:00:13. > :00:20.Channel Islands... Fears that bills will rise as
:00:20. > :00:27.Guernsey Electricity makes a loss of �1 million. We understand
:00:27. > :00:31.affordability. We understand that electricity prices are difficult for
:00:31. > :00:34.people and we will be taking that into account.
:00:34. > :00:40.A ferry service funded by the French carries its one millionth passenger
:00:40. > :00:47.to the Channel Islands. Could our governments learn from our
:00:47. > :00:50.continental neighbours? And getting ready for battle - find out why
:00:50. > :00:54.changes to this year's parade have not all received an optimistic
:00:54. > :00:57.welcome. Guernsey Electricity made a loss of
:00:57. > :01:03.millions of pounds last year, as it blames problems with the cable that
:01:03. > :01:07.brings in cheaper power from France. At the end of March 2013, it was
:01:07. > :01:14.�3.4 million in the red, compared to a profit of �4.7 million the
:01:14. > :01:17.previous year. Penny Elderfield reports.
:01:17. > :01:23.A challenging year for Guernsey Electricity, with a lot of money,
:01:23. > :01:27.quite literally, going up in smoke. The big problem was there was no
:01:27. > :01:30.choice but to generate a lot more power on island here - a more
:01:30. > :01:33.expensive option than getting it from Europe.
:01:33. > :01:36.And the main reason the company made a loss.
:01:36. > :01:38.Faulty cables were to blame. And with the island's link to France
:01:38. > :01:43.down, nearly three-quarters of Guernsey's electricity had to be
:01:43. > :01:47.generated on island, compared to 18% the year before.
:01:47. > :01:51.And that meant carbon emissions also went up to more than 209,000 tonnes
:01:51. > :02:01.of carbon dioxide. All in all, not good news for those
:02:01. > :02:08.
:02:08. > :02:14.in charge. The cost over the whole year was �12.2 million.
:02:14. > :02:21.Unfortunately, the resulting effect wise we made it an operating loss of
:02:21. > :02:27.�3.4 million. The question is, will energy bills go up for customers?
:02:27. > :02:31.have no plans to do that at the moment. We do understand
:02:31. > :02:35.affordability. We understand that electricity traces are as high as we
:02:35. > :02:38.want them to be and we will take that into account.
:02:38. > :02:42.So, no price rises this year, but these generators will have to
:02:42. > :02:45.provide the bulk of the island's power until a new cable is up and
:02:45. > :02:48.running. And as that still needs to be paid
:02:48. > :02:51.for, there is little chance of prices coming down.
:02:51. > :02:55.The inquest into the death of a cyclist in Jersey has opened and
:02:55. > :02:59.adjourned. It heard that Neil Blood was cycling with his cousin when he
:02:59. > :03:04.struck a lamp post and lost his balance. He fell off his bike into
:03:04. > :03:07.the road and under the wheels of a passing transit lorry. His body has
:03:07. > :03:09.been released, so his funeral can take place.
:03:10. > :03:13.The one millionth passenger to use the Manche Iles Express ferry
:03:13. > :03:16.service arrived in Jersey this morning. The company provides the
:03:16. > :03:20.only sea link between the three Normandy ports and the Channel
:03:20. > :03:24.Islands. It is a small service and certainly not profitable, so the
:03:24. > :03:30.local government in the La Manche area of Normandy spends 1.5 million
:03:30. > :03:34.euros subsidising it. Welcome to a wet wednesday in
:03:34. > :03:38.Jersey. Hundreds of French tourists shuffle off the Manche Iles Expess
:03:38. > :03:43.from Granville, ready to spend their money in the shops, cafes and
:03:43. > :03:53.museums. Among them, the millionth passenger the revived service has
:03:53. > :03:55.
:03:55. > :04:01.carried. Who will be rewarded with a free ten-year pass?
:04:01. > :04:03.It is very pretty. In fact, we as a family like to come to Jersey at
:04:03. > :04:06.Christmas time. So that is one less fare on an
:04:06. > :04:10.already loss-making route. Launched in 2003 with three boats,
:04:10. > :04:14.the high cost of diesel forced a cut back to two ships in 2010. They are
:04:14. > :04:24.both owned by La Manche Council and run by private ferry operators. In
:04:24. > :04:25.
:04:25. > :04:32.all, the service costs the council about 1.5 million euros a year.
:04:32. > :04:37.channel islands are very attractive for French tourists. It is part of
:04:37. > :04:42.the economy to bring people from France to the Channel Islands, so
:04:42. > :04:45.they want to be involved in the service, even if it is not
:04:45. > :04:47.profitable. It seems our French cousins are
:04:47. > :04:51.happy, for now, to subsidise our tourism industry. The Channel
:04:51. > :04:59.Islands will have to hope their natural charms are enough to keep
:04:59. > :05:03.hooking visitors in. So should Jersey's government put
:05:03. > :05:06.more money into ferry services? I spoke to the Economic Development
:05:06. > :05:16.Minister, Senator Alan McLean, earlier and asked him if Jersey
:05:16. > :05:20.should be supporting the sea links. We do, first of all. We contribute
:05:20. > :05:29.in terms of joint marketing initiatives and we also have a night
:05:29. > :05:34.performance related initiative, based on a reduction in Harbour dues
:05:34. > :05:41.if the service given to passengers is good. But it brings into this
:05:41. > :05:51.every day? Yes, it is an important part of the market. It is about
:05:51. > :05:51.
:05:51. > :05:57.63,000 people. They are, more interestingly, more valuable to
:05:57. > :06:01.others than cruise ship visitors. They spend more and that is very
:06:01. > :06:06.important to the hospitality sector. Could we learn from the French
:06:06. > :06:12.government about the way they treat the session initiative? We are happy
:06:12. > :06:14.to learn from anyone. But we are very keen to invest in theory like
:06:15. > :06:20.to get every return on these investments we have to be very
:06:20. > :06:23.careful. We have to make sure that every �1 we spend we get a return on
:06:23. > :06:26.and I think we do that very effectively.
:06:26. > :06:29.Taxpayers' data has been lost by Guernsey's Treasury & Resources
:06:29. > :06:32.Department. Information on people's properties was lost when a computer
:06:32. > :06:36.system failed. Former board member Deputy Garry Collins leaked the
:06:36. > :06:43.information to the media, to highlight what he feels is a culture
:06:43. > :06:46.of secrecy within the government. People's data, stored by the States.
:06:46. > :06:49.Well, some of it has been lost forever.
:06:49. > :06:53.A series of computer failures resulted in a loss of six month's
:06:53. > :07:01.worth of Cadastre data, containing information on people's properties.
:07:01. > :07:06.No-one knew about it till this man blew the whistle. It highlights the
:07:06. > :07:11.fact that the minister did not know until I told him on a Friday when we
:07:11. > :07:15.were in Jersey in a casual conversation, 40 make of this? He
:07:15. > :07:18.did not know what had happened. Following on from this revelation
:07:18. > :07:20.and claims of a culture of secrecy within the Treasury & Resources
:07:20. > :07:22.Deparment, an external consultant's report has been released this
:07:23. > :07:31.afternoon. It reveals a number of failings with
:07:31. > :07:39.the States' latest computer system, also known as SAP. The report says
:07:39. > :07:48.Despite today's claim of the States fostering a culture of secrecy, the
:07:48. > :07:52.Treasury & Resources Deparment Minister insists it is not true.
:07:52. > :07:58.There is no evidence to suggest information has been denied at a
:07:58. > :08:01.political level and I think it is just a question of asking for the
:08:01. > :08:04.information. The loss of data and the problems
:08:04. > :08:07.with the SAP system are embarrassing for the Treasury & Resources
:08:07. > :08:11.Deparment, but despite the setbacks and claims of a cover up, the
:08:11. > :08:14.Minister is making no secret of his belief that the new system is on
:08:14. > :08:17.schedule to deliver benefits by the end of the year.
:08:17. > :08:22.Now there is a long evening ahead for all those involved in Jersey's
:08:23. > :08:26.Battle of Flowers tomorrow, as they finish their floats. This year,
:08:26. > :08:36.organisers are mixing things up by introducing some changes to the way
:08:36. > :08:47.
:08:47. > :08:50.battle will start. But those changes Sheds across Jersey are bursting
:08:50. > :08:56.with colour and buzzing with activity, as floats are transformed
:08:56. > :08:59.into prize-winning exhibitions for tomorrow's Battle of Flowers. While
:08:59. > :09:04.this is the usual scene on Battle eve, tomorrow's parade will see some
:09:04. > :09:14.changes. Organisers are not sticking to the normal way the parade starts.
:09:14. > :09:21.This year, they are introducing a French influence. We went down to
:09:21. > :09:26.France and saw this idea where everyone could get on the Ali now
:09:26. > :09:29.without having to wait too quickly. We are hoping everything will start
:09:29. > :09:32.up and go like clockwise. But while The Optimists have also
:09:32. > :09:40.gone with a French theme, they say this change puts added pressure on
:09:40. > :09:46.exhibitors. I think the idea is that we stand around for 90 minutes to
:09:46. > :09:51.engage with the public. We aren't a small group of 30 people. Some of
:09:51. > :09:59.the other parishes have the luxury of having a lot more people to work
:09:59. > :10:02.with them. Come one o'clock, once we have been judged, that is the
:10:02. > :10:04.important thing. Tomorrow, we will see how the
:10:04. > :10:14.changes will go down with the crowds.
:10:14. > :10:23.
:10:23. > :10:27.For now, it is all hands on deck to television tomorrow and our special
:10:27. > :10:37.on Friday featuring every float on the parade. Now, letters get a look
:10:37. > :10:40.
:10:40. > :10:45.after the rather dull and rainy weather today. That is good news for
:10:45. > :10:53.the battle of flowers in Jersey. Afternoon temperatures getting up to
:10:53. > :10:59.21 Celsius. All the weather system is close by today will move away
:10:59. > :11:07.overnight. We have a ridge of high pressure over the islands. There
:11:07. > :11:15.will be more cloud introduced overnight tomorrow and into Friday.
:11:15. > :11:21.Again, we should have a fine day on Friday, give take the odd shower.
:11:21. > :11:30.Overnight, temperatures dipping down to 14 of 15 Celsius. For tomorrow,
:11:31. > :11:40.the wind variable to start with, with plenty of sunshine. I
:11:40. > :11:50.temperatures of 22 Celsius. He has the coastal waters forecast: Onto
:11:50. > :12:03.
:12:03. > :12:07.the times of high water: four the still fine for Thursday and Friday,
:12:07. > :12:16.perhaps a future was on Friday and rather cloudy skies on Saturday.
:12:16. > :12:21.Here is the outlook into the second half of the weekend. On Saturday and
:12:21. > :12:25.Sunday, we can expect a lot more in the way of cloud, with some more