Jul 07 - Minister Linares Budget Speech
Mr Speaker,
It is an honour and privilege to deliver as Minister for Sports, Culture, Heritage, Youth and Civic Rights my 5th Budget speech to this House.
CIVIC RIGHTS
The Civic Rights aspect of my portfolio are two main areas.
The first is that my office of the point of contact for the Ombudsman and his team. We provide guidance and support when required.
The second is the Citizens Advice Bureau which is known as CAB for short.
Both these offices are run as independent entities. However, they are funded by the taxpayer. It is my duty to monitor their expenditure and their role and for this reason I am accountable to this House.
This has been the procedure since the two organisations were established.
Mediation
Since mediation was introduced in Gibraltar in 2010, UK mediation has partnered with CAB to develop and grow Mediation services locally.
Four staff members from the Gibraltar bureau are now accredited and trained Mediators after obtaining the Mediation Practitioners Certificate which is accredited by a number of UK institutions.
This qualification equips them to resolve disputes, and complaints involving employment, consumer, neighbourhood and family issues.
Here 2 Help
CAB is running the Here 2 Help website. This website is being used to spread the word through social media networks and showcase volunteer and community needs.
They have inspired charities to work together and advertise how people can volunteer for their respective organizations. This gives members of the public an opportunity to find out what roles are on offer. It allows them to take part in events and to get inspired to help the community through volunteering.
Their website can be found at www.here2help.gi
Money Advice Clinic
CAB has also initiated a Money Advice Clinic as part of the services that it offers. This has increased client contacts this year. The aim of this clinic is to help clients stabilize their financial situation so that they can safeguard their homes and their belongings, have sufficient money to feed and clothe their families and pay their debts at an affordable rate.
Mr Speaker, the Money Advice process is a systematic way of working with clients to achieve this aim. CAB works in partnership with the Utility Companies. It uses Community Care officers with a financial or banking background to assist clients in this process as part of their community care duties.
CAB staff have been engaged in giving presentations and talks under their “Staying Safe with Advice Campaign”. This covered energy saving advice and other safety information.
The Campaign targeted senior citizens who feel more comfortable in their own homes, those in elderly accommodation or elsewhere.
However, this comfort can also reduce awareness of hazards that could lead to injury. Accurate information, advice and planning are essential to their well-being. The Bureau were joined by the essential services in this campaign. Together, they issued wallet-sized cards with useful numbers to senior citizens for them to call in the event of an emergency.
OMBUDSMAN
Mr Speaker, I now move on to the Office of the Ombudsman.
In the past year the Ombudsmans Office has been given responsibility to handle GHA complaints. The Office now also deals with ADR and reports on complaints against Government departments and related bodies.
Mr Speaker, the Ombudsman assumed responsibilities for health related complaints as from May 2015. This was in accordance with our 2011 manifesto.
Government provided funds for two extra members of staff. An office sited within St Bernard’s Hospital to provide an in situ service to deal with complaints and enquiries was also provided.
This new task has proved to be quite challenging with a very steep learning curve.
The aim of the Ombudsman and his team is to meet the expectations of the service-user whilst never forgetting the GHA staff themselves. It is important to point out that in the vast majority of instances the staff provides an excellent service and standard of care.
May I take this opportunity to congratulate the Ombudsman and his team for the professional manner in which they have handled complaints against the GHA.
ADR
Mr Speaker, in June 2015 the Consumer (Alternative Dispute Resolution) Regulations 2015 came into force.
The Public Services Ombudsman was named as the Competent and Reporting Authority for Gibraltar.
The responsibilities of the Ombudsman grew as a result of this and the Office attracted an increased workload.
Government has made available an extra officer to be redeployed to assist the Ombudsman with this task.
Alternative Dispute Resolution (‘ADR’) is a means by which a consumer may wish to resolve a dispute with a trader or service-provider. These provisions are aimed at consumers and have no effect in disputes between traders.
Continued Development Programme
Ever since the Ombudsman first became operational in Gibraltar this office has always aimed to deliver the best possible service to those who seek their assistance.
To this effect members of staff as well as the Ombudsman continue to travel abroad to learn about the service which is provided elsewhere.
The Ombudsman regularly attends ombudsman meetings, conferences and seminars.
The Office in Gibraltar belongs to different organisations and this contact is used in order to keep abreast of the developments in the Ombudsman world.
Their stated aim is to consistently make their office a beacon of not only good administration but also of excellence in the delivery of service to the people of Gibraltar.
Mr Speaker, as a result of these meetings, the Ombudsman has recently introduced a Systems Improvement Officer (‘SIO’). He has designated a member of his staff to undertake the responsibilities of SIO, which will include amongst other things the ensuring that the Ombudsman’s recommendations have been put into effect and actioned.
Other aspects of this role will include undertaking a review of their own internal working methods and procedures.
The Ombudsman is always conscious that they owe a duty of service to those who seek their assistance and is therefore keen to ensure that their service-delivery is on target or whether it needs improving.
YOUTH
Mr Speaker, over the past year the Gibraltar Youth Service has undergone a number of significant changes, most noticeably within its structure and staffing arrangements.
This has led to an increase in face to face work with more young people, and we are also reaching out to other Government departments, agencies and NGOs.
The Youth Service is working with them by advocating an improvement and better services for young people in our community.
The administration for the Gibraltar Youth Service continues to be based at the main offices of the Ministry of Culture where the staff continue to provide support for the Youth Service.
The professional complement at the Youth Service consists of a Principal Youth Officer, two Senior Youth Workers and five Youth and Community Workers.
Since September 2015 all Youth Service Staff members completed a consultation with Unite the Union, the Human Resources Department and Government legal officers.
In November 2015, as result of that consultation, the Gibraltar Youth Service produced a set of policies and procedures called “Delivering Youth Work in Gibraltar”. These sets of Policies and Procedures has now been adopted by all staff members who work in the Youth Work team.
Mr Speaker, the Youth Work team is complimented by supply Youth Support Workers who provide backing to the full time Youth and Community Work team.
The Youth Service has worked very closely with Human Resources Department in regularising the employment status of all employees.
The Service has continued to work closely with Human Resources and Unite the Union by ensuring that we support our employees by putting measures and systems in place.
These measures and systems have ensured that we continue to maintain and raise the standard of our Youth and Community Work team as we aim for best practice.
Mr Speaker, in addition to supporting the work carried out at the Youth clubs and Youth Projects we have once again offered the locally recognised and assessed course in ‘Understanding Youth Work’ to volunteers and prospective Youth Support Workers.
This year Trainees were given a choice between the assessed or the non-assessed route. The non- assessed route offered the trainee a certificate of attendance along with the chance to volunteer their services to various youth work projects.
Due to the success of their training, plans are at an advanced stage to offer “Understanding Youth Work” training to anyone interested in working with young people as from October 2016.
Mr Speaker, the Youth Service is committed to personal professional development and it constantly continues to update its skills audit of all its employees.
All full time employees and some Youth Support Workers have undergone training in the following areas; Safeguarding Children Tier 1, Health and Safety, First Aid at Work, Basic Fire and Rescue Training.
In addition two Youth Support Workers have recently completed Food Hygiene Courses.
The Youth Service is a member of the Child Protection Committee and following a request by the Care Agency in November 2015, the Youth Service agreed to join the “Safeguarding Children and Young People” training team as from January 2016.
In January 2016 all Youth Service staff underwent a very successful and inspiring weekend of Personal Professional development training organised by the Youth Service itself.
This was delivered by Moira Smith and Lesley Buckland who are Renowned academics from the YMCA, George Williams College.
The Government, Mr Speaker, have invested in people and in facilities.
During the past year both Dolphins and Plater Youth Clubs have undergone significant refurbishment.
In addition to their current facilities, these now have new modern and up to date Kitchens for young people to use and learn necessary life skills.
On Thursday 17th September 2015 the Youth Service and the Royal Gibraltar Police signed a Memorandum of Understanding to consolidate the areas of joint working that both organisations carry out.
This has allowed the two organisations to build a professional relationship of trust to address any issues that young people may have in the actual youth clubs and also in the wider community.
The Youth Advisory Council has been expanded.
The Duke of Edinburgh Award, Guides and Scouts have provided advice to Government about issues that affect young people. In order to improve services for young people we have included representatives in the Council from the RGP, the Education Department, the GHA, the Care Agency and also the Drugs Coordinator.
As Minister for Youth, I felt it important to give young people a voice in our community.
The Youth Service set up A Youth Forum and a number of meetings were arranged which included members of this forum We're these young people raised any issue that they wanted.
As a result of the meetings young people have had the opportunity to meet with my colleague Minister Sacramento and I at the Youth Centre and to discuss a number of matters. This went very well.
Mr Speaker, the Youth Service are working closely with young people and advocating on their behalf so that the issues raised by them are taken seriously and acted upon.
Members of the Youth Forum also met with GHA General Manager Darion Figaredo and with the Director of Education Joey Britto.
This forum will continue to expand. There will be more meetings arranged in order to give our young people the opportunity to raise issues that concern them.
Work with Education Department.
Mr Speaker, the Youth Service has a well-established working relationship with the Education Department.
We have worked very effectively together with Bayside and Westside Schools and with the College of Further Education.
In order to reach out to more young people the Senior team held a meeting with the Director of Education recently. They agreed that the Youth Service would start work with the school year 7s pupils from all middle schools.
This initiative has been extended to private schools with a view to offer the services of the department and to reach out to as many young people as possible in our community.
Mr Speaker, the Youth Service has been involved in organizing many events for young people.
These events have included residentials, attending Outdoor Pursuits trips, fund raising, projects such as Healthy Lifestyle, Environmental awareness, and performing and production.
The aim is to make our young people conscious of their rights and responsibilities and that they are an important party of the society that they belong to.
Mr Speaker, the Youth Service is an extremely busy department which has been leading on and successfully achieving many projects thanks to a very committed workforce.
With the new Youth and Community Workers in post and as the team continues to develop their profession, they hope to continue their successes.
The Government looks forward to an even busier and promising year ahead where the needs of young people will always be at the top of the agenda.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the management and staff of the Youth Service.
I would also like to thank the Luce Foundation which helps out the Youth Service in helping them fund many of the projects that they deliver.
HERITAGE
Mr Speaker, I move on now to Heritage matters.
Throughout this busy year we have been consolidating existing works in anticipation of future projects. The Department has committed itself to securing and following through on a number of important projects.
The Museum-led World Heritage Bid for Gorham Caves and the surrounding area is progressing well.
The Gibraltar Museum team have been working tirelessly to finalise our bid, its contents and its public outreach components.
To this end, a whole new wing of the Museum was recently inaugurated on International Museums’ Day.
This new wing exhibits ground-breaking Neanderthal models, state-of-the-art interpretation panels and previously unseen items from over 20 years of research at Gorham’s Cave.
This year the Museum open day was a resounding success with over 1,700 visitors; a new record.
On the ground itself, access to and protection of the caves has been guaranteed through the construction of new walkways and gabions.
A partial approximation of the Neanderthal environment has been reconstructed with the successful introduction of tamarisk plants. This will be extended in the coming years.
It is a tribute to the Museum team led by Prof Clive Finlayson and Dr Gerry Finlayson that they have been able, almost single-handedly, to bring together the necessary expertise, drive and knowledge to produce this world-class bid.
Whatever happens, there can be no doubt that this is a world class site of outstanding universal value.
Professor Gabriel Cooney – the World Heritage Site Evaluator on behalf of ICOMOS – was suitably impressed by the exceptional progress of the site.
As part of the on-going five-year management plan supporting the bid, they produced a film called ‘making of the Neanderthal models’.
The film will assist to give publicity to the growing Gibraltar Neanderthal experience.
This has been aided by new cutting-edge documentaries by BBC and GBC, a brand new website, as well as on-going research at the cave complex.
Although the final result of our bid will only be known within days, our commitment to exhibiting and enhancing our Neanderthal past will endure.
Mr Speaker, the Ministry for Heritage has continued the refurbishment of the City Hall, following the opening of our National Art Gallery.
I can now inform this house that a lift has been installed and that plans are afoot to consolidate the façade of the building as well as refurbishment of the Mayor’s Parlour.
In subsequent years we will be able to count on an even bigger and better National Gallery and a fitting hall for our mayors and their functions.
This will include the housing of all the Government’s collection of artworks, and the development of the third floor once Gibtelecom moves out to its new premises.
As we said in our 2011 Manifesto the City Hall will be a cultural building.
Mr Speaker, a monument to Gibraltar’s fallen from both World Wars, was recently erected at the National Arboretum in the UK.
Carved out of our own limestone, conceived by Mr. Joe Brugada and designed by Mr. Anselmo Torres, the monument stands as a fitting tribute to those Gibraltarians who gave their lives in these conflicts.
As the living witnesses of these past conflicts fade, their names will live forevermore. They fought against oppression in the past for a better future.
Mr Speaker, in this year’s estimates we have provided funds for a monument to women in Gibraltar.
This has been a project that has gone out to public participation in the form of a competition and which we will be commissioning in the next few months.
The Monument will also fulfill another commitment.
The Government is looking to finalise the Gibraltar Heritage and Antiquities Bill. I am happy to report that this legislation is now near completion.
The public consultation period is over and we have received many insightful comments. These have been looked at, often amending the bill as it stood. The process has considerably improved the end product.
I would like to thank all those who sent their views and visions concerning our heritage. The final bill will be a combination of many ideas. The role of the Government has been to temper hope with reality, conservation with mitigation.
As I said last year, and I reiterate on this occasion, this Bill will set an important benchmark, bringing Gibraltar firmly into the twenty-first Century insofar as heritage best-practice is concerned.
Aside from greatly deepening our heritage protection, we will have in place comprehensive and exacting listed-building legislation, protection of monuments and a legislative framework for developer-funded archaeology and heritage recording.
Mr Speaker, through the efforts of the Heritage Department working closely with the Government’s Planning Department, much of the proposed legislation has already become commonplace guidance for the day-to-day running and recording of our heritage.
In this, the private sector has also been instrumental. Where we have led, they have followed; and I can honestly say that the future prospects for the protection of our heritage is better now than at any point in the last twenty years.
During 2015 and 2016 we have worked together with developers to combine development with conservation. The results could not be clearer, from the restoration of previously neglected World War Two structures, the undertaking and standardisation of archaeological watching briefs and the increasing frequency of historical desk-based assessments means that we are recording our past at an unprecedented rate.
And I hasten to add that this is being done without restricting the building development that Gibraltar demands and needs.
In the last year we have shown that heritage protection does not hamper development, indeed it enhances it by helping to preserve the past in our construction of Gibraltar’s future.
Needless to say, this would not have been possible without the unstinting support of the Gibraltar Heritage Trust who have advised, remonstrated and broadly agreed with our views. Their vision and impartiality is much appreciated.
As for the future, we have an exciting year ahead of us which will see the completion of the Wellington Front refurbishment and numerous other projects.
For instance, we are looking into management plans to restore our walls to their ancient standard. We aim to start small, but envisage a three-year plan where, working closely with the Ministry of the Environment, we will start removing plants and tidying up our city walls.
This will complement, and work in close tandem with the Government’s urban regeneration program which aims to consolidate and enhance our Old Town product.
Mr Speaker, in collaboration with the Gibraltar National Archives we have started a project entitled, ‘Mapping our Past’ whereby all the old maps of Gibraltar will be scanned and placed online for all to be able to access.
Not only will this aid developers in their own plans, but it will be of great service to all those interested in the development of the city of Gibraltar. A first teaser of the potential of the “Mapping our Past” project is even now being developed and it should be online shortly.
Mapping our Past will also serve as the keystone product that will enable us to pursue the setting up of a Historical Environments Record. An Historical Environments Record is the cornerstone of any Heritage Department. It aims to provide as complete as possible a catalogue of all the heritage assets in a given place. We are currently studying the feasibility of undertaking this together with other government departments.
Mr Speaker, our collaboration with the University of Cambridge on the study of human remains from the ex-St. Bernard’s Hospital continues for another year.
Our research in 2015 has shown that the cemetery located here dates not to the 16th through to 18th Century as was originally assumed.
It actually dates to the mid-15th Century, in itself significant as the time when the Moorish occupation of Gibraltar ceased. In effect we might well be looking at the last Islamic or the first Christian cemetery on the Rock.
Well preserved human remains from this period are rare and, beyond the University of Cambridge, this discovery has already interested scholars in Germany, Spain and the United States of America.
Mr Speaker, we expect great things from these collaborations, and it serves to underline the international research potential that Gibraltar holds. We may be small but our vibrant history and especially its study enthrals experts everywhere.
CULTURE
Mr Speaker, on the cultural front no one can deny how in the past five years since we came into office, events, facilities and cultural development has moved forward in leaps and bounds.
We have been able to export our culture as well as expose our cultural identity with high quality exhibits and events.
We hosted in Gibraltar the Little Constellation Network project - Voices of the Sirens. The final exhibition, brought 14 international artists to exhibit in Gibraltar. A Voices of the Sirens Book which is about the project held in Gibraltar has been launched in London and in Milan.
We participated in the Tourism and Culture Expo in Tangier to promote cultural links with Morocco.
Gibraltar Cultural Services (GCS) has been instrumental in producing and organising a Retrospective Exhibition with Royal Academicians: Anne Desmet, Anne Christopher and Barbara Rae.
This is part of our ongoing cultural development initiatives. This is the first time that any Royal Academician has exhibited in Gibraltar.
We have supported the participation of local artists in competitions abroad, such as the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and backed a Gibraltarian artist doing a residency with the Island games, in Jersey in 2015.
Further we are currently in the process of organising the Gibraltar- Berlin Art Residency which will start this month. This will see a Gibraltarian artist taking up a residency in Berlin, and a Berlin artist doing a residency in Gibraltar.
As we promised in our 2011 manifesto we opened the Mario Finlayson National Art Gallery in June 2015 and the Gibraltar Exhibition for Modern Art Gallery (GEMA) in November 2015. Giving Gibraltar its first two permanent National Art Galleries.
A total of 34 works of art have been purchased during the current year.
The Annual Drama Festival held in March 2016, was the biggest to date, with 14 entries and over a whole week of theatre.
Support was given to the GNDO to organise the European Show Dance Championships in October as part of our event-led tourism initiative. Over 700 dancers participated. The show was seen by over 1 million viewers online via website and live stream throughout the 4 day competition.
Gibraltar Cultural Services who run many of our cultural events together and at times on behalf of the Ministry of Culture are not only involved in organizing and/or monitoring events they are also involved in managing all the facilities in which these events take place.
We have seen the vast improvements to the John Macintosh Hall.
Work to the courtyard to extend the cafeteria and the installation of a new gutter system have been completed.
This included all new appliances for the Cafeteria.
Repairs were made to the external walls and ceiling of the private High School area.
The entire JMH Theatre roof, which had not been maintained for years, has now been replaced.
The Theatre now boasts a number of new technical upgrades, from new PA Systems to lighting equipment.
The refurbishment of the Theatre with new flooring and seats is currently taking place and should be complete by the end of summer.
The library At the JMH has seen 400 new books added to the collection.
The library catalogue is now digital and can be accessed online. This went live on 3rd March 2016. Book titles, authors, and subjects can be searched remotely.
Members can also reserve books or extend the lending period online.
Additional furniture for the children’s section has also been purchased.
The Central Hall and The Retreat Centre have also seen much needed refurbishment carried out.
GCS have also taken on the responsibility of maintaining many premises held by cultural, sporting, charitable associations and clubs. This never use to happen with the previous administration. In fact what we had when we come into government in 2011 was a claim from a tenant for damages caused by water ingress from windows and the roof.
This made us survey all premises owned by the Government. During the last five years many of these premises have now been upgraded and therefore this should now avoid any future claims.
Mr Speaker, I would like to thank the staff at GCS especially Angela Bula who are very proactive in maintaining the JMH, Central Hall and all the other venues I have mentioned.
GMF
Mr Speaker
After hearing the honourable member Mr Clinton reference the GMF.
It is disappointing to hear from him that the GSD opposition will not be accepting the invitation of the government as organiser to attend the music festival this year. He will nonetheless receive an invitation, as will all members of the House.
We encourage them to attend as they have in every other year.
Indeed, I am surprised that he is so entirely calling into question the judgement of his colleagues who have previously attended.
You see Mr Speaker, he is completely wrong to think attendance at the Music Festival is a jolly of any sort for us on this side of the house. Perhaps he could ask Mr Feetham, Mr Hammond, Mr Reyes and Mr Bossino, to name a few of the members of the opposition who accepted the invitation and attended.
For Ministers the Music Festival gives us as government more work to do. We spend the time there dealing with problems which are brought to our attention by people attending. I spend the whole day or days organising and not have a grand time.
The other ministers spend their time attending to those who are attending from outside Gibraltar, in particular the gaming and financial services companies that bring their international boards to Gibraltar for the weekend and which want to have their many issues dealt with and resolved on the day. This is actually a time for networking, problem solving and engaging with the people who bring business to Gibraltar. We also spend considerable time with MPs and MEPs briefing them on all aspects of the Gibraltar issue and building relationships.
The GMF is many positive things, for many people Mr Speaker but for Ministers it is hard work. He can just ask those of his colleagues who have been there with us. It is also true that for the Opposition it is none of those things. They come and enjoy themselves and they don't problem solve for the Festival and they don't problem solve for the gaming and financial services company boards and they don't meet the international boards of these companies either.
For the Opposition, Mr Speaker, it is really a jolly. It is really not work at all for them.
So Mr Speaker he would certainly be right to say that attendance at the GMF is a jolly for Opposition. It is in fact one of the examples of the way that they "stick the noses in the trough", as his former colleague in the Executive of the GSD, Mr Bossino used to describe the cocktail parties to which they are always so keen to be invited.
And in addition, Mr Speaker, I have to tell him that the approach to innovation he has shown suggests that under a GSD Government in which he was Minister for Public Finances there would be no Music Festival.
What a pity, because this is not a Festival which costs us £2.25m as he has wanted to suggest. It is one that also produces much more than that amount for the whole of Gibraltar.
Let us look at the wider picture which Mr Clinton's myopic view does not reveal.
Because the Honourable member Mr Clinton is the classic case of knowing what is the cost of thing but not the value.
First of all, the worldwide exposure that the Festival buys us is almost incalculable.
We appear in a massive number of media and the name and image of Gibraltar goes further and wider as a result of the GMF, and some of the other Festivals we established and supported, than we could afford to pay for in advertising terms.
Surely he recognises that at least.
Just that benefit is probably worth close to a million pounds in advertising. I will be giving him an example later.
From the data obtained from the GMF we can see that many business in our economy benefit massively from this event.
The attendance was 14,000 last year.
Indeed, last year was our first two day festival. We carried 65 acts on 4 stages.
Online survey data indicated that:
All Gibraltar hotels were sold out for three days. That is unusual and is of course hugely important. That is not a week when we would be full before.
All flights were sold out over the weekend.
Again, not something that happened before.
From the tickets sale we see that 85% attended both days.
95% rated the event as Very Good or Excellent.
As a result, let's see what the Music Festival does for Gibraltar.
4,500 tickets were sold overseas.
So that means that we received at least that number of visitors in Gibraltar for those events.
And that doesn't include the people from outside who have tickets purchased for them by those inside Gibraltar, like the members of the boards of directors of gaming and financial services companies who I have referred to before and who hold their international board meetings in Gibraltar over those weekends.
That is a huge bonus in numbers of people visiting and spending Gibraltar.
According to UK Music Reports of 2014 The Overseas Music Tourist spend an average of £750 per event with hotel accommodation, food and drink, merchandise and other costs thrown in.
This means that during the GMF weekend people from overseas spent approximately £3.4m, although that is obviously not direct income for the Government.
Spending inside the GMF facilities has also been analysed and I want to give all Honourable Members the benefit of the information I have been provided by the organisers.
The Catering industry benefitted to the tune of £154,000.
Local charities and clubs £32,000.
In addition, of course, Calpe House had an additional £23,000 of benefit from the Government's donation of the amounts left over in the bracelets bringing the total to £55,000 of benefit for charities.
Arts and crafts and merchandise £26,000.
1000 people are employed on the two days of the GMF and benefit and also enjoy the event.
So this is what spending on these events mean to the whole economy.
Events led tourism works and as we get more and more data we see how this policy is beneficial.
We work closely with the tourist board to market the events abroad. An extra benefit is that people from oversea attend the event and most of the time come to Gibraltar on other occasions.
But in addition Mr Speaker, the fact is that even more directly we will see how we will directly recover the £2.25m.
You see Mr Speaker we do things with a business plan and our business plan sets out how we are going to not just recover these costs but also cover future costs directly and not just indirectly.
The cost to the taxpayer this year is the high point of costs in an eight year plan which will see us take the Festival into profit in the seventh year from which year we start to repay the expenditure to the taxpayer. It would not be easy to predict the period of repayment, but it is not unfair to imagine payment in the following two to four years.
That is long term planning, Mr Speaker which will see us recover not just these £2.25m, but all of the monies invested by the taxpayer so far in respect of this event.
But that is direct recovery.
For all the reasons I have already talked about, it is clear that indirect recovery starts almost immediately given the huge numbers of visitors and their average expenditure which I have already mentioned
So Mr Speaker instead of just looking at the headline grabbing costs which Mr Clinton wants to do, the House will want to understand the massive wider benefits to Gibraltar and the way in which we have designed the Festival in order to ensure that it pays for itself in the context of the business plan we have established.
Indeed, with a potential sponsorship and other deals in the offing, it could be that the Festival pays for itself even sooner and adds even greater benefit to Gibraltar PLC."
This is the case with the Best Chess Open Tournament in the World that attract 450 participants
The Gibraltar Dart Trophy where over 100 participants officials attend and over 200 spectators to see the tournament.
The same can be said with the GWMF. The International Song Festival.
The Backgammon Festival
The Gibraltar Snooker Championship. The Ten Pin Bowling Tournament
The Literary Festival
The Jazz Festival and many more.
But the value is not only that people come to enjoy these events, the real value is that most if not all these events are televised, streamed, or programmes are transmitted worldwide.
This exposes many different facets of Gibraltar.
I will give the House an example of the value of these events in relation to the coverage these events attract.
The Snooker Championship was televised LIVE on Eurosport 1 and 2 for 22hrs of broadcast and had a total reach of 13.6m viewers throughout the whole of Europe.
The Chess Festival was reported on the main Indian and Chinese channel as well as in CCTV sport channels as well as in South African Channel. The exposure for Gibraltar since they reported by going to different locations around the Rock is incalculable.
The exposure to Gibraltar PLC is worth more than placing an advert in those channels which could cost approximately £20,000 for a 30sec slot.
SPORT
Mr Speaker, I now move on to sport.
The Bayside Sports Complex Construction and Refurbishment project was completed and inaugurated in March 2016.
It consisted of a number of areas.
- The construction of an extension to the Boat House Centre to provide a dedicated single storey facility for Stay & Play activities for those with additional needs. The facility was designed with the needs of the specific users in mind and followed a period of consultation with some of the agencies who would eventually utilise the facility. The extension incorporates soft wall finishes, adaptive lighting and dedicated sanitary facilities incorporating appropriate equipment. The facility was handed over in time to be used for the 2015 Summer Sports Stay & Play Programme during which it was considered a welcome addition to the general facilities at the Bayside Sports Complex. Since then the extension has been used regularly by the Guardian Angel Foundation.
- The relocation of existing lecture rooms and the cafeteria in the main Administration building. These works have seen the re-location of the existing ground floor lecture rooms to the first floor together with the addition of a boardroom. On the ground floor a basic shell was prepared for use as a cafeteria which was subsequently fitted out by the end user. The lecture rooms/board room were completed by the end of summer 2015 and since then have been used by the GSLA and other entities.
- The provision of eight, first floor rooms in the Hockey Stands, by inserting mezzanines in the excessive headroom of the existing shower and sanitary facilities, to make the best use of the structure. The works included the erection of an external, steel, walkway/stairs and fitting a lift for all areas to be accessible. These works have required phased working as only two sanitary facilities could be handed over to the contractor at any one time. The Government welcomes that some association headquarters that were housed at the Retrenchment Block, well away from the place where they operate, have now moved to these excellent facilities. They can now administer their sports where they actually practice the sport.
- The construction of an annex to the original Victoria Stadium main building as well as some minor conversions to this. The annex comprises three floors in which one can find:
− Sports equipment storage facility
− Players’ first aid room
− Doping control facility
− Players’ and Umpires' changing rooms, showers, sanitary facilities and physiotherapist treatment area
− Match officials’ office
− Press conference room
− Media centre
− TV studios
− Spectators’ bar facilities
− Spectators’ sanitary facilities
− Spectators’ first aid room
− VIP lounge
− Security/control room
− Four press boxes with power and data points
− TV camera platform
− Additional needs viewing platform
− Dedicated press seating with power and data points
The annex, now known as the “Elizabeth II Sports Annex”, was originally conceived as a means of bringing the stadium’s facilities up to a standard to permit specific categories of international football matches to be played.
In order to achieve this, the UEFA Stadium Infrastructure Regulations were used as a basis for the design brief.
However, it is clear that the facility can be used by any sporting organisation requiring access to such facilities.
The building is used several times a week by recreational groups and was recently the organisational centre for the EuroHockey Challenge III Woweeks which was hosted locally.
In addition, both the Basketball and Rugby fraternities will make use of the facility when hosting international events in the very near future.
In all areas of the works use has been made of LED lighting, much of which controlled by occupancy sensors; which will result in a more efficient use of energy. Apart from this, the Annex’s main water heating system incorporates heat pumps to minimise energy waste.
All areas of the works have been designed with open access for all and, to facilitate this, lifts have been installed in the Annex and Hockey Stands.
One innovation with the lifts is that they incorporate power backup facility which permits the lifts to continue in operation, for a specific period of time.
This will permit those with additional needs to continue to move about the building, if required, during any power outages.
These four projects were costed before it was commissioned at £4.4m and I am glad to report to the House that the overall cost of the four projects has been approximately £2.9m.
The main contractor has been Sharrock Shand Limited with project management/contract administration and, clerk of works roles being provided by the Government’s Technical Services Department.
Mr Speaker, I now move on to the swimming pool.
Major refurbishment works to the renamed Accessibility Swimming Pool started 26th May 2015 and were completed early into the summer season of the same year.
The project included the installation of a photovoltaic system and dehumidifier that replaced the previous system which was getting close to a complete shut down and was beyond economical repair.
It had not received any sort of maintenance since the facilities were inaugurated. The new systems have:
- Improved air quality and water temperature maintenance that were bordering on inadequate
- Provided savings in terms of water/ electricity/fuel.
- Conform to HM GoG environmental policies regarding carbon footprints etc
- Reduce overall maintenance costs.
In addition, the interior of the facility underwent a much need refurbishment that included:
- Essential attention to poolside issues
- Refurbishing of changing rooms
- Reconfiguration of easy access/family changing rooms
- Replacement of flooring
- General facelift
- Tackling of issues with plumbing problems.
Mr Speaker, the overall cost of project was £510,000.
However, a third of the costs regarding the air treatment system will be recovered through the European Regional Development Fund (approx £120,000). The project was approved by the EU Secretariat with all applications submitted accordingly. The saving we are currently making will pay for this project within 3 to 4years.
This project is in addition to that undertaken in the 25m pool the previous year and thus has resulted in both pools receiving attention during this administration’s terms in office.
Mr Speaker, as far as energy saving is concerned the combined projects have resulted in the production of 368.54MwH of renewable energy as of the 10th May, 2016.
In addition, the fact that there is no longer a need for diesel fuel as the main source of fuel has also resulted in a reduction of consumption from 36,189 Litres (£26118.11) in FY 13/14 to 4,000 Litres (£3572.50) in FY 14/15 to 1000 Litres (£596) in FY 2015/2016.
Bathing Pavilion- Completion of Project-Phase 2
Phase Two of the Bathing Pavilion project was completed and the facility opened to the general public during the summer months.
The issues regarding the main pools were solved with the main contractors absorbing the costs and this resulted in an improved swimming environment with positive feedback received from end users.
Improvements have now been made in terms of accessibility to the sea and pools and the general public will now be able to enjoy a fantastic facility year on year.
GSLA support to Associations and/or leisure entities in International events hosted locally.
HM GoG via the GSLA have been involved with the following events both at a logistical and financial level:-
- UEFA Champions League and Europa League Qualifiers
- FIBA Europe Under 18 C Division Championships Men and Women
- UEFA Futsal Champions Cup Preliminary Rounds
- World Snooker Gibraltar Open
- Netball Europe U17 European Championships
- PDC Darts Gibraltar Open
- Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival
- 6th International Junior Chess Festival
- 1st Gibraltar International Backgammon Tournament (part of the European Tour)
- Gibraltar Squash Open
- Gibraltar International Regatta
- Rock Masters Ten Pin Bowling
- International Dog Shows
- Harley Davidson Rally
- Classic Vehicle Rally
- International Song Festival.
- Gibraltar Amateur Boxing Association bout
Mr Speaker I would like to take this opportunity to congratulation the Gibraltar Amateur Boxing Association for hosting a very successful boxing bout locally and for their win at this event.
In addition, the GSLA offers logistical support and facilities for local sports associations to complete their league and development programmes throughout the year as well as assisting schools in fulfilling their P.E curriculum’s both at the Bayside Sports Centre and at the GSLA Swimming Pool complex.
Summer Sports Programme/ Stay and Play programme
Mr Speaker, the Summer Sports & Leisure Programme 2015 proved to be a great success yet again. The programme run over six weeks and recorded almost 9000 attendances throughout its different elements.
The Sports Train offered sporting and leadership activities every weekday morning for 7 to 14 year olds. The Children’s Corner offered appropriate sport and recreational activities three days per week for 5 and 6 year olds.
The Stay and Play programme offered sport, physical, arts and leisure activities for children with special needs five days per week. The new purpose built facility added to the already excellent quality of delivery and made the surroundings much more comfortable for both children and leaders.
The GSLA also worked in partnership with Sports Associations (25 in total) to provide a wide range of sports coaching courses and tasters sessions for children and young people. Other positive leisure providers including HMGoG’s Department of Culture and Heritage, the RGP, St John Ambulance and Childline also offered the children and young people a diverse range of activities including arts and crafts, dance, musical appreciation, yoga, RGP awareness, dog handling, Young Lifesavers Award, and historical walks to name but a few.
Support for Registered Sports Associations for attendance at International Events/Sports Development Initiatives and Improvements to Facilities.
Mr Speaker, HMGoG via the Gibraltar Sports Advisory Council (GSAC) – (administered by the GSLA) has continued to support local athletes/teams when travelling abroad to Official International competitions.
The GSLA advocates the fact that it is not purely enough to be a member of the International Governing bodies but local entities need to be active within them either via participation at events/competitions or by participation at Congresses or Annual General Meetings.
Sports Development initiatives have been supported with a view to increasing the qualifications, knowledge base and experiences of local coaches and administrators whilst some funding has also been provided to associations in order for them to effect vital improvements/adjustments to their facilities.
In addition, some individuals who presented cases for financial support under the “Elite Athlete” category have been supported after applications were considered on a case by case basis.
Total funding provided under Sports Grants was £507,979.83.
GSLA/GSAC have also been working on revamping and updating the criteria booklet that regulates the funding highlighted above.
Particular emphasis has been made on minimum requirements in terms of background checks and police vetting with regards to those who work with young children.
A GSLA representative sits on the Child Protection Committee and lessons learn as well as policies implemented in this forum are being adapted to sports associations and how they are regulated.
Island Games 2019.
Mr Speaker, the Ministry of Sport and the GSLA worked alongside the Gibraltar Island Games Association (GIGA) and supported them in submitting Gibraltar’s successful application to host the Natwest Island Games in 2019.
An opportunity presented itself after the initial host Island pulled out of organising the Games, and GIGA together with HMGOG decided to submit the application.
Since then an organising committee has been formed, subsequent contracts have been signed and the wheels have been firmly set in motion.
GIGA/GSLA have already hosted two visits from the International Island Games Association. The initial familiarisation visit was followed by the IIGA Executive committee’s decision to hold their Annual General meeting in Gibraltar and subsequently they visited the proposed venues.
The feedback received was very positive and the Executive committee was particularly impressed with how advanced the local associations are with their respective preparations at this early stage and how enthusiastic Gibraltar in general felt about the Games.
The GSLA/GIGA have already met all associations who have submitted their initial requirements and work has started in earnest regarding this aspect of the Games.
Both the CEO of the GSLA and the chairperson of GIGA returned from Gotland where the 2017 Island Games will be held and gave presentations to all islands on the Gibraltar Games. they are both confident and satisfied that our facilities and preparation are well on schedule and that we will be able to produce an excellent Games.
Mr Speaker, all in all, in the last financial year 2015/2016 in relation to the portfolios that I am responsible for, the Government has been able to fulfill Manifesto commitments. We have also achieved many other goals in many of the areas that I have highlighted.
For this I would like to thank all the staff of all the Ministries, companies, authorities and offices that I am responsible for.
Specially I want to thank the staff at the City Hall who go well beyond the call of duty and at times against all odds.
Mr Speaker, the organisation and attendance at different events and running Ministries such Sport, Culture, Heritage and Youth is not just a 9 to 5 job but one which heart and soul must be devoted.
The management and staff have succeeded with flying colours. Thank you all.
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