26/03/2014 BBC Channel Islands News

in a moment with analysis of that debate between Nick Clegg and Nigel

Good evening. The head of Jersey Tourism says he's

shocked at proposals to scrap his Government`run department and

replace it with a privately`run body called Visit Jersey. The move was

publicly announced to representatives of the hospitality

industry last Friday ` only hours after tourism staff were told their

department could close. I describe this new model as the

catalyst for a fresh start. A fresh start, but at what cost?

Members of Jersey's hospitality association listening to the

proposal by the Tourism Shadow Board to scrap the Government's Tourism

Department. The Board was appointed by the Economic Development Minister

to investigate the industry after a decade of falling visitor numbers.

But their proposed solution of replacing Jersey Tourism with a

smaller independent body called Visit Jersey was difficult news for

staff, as they were told less than 24 hours before the industry

briefing. It could have been handled better.

But, bad news is bad news however it is presented. Whilst it was

uncomfortable, as it was a shock, we must now move forward.

The Economic Development Department, which is responsible for Tourism,

wasn't available for comment today. On Friday they said they will

consider the interests of staff. The interests of staff will be

considered and looked after as part of the process.

The idea of out`sourcing tourism to the private sector isn't a new one.

It's been considered for almost a decade ` but it's claimed the money

it takes to promote our island as a holiday destination has proved too

much for it to go ahead. Having to buy in services centrally

is expensive, therefore there would have been less money for marketing.

With that in mind, it makes sense to keep us where we were.

But for how much longer? Staff at the Tourism Department now wait to

hear what the future holds as the recommendations are considered.

Until then, it's business as usual. Two female staff at La Moye prison

in Jersey, who were being investigated over allegations of

misconduct, have resigned. The prison's investigation into their

actions has been suspended. No other details of the allegations have been

revealed, but both staff were being investigated separately. The head of

Jersey's prison, Bill Millar, says the reason for any individual

resignations should be kept private. Deputy Allister Langlois has been

appointed as Deputy Chief Minister of the States of Guernsey. He

narrowly missed out on the role of Chief Minister in the election to

that post two weeks ago. Peter Gillson has been elected unopposed

as Guernsey's new Home Minister. There are calls for better hospital

services for people with epilepsy in Jersey. The island doesn't have a

specialist nurse. Around 500 people have the condition. Now the mother

of one of them says she's frustrated by how long it takes for her

daughter to see a specialist. The Health Department says provision in

the island is good. I would like to see an epilepsy

nurse reinstated here. That would benefit us. And then we could get a

response quickly. We have the facilities here. We have

approachable people who we can get hold of. We have good GPs as well.

People should not be fearful about interacting with those services.

Guernsey versus Jersey, one of the great sporting rivalries. But this

summer a lot of those games could be cancelled due to a lack of flights

and ferries. Cricket Boards in Jersey and Guernsey say they're

facing problems getting their teams off the island to play each other.

Spring is in the air and the ground's being prepared for a season

of cricket. For the first time this year, the roller is out on the

cricket square. A seasonal soon be under way. Matches being played here

and in Jersey could be in jeopardy. Following changes to airlines and

ferry schedules, some Channel Islands sports associations are

struggling to fly or catch the ferry to take on their old rivals. The

Guernsey Cricket Board says the new code share arrangement is reducing

capacity for a number of flights. The scheduling now means that day

trips across the weekend are not possible. There is not a day when

you can get across. So, the flights are the only option. And with

reduced capacity, it has loaded that onto the flights and they have

reduced their capacity. As it is did this morning, we had no option in

terms of playing those games and had to cancel them.

It's a frustrating time for clubs in Jersey as well. Especially when

States money is sometimes on offer to help players get off`island for

games. The States have been very good this year because they have

given us so much more money with regards to travel. It is OK having

the ability to travel but you have two be able to do it.

The Channel Islands have a long and strong tradition of inter`island

sporting rivalry. But many clubs are hoping they can ride out the

problems and get their games on. In a statement tonight, Blue Islands

said that they hadn't heard from Guernsey Cricket board until today,

but they have now reached a solution and travel plans have been

accommodated. They say they're always putting on extra flights to

accommodate and they encourage groups to contact the airline in

advance in order that they can continue to meet our islands' sports

teams' needs. Just before we go to the weather, a

look ahead to tomorrow. It is School Report Day here on BBC News, when

classrooms turn into newsrooms. We will have a special report from the

students of St Anne's school in Alderney and coverage throughout the

day too on BBC Radio Guernsey BBC Radio Jersey.

That's all from us ` I'll leave you with the weather.

Hello. We have some showers to content with. Some could be heavy,

with the risk of hail and thunder. Initially, some dry weather. So

these twins. `` Southeast winds. Some sunshine in the morning but

quickly a Clydebank approaches from the South. `` a bank of cloud

approaches from the South. It gets better and warmer into the weekend.

More showers to come on Friday. Some quite heavy. Then milder and dry by

the time we get to Sunday. blowing. On the outlook, it is

warming up towards the weekend. Here's Nick Miller with more.

Some of the many faces of spring weather showed themselves today. Sun

in Scotland, snow in the showers that moved in across England. Hail

as well. Adrian took this picture from Essex and the chilly feel stays

with us for the rest of the week along with further showers. If you

don't like this, wait for this! Temperatures heading up at the

weekend. To achieve that, we