States Assembly Annual Report 2020

STATES ASSEMBLY ANNUAL REPORT 2020

PRIVILEGES AND PROCEDURES COMMITTEE

July 2021

R.121/2021  

Foreword by the Bailiff of Jersey

Foreword by the Bailiff of Jersey

Foreword by the Bailiff of Jersey

President of the States

I am delighted to contribute to the annual report of the States Assembly for 2020, the second time I have been able to do so as President of the States.

The States has faced truly exceptional challenges in 2020, as indeed did we all, because of the Covid-19 pandemic. For most of the year Members were not able to convene in person and our business, as well as the work of committees and panel, was conducted online. Some Members found it easier to adapt than others, but collectively we got on with the job of adjusting  to  new  ways of  working  to ensure  that  the  Island's parliamentary  system  of government could continue.

I am particularly proud of the fact that Jersey was the first Commonwealth jurisdiction to move the proceedings of its Assembly entirely online. Indeed, as this report shows, we have had one of our busiest ever years. Not only were numerous novel and complex pieces of legislation fully debated by the Assembly but there were more questions asked than ever before, particularly following the introduction of special periods of questions without notice to all ministers on Covid-19 matters. This was especially significant because the public had so many questions about Covid rules and the potential effects of the virus on all aspects of Island life. Indeed, I noted during the debate on opening our borders in the early part of the summer something like 3,000 people were following our proceedings online.

 It would be wrong to let these observations pass without acknowledging the support that we have received from Digital Jersey and without, in particular, acknowledging the exemplary efforts made by the Greffier and all of his staff to create a system where the business of the Assembly could continue in the most challenging times. That Members can be proud of the way their Assembly continued and was able to achieve so much in 2020 is to a very substantial extent indeed the result of the hard work of the States Greffe.

As the report shows, when the first phase of the crisis passed, the Assembly was able to return to debating many other important topics to do with matters such as climate change, electoral reform and the future hospital. The scrutiny panels have also been busy and the report sets out some of the major scrutiny reviews and how they have contributed to better governance and policy-making. Communicating the work of the Assembly to the public was also enhanced during the year and I was pleased to see the launch of the 'Democracy Week' initiative and its focus on engaging with young people. I look forward to this initiative being developed further. The States Assembly plays a full part on the global stage, through both the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) and the Assemblée Parlementaire de la Francophonie. I was very pleased to see Jersey Members training to be election observers and being selected to take part in post-election seminars for new parliamentarians in Dominica and Bermuda. This shows how the vibrancy of our democratic system is recognised by our colleagues around the Commonwealth.

In my view Members are entitled to be proud indeed of what they have achieved over this difficult period.

There is much information in this report about the working of the States and its Members and I commend it to you.

Timothy John Le Cocq , Bailiff of Jersey

Introduction by Deputy Carina Alves

Chair, Privileges and Procedures Committee

I am delighted to present the States Assembly's annual report for 2020, the first I have been involved with since becoming chair of the Privileges and Procedures Committee.

As the report makes clear, 2020 was an extraordinary year. The Assembly sat on 60 days, the most sitting days since 2011 and far in excess of the average this century. Most of those meetings took place under Covid restrictions. This began with a sitting in the Chamber with some Members moved to maintain physical distancing; two sittings in Fort Regent, where we were all well-spaced; fully online sittings; and hybrid sittings with some Members in the Chamber and others online. These new ways of working were not always easy and we have all missed the informal aspects of politics – particularly being able to gauge your colleagues' reaction to a speech or question – but, by and large, the Assembly has been able to maintain its usual activities despite the pandemic.

The report makes clear how the response to Covid-19 dominated the year, with a huge quantity of complex legislation to be got through. I would like to pay tribute to ministers and government departments for the speed with which they responded to the pandemic and the steps they took to explain legislation to States Members; to the legislative drafters for their work; and to the scrutiny and review panels for the vital role they played in examining draft legislation, often at very short notice, and suggesting improvements which, more often than not, were accepted by the Assembly.

Looking at the list of significant debates it is striking how many other big topics were tackled by the States in 2020, despite Covid-19. These included: sustainable transport, the carbon neutral strategy, the site selection for the new hospital, personal tax reforms, the Jersey care model, and banning the sale of single-use bags. At the very end of the year we sat just after Christmas to approve the inclusion of Jersey in the UK's post-Brexit agreement with the European Union, with scrutiny again contributing very valuable work at short notice on this matter. My Committee successfully brought a proposition to reform Jersey's electoral system, for the first time since 1948. The Assembly also agreed to move to a three-weekly meetings cycle, something we will be reviewing shortly.

I should also draw attention to the appendix at the end of this report which sets out the States Greffe's business plan commitments for 2020 and the extent to which they were delivered. I am pleased to say that the department supporting the Assembly delivered on the majority of its commitments, despite the enormous additional pressure created by the pandemic.

The Assembly can be proud of how it tackled the challenges of 2020 and ensured that Jersey was able  to determine  its  own  response  to  Covid-19, decided democratically and  with ministers' decisions subject to robust questioning and challenge. 2020 was a test of the resilience of Jersey's democratic system, one which I am pleased to be able to say that we passed.

States Assembly 2020

Overview

2020 was a year like no other in the history of the States Assembly. The public health rules necessary to tackle Covid-19, limiting the size of gatherings, requiring physical distancing and mandating homeworking, meant that it was impossible from April for the Assembly to meet in its usual format. The Assembly introduced a new Standing Order – 55A – to permit Members to participate remotely using Microsoft Teams and, after two meetings in Fort Regent, a venue large enough for effective physical distancing to be applied, this became the default way of working for much of the year. Hybrid meetings – with some Members present and others online

– were also used in the autumn, until the second Covid-19 wave led to restrictions being tightened again.

The States Assembly was the first Commonwealth legislature to meet in full using an online platform, a significant achievement for the Island and one which enabled the key decisions about Covid legislation and policy to be debated and voted on in the Assembly. Digital Jersey and the States' Modernisation and Digital directorate worked together to make this happen, for which the Assembly is grateful.

Also exceptional was the number of sitting days, 60 compared to 35 in 2019. During this century only in 2011 has the States sat more often (in 2011, an Island Plan year, when there were 61 sitting days). The total sitting time was 334 hours and 3 minutes, nearly 144 hours more than in 2019. The considerable extra work involved in these extra sitting days (using unfamiliar technology) was entirely absorbed by the States Greffe.

Most  of  the  Assembly's  time  (244  hours)  was  spent  on  public  business'  –  debating propositions  and  legislation.   45%  of  the  time  on  public business  was  spent  debating propositions and laws proposed by the Government of Jersey, that is the Council of Ministers and individual Ministers. The remaining time was spent on propositions brought by individual Members  and  committees  (particularly  the  Privileges  and  Procedures  Committee).  40 substantive propositions from individual Members were debated during the year, compared to 32 in 2019 and 24 in 2018.

Ministers  (and  others)  were  asked  356  questions,  with  advance  notice  of  the  subject, compared to 285 in 2019. This year, unsurprisngly, the Health and Social Services Minister was the most questioned Minister. There was also over 26 hours of questions asked without notice, including several periods of questions without notice to all ministers on matters relating to Covid-19', with the Chief Minister asked the most questions.

There was a small decrease in the number of questions requiring a written answer, from 529 to 461.

More data about the States Assembly in 2020 can be found in Appendix 4.

Significant debates

Overview

156 debates were undertaken by the States Assembly during 2020. Amongst the more noteworthy topics discussed by States members were the following:

The longest debate was again the Government Plan 2021–2024 (P.130/2020), lodged by the Council of Ministers and debated over 4 days in December 2020. 21 amendments to the Plan from independent members and Scrutiny Panels were considered, of which 13 were adopted. In agreeing the Government Plan, the Assembly approved proposals and limits for both States income and expenditure as well as capital expenditure for Government projects.

From a legislative perspective, the Assembly debated and approved a raft of legislation required to address the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic once the virus had arrived in Jersey in March 2020.  On 27th March 2020, the Assembly adopted the  Covid-19 (Enabling Provisions) (Jersey) Law (P.29/2020), meaning both the Assembly and the Government of Jersey were enabled to introduce emergency legislation in a timely fashion to manage the effects and impact of the virus. In the ensuing months, a number of Regulations were brought for debate, sometimes at requisitioned meetings, with proposals to mitigate the effect of the virus in workplaces and on construction sites; to provide for physical distancing; to allow for limits to be set on the number of people who could gather at any one time; and to manage the testing and control regimes that were put in place. Significant policy decisions around Covid- 19 were also brought by the Council of Ministers to the Assembly for debate, including A Safer Travel  Period:  States  Assembly  Approval  (P.84/2020),  which  was  adopted  with amendments on 1st July 2020

Prompted by the need to address the financial impact of the pandemic, the Minister for Treasury  and  Resources  lodged  the  Income Tax  (Amendment  No. 46)  (Jersey)  Law (P.118/2020). Members approved the Law on 4th November 2020 and in doing so agreed that all Jersey taxpayers should be moved to paying tax on a current year basis, rather than a prior-year one.

2020 saw the United Kingdom leave the European Union and the effects of Brexit continued to be discussed by the Assembly. On 27th December 2020, at a requisitioned meeting held on a Sunday, the Assembly adopted UK-EU Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement

– Inclusion of the Bailiwick of Jersey (P.170/2020), as amended, and signalled its approval that Jersey should be included in the post-Brexit agreement which the UK and EU had developed.

A number of other significant policy debates were prompted by propositions brought by the Council of Ministers or by individual Ministers. From an environmental perspective, the Carbon Neutral Strategy 2019 (P.127/2019) was approved on 26th February 2020, followed by the Sustainable Transport Policy (P.128/2019) on 11th March 2020. The Minister for Treasury and Resources saw proposals to progress the establishment of independent taxation adopted on 4th February 2020 with the agreement of Personal Tax Reforms (P.119/2019). And the same Minister brought forward the proposition Establishment and Funding of the Fiscal  Stimulus  Fund  (P.128/2020),  which  was  adopted  with  amendments  on  18th November 2020.

On  3rd  November  2020,  the  Assembly  approved  Jersey  Care  Model  (P.114/2020),  a proposition of the Minister for Health and Social Services to improve the design of and delivery of the Island's health and care system.

Decisions were made by the Assembly in two areas that had been the subject of much debate in recent years: the Future Hospital and the composition of the States Assembly. On 17th November  2020,  the  Assembly  adopted  both  Our  Hospital  Site  Selection:  Overdale (P.123/2020) and Our Hospital Project: Acquisition of Land for the New Hospital at Overdale (P.129/2020), paving the way for development of a new hospital for the Island to begin. And on 3rd December 2020, the Assembly approved the proposition of the Privileges and Procedures Committee, Composition and Election of the States: Proposed Changes (P.139/2020). With legislation to be brought forward in 2021 to enact this decision, it would see  the  membership  of  the  Assembly  change  to  incorporate  the  12   Connétable s  and 37 Deputies elected from a series of new, multi-member constituencies.

A number of changes were agreed by States members to the operation of the States Assembly itself. Principal among them was the agreement on 18th March 2020 to introduce a new Standing Order to allow for members to participate in meetings remotely during times of emergency or public health crises. Without this, the subsequent meetings in which States members  met  and  debated  propositions  via  Microsoft  Teams  would  not  have  been procedurally possible. Changes were made to the remit and size of Scrutiny Panels and, on 7th October 2020, the Assembly agreed to the introduction of time limits on the length of speeches during debates. Earlier in the year, the Assembly had adopted the proposition of the Privileges and Procedures Committee, States Meetings in 2021: Move to a Three-Week Cycle (P.106/2020), to undertake a trial of meeting every 3 weeks, rather than every fortnight.

As in previous years, a number of propositions were brought for debate by members in an independent capacity. This included several propositions relating to the way in which the Island should deal with the impact of Covid-19. Covid-19 Elimination Strategy (P.61/2020), proposed by Deputy Jess Perchard, was adopted with amendments on 20th May 2020; whilst a proposition of Deputy Kevin Pamplin, Enhanced Covid-19 Exit Strategy Communication (P.88/2020), was also adopted (again with amendments) on 14th July 2020. On the same day,  the  Assembly  approved   Deputy  John  Young's  proposition,  Open  Borders Arrangements (P.89/2020). Whilst on 7th October 2020, returning to the subject of inward travel to the Island during the pandemic, the Assembly adopted Deputy Inna Gardiner 's proposition, Incoming Passengers from Green Category Jurisdictions: Requirement to Self-Isolate (P.122/2020).

Away  from  Covid-related  propositions,  on  4th  February  2020,  the  Assembly  approved Affordable access to Primary Care Scheme (P.125/2019), brought for debate by Deputy Geoff Southern . On the same day, the Assembly also approved Deputy Montfort Tadier 's proposition, Public Holidays: Designation of 27th September 2021 – Commemoration of the Corn Riots and the Code of 1771 (P.9/2020). In doing so, the Assembly agreed to the idea of an additional Bank Holiday in 2021 to mark the 250th anniversary of the Assembly's emergence as the sole law-making body for Jersey.

On 16th June 2020, the Assembly approved Deputy Inna Gardiner 's proposals to regulate the use of carrier bags with the adoption of her proposition, Banning the Sale of Single-Use Carrier Bags (P.64/2020). The Assembly also adopted a proposition brought by Deputy Kirsten Morel , Putting Jersey Businesses First (P.56/2020). Two weeks later, on 30th June 2020,  the  Assembly  agreed  to   Deputy  Russell   Labey 's  proposition,  Proposed  Airport Redevelopment: Review (P.71/2020), thereby meaning that the 1937 Airport Terminal would not be demolished until a further review had been undertaken. In July 2020, States members agreed the proposition of Deputy Rob Ward entitled Green Lanes and Quiet Lanes: Priority to Pedestrians, Cyclists and Horse Riders (P.79/2020) and also agreed with the proposals of Deputy Mike Higgins in his proposition, Investigation Into the Establishment of a Digital Register of Landlords and Tenants (P.82/2020). Later, on 9th September 2020, Connétable Karen Shenton-Stone gained approval of her own proposition,  Les Ecréhous and Les Minquiers:  Prohibition  of  the  Landing  of  Domestic  Animals  (P.94/2020).  On  10th November 2020, the Assembly rejected a proposition of Senator Kristina Moore that the Assembly had no confidence in the Chief Minister.

Scrutiny 2020

Overview

2020 was a challenging year for the scrutiny panels and Public Accounts Committee (PAC), with significantly increased work programmes dealing with substantial volumes of Covid related legislation and policies alongside business as usual' matters, as well as developing and adapting to new ways of working. The pandemic introduced public health measures which required everyone to work from home and socially distance when outside. This meant the usual physical meetings and public hearings had to be replaced with virtual meetings and live event public hearings.

In the first half of 2020, Panels mainly focussed their attention on the Government's response to the pandemic. This included scrutiny of a number of legislative changes such as regulations on workplace restrictions, screening, assessment and isolation requirements, limitations on gatherings and safe distancing which were all introduced to underpin the public health measures.

As the year progressed, other business as usual type activity resumed which included reviews on the use of tasers by States of Jersey Police, the Jersey Care Model, future hospital, recruitment and retention of teachers, the Government Plan, financial management within government and changes to the tax system.

Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic,  scrutiny panels and the PAC have continued to ensure that the full range of mechanisms available to them were used to hold both ministers and the rest of the government to account. This included questions in the States Assembly, public quarterly hearings (held virtually), comments through traditional and social media, and all other means available to it.

The Scrutiny Liaison Committee (SLC, comprising the Chairs of the five standing Scrutiny Panels plus PAC) has also maintained focus on its overarching role in ensuring the effective operation of the Scrutiny function, taking note of best practice and developments in similar parliamentary committee systems. In respect of the pandemic, initiatives during 2020 have included establishing procedures and protocols for the virtual environment in which panels and committees have been working, publication of a weekly bulletin of activity across the function, and weekly meetings to co-ordinate many complex and time sensitive pieces of work that  have  cut  across  panel  remits.  SLC  has  also  pressed  to  secure  more  stable  and sustainable resourcing to underpin the work of the scrutiny function, with progress made in respect of budget and staff resources in the Government Plan – the committee intends to make further progress in 2021, including a focus on communications and public engagement support. Other notable developments included an amendment to Standing Orders to update and re-prioritise the responsibility for scrutinising matters relating to children and young people, and further changes to Standing Orders increasing the maximum number of Members permitted to serve on a scrutiny panel. This contributed towards a key objective of the committee to encourage the involvement and engagement of as many Members as possible in the scrutiny work of the Assembly.

A full list of official publications by scrutiny panels and the PAC can be found in Appendix 3.

Significant scrutiny work: examples

Jersey Care Model

In 2012 the States Assembly approved P.82/2012 Health and Social Services: A New Way Forward' and in doing so agreed to the redesign of health and social care services by 2021. Whilst some work was undertaken to meet the objectives of P.82/2012, the potential benefits of developing services in the community had not been realised at the time of the last election. In May 2019, the Chief Minister presented a report to the States Assembly which set out a phased approach for delivering a new hospital. Within the report, it was advised that part of the work involved establishing a new health care model for Jersey.

In October 2019, the Health and Community Services Department published a framework for the proposed Jersey Care Model (JCM). Shortly after, in December that year, the Health and Social Security Scrutiny Panel launched its review. The Panel's review of the JCM included an analysis of the impact of the proposals on the delivery of health and care in Jersey, the potential effects of the proposals on the current and future health care workforce, how it was due to be implemented and the financial implications of its implementation. To assist the panel in its review, it engaged the services of an expert healthcare advisor.

The result of this review, was a report (S.R.5/2020), which included an examination of the key proposals within the JCM and how they would change the way that care is delivered. The Panel undertook a survey targeted at local GPs to hear their views on the JCM's key principles and  future  working  relationships  with  Health and  Community Services.  The  Panel also examined the delivery of the JCM, availability of the health and care workforce in the community and the funding mechanisms that would need to change to enable delivery of the new model. As the Chair of the Panel noted "Whilst the Panel supports the overarching proposals of the Jersey Care Model, we are disappointed to find the proposals lacking in important details at this stage, not least a thorough analysis of the impact the model is expected  to  have  on  service  users  and  the  health  and  social  care  workforce.  Our recommendations, if accepted by the Minister for Health and Social Services, will address the concerns raised in our report. Unless this is the case, we lack confidence that the proposals are adequately informed to be given the green light at this time''.

The Panel's Report was presented to the States Assembly on 23rd October with 60 findings and 21 recommendations.

Change to the Deployment of Taser by the States of Jersey Police

As a result of P.97/2020 to change the governance arrangements for authorising Taser use and extending the use of Taser to more States of Jersey Police officers, the Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel, in response to concerns, undertook a detailed review of the proposed changes to the deployment of Taser.

The Panel gathered evidence and held public hearings to gain an understanding of the potential impact of the changes on policing in Jersey and on the rights of children and young people. The views gathered reflected a balance of opinions both in support of and against the proposed changes. However, the Panel noted a recurring theme regarding the paramount importance for appropriate training and safeguards to be in place if the changes to the deployment of Taser in Jersey were to be adopted. In addition, the resounding view was that the deployment of Taser on young people must be avoided.

Upon consideration of the evidence received, although the Panel was mindful of the rationale for the proposed  changes,  it  identified  a number of  concerns,  especially  regarding  the apparent lack of data in respect of the impact that the changes might have on Jersey's policing model, on vulnerable individuals and on the public's perception of policing in Jersey. To that end, the Panel lodged two amendments to the Proposition. This provided a measured and constructive approach to address the concerns it had identified, whilst allowing the States of Jersey Police Force to change the governance arrangements in relation to the deployment of Taser as requested for a year's trial. The amendments would require the collecting of data in relation to the nature of Taser use in Jersey to further underscore its requirement or otherwise and would, ultimately, provide the States Assembly with a greater level of information to identify whether or not the changes should be adopted in the longer term. In addition, an amendment explicitly required the use of body-worn cameras by States of Jersey Police officers when a situation involving Taser is taking place.

The Panel's  report was published ahead of the States debate of the proposition on 3rd November 2020, where the proposition and the Panel's proposed amendments were adopted by the States Assembly.

Deputy Rob Ward , Chair of the Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel said: "There was evidence to suggest that the changes to the way in which the States of Jersey Police deploy Taser were necessary to protect both the public as well as the police officers. Therefore, through our amendments to the proposition and recommendations, we have suggested a constructive middle ground, whereby the changes can be trialled for a year to allow for the necessary data to be collected in order to show whether they are truly required or not for the longer -term."

Teacher Recruitment and Retention

Following a culmination of work that started in 2019, the Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel published its report on 25th August 2020 despite the challenges presented by the Covid-19 Pandemic.

The Panel first investigated the area of teacher recruitment and retention in June 2019. At that time, the Panel identified worrying figures relating to teaching vacancies and consequently the Panel agreed to examine this matter further and decided to undertake a review of teacher recruitment and retention in Jersey.

Specialist research agency 4insight was commissioned by the Panel to consult with around 40 teachers in focus groups. The Panel also consulted with headteachers, the education unions, and the Minister for Education to understand their views. Through the focus groups, the Panel explored the views and reasoning across the varied teacher demographics and plans for remaining in or leaving a teaching post.

The Panel found significant challenges for teacher recruitment and retention which included:

• A lack of clear data in relation to teacher recruitment and retention, including an ineffective exit interview process and the need for an improved recruitment process and human resources support.

• Cost of living in the Island was identified as especially challenging for those being recruited from overseas, with the relocation package offered to teachers also identified as a factor in this.

• A lack of part-time and job share opportunities available to teachers and lecturers was found to be a challenge, particularly affecting those with young children.

• Teachers face high levels of scrutiny and an unsustainable workload, which included a significant number of tasks that were not directly related to teaching. This included an average working week of 60 hours for a teacher.

• A lack of funding for the education system, which also contributed to the increased workload and additional pressures being faced by teachers and lecturers.

Off the back of its findings, the Panel made several recommendations which included to improve the exit interview process, to facilitate flexible working opportunities, as well as the requirement to consider how to reduce teachers' workload. The Panel believes that, if adopted, its recommendations would help lead to an increased retention in teachers and teaching staff in the Island, benefiting children and adults in education.

Deputy Rob Ward , Chair of the Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel, said: The Panel recognises the immense hard work and dedication of teachers and lecturers in Jersey and thanks everyone who works to educate our children and young people. There is a fundamental belief that children and young people should be taught by teachers who are valued and have genuine access to opportunities that help them develop as professionals. We have concluded that in order to achieve this there must be greater recognition of the value of the profession to our Island and significant increases in funding within education to support this. We also urgently need to re-examine the culture within education which we find has created barriers to teachers and lecturers delivering their key objective of providing children and young people with an inspirational education."

Minimum Standards for Rented Dwellings: Licensing Regulations

In February 2020, the Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Panel published a  report, following its review of P.106/2019, which proposed to introduce minimum standards for rented dwellings to improve the condition of properties across the rented sector. Through reviewing the draft regulations alongside feedback that had been received during the Government–led public consultation, the Panel aimed to determine whether the draft Public Health And Safety (Rented Dwellings) (Licensing) (Jersey) Regulations 201- were fit for purpose, fair and proportionate; whether appropriate consultation was undertaken; and to ascertain the impact of the draft Regulations on both landlords and tenants.

The Panel received a significant response to its invitation for evidence from private landlords suggesting  that  further  regulation  was  unnecessary.  However,  little  in  the  way  of representation  was  received  from  tenants  apart  from  the  Citizens'  Advice  Bureau  and evidence  from  the  Department  for  Infrastructure,  Housing  and  Environment  itself.  This stimulated the Panel to look into the business case proposed by the Minister and found that the estimated revenue, to be generated under the proposed scheme, was based on a number of uncertain variables.

The review identified a number of concerns in relation to the fee structure for various types of accommodation  including:  staff  and  lodging  accommodation,  self-contained  units,  social housing providers and older properties. In addition, concern was raised regarding the types of properties captured under the licensing scheme.

Although, the Panel did identify a need for some easily accessible legislation to manage standards in rented accommodation in Jersey. It established that tools' existed, such as legislation from 1934 and 1999 as well as the Rent Safe scheme, to assist with achieving this. Moreover, the rationale behind the decision to operate the Rent Safe scheme and the proposed new licensing scheme alongside each other was not clear to the Panel.

In considering whether the proposed regulations are fair, proportionate and fit for purpose, the Panel observed that whilst there may be some properties in poor condition in Jersey, many of the criteria required to adopt selective licensing regulations in the UK would not apply to Jersey.  Namely:  low  housing  demand,  a  significant  and  persistent  problem  caused  by antisocial behaviour, high levels of deprivation, and high levels of crime.

The Panel concluded that on balance there are as many bad tenants as there are landlords and that the lodged proposals were somewhat heavy handed and bureaucratic in an age when most areas of government were trying to reduce red tape'.

Financial Management

A core responsibility of the Public Accounts Committee is to assesses whether public funds have been applied for the purpose intended, including how financial management is applied within the States of Jersey and its executive. In April 2015, the Comptroller and Auditor General published a Review of Financial Management that highlighted a number areas for improvement, including how accountability is managed for these resources. A follow-up report was published in September 2019.

Although the PAC welcomed the proposals for improvement, the Committee wanted to further understand how the Target Operating Models used by Departments would translate into actions to bring about necessary improvements and overcome barriers to implementation. The PAC also wanted to find out what the Chief Executive and senior officers had achieved in this area, and how it had been objectively measured.

During its review, the PAC held quarterly hearings with the Chief Executive, the Treasurer of the States, and other senior officers, and built on the information outlined in the executive's response to the Comptroller and Auditor General's 2019 report on Financial Management and Internal Control.

The PAC's report found that progress had been made in a number of areas of financial management,  and  that  the Government  of  Jersey had  taken onboard  the  findings  and recommendations of the Comptroller and Auditor General. However, the PAC noted that there was a clear need for investment decisions to be properly driven through a business case process, with clearly articulated outcomes, effective project management, and measuring against the original agreed outcomes.

Senator Sarah Ferguson, the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee at the time of the review, said: "Although many new improvements have been made, the previous Comptroller and Auditor General pointed out that key constitutional legislation comprising, amongst others, the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019, Employment of States of Jersey Employees Law 2005 and the States of Jersey Law 2005, need to be reviewed and amended as appropriate to ensure clear, consistent comprehensive and unambiguous accountabilities and that they work seamlessly together."

Constable John Le Bailly, the Vice-Chair of the Public Accounts Committee at the time of the review, said: "The PAC is supportive of the need to invest substantial sums of public money in modernisation of the systems and controls, to drive efficiency and reduce the risk of loss. However, the Government should be transparent about the total investment which it is believed will be required and the medium-term impact on public expenditure to finance this beyond the current government plan period. The benefits of this spend should be considered in the broadest sense and made clear as part of the business case."

Covid-19 Response: March to October 2020

Following the outbreak of COVID-19 in the Island, the Government of Jersey responded with a number of actions to curb the spread of the virus. The consequences of these actions impacted lives, the economy, international affairs and public finances in the short, medium and long term. The Economic and International Affairs Panel undertook a review of the Government's response to the outbreak of COVID-19, to ascertain whether the response was adequate to "protect livelihoods as well as lives".

The review considered the Government's overall strategy, its focus on protecting the economy through numerous support packages for businesses who had been impacted by COVID-19, and Jersey's economic recovery.

The result of the Panel's review was the report COVID-19 Response: March – October 2020' (S.R.13/2020), which included an analysis of the Government's decision making processes. The Panel engaged with relevant stakeholders and held a number of hearings with the Minister for Economic Development, Tourism, Sport and Culture.

The Panel's report concluded that the Government of Jersey responded quickly to the economic challenges presented by the pandemic and noted that the rates of business failure would have been much greater if the Government had not provided the range of business support packages that it did. It also noted particular success with the Co-Funded Payroll Scheme despite a lack of consultation with businesses and business sectors.

The Panel's report was presented to the States Assembly on 3rd December 2020 with 26 findings and 8 recommendations.

Future Hospital

The Review of the Future Hospital Site Selection Process' was launched by the Future Hospital Review Panel on the 29th September 2020, and focused on the decision-making process in determining the final site site recommendation and whether the process was fair and transparent.

The Panel produced a report (S.R.9/2020), which included:

• background on the previous hospital project,

• the need for a new hospital as detailed in R.54/2019 (New Hospital Project: Next Steps),

• an examination of the hospital proposals with reference to R.54/2019 and R.116/2019 (Our Hospital Programme: Update to the States Assembly'),

• how  previous  information  was  used  to  inform  the  decisions  undertaken  and  the timescale for the project,

• key areas of concern highlighted from the site selection process,

• details about how the future hospital and Jersey Care Model are integrated

• details about costs and comparisons with the previous budget.

In presenting its report, Panel Chair, Senator Kristina Moore , said, "Our detailed review has found the site selection process to be procedurally flawed in areas, such as a lack of recommended SMART targets and the use of sequential criteria which was applied without weighting. For this reason, we have concluded that the site selection process was subjective rather than objective and did not follow good practice. At the second stage of the site selection, where 55 sites were deselected, it is not clear why 9 of the 55 sites that met the criteria were not pursued.  

The Government's preferred site at Overdale is due to be debated by the States Assembly on 17 November. It is only then that the finalised Strategic Outline Case will be published, which will  include  details  such  as,  project  scope,  service  need,  affordability  of  options  and deliverability. I firmly believe that we need the finalised version of this information before the debate in order to make an informed decision on the site of the new hospital.

We have also received information from Government which demonstrates that it will be challenging to build the hospital within the proposed budget of £550 million. Furthermore, there are non-site specific costs of £254 million which bring the total cost of the hospital to approximately £800 million. Based on the information presented so far, it is unclear whether this represents good value for money for Islanders"

The Panel's report was presented to the States Assembly on 13th November 2020 with 28 findings and 30 recommendations.

Safer Travel Guidelines

The Safer Travel Guidelines Review Panel was established in July 2020 to scrutinise the Government of Jersey's policies and guidelines for inward travel to the island during the COVID-19 pandemic, following acceptance of P.84/2020 – A Safer Travel Period: States Assembly Approval on 2 July 2020. The Panel carried out a preliminary review of the Safer Travel Guidelines and published an Interim Report on 24 July 2020, this outlined findings and recommendations of the Panel based upon the initial Guidelines and Safer Travel Period. A Ministerial Response was presented to the States Assembly on 4 September 2020.

The Government updated the guidelines throughout the year, such as the introduction of the Red, Amber, Green (RAG) Policy, which was first introduced on 24 July 2020. The updates introduced a day 5 test for Green rated travellers, however, did not require isolation until the on-island testing facility had reduced the average turnaround of test results to below 12 hours. Further updates to the RAG ratings were also included, namely the raising of the thresholds for infection rates to be counted towards an Amber rating, to bring the ratings in line with other jurisdictions, as well as using lower-tier local authority (LTLA) regions in allocation of ratings. Further requirement for those incoming passengers from Green jurisdictions or regions to self- isolate until they had received a negative result from their day 0 test, a recommendation of the Panel's in its Interim Report, was further debated by the States Assembly on 7 October 2020 through P.122/2020, which, following an amendment by the Minister for Health and Social Services, was introduced from 13 October 2020.

The Panel continued an ongoing review, producing a Final Report on 12th November 2020. This found that many of its initial recommendations had since been implemented by the Government,  and  that  generally  the  guidelines  struck  the  right  balance  by  keeping transmission of the virus low, whilst enabling travel to and from the island for Islander's wellbeing and allowing continued economic activity.

However, the Panel highlighted a number of areas which required greater enhancement, recommending, amongst other points, that the Government:

• provide greater clarification for exemptions to self-isolation requirements;

• investigate and agree suitable data protection protocols to enable timely track and trace actions;

• reduce the time that an individual would be contacted if failing to respond to "wellness" messages; and,

• discuss changes to the Safer Travel Guidelines in a timely and transparent manner to all, including the States Assembly and Scrutiny in any decision making.

Deputy Robert Ward , Chair of the Safer Travel Guidelines Review Panel, said at the time: "It is clear that inward travel has significantly impacted islanders positively through sustaining vital air links and enabling those who wish to travel to return home relatively unhindered, but also negatively by increasing the number of positive cases within the Island. As the numbers of COVID-19 positive cases have risen steeply in neighbouring countries, as well as now on Island,  the  work  of  the  Panel  has  become  even  more  significant.  The  findings  and recommendations of this report are aimed at being timely and targeted to address the issues the Panel has identified in this constantly evolving situation."

Prior Year Basis

The Prior Year Basis Tax Reform Review was established by the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel to scrutinise proposals made by the Minister for Treasury and Resources to move Prior Year Basis taxpayers onto a Current Year Basis system.

This change had been mooted for a number of years, with the Government asserting that it would aid in the simplification of Jersey's taxation system with the Minister for Treasury and Resources deciding, in July 2020, that the taxation review would be accelerated to abolish the prior year basis method of paying personal income tax. This was also emphasised as providing a short-term cash boost to those most financially affected by the Government's lockdown measures.

The Panel wrote, on several occasions, to the Minister for Treasury and Resources and completed a public hearing with the Minister and Government  officers to obtain further information. Alongside this, the Panel engaged with the public on social media and were able to receive a range of comments and written submissions from Islanders regarding their views on the proposed changes. The Panel also engaged a professional tax advisor to aid in its review.

The Panel presented a report on 30 October 2020 which outlined key findings including the need for further clarification of the potential impact of the changes on married couples and civil partners, as well as retirees, explanation of fundamentals of the debt of the 2019 liability, and consequences from a public finance, staffing, systems and economic perspective. The report also questioned the influence of a public consultation having been run by the Government over a short timescale, and the reality of the effect of the changes to negate influences of COVID-19.

The Panel made a number of recommendations to enable the success of the proposed changes. These included elements to ensure fairness of the changes and called for the Minister for Treasury and Resources to provided further information, to reassure members of the public and allow the States Assembly to make an informed decision when debating the proposition.

Senator Kristina Moore , Chair of the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel, said at the time: "Such is the level of public interest in this issue that we began to receive submissions from members of the public before the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel had launched its review. Jersey is unusual in the twenty first century to operate a prior year tax system. Whilst it is generally acknowledged that finding a solution to this anomaly is welcome, making such a change in a very short time period is fraught with issues, both for the authority and for taxpayers. Within this report, the Panel have tried to convey to the Minister for Treasury and Resources and her team the real-life stories that we were hearing, and we have endeavoured to emphasis the concerns that were being expressed by many members of our community."

Efficiencies and Rebalancing

The 2020-23 Government Plan, which replaced the previous Medium-Term Financial Plan, included a commitment to join-up services, become more commercial, and cut waste to free up investment to fund Government Plan priorities over a four year period. This was presented as R.130/2020, and outlined a plan to achieve £100 million over the next four years, including £40 million to be saved in 2020. The Government Plan Efficiencies Review Panel was subsequently established to review the implementation of the Efficiency programme, whether departments had met their targets.

Following the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Panel were advised by the Efficiencies Programmes  Board  Director  that  the  pursuit  of  the  Efficiencies  Programme  had  been fundamentally impacted. The Panel therefore reconsidered its approach and agreed to refocus on monitoring the efficiencies already made but to also investigate the ongoing drive for efficiencies, now termed as rebalancing'.

The Panel received a private briefing from the Chief Minister in July 2020 and held a public hearing with him in November 2020. The Panel also utilised numerous reports and affiliate documents to produce its report, including the unpublished Efficiencies Programmes Board Closure Report, alongside extensive written communication between the Panel and the Chief Minister.

In its report, published alongside the other Scrutiny reviews of the Government Plan 2021- 2024, the Panel raised concerns about the way in which the £40 million target of efficiency savings had been arrived at, noting that many of the departmental targets appeared to be "aspirational". The Panel also found little evidence that the planned efficiencies aligned with the Common Strategic Priorities that the States Assembly had previously signed up to, in particular Putting Children First', Reduce Income Inequality or Improve Islander's Wellbeing'.

Deputy Geoff Southern , the Chair of the Government Plan Efficiencies Review Panel, said: "The pandemic has meant that 2020 has been a challenging year for Islanders. The Review Panel is concerned that the Government displays wasteful behaviour on the one hand, for example by renting premises outside its already vast estate, and penny-pinching on the other by reducing some services to already hard-hit Islanders. The continuation of an aggressive efficiencies programme can only lead to cuts in services and we strongly recommend that the Government does not impose any efficiency which goes against its aim of improving Islanders' wellbeing and their standard of living."

Government Plan 2022 – 2024

The Government Plan brings together spending proposals, revenue raising proposals and gives details of major projects to be undertaken by the Government of Jersey, as well as outlining where efficiencies have been identified within the organisation. The Government Plan 2021-2024 was produced and scrutinised through the background of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, necessitating a greatly compressed timeframe during 2020.

The Government Plan Review Panel, which incorporated the chairs from each of the standing Panels, oversaw and coordinated scrutiny of the plan. Each Panel conducted their own review of elements of the plan that fell under their remit as identified by the Review Panel, including:

• A review of the progress made on the projects of the previous Government Plan, including commentary on the impact of Covid-19;

• Commentary on Departmental Budgets and Efficiencies;

• Reports on the Actions, Business Cases for Additional Revenue Expenditure, and Business Cases for Capital Expenditure that were allocated to them by the Government Plan Review Panel;

• Panel Comments; and,

• A summary of witnesses and evidence gathered by that Panel.

Following feedback from the previous year, each Panel produced its own report, with the Review Panel producing an overarching report detailing findings on broader themes such as the plan's realisation of the Common Strategic Priorities.

In  total  these  reports  ran  to  734  pages,  and  together  made  166  findings  and  88 recommendations. Scrutiny Panels subsequently lodged seven amendments following their reviews.

The Government Plan Review Panel incorporated the work of the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel who undertook public consultation through a series of commissioned focus groups, which helped to identify the views of Islanders. The Panel also shared the findings and recommendations made through their expert advisor at the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountability (CIPFA).

The headline components of the Government Plan 2021-24 proposed in relation to financial management confirmed:

• Borrowing up to £336 million in 2021 to cover the pandemic response;

• Higher expenditure than income until 2023 therefore running a budget deficit;

• Nearly £1.05 billion spend in 2021 on public services and infrastructure (by 2024, predicted to reduce to £967 million);

• £117 million to be spent on capital projects (buildings, infrastructure and IT systems) in 2021 (the 2020 budget was £91 million);

• £24 million spend on new projects in 2021; and

• Efficiencies of £20 million in 2021 (originally agreed as a separate Efficiencies Plan for 2020, but now merged into a Rebalancing programme and incorporated in the proposed Government Plan).

The Review Panel concluded that there was a need for more evidence that the Government Plan  was  committed  to  the  Common  Strategic  Priorities,  adding  that  findings  and recommendations in the scrutiny reports were designed to help form a better Government Plan 2022-25.

Senator Kristina Moore , Chair of the Government Plan Review Panel, said at the time: "The work of the Scrutiny and Review Panels has been an incredible achievement given that the time to scrutinise the Government Plan 2020-2021 was shortened to 9 weeks (from 15 last year), particularly given the backdrop of Covid-19 restrictions. The Government Plan Review Panel wish to thank the Scrutiny Panels, the Efficiencies Review Panel and their supporting officers, for their diligence."

Public engagement and outreach

Overview

A new Digital and Public Engagement section of the States Greffe, comprising seven posts, was formally established in January 2020. Recruitment to those posts continued throughout the year. A four-year strategy was developed to set the direction for the team and the guiding principles that will underpin their work: this has now been agreed by PPC.

Some of the tasks carried out by the team during 2020 reflected the unusual year experienced by all, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The core responsibility of the States Greffe, to facilitate the running of the States Assembly, meant that tasks outside of the norm' were prioritised, including:

• Setting up all the Teams Live' States Meetings and providing technical support to Members throughout the meetings

• Project managing the transition to hybrid meetings, whereby some Members were in the States Chamber whilst some joined from other locations, in order to comply with public health rules

• Covering all 60 days of States Assembly meetings on social media and with news stories on the States Assembly website

Primary school visits to the States Chamber

The long-standing programme of year five students (aged 9 and 10) from all the Island primary schools (States funded and private) visiting the States Chamber suffered during 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. No visits could take place between April  – September or mid- November –  December, meaning  that only 464  students  experienced  the  tour  in  2020 (compared to 881 in 2019). However, all students who missed out are being given the opportunity in 2021, subject to public health guidance.

The children who attended the visits sat in the seats usually occupied by States Members and used the voting system during a mini debate on a topic of their choice. On each occasion, three of the children took the roles of the Greffier, the Dean and the Usher.

Each child was presented with:

• a copy of their proposition;

• an Order Paper;

• an information sheet concerning the States Member whose seat they had taken; and

• a certificate to commemorate their involvement in the visit.

The scheme aims to encourage local children to take more of an interest in how their Island is governed, and dovetails with the citizenship curriculum to promote participation in elections, especially since the reduction in the voting age to 16.

Social media

During 2020, the team refined their approach to social media and the States Assembly accounts saw significant growth in follower numbers and engagement. From August 2020, the team:

• Spread the focus of attention across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, where Twitter had previously dominated, in order to reach a more diverse audience and reduce the risk of misreporting

• Raised  awareness  of  new  and  milestone  e-petitions  via  social  media  posts reaching over 10,000 people and getting 400+ people engaging with them (likes, comments and shares)

• Introduced monthly reports to track the effectiveness of new tactics and adjust/build on successes accordingly

Over the course of the year the States Assembly Facebook page:

• Had a 238% increase in followers (compared to 32% growth in 2019)

• Went from its posts reaching 2,500 – 3,000 people per month, to nearly 200,000 per month

• Saw  a  huge  growth  in  the  number  of  people  engaging  with  (this  includes commenting, reacting, sharing and clicking on) posts from under 1,000 per month in the first half of the year to around 20,000 per month in the final five months of the year

On Twitter:

• The number of followers increased steadily throughout the year, growing by 70% to 5,011

• The number of impressions grew from 1.7 million in 2019 to 2.7 million in 2020

Regular content was posted on Instagram from August 2020 and the page had 17% growth in follower numbers over the following four months.

Facebook engagements include comments, shares, reactions and clicks Facebook Reach refers to the number of people who have seen our posts

Twitter Impressions refers to the total number of times our tweets have been seen

Traditional' media

To help increase media coverage ahead of States Meetings and help the public to engage with the topics being debated, we introduced pre-meeting press notices using plain English', which were also shared on through the States Assembly social media pages.

To aid public understanding of States Assembly procedures, the team also issued press notices to provide a clear explanation of two events that occurred in the autumn – the vote of no confidence (VONC) in the Chief Minister and ministerial resignations.

In addition to monitoring media coverage on a daily basis, the team also started meeting with local journalists to build these relationships and understand how these additions have been received and what more we can do to help them cover States Assembly business (timing, formats, etc). Feedback has been very positive and new ideas will be taken forward in 2021, including an induction for new journalists coming to the Island.

States Assembly website

During 2020, the website had a 52% growth in the number of people visiting the site (176,631) during 2020, compared to the previous year. There was also a 25% growth in the number of page views (639,095) compared to 2019. This growth is assumed to be largely due to the increased number of propositions, and amendments, predominantly related to Covid-19 and public interest in this subject.

The growth in engagement on the States Assembly social media pages has also resulted in over double the number of people coming to the website from this channel (10,444 visits from social media in 2020 from social compared to 4,529 in 2019).

A number of small changes were made to the website during the second half of 2020, including:

• Making the translate button more prominent at the top of the website and adding the flags of languages frequently spoken by Jersey residents. This move was designed to help with accessibility and inclusivity – to help welcome and engage people for whom English is not their first language

• Increased the visibility of the petition links from the top banner of the website

• Adding briefing papers on topical issues (prepared by the Members' Resources team) to the website

The team also began exploring options to add new functions and formats to the website to improve engagement. This work will continue in 2021.

Vote.je

The were no changes to the make-up of the States Assembly during 2020 and consequently no focus on the Vote.je website. However, it still continued to attract around 700 visitors per month.

Supporting Scrutiny Communications

Halfway through the year, whilst the team was still building, the first step to support Scrutiny communications  came  in  the  form  of  a  review  process  for  all  press  releases  to  help communicate the key messages clearly and succinctly. Once the full, permanent, team is in place  in  2021,  a  dedicated  Scrutiny  Communications  Strategy  will  be  developed  and Communications Officers will be assigned to each of the Committees and Panels.

Democracy Week

In 2020, the States Greffe organised Jersey's first Democracy Week. The aim of the week was to provide opportunities for Islanders of all ages to learn about and engage with local politics

– from  current  topics  that  affect  their  lives  to the  history  of  the  States Assembly. The programme of activities included:

• The Digital and Public Engagement team, along with local street artists from Midnight Industries, delivered workshops to 60 Highlands College students where they discussed Jersey's democratic system, then debated and voted on what they would like to see the future of the Island look like. The street artists then spent four days illustrating the students' ideas on a decommissioned bus, kindly donated by Liberty Bus. The democracy bus' was then put on display in the Royal Square for Islanders to see and to prompt  further conversation on the subject. The project was featured by several local media outlets and the feedback from students was very positive.

• Public tours of the States Chamber took place, both in person and online, to allow people who were isolating due to the Covid-19 pandemic to access the sessions.

• Talks were delivered in local primary schools, introducing the concept of debating and voting on the theme of how Jersey should protect its natural environment

• Live question and answer sessions were hosted on social media, covering:

1. Mental Health with Senator Pallett and Deputy Pamplin
2. Island Identity and Culture with Deputy Tadier

The team are planning to make this an annual event, building on the success of the 2020 Democracy Week.

Brand

Following the decision by the States Assembly that Jèrriais should feature in the brand identity of both the Assembly and the Government, the team worked with a graphic designer to create updated branding, which will be launched in 2021.

Internal communications

The team developed an e-newsletter Member News' for communicating important information from the States Greffe to States Members.

Partner activity

The team worked with:

• Jersey Heritage, supporting their plans for a People Power Protest exhibition which opens in July 2021

• Jersey Youth Service, supporting the development of the Youth Parliament

• Liberty Bus, developing plans to transform the democracy bus', created during democracy week, into a mobile community facility (to be launched in 2021)

International outreach

Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (Jersey branch)

Jersey is an active member of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), which brings together parliamentarians from across the Commonwealth and helps build and develop parliamentary capacity and capabilities. Despite the travel restrictions imposed in response to the Covid pandemic, Jersey delegates were able to attend a range of events virtually thanks to the use of Teams and Zoom platforms.

In February 2020, before the full impact of Covid was upon us, a Jersey delegation travelled to the Falklands to take part in the 7th Annual British Islands and Mediterranean Region (BIMR) Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians Conference.

The overriding theme of the event was Combatting Stereotypes in Small Communities' and delegates attended seminars which explored this in greater depth, with discussions ranging from how women are able to build roles in small communities that are not gender specific, to the creation of opportunities for women in the future in small communities and encouraging women to stand for public office. The delegates also attended a session outlining the Women's Mentorship Programme, which was led by Mrs Roberta Blackman-Woods (Former MP and BIMR CWP Chair) and Mrs Patricia Ferguson (Former MSP Labour and BIMR CWP).

In addition, in September 2020 Members attended the 50th annual meeting of the CPA BIMR hosted virtually by Malta. Several members undertook training arranged by the CPA during 2020, including Election Observer training in September 2020 and workshops on Cyber Security and Public Financial Oversight in February and October respectively. Two States Members took part in seminars for new parliamentarians in Bermuda and Dominica. Jersey was also represented by young people at the Commonwealth Youth Parliament held virtually between 14th and 18th December 2020.

Assemblée Parlementaire de la Francophonie

In line with a policy agreed by the Executive Committee of the Section de Jersey, plans were made for the Section to be represented at the principal conferences held each year: the Assemblée  Générale,  the  Assemblée  Région  Europe  and  the  Conférence  des Présidents. Plans were therefore afoot in March 2020 for Deputy Tadier , as President of the Section,  to attend  the  Conférence  des  Présidents  in  Monaco;  but  the  conference  was cancelled in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic impacted on the activity of the APF and the conferences that were held; and thereby the opportunity for Section members to participate in those activities. Consequently, no conferences were attended by Section members in 2020

British-Irish Parliamentary Association

The British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly (BIPA) is a deliberative body consisting of members elected to the parliaments and legislatures of the United Kingdom, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the British crown dependencies. Its purpose is to foster common understanding and mutually beneficial relationships between elected representatives from these jurisdictions. Deputy David Johnson is Jersey's BIPA representative and Connétable Simon Crowcroft is associate representative. The 60th Plenary meeting was postponed due to Covid and held in February 2021.

Legislative Drafting Office

Overview

This is the second annual report of the Legislative Drafting Office, reporting as a distinct unit within the States Greffe, while keeping its distinct identity. Under current arrangements we share a budget with the Greffe, with the Principal Legislative Drafter reporting to the Greffier of the States.

Our staff

The LDO is headed by the Principal Legislative Drafter Lucy Marsh-Smith . Her deputy is Matthew Waddington.

In 2020 the office also consisted of five other legislative drafters, including one ring-fenced till the end of 2021 for post-Brexit matters, plus one trainee drafter. (A further drafter is on long- term secondment to work on roads and traffic-related matters till the end of 2024). At the end of July, a drafter was ring-fenced to work on legislation relating to children till the end of 2021 and in August another drafter returned to her regular post in Australia. This meant there were two short-term vacancies, with any drafting that could not be  managed in-house being outsourced to consultant drafters. Further recruitment was hampered by the pandemic with one temporary post being filled by a UK Parliamentary Counsel on a career break from January 2021 and a half-time consultant drafter being appointed in March to work on financial services legislation, both working remotely.

The office is also supported by an editorial team headed by Heather Mason, Legislation Editor. She is assisted by 1.5 full time equivalent staff.

We continue to benefit from the services of a hugely experienced Legislation Services Consultant, who has been invaluable in terms of in-house technical support as well as advising on improvements that might be made to the legislation section of the jerseylaw.je website. The in-house drafting resources continue to be supplemented as required by a panel of consultant drafters.

Our achievements

2020 was an exceptionally busy year for the Legislative Drafting Office, chiefly due to dealing with the demands for legislation as a consequence of Covid-19 but also that required as a consequence of the end of the Brexit transition period. Resources were also dedicated to drafting children-related legislation emanating from the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry, a high priority of Government. Of the 186 pieces of secondary legislation made during 2020, over 100 related to Covid-19. In addition, we achieved the following in 2020:

• We continued to refine our new drafting template, thanks to our Legislation Services Consultant, to gain further efficiencies to speed up our drafting and minimise errors in published legislation.

• Our Editorial Team is now up to strength and is a key feature of improving drafting quality. This is achieved by ensuring consistency, eliminating grammatical and other non-legal errors and increasing the efficiency of existing review processes by enabling the reviews by drafters to focus on legal matters. The increased complement follows the taking on of extra responsibilities in the preparation of draft legislation from the Greffe. The Team also ensures that new legislation is published on the jerseylaw.je website very shortly after making and that changes are consolidated almost as soon as they take effect. It is a significant achievement that the website now displays the Jersey statute book showing the law as it is in force on the day it is accessed by users.

• Supported by the Privileges and Procedures Committee, we drafted the draft Legislation (Jersey) Law 202-, which will enable the current version of Jersey legislation to be authorised, consolidate provisions about the making and publishing of legislation into one place and set out the functions of the Legislative Drafting Office. The draft Law went out to consultation in August 2020 and was lodged on 26th March 2021. This was timed with the 250th anniversary of the 1771 Code which was the first occasion when Jersey legislation was consolidated.

• We continued to work with JLIB to improve access to current law. Work is on-going via a  test  website  –  sandbox.jerseylaw.je  –  but  we  are  hopeful  of  further  specific improvements to the legislation section of the website as part of the Beyond 250 initiative launched in March 2021 to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the 1771 Code.

• Jointly with the Law Officers' Department a draft Memorandum of Understanding was produced and signed by the Attorney General and the Principal Legislative Drafter in February 2021. This document sets out the responsibilities of both departments in relation to the production of legislation.

• We continued our training courses for instructing officers, delivering two further courses in February and March 2020 until Covid required us to suspend the programme. We produced a paper for States Members about the law drafting process specifically in relation to the Government Plan and the annual Finance (Jersey) Law in the hope of improving our service to them in connection with the budget.

• Our new case management system, Domis, was launched in January 2020 to store and retrieve documents efficiently and to avoid the creation of any new paper files. This was a vital step in enabling us to operate remotely during the Covid crisis. Work began and continued into 2021 to migrate to a more refined and cloud-based version of Domis, again developed by Civica using their icasework system.

• We continued to improve and simplify office processes thanks to the work of our Legislative Services Consultant. We had a visit from Guernsey colleagues to tell them about our new editor post and are delighted to hear that they have now recruited their own editor, the Channel Islands being the only British drafting offices to have these posts, though editors are much used elsewhere in the Commonwealth, notably Canada and Australia. Sadly, plans for exchange visits with the Office of Scott ish Parliamentary Counsel were defeated by the pandemic but will be re-arranged when circumstances allow.

• We continued to participate in international drafting conferences and other training opportunities to a greater extent than anticipated and at a much-reduced cost as a result of the Covid crisis. Drafters were able to attend the following events remotely:

• A webinar "Opening up the statute book: 10 years of legislation.gov.uk" on how the UK handled publishing legislation during Brexit and Covid;

• A conference on Covid and the Rule of Law organised by the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and the Westminster Foundation for Democracy;

• The Canadian Institute of Administrative Justice biennial conference for drafters entitled "Making Laws in a Post-Modern World: Are you Ready?".

In addition, one drafter and members of the editorial team attended the University of Bologna's "Lex 2020" online summer school on "Managing Legal Resources in the Semantic Web".

2020 was for the Legislative Drafting Office, as for virtually every area of activity in Jersey, a year of great upheaval due to the effects of the virus. The office was trialling a system of home working when Jersey went into lockdown and therefore found it relatively easy to adapt to working remotely, especially as we now have a proper system to store and retrieve documents electronically and are able to hold our meetings via MS Teams. Most members of staff continue to work substantially from home as restrictive measures continue. It is of great credit to the LDO Team that not only was the required of legislation delivered at short notice to meet the Government's response to the crisis, but other work was able to continue in so far as policy officers were able to deliver instructions.

The following table shows the volume of legislation passed since 2000. The change in ratio between primary (Laws) and secondary legislation (R&Os) for 2020 to a large extent reflects the need for many urgent Orders relating to the pandemic and the fact that resources of both drafters and many of the officers who instruct them were concentrated on producing these Orders.

300

250

200

150 213

176

152 201 157 181 177 172 163

175

100 160 147 135 126 164 171 141 136 142 146 186

50

0 45 30 51 44 26 39 25 38 43 28 23 30 21 48 16 30 23 31 15 7 40

200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020

Laws R&Os

Appendix 1:

Membership of the States Assembly, as at July 2020

Timothy John Le Cocq, Bailiff , President (Appointed 17 October 2019)

Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton GCB, Lieutenant Governor (Appointed 13 March 2017)

Elected Members

Senator Ian Joseph Gorst Senator Lyndon John Farnham

Senator Sarah Craig Ferguson

Senator John Alexander Nicholas Le Fondré

Senator Tracey Anne Vallois Senator Kristina Louise Moore

Senator Stephen William Pallett Senator Samuel Yves Mézec

First sworn in as States Member

05.12.2005 09.12.1999

12.12.2002 05.12.2005

08.12.2008 14.11.2011

14.11.2011 07.03.2014

Role

Minister for External Relations

Minister for Economic Development, Tourism, Sport and Culture and Deputy Chief Minister

Chair, Public Accounts Committee

Chief Minister and Chair States Employment Board

Minister for Education

President, Scrutiny Liaison Committee and Chair, Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel

Assistant Minister for Economic Development, Tourism, Sport and Culture

Minister for Children and Housing and Assistant Minister for Education

Connétable Alan Simon Crowcroft of St. Helier

Connétable Leonard Norman of St. Clement

Connétable Deidre Wendy Mezbourian of St. Lawrence

Connétable Sadie Anthea Le Sueur -Rennard of St. Saviour

Connétable Michael Keith Jackson of St. Brelade

Connétable John Edward Le Maistre of Grouville

Connétable Christopher Hugh Taylor of St. John

Connétable Philip Bond Le Sueur of Trinity

12.12.1996

17.06.1983  Minister for Home Affairs 05.12.2005  Chair, Comité des Connétable s 14.11.2011

11.11.2005  Chair, Environment, Housing and

Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel 04.10.2013

03.11.2014

03.11.2014

Connétable Richard Vibert of St. Peter

Connétable John Michael Le Bailly of St. Mary

Connétable Richard Alan Buchanan of St. Ouen

01.06.2018

01.06.2018

01.06.2018  Assistant Chief Minister and

Assistant Minister for External Relations

Connétable Karen Shenton-Stone  01.06.2018 of St. Martin

Deputy Judith Ann Martin of St. Helier No. 1

Deputy Geoffrey Peter Southern of St. Helier No. 2

Deputy Carolyn Fiona Labey of Grouville

Deputy Kevin Charles Lewis of St. Saviour No. 2

Deputy Montfort Tadier of St. Brelade No. 2

Deputy Michael Roderick Higgins of St. Helier No. 3

Deputy Jeremy Martin Maçon of St. Saviour No. 1

Deputy Susan Jane Pinel of St. Clement

Deputy Stephen George Luce of St. Martin

Deputy Richard John Renouf of St. Ouen

Deputy Louise Mary Catherine Doublet of St. Saviour No. 2

Deputy Russell Labey of St. Helier No. 1

Deputy Scott Michael Wickenden of St. Helier No. 1

Deputy Robert David Johnson of St. Mary

Deputy Graham John Truscott of

05.05.2000 15.02.2002 12.12.2002

05.12.2005 08.12.2008

08.12.2008 08.12.2008

14.11.2011 14.11.2011 03.11.2014 03.11.2014 03.11.2014 03.11.2014 03.11.2014 03.11.2014

Minister for Social Security

Minister for International Development, Assistant Chief Minister, Chair, Jersey Overseas Aid Commission and Chair, Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (Jersey Branch)

Minister for Infrastructure

Assistant Minister for Economic Development, Tourism, Sport and Culture and President, Assemblée Parlementaire de la Francophonie (Jersey Branch)

Assistant Minister for Education, Health and Social Services, and Social Security

Minister for Treasury and Resources

Minister for Health and Social Services

Chair, Privileges and Procedures and Planning Committees

Assistant Chief Minister and Assistant Minister for Social Security

St. Brelade No. 2

Deputy John Hilary Young of St. Brelade No. 1

Deputy Lindsay Barry Edward Ash of St. Clement

Deputy Kirsten Francis Morel of St. Lawrence

Deputy Gregory Charles Umberto Guida of St. Lawrence

Deputy Rowland Edward Huelin of St. Peter

14.11.2011 01.06.2018 01.06.2018 01.06.2018 01.06.2018

Minister for the Environment

Assistant Minister for Treasury and Resources

Chair, Economic and International Affairs Scrutiny Panel

Assistant Minister for the Environment and Home Affairs

Deputy Hugh Charles Raymond  01.06.2018 of Trinity

Deputy Trevor Pointon of St. John  01.06.2018 Deputy Mary Rose Le Hegarat of  01.06.2018

St. Helier No. 3/4

Assistant Minister, Health and Social Services and Infrastructure

Chair, Health and Social Security Scrutiny Panel

Deputy Steven Morrison Ahier of St. Helier No. 3/4

Deputy Jessica Harriet Perchard of St. Saviour No. 3

Deputy Robert James Ward of St. Helier No. 2

Deputy Carina Soares Alves of St. Helier No. 1

Deputy Kevin Glyn Pamplin of St. Saviour No. 1

Deputy Inna Gardiner of St. Helier No. 3/4

01.06.2018

01.06.2018

01.06.2018  Chair, Education and Home Affairs

Scrutiny Panel

01.06.2018

01.06.2018

01.03.2019

Timothy Le Cocq, Bailiff (Appointed 17 October 2019)

Robert James MacRae Q,C., Deputy Bailiff (Appointed 6 January 2020)

The Very Reverend Michael Keirle , Dean Of Jersey (Appointed 7 September 2017) Mark Howard Temple, Q.C., H.M. Attorney General (Appointed 9 March 2020) Advocate Matthew Jowett, Q.C., H.M. Solicitor General (Appointed 1 May 2020)

Officers of the States

Dr. Mark Egan, Greffier of the States (Appointed 19 January 2016) Lisa-Marie Hart , Deputy Greffier of the States (Appointed 13 May 2014) Advocate Elaine Millar , Viscount (Appointed 10 July 2015)

Advocate Mark Harris , Deputy Viscount (Appointed 28 January 2013)

Tributes to former States Members

Tributes were paid to the following States Members in the Chamber during 2020:

Ben Fox

As Members may have  noticed,  a  former  Member  of  the  Assembly  has  passed  away  recently.  John  Benjamin Fox, known as  "Ben",  was  born  in  Middlesex.  When  he  came  to  Jersey  he  joined  the  States  of  Jersey Police, rising up  through the ranks to the  rank of Detective Sergeant. On his retirement from the police he became a director of the Jersey Mutual Insurance Society. He was first elected to this Chamber in December 1999 as Deputy of St. Helier No. 3 District and he served 4 terms in total until his retirement in 2011. He was active within the Assembly. In 1999 he joined the Planning and Environment, Education and Overseas Aid Committees and served on Planning until he resigned in April 2003. He remained involved with education through most of his time in the Assembly serving on the Education Committee, latterly the Education, Sport and Culture Committee, until the end of the committee system in 2005. Then he was appointed as Assistant Minister for Education, Sport and Culture under the first Minister for Education, Senator Mike Vibert . He was given special responsibility for the Youth Service and was extremely supportive of the service and of young people. He was instrumental, for example, in the creation of a skateboard park in St. Helier . His police background made him an invaluable expert in designing out crime when Education designed school buildings at Hautlieu and D'Hautree. Deputy Fox was a vocal campaigner for the return of police motorbikes, which he achieved under a new chief officer of the States of Jersey Police in 2011. A keen supporter of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, he attended a number of visits, most notably to the Falklands in 2004 where he forged strong friendships, and Saint Helena with whom he remained in regular contact for the remainder of his life. Deputy Fox was a member of the Privileges and Procedures Committee from 2008 and was vice-chairman. He was renowned for referring to his "previous career" in

speeches which became his catchphrase in the Assembly and it seemed like he would try to work it into every speech, no matter how tangential to policing matters. He was a popular and good-humoured Member who made a regular contribution to the work of the community. He retired in 2011 and enjoyed his retirement with his wife Lizzy until his recent illness. Our thoughts go to his family and friends. I ask Members to stand for one minute's silence in his memory. [Silence] May he rest in peace. [12 May]

Mac Pollard

As Members may have noticed, a former Member of the Assembly passed away recently. Mac Pollard was first elected as the Connétable of St. Peter in February 1992, being re-elected in 1995, and for the last time in May 1998. He became vice-chairman of the Comité des   Connétable s  in  February  2000  and  was  then elected  chairman  in  September  of  that  year.  His honorary service to his Parish spanned a period of 21 years, during which he only missed 3 police meetings. Over  the  years  he  served  on  many  committees, perhaps  the most memorable  for  him being Sport, Leisure  and  Recreation  and  the  Gambling  Control Committee and the Prison Board, all of which he served virtually throughout this career in the Assembly. The latter being particularly close to his heart. He also served on the Tourism Committee for 2 terms, and the Committee of Inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the release  of  the  former  chief  officer  for  Sport,  Leisure  and  Recreation,  and  the  House Committee. His most proud achievement in the Assembly was persuading the Assembly on 8th June 1993, just over a year into his first term of office, to approve the introduction of green lanes for the benefit of both residents and visitors alike. His Parish was the first indeed to designate certain lanes as green lanes and introduced a 15-mile-per-hour speed limit to enable pedestrians and cyclists to enjoy the countryside in safety. He retired from the Assembly in June 2001 and was able then to dedicate his time to some of his other passions, such as commentating at Island cattle shows, judging budgerigars and canaries, and tending his horses and sheep. I ask Members to stand for one minute's silence in his memory. [Silence] May he rest in peace. [22 September]

Arthur Philip Querée

Members  will  be  aware  that  the  former   Connétable  of  St.  Ouen,  Arthur  Philip  Querée,  passed  away  last  week.  Mr  Querée dedicated his whole life to public  service. He was in the Honorary Police; he  was  a  roads  inspector  and  a  Centenier  before being elected as Connétable of St.  Ouen in November 1984. This was a role  he relished for 10 years, until he retired in  April 1994. Mr. Querée came from a family  of politicians. During the time he was in this  Assembly, his sister Enid was also in the  Chamber as Connétable of St. Brelade, and  their  father  had  previously  served  as   Deputy of St. Ouen. During this time in the  States he was a member of the Defence  Committee,  the  Finance  and  Economics  Committee, the Prison Board, the Fort Regent Development Board, the Agriculture and Fisheries Committee, and the Etat Civil Committee, which he chaired from December 1990. After his retirement from this Assembly he became a Jurat of the Royal Court until his retirement in 2004. Notwithstanding these achievements, he was first and foremost a family man. Married for 66 years to Molly and they had 2 children - Pam and Rosemary - and 4 grandchildren. He farmed at Val de la Mare before being elected as Connétable and was much loved in his Parish. I ask Members to stand for a minute's silence to pay their respects to Mr Querée. [Silence] May he rest in peace. [22 October]

Brian Troy

Members may be aware that former Deputy Brian Troy passed away on 31st October following a short illness. Mr. Troy was first elected as a Deputy of St. Saviour No. 2 District in December 1975 and served in that capacity for 8 years. During his time in the States Deputy Troy was an  active  member  of  numerous  committees,  including  education,  postal  administration, tourism and public works. He was vice-president of the Tourism Committee during the Island's tourism heyday, was the president of the Fort Regent Development Committee from 1978 to 1983 and he oversaw its transition into a major tourist attraction and facility for local people, including the opening of the Gloucester Hall in 1978, which enabled popular musical and entertainment events to be staged at the Fort. Mr. Troy decided to step down from the Assembly in February 1983 to dedicate more time to his law practice. He came from a large Jersey family and, unlike his brothers who had joined the family building firm established by his father, he pursued a legal career and ran his own successful practice in Hill Street. After retirement from his own business he worked for several years as a consultant. He leaves behind his wife, Lynn and children Sarah and Charles. Our thoughts are with them and their families at this sad time. I ask Members to stand and maintain a minute's silence in his memory. [Silence] May he rest in peace. [2 November]

Leslie White

Members may be aware that a former Member of the Assembly has passed away at the advanced age of 101 years. Leslie White was elected as a Deputy in St. Helier No. 3 in 1963 and again in 1966. He was elected by a by-election for Senator in 1967 and held that position until 1972. During his time as a States Member he served on a number of committees, most notably in the Public Works Committee, Housing, Education and Fort Regent Development Committee during the period it was transformed into a sports, leisure and entertainment complex. We have no further immediate information concerning the late Senator White, who clearly gave service to the Assembly in the 1960s, but we note his passing and I ask Members to stand and maintain a minute's silence in his memory. [Silence] May he rest in peace. [17 December]

Temps  Passé:  Traffic  streamed busily through the £400,000 Fort Regent tunnel on 25th February 1970 following its opening by the Bailiff ,  Sir  Robert  Le  Masurier, who is pictured here cutting the tape  at  the  Green  Street  end, watched by Senator Leslie White, president  of  the  Public  Works Committee.  The  Senator  then drove  the   Bailiff  in  his  white Jaguar  down  through.  With thanks to the Jersey Evening Post for  use  of  this  photograph  and caption.

Scrutiny and PAC Reports/Comments/Amendments/Propositions 2020

Scrutiny Liaison Committee

• Amendment - Draft Amendment (No. 44) of the Standing Orders of the States of Jersey – (P.12/2020): Amendment – [P.12/2020]

• Amendment – Draft Amendment (No. 45) of the Standing Orders of the States of Jersey – (P.13/2020): Amendment – [P.13/2020]

• Amendment – A Safer Travel Period: States Assembly Approval (P.84/2020) – Second Amendment [P.84/2020 Amd. (2)]

Corporate Services Panel

• Comments – Establishment and funding of the Fiscal Stimulus Fund (P.128/2020): comments [P.128-2020 Com.]

• Comments – Draft Community Costs Bonus (Jersey) Regulations 202 comments: [P.95/2020 Com.]

• Comments – Draft Public Employees (Pension Scheme) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) (Jersey) Regulations 202- (P.74/2020): comments [P.74/2020 Com.]

• Comments – States of Jersey Development Company: amendments to the Board of Directors and Articles of Association (P.70/2020) – comments [P.70/2020Com]

• Comments – Draft Covid-19 (Signing Of Instruments) (Jersey) Regulations 202- (P.50/2020): comments [P.50/2020 Com.]

• Comments – Draft Covid-19 (Emergency Provisions – Courts) (Jersey) Regulations 202- (P.41/2020): comments [P.41/2020 Com.]

• Comments – Draft Regulation of Care (Amendment of Law) (Covid-19 – Temporary Amendment No. 2) (Jersey) Regulations 202- (P.39/2020): comments [P.39/2020 Com.]

• Amendment – Government Plan 2021–2024 (P.130/2020): sixth amendment [P.130- 2020 Amd.(6)]

• Addendum – Government Plan 2021–2024 (P.130/2020): sixth amendment (P.130/2020 Amd.(6)) – addendum [P.130-2020 Amd.(6)Add.]

• Amendment – Government Plan 2021–2024 (P.130/2020): seventh amendment [P.130-2020 Amd.(7)] Accepted by Council of Ministers

• Amendment – Government Plan 2021–2024 (P.130/2020): seventh amendment (P.130/2020 Amd.(7)) – amendment [P.130/2020 Amd.(7) Amd.] Accepted by Council of Ministers

• Amendment – Government Plan 2021–2024 (P.130/2020): eighth amendment [P.130- 2020 Amd.(8)]

• Amendment - Draft Covid-19 (Emergency Provisions – Courts) (Jersey) Regulations 202- (P.41/2020): second amendment [P.41/2020 Amd.(2)]

• Amendment – Draft Public Finances (Amendment of Law) (Jersey) Regulations 202- (P.28/2020): amendment [P.28/2020 Amd.]

• Report – Prior Year Basis Tax Reform Review [S.R.7/2020]

• Report – Government Plan Review: 2021 – 2024 [S.R.15/2020]

Economic and International Affairs Panel

• Comments[1] - Draft Banking Business (Depositors Compensation) (Amendment No. 2) (Jersey) Regulations 201- (P.81/2019): comments [P.81/2019 Com.]

• Amendment[2] - Draft Banking Business (Depositors Compensation) (Amendment No. 2) (Jersey) Regulations 201- (P.81/2019): amendment [P.81/2019 Amd.]

• Comments  –  Draft  Taxation  (Implementation)  (International  Tax  Compliance) (Mandatory Disclosure Rules for CRS Avoidance Arrangements and Opaque Offshore Structures) (Jersey) Regulations 202- [P.129/2020 Com]

• Amendment – Channel Island Lottery: allocation of proceeds from 2019 – amendment [P.33/2020 Amd] – withdrawn

• Comments  -  Draft  Limited  Liability  Companies  (Amendment)  (Jersey)  Law  202- [P.35/2020 Com.]

• Comments – Draft COVID-19 (Construction Work) (Jersey) Regulations 202-[P.49/2020 Com.]

• Comments  -  Draft  Covid-19  (Workplace  Restrictions)  (Jersey)  Regulations  202- [P.59/2020 Com.]

• Comments - Draft Financial Services (Disclosure and Provision of Information) (Jersey) Law 202- [P.69/2020.Com]

• Comments - CI Lottery – Allocation of 2018 balance: [P.99/2020Com]

• Comments - Draft Financial Services (Disclosure and Provision of Information) (Jersey) Regulations 202- [P.125-2020 Com.]

• Comments - CI Lottery: Allocation of 2019 Proceeds [P.141-2020 Com.]

• Further Comments - Draft Covid-19 (Workplace Restrictions) (Amendment) (Jersey) Regulations 202- [P.158-2020 Com.(2)]

Children, Education and Home Affairs Panel

• Report - Government Plan 2021-2024 – [SR.11/2020]

• Report  -  Change  to  the  Deployment  of  Taser  by  the  States  of  Jersey  Police  – [S.R.6/2020]

• Report - Teacher Recruitment and Retention – [ S.R.3/2020]

• Comments  –  Draft  Covid-19  (Amendments  – Extension, Suspension and  Repeal) (Jersey) Regulations 202- (P.103/2020): Comments – [P.103/2020 com.]

• Comments - Draft Covid-19 (Civil Partnership and Marriage No. 2) (Jersey) Regulations 202- (P.77/2020): Comments – [P.77/2020 com.]

• Comments - Draft Covid-19 (Civil Partnership and Marriage) (Jersey) Regulations 202- (P.60/2020): Comments – [P.60/2020 com.]

• Comments - Draft Marriage and Civil Status (Amendment of Law No. 2) (Covid-19 – Temporary  Amendment)  (Jersey)  Regulations  202-  (P.36/2020):  Comments  – [P.36/2020 com.]

• Comments - Draft Covid-19 (Schools and Day Care Of Children) (Jersey) Regulations 202- (P.30/2020): Comments – [P.30/2020 com.]

• Comments - Draft Unlawful Public Entertainments (Amendment) (Jersey) Regulations 202- (P.22/2020): Comments – [P.22/2020 com.]

• Comments  –  Draft  Marriage  and  Civil  Status  (Amendment  Of  Law)  (Covid-19  – Temporary  Amendment)  (Jersey)  Regulations  202-  (P.23/2020):  Comments  – [P.23/2020 com.]

• Comments - Draft Criminal Procedure (Jersey) Law 2018 (Appointed Day) (No. 3) Act 202- (P.24/2020): Comments – [P.24/2020 com.]

• Amendment – Deployment and use of Energy Conductive Devices (Tasers') by the SoJP (P.97/2020) - Amendment [P.97/2020]

• Amendment - Deployment and Use Of Energy Conductive Devices (Tasers') by the States of Jersey Police (P.97/2020): Second Amendment [P.97/2020]

• Amendment - Draft Covid-19 (Amendments – Extension, Suspension and Repeal) (Jersey) Regulations 202- (P.103/2020) Amendment – [P.103/2020]

• Amendment - Government Plan 2021–2024 (P.130/2020): Amendment – [P.130/2020 Amd.]

• Amendment  -  Government  Plan  2021–2024  (P.130/2020):  Second  Amendment  – [P.130/2020 Amd.(2)]

• Amendment  -  Government  Plan  2021–2024  (P.130/2020):  Third  Amendment  – [P.130/2020 Amd.(3)]

Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Panel

• Report – Government Plan 2021-24 – [S.R.12/2020]

• Report – Minimum Standards for Rented Dwellings – [S.R.1/2020]

• Comments – Draft Covid-19 (Residential Tenancy) (Temporary Amendment of Law) (Jersey) Regulations 202 – [P.42/2020]

• Amendment – Carbon Neutral Strategy 2019 (P.127/2019): Second Amendment – [P.127/2019 Amd. (2)]

• Amendment – Draft Covid-19 (residential Tenancy) (Temporary Amendment of Law) (Jersey) Regulations 202- (P.42/2020) Amendment – [P42.2020]

• Amendment - Draft Public Health and Safety (Rented Dwellings) (Licensing) (Jersey) Regulations 201- (P.106/2019): Second Amendment – [P.106/2019 Amd. (2)]

Health and Social Security Panel

• Comments - Draft Cremation (Suspension and Modification of Regulations – Covid-19) (Jersey) Regulations 202- [P.21/2020 Com.]

• Comments - Draft Covid-19 (Enabling Provisions) (Jersey) Law 202- [P.29/2020 Com.]

• Amendment -  Draft Social Security (Amendment of Law No.12) (Jersey) Regulations 202- [P.31/2020 Amd.]

• Comments - Draft Covid-19 (Screening, Assessment and Isolation) (Jersey) Regulations 202- [P.32/2020 Com.]

• Comments  -  Draft  Covid-19  (Health  Insurance  Fund)  (Jersey)  Regulations  202- [P.45/2020 Com.]

• Comments - Draft Covid-19 (Mental Health) (Jersey) Regulations 202- [P.46/2020 Com.]

• Comments - Draft Covid-19 (Capacity and Self-Determination) (Jersey) Regulations 202- [P.47/2020 Com.]

• Comments - Draft Covid-19 (Restricted Trading) (Jersey) Regulations 202-[P.48/2020 Com.]

• Comments - Draft Cremation (Suspension and Modification of Regulations – Covid-19) (No. 2) (Jersey) Regulations 202- [P.65/2020 Com.]

• Comments - Draft Covid-19 (Safe Distancing) (Jersey) Regulations 202- [P.66/2020 Com.]

• Comments - Draft Covid-19 (Control of Testing) (Jersey) Regulations 202- [P.87/2020 Com.]

• Comments - Draft Shops (Regulation of Opening) (Amendment – General Practitioner Surgeries and Pharmacies) (Jersey) Regulations 202- [P.112/2020Com]

• Amendment - Draft Shops (Regulation of Opening) (Amendment – General Practitioner Surgeries and Pharmacies) (Jersey) Regulations 202- [P.112/2020 Amd]

• Amendment -  Jersey Care Model (P.114/2020): amendment [P.114/2020.Amd]

• Further Comments - Draft Covid-19 (Gatherings) (Jersey) Regulations 202- [P.157-2020 Com.(2)]

Public Accounts Committee

• Report – Recurring Themes: Financial Management – [P.A.C.1/2020]

• Report – Review of States Annual Report and Accounts 2019 – [P.A.C.2/2020]

• Report – Public Accounts Committee Legacy Report 2018-2020 – [P.A.C.3/2020]

• Comments  –  Non-Ministerial  Departments  (R.148/2019):  Executive  Response  – [R.148/2019 Res.]

• Comments – Review of Estate Management Executive Response – Public Accounts Committee Comments – [P.A.C.1/2020 Res.]

• Comments  –  Executive  Response  –  Recurring  Themes;  Financial  Management  – [P.A.C.1/2020 Res.]

• Comments – Governance – A Thinkpiece (R.153/2019): Executive Response and Greffier of the States' Response, with Comments of the Public Accounts Committee – [R.153/2019 Res.]

• Comments – States of Jersey Development Company (R.56/2020): Executive Response

– [R.56/2020 Res.]

• Comments  –  Use  of  Enforcement  Powers  (R.40/2020):  Executive  Response  – [R.40/2020 Res.]

• Comments – Insurance (R.44/2020): Executive Response – [R.44/2020 Res.]

• Comments – Handling and Learning from Complaints (R.67/2020): Executive Response

– [R.67/2020 Res.]

• Comments  -  Review  of  Annual  Reporting  (R.86/2020):  Executive  Response  – [R.86/2020 Res.]

• Comments – Appointment of Unelected Members – [R.133/2020]

• Comments – Estate Management – [P.A.C.1/2019 Com.]

Care of Children in Jersey Review Panel

No publications for 2020.

Brexit Review Panel

No publications for 2020.

Gender Pay Gap Review Panel

No publications for 2020.

Future Hospital Review Panel

• Report - Review of the Future Hospital Site Recommendation [S.R.9/2020] Government Plan Review Panel

• Report – Government Plan 2021-2024 [S.R.16/2020]

• Amendment – Government Plan 2021–2024 (P.130/2020): sixteenth amendment (Re- issue) [P.130-2020 Amd.(16)] (Withdrawn).

Safer Travel Guidelines Review Panel

• Report – Safer Travel Guidelines Review: Interim Report [S.R.2/2020]

• Report – Safer Travel Guidelines Review: Final Report [S.R.8/2020]

Efficiencies

• Report  –  Review  of  Efficiencies  and  Government  Plan  2021-2024  Rebalancing Measures [S.R.17/2020]

Scrutiny and PAC – facts and figures