Family court plan to be outlined in Throne Speech
Government's Throne Speech tomorrow, The Royal Gazette has learned.
The new Family Court, which will require an additional magistrate but is expected to be housed in existing court buildings, is planned to be up and running next summer.
Coupled with it will be amendments to the Protection of Children Act intended to strengthen the family and improve safeguards for the Island's children.
Sources said Government's intention to stamp out institutional racism will also be highlighted in the Speech from the Throne delivered by the Governor, Lord Waddington.
Many of the Throne Speech initiatives will fall under the newly-created Ministry of Human Affairs, which Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan handed to new MP the Hon. Jerome Dill.
Creation of a division of the Human Rights Commission charged specifically with dealing with race relations would be among the initiatives in that area, sources said.
The actions were all promised in the United Bermuda Party's Blueprint for the Future, unveiled during the recent election campaign. While Government intends to act on all 110 promises contained in that document during the current term, only some of the promises will find their way into the Throne Speech that opens the new session of Parliament.
Retraining initiatives supervised by the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs are also to be mentioned, partly in connection with the likely closure of the US Naval Air Station and the need to train Bermudians to operate the Civil Air Terminal.
But it will be stressed that Government contacts and diplomacy remain critical in the handling of the Base issue, a source said.
Also expected in the Throne Speech are commitments to: establish a drug rehabilitation centre; strengthen the role and numbers of parish constables; create a National Pension Plan by requiring all employers to set up a pension scheme; review Government's tendering practices with an aim of making them more open; study the parish council system to see whether the role of parish councils can be strengthened, possibly to include prevention of drug abuse; streamline the Transport Control Department by reducing the frequency with which vehicles must be inspected and licences renewed; and create a National Education Foundation to help assure qualified students can attend post-secondary school.