Minister: National statistic institute law coming this year

PLANNING and Development Minister Pennelope Beckles-Robinson has said legislation to establish a national statistical institute is expected to come to Parliament this year.

She gave this response to a question from Independent Senator Dr Sharda Patsar in the Senate on April 22.

Beckles-Robinson said the legislation is currently before Cabinet.

She told senators provisions in the legislation which dealt with the sharing of public and private information had to be adjusted, so that the bill could be passed with a simple majority in Parliament.

Beckles-Robinson said in its current form, the bill required a two-thirds majority for passage.

Such bills respectively require the support of the opposition in the House of Representatives and the support of opposition and/or independent senators in the Senate.

Beckles-Robinson said she could not agree with any view that suggested the Central Statistical Office (CSO) – which the National Statistical Institute will replace – was not functioning as it is supposed to.

Earlier in the sitting, Minister in the Ministry of Education Lisa Morris-Julian told Patasar the ministry had different mechanisms for assessing students with communications disorders.

She said one of those mechanisms was the ministry accessing the relevant external professionals who could assist.