Nelson Bascome will not be paid his Cabinet salary during his hiatus from Government to fight a court case it was confirmed yesterday.

On Monday Premier Ewart Brown announced Mr. Bascome had been granted a leave of absence and Attorney General Phil Perinchief would stand-in as Acting Minister of Health. Cabinet Secretary Marc Telemaque said yesterday: “Mr. Bascome is no longer paid as a Minister and draws his salary as an MP only.”

It is understood a file has been passed by Police to the Department of Public Prosecutions, relating to Mr. Bascome’s maintenance business during his first spell as Health Minister from 1998 to 2003. And Mr. Bascome said at a brief press conference on Monday that he wanted the Department of Public Prosecutions to “attend to matters related to this investigation quickly” so he could put the matter behind him and resume his role as minister.

United Bermuda Party Shadow Health Minister Louise Jackson said Mr. Bascome’s status in the Government needed further clarification. “Is Mr. Bascome’s leave of absence an open-ended arrangement with the Premier or has an end-date been set?” she asked. In response, the Premier’s press secretary Scott Simmons said: “The matter of Mr Bascome’s return to Cabinet is a matter for Mr. Bascome and the Premier.”

Mrs. Jackson said the United Bermuda Party was also concerned about stacking the un-elected Senate with too many ministerial portfolios.

She said: “The Premier had the option to appoint a new minister in the House of Assembly, but instead transferred Mr. Bascome’s portfolio to Minister of Justice Phil Perinchief, who also acts as Attorney General.”

She said the Bermuda Constitution allows the Premier just two Cabinet ministers in the Senate. “While Dr. Brown’s decision this week to shift the responsibilities for Health to Mr. Perinchief does not violate the letter of the law, we believe it violates the spirit of the law.

“Senators Perinchief and Col. David Burch now manage five major government responsibilities between them: Housing, Public Safety, Health and Family Services, Justice and Attorney General.”

Mrs. Jackson added: “None of these areas of public life, which together can touch the lives of thousands of our citizens, are now subject to scrutiny by members of the elected House of Assembly.”

And she said the UBP was concerned that serious challenges on the Health Ministry’s agenda including the closing of the hospital’s indigent clinic, the status of Pembroke Rest Home, staffing shortages at Lefroy House and planning for a new hospital, will receive the ministerial focus they clearly needed.