Gibraltar’s representation at the Labour Party Conference continued yesterday evening with the Gibraltar Reception hosted by the Chief Minister Fabian Picardo and featuring a keynote speech by the UK Minister for Europe and the Overseas Territories Stephen Doughty MP.
Western Beach consistently had excellent bacterial water quality prior to 2010. Since then, and especially during periods of rainfall in the winter months, there have been episodes associated with sewage discharges from a storm water drain from La Linea which significantly affected the bacterial water quality at this beach. Western Beach was however opened last summer due to bathing water quality being acceptable from an EU bathing water quality perspective during this period.
Accepting a promotion from Commander of British Forces in Gibraltar, to Rear Admiral on Flag Officer Scotland, Northern Ireland and Northern England and Flag Officer Reserves, the new CBF Commodore Ian McGhie MA RN will take up his post as from 5th August.
The Gibraltar Parliament has unanimously passed an amendment to the Marriage Act. This amendment does not affect Gibraltar residents for whom the legal requirements for marriage remain as before.
The measure has been a policy initiative of the Minister for Tourism, Commercial Affairs, Public Transport and the Port, Neil Costa and the Gibraltar Tourist Board, who together have carried out a detailed consultation with all relevant stakeholders individually and via the UK Gibraltar Tourism Association.
The aim of the amendment is to derive greater economic benefits for Gibraltar from those who come to be married in Gibraltar or on a Gibraltar-flagged ship.
One of the provisions in the new law is that couples married under special licence are required to spend at least one night in Gibraltar, either before or after the ceremony with the attendant hotel, restaurant and related spending that this will entail. There is the added flexibility that the visiting couple can spend the relevant night as the guest of a Gibraltar resident, rather than in a hotel.
With regard to the special-licence marriages aboard Gibraltar-registered passenger ships by locally appointed deputy registrars, the Government expects that in the long- term, these changes will serve as a further incentive for ship owners to re-register their vessels under the Gibraltar flag.
The Minister declared that in the course of his extensive consultations with stakeholders, there had been unanimous agreement as to the potential benefits to the economy of this new policy initiative.
Mr Costa commented, ‘the changes to the law introduced is yet another example of the Gibraltar Government’s commitment to promote the Rock as a tourism destination and to be innovative in its approach to developing the activities of the Gibraltar Ship Registry. We are confident, as is the industry, that this measure will be successful and that the Gibraltar economy will benefit from it.'
Unite the Union has reached an agreement regarding annual pay negotiations with Restsso Trading Co Ltd. All employees will receive a 2.5% increase to basic rates retrospective from the 1st of January 2014.