- risk clients both one- to-one and in
group settings. The Psychologist has seen 18 clients directly. Out of these clients, five males and one female
have been receiving sex offender -specific treatment.


Bermuda House of Assembly The department’s Senior Probation Officers
provide support, supervision and monitoring for those
offenders with sexual and violent offending convictions,
which are improved by clinical interventions. Mr. Chairman, during the year a major effort had been mounted to fill the remaining Psychologist post. Unfortunately,
the successful candidate later declined the position. So
the department has embarked on a further recruitment
drive to recruit another person for the Psychologist 2
post. Okay, so there are two Psyc hologist posts, Psychologist 1 and Psychologist 2. I am being reminded by
the former Director of Court Services, who is now my
Permanent Secretary.