Too much power, too quickly - Ministers' plans opposed

Tuesday 20 February 2018

Major changes to the way Jersey is governed are due to be discussed by the island's politicians today, with one group expressing their “grave concerns” about some aspects of ministers' proposals.

If agreed, the plans would make it much easier for the Chief Minister to hire and fire ministers, abolish the rule forcing all ministers to vote the same way, and would give the new States CEO, Charlie Parker, overall responsibility for making sure taxpayers' money is spent "economically, efficiently and effectively."

But it is this increased responsibility for Mr Parker that has led one government scrutiny panel to oppose the moves, effectively warning they would give him too much power. In a report, they claim the changes would allow him to probe the finances of organisations that have been given as little as £1 by the States.

“Whilst we acknowledge that the intention of such a change may be to allow the States of Jersey to review how the money it grants to organisations is spent, we are still concerned that this potentially allows unwarranted or unnecessary levels of intrusion into organisations who are not currently accountable to the States of Jersey,” the Chairmen’s Committee report explained.

Pictured: The plans will be debated in the States Chamber today.

The Committee also complained that the plans were being rushed through, stating that they hadn’t had enough time to fully review them. According to Deputy Simon Bree, President, they made a request to the Chief Minister to delay the vote by one month, but he did not agree and is pushing ahead with a debate today.

Deputy Simon Bree said that the move sets a “worrying precedent for future legislation.” 

“…We would record our concern that this is exceedingly ‘last minute’ for such an important set of changes to be debated fully, given the upcoming elections in May,” he stated in the report. 

Explaining his position more fully in a comment, Deputy Bree said: “The Panel and I have grave concerns about both the content of [the Chief Minister’s proposals] and the rushed timing of the debate.

“Whilst we understand that changes to the civil service are required, we feel that it is not for this Assembly to agree on any changes which will impact only on the new Assembly. We feel that it is fundamentally wrong to make changes which affect the political balance between the Chief Minister, his Ministers and the Assembly just before an election.

Pictured: If agreed, the plans would make it much easier for the Chief Minister to hire and fire ministers.

“Despite not having enough time to properly scrutinise the Proposition before the debate of the Principles, we have already identified serious concerns which we have laid out in our Comments Paper, published today. 

“With the refusal of the Chief Minister to grant us sufficient time to perform full, comprehensive scrutiny, especially given the importance of the changes being discussed, the Assembly is in effect being forced to vote blind on a draft Law, the full impact and reach of which is not known.”

In a report laying out the proposed changes, Ministers argue they will improve the way the island is run:

"These important changes are an essential foundation for a modern and efficient public sector that works together as one government, delivering quality public services that offer value for money to the Islanders of today and tomorrow. The changes proposed would ensure clearer governance, more transparent decision-making and stronger accountability at the top of the public service."