Scrutiny broadens approach to Covid response
27 January 2022
Scrutiny is changing its approach to monitoring the Government of Jersey's Covid-19 response to reflect the focus on the longer-term management of the pandemic across different departments.
The Safer Travel Guidelines Review Panel, established in July 2020 to consolidate scrutiny of the Government's policies and guidelines for inward travel to Jersey, is to conclude its work. The Scrutiny Liaison Committee (SLC) will take a broad oversight of monitoring the continued response to Covid-19, but primarily each individual Scrutiny Panel will now focus on closely examining the specific Covid related matters which fall under their respective remits.
The changes reflect that the pandemic is becoming a part of daily life and the Government's response to it is changing. As the response increasingly becomes 'business as usual' for departments, measures which cover one area, such as travel, also touch on the safety, health and wellbeing of the wider community and the programmes aimed at reducing transmission.
Since it was established, the Safer Travel Guidelines Panel has published a report examining the implications of the Safer Travel Policy on budget, public, health and emergency services, and facilitated debate on regional categorisation for travellers by bringing forward an amendment ahead of the reintroduction of the Safer Travel Policy.
The Safer Travel Guidelines Review Panel Chair, Deputy Rob Ward, said: "I would very much like to thank the Panel's Members Deputies Inna Gardiner and Mike Higgins for their valuable contribution to the Scrutiny of the Safer Travel Policy, especially during the initial emergency response stage of the pandemic when new guidelines for inward travel were first introduced. Scrutiny will continue to monitor the Government's pandemic response, only with a broader focus."
