States Greffe and Legislative Drafting Office Business Plan 2025

STATES OF JERSEY

STATES GREFFE AND LEGISLATIVE DRAFTING OFFICE BUSINESS PLAN 2025

Presented to the States on 7th April 2025 by the Privileges and Procedures Committee

STATES GREFFE

2025  R.45

States Greffe Business Plan 2025

Introduction

The States Greffe 2025 Business Plan sets out who we are, what we do and why we do it. It lists our specific operational aims for 2025; provides the context in which we operate; and explains how we measure our performance.

The Business Plan is published to provide clarity to the public, States Members and staff within the States and Government of Jersey about our role and objectives. It is an operational document for the States Greffe; but the Business Plan receives political sign-off through approval by the Privileges and Procedures Committee (PPC) and formal presentation to the States Assembly. PPC itself publishes a States Assembly Annual Report that includes an assessment of progress made by the States Greffe against the commitments made for that year. A report on the delivery of the objectives cited in this Business Plan will therefore appear in the Annual Report for 2025 (to be published in 2026).

Departmental Overview – Strategic Context

The primary legislative framework in which the States Greffe operates is the  States of Jersey Law 2005. Article 41 of the Law establishes the States Greffe as the Greffier of the States, the Deputy Greffier of the States and such other officers as are needed to ensure delivery of the services provided by the Greffier.

The States of Jersey Law does not explicitly define the underlying purpose of the department, but it is implicit that  our primary function is to service and administer the work of the States Assembly. Further detail as to what this means practically is provided in the Standing Orders of the States of Jersey. Whilst these are the political rules by which the States Assembly operates, the Standing Orders also assign specific responsibilities and functions to the Greffier and the States Greffe. Included amongst them is the provision of administrative and executive support to PPC, the Scrutiny Liaison Committee (SLC), the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Scrutiny Panels.

The work of the Assembly (as the Island's elected parliament) and of its Committees and Panels therefore drives the nature of much our own work. The overarching objectives to which we work in this domain are set by Standing Orders through the Terms of Reference of PPC, SLC, PAC and the Scrutiny Panels. From our work in relation to PPC, we support States Members in an individual capacity: managing and administering the facilities provided to them, assisting them with their parliamentary work in the Assembly and supporting them with the constituency work they undertake for Islanders.

In working to PPC's Terms of Reference, another key element of our role is to communicate with Islanders about the work of the Assembly, its Committees and Panels, and its individual Members; and to engage Islanders actively in that work – with the aim of enhancing the vibrancy of our democracy and increasing Islanders' awareness of, and involvement in, the decisions that affect them.

Whilst the current States of Jersey Law and Standing Orders date from 2005, the office of Greffier is ancient and some of our functions are driven by significant roles that we have played historically. Key amongst them is the responsibility we take for official record-keeping: ensuring accurate minutes of political decision-making are produced and maintained. This is reflected in the States of Jersey Law by the fact that the Greffier must provide an officer of the States Greffe to take minutes of the meetings of the Council of Ministers. Similar provision is made within Standing Orders in respect of the Planning Committee.

Our expertise and role in record-keeping reflects another fundamental aspect of who we are: our political neutrality, impartiality and our independence from Government and Executive departments. As a consequence of this, various Laws assign us responsibility to administer and support other bodies that also operate independently of Government (and of the Assembly). Furthermore, our impartiality and independence has seen us take responsibility for informing the public about voting in Jersey and engaging them with the election process, whether as candidates or voters. We do that under the banner of Vote.je.

Our independence and impartiality are reflected in the fact that the States Greffe is a Non-Ministerial Department. As a result, we do not report to the Council of Ministers or to any individual Minister. For the services we provide, the department is instead accountable to the Bailiff (as President of the States), the Assembly, its Committees and Panels, States Members individually and to the other bodies with which we work.

We do not therefore fit neatly within the Government's own performance and strategic framework. There are nevertheless some elements of the Government's strategic context there are of relevance to the parliamentary and non-governmental work we undertaken. Within the wider public sector, for example,

and informed by the Jersey Performance Framework, there is an objective that "Islanders engage in the public decisions that affect their Island". We also work towards that and the long-term focus that "public engagement in decision-making promotes government accountability, a friendly business environment and public trust in government institutions."

Whilst we may not fit percisely within that strategic context, however, we have legal responsibilities like Government departments that determine how are services are structured and delivered; including the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019 and legislation relating to records-management and data protection.

Departmental Overview – What we do

Building on the roles assigned to us through legislation or the traditional functions of the department, the States Greffe's overarching objective, as previously identified by the department's Senior Leadership Team (SLT) is –

To enable democracy to flourish by supporting and promoting the States Assembly and engaging people in politics.

The core business of the States Greffe is supporting the work of the States Assembly, its Panels and Committees and individual States Members in the work they undertake. There is consequently a regular cycle of meetings of all these bodies, for which documents must be assembled or prepared, distributed, published and archived; and, following meetings, there are actions arising which we must implement. Our aim is to undertake all of this work to a high standard, maintaining and enhancing our reputation for professionalism, impartiality, integrity and delivery to the often-challenging timescales demanded by the political environment.

Operationally, the department is divided into three sections:

• Chamber and Members' Support (comprising the Constituency Support Team, the Members' Resources Team and the Support Services Team);

• Committees and Panels (comprising the PPC, Secretariat and Scrutiny functions); and

• Digital and Public Engagement (involving Campaigns, Communications, Education and Outreach).

The Legislative Drafting Office (LDO) is also attached to the States Greffe, with the Principal Legislative Drafter reporting to the Greffier of the States in accordance with the  Legislation (Jersey) Law 2021. However, the LDO is operationally independent of the other sections. The LDO's Business Plan for 2025 is published as Appendix 3 to this Business Plan.

The department is led by the Greffier of the States who, with the Deputy Greffier of the States and the heads of the three sections, forms the SLT. The Principal Legislative Drafter also attends meetings of the SLT in order that matters of joint relevance are considered and discussed. The SLT is responsible for the overall management and governance of the department.

An organogram setting out the structure of the States Greffe and the relationship to LDO is attached to this Business Plan as Appendix 2.

The following describes the role played by each of the sections. Chamber and Members' Support

In administering the work of the States Assembly, the States Greffe supports the Bailiff and all States Members in the management of States business and procedures. This includes providing advice on propositions, questions, statements and other matters before the Assembly. The Greffe is also responsible for the publication of all States documentation (including the Order Paper for each States meeting) and preparation of the States Minutes, as well as the uploading of documentation to the States Assembly website.

The Members' Resources Team assists Members acting independently with research and advice on States business (including propositions and questions) and their professional development; the Team also produces Briefing Papers for Members' and the public's information. The Constituency Support Team supports Members with the work they undertake directly for, and alongside, their constituents. The Support Services Team ensures the smooth administration of the department and of States proceedings, including the operation of the camera equipment for webcasting, log-noting Scrutiny public hearings, administering the Members' facilities in the States Building and Hill Street office, and distributing documents.

Committees and Panels

The States Greffe works with the Assembly's Committees and Panels: PPC and its Sub-Committees, the PAC, SLC, the 5 Scrutiny Panels and any Review Panels in operation. Staff undertake research and advise Panels and Committees on the management of these bodies' respective work-programmes; including the reviews of legislation, policy and matters of public importance undertaken by the Scrutiny Panels.

Making use of its expertise, experience, knowledge and objective approach, the States Greffe also offers an impartial specialist secretariat service to the Council of Ministers, States Employment Board, Planning Committee and other executive bodies, offers quality assurance for the Ministerial Decision process and edits the Official Record of States Meetings (known as Hansard). Executive support for the States of Jersey Complaints Panel is also offered through the secretariat function.

Digital and Public Engagement

A key function of the States Greffe is the engagement of Islanders in the work of the States Assembly. The Digital and Public Engagement Section oversees communications and engagement in respect of the Assembly's work, as well as that of Scrutiny and other parliamentary bodies (including administration of the Assembly's social media channels). Education, outreach and campaign-management are led from this section; including in support of the responsibilities of the Jersey Electoral Authority via Vote.je in the lead - up to, and during, an election period.

As part of this work, there is a programme of educational activity, which includes school visits to the States Chamber for Year 5 students; the teaching of lessons to primary and secondary school children; facilitating States Members going into schools; and supporting the annual Colin Powell Rotary Peace Debate. In 2025, the States Greffe will take responsibility for the Jersey Youth Parliament (Les Jannes Vouaix), to be relaunched as the Jersey Youth Assembly. The department will also launch an Oracy Competition for Year

8 students.

Beyond these core activities of the three sections, there is other work we undertake because of our support for the States Assembly and the historical role and expertise of the States Greffe. We administer the States Assembly's work with, and role within, international parliamentary organisations: the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), the Assemblée Parlementaire de la Francophonie (APF) and the British - Irish Parliamentary Assembly (BIPA). We also provide administrative and executive support to a number of independent bodies and office-holders which have been appointed by the States Assembly and which sit independently of both the Government of Jersey and of the States Assembly, namely –

• Commissioner for Standards.

• Jersey Electoral Authority;

• Referendum Commission;

• States Members' Remuneration Reviewer; and

• States of Jersey Complaints Panel.

The amount of support provided depends upon the requirements of the body concerned and therefore varies from body to body.

Departmental Overview – Operating Context

Resources

As of 1st January 2025 we were a departmental team of 57 people with 9 vacant posts at different stages of recruitment.[1] Our revenue expenditure budget for 2025 is  £10.932 million (as approved by the States Assembly with the adoption of the Government Plan). Of this, the majority is for staff costs (including the salaries of elected States Members).  

Four revenue growth allocations were included for the department in the Government Plan 2025-28.

• £370,000  was  allocated  for  2025  to  provide  for  the  increase  in  elected  States  Members' remuneration that had taken place in 2024 (in line with the  recommendations of the States Members'  Remuneration  Reviewer)  and  to  reflect  a  change  that  – also  in  line  with  those recommendations – had been made to the rate of employer' contributions.

• £50,000 was allocated for 2025 for the running costs of the Commissioner for Standards to ensure sufficient budget was provided to cover the Commissioner's functions.

• £133,000 was allocated to the Legislative Drafting Office for 2025 to ensure the delivery of an important legislative programme.

• £200,000 was identified for 2026 to address the increased expenditure arising from the elections to the States Assembly that would take place that year.

In addition, whilst not additional funding, budget transfers were made to the department for 2025 to reflect our new responsibility in administering the Jersey Youth Parliament and to ensure sufficient funding of our existing responsibility in administering the States of Jersey Complaints Panel.

Values

The States Employment Board has agreed the following values for all States employees –

• We are respectful – we care about people as individuals and show respect for their rights, views and feelings

• We are better together – we share knowledge and expertise, valuing the benefits of working together

• We are always improving – we are continuously developing ourselves and our services to be the best they can be for Jersey

• We are customer focused – we are passionate about making Jersey a better place to live and work for everyone

• We deliver – we are proud of Jersey as a place and are passionate about shaping and delivering great public services

In  2022  the  States  Greffe  adopted  and  implemented  a  3-year  Wellness  Strategy;  and  a  Wellness

Committee was established. This was reviewed in 2024, including a consideration of whether to adopt the wider values or whether they should be adapted or enhanced in any way. We agreed that we would follow the wider values, as above, but we enhanced the descriptors provided for employees as to what constitutes good (and bad) practice in relation to the values by adding examples that are specific to our work and context.

In 2025, we will revisit the strategy still further, including the role of what is now the Social and Wellness Committee to ensure that our staff benefit from a dedicated approach by SLT to Wellness.

Staff development

We aim to be proactive and flexible in identifying training opportunities of benefit to all colleagues and encouraging participation. In addition to opportunities arising from the Assembly's membership of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) and Assemblée Parlementaire de la Francophonie (APF), we participate in the following networks for parliamentary staff and encourage colleagues to learn about and gain experience of parliamentary administration across the Commonwealth and the French - speaking world –

1. Parliamentary and Assembly Procedural Officers Network (PAPON);
2. Inter-Parliamentary Research and Information Network (IPRIN);
3. International Parliament Engagement Network (IPEN);
4. British-Irish Parliamentary Reporting Association (BIPRA); and
5. Association des Secrétaires Généraux des parlements francophones (ASGPF).

We engage with the corporate Strategic Workforce Planning team to consider the long-term needs of both the department and our staff.

Equality and Diversity

We support the work of the States Assembly's Diversity Forum, a PPC Sub-Committee, which works "towards the aim of the States Assembly fully reflecting the population of Jersey and representing all of the communities and interests in the Island", as well as the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarian (CWP) and the Commonwealth Parliamentarians with Disabilities (CPwD) networks. We encourage flexible working within the States Greffe and have an agreed policy for that and home-working.

Accountability

The States Greffe is accountable to the States Assembly, the Bailiff (as President of the States), and to individual States Members. The Greffier of the States is appointed by the Bailiff , with the consent of the States Assembly. The States Greffe's budget is proposed by PPC. Under Article 10 of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019, the Chair of the Committee submits the Assembly's budget to the Minister for Treasury and Resources for inclusion in the annual Government Plan. However, the budget proposed by PPC must be considered directly by the Assembly and cannot be changed except on the basis of an amendment debated and approved by the Assembly. The services provided by the States Greffe (including its budget) are overseen politically by PPC and, in relation to the Scrutiny function, the SLC.

Governance

Although we are not a Government department, we nevertheless have the same legal and corporate responsibilities as our executive counterparts, namely –

• Business Continuity – we are part of the corporate community within the Public Service to ensure our business continuity needs (and those of the States Assembly and other bodies we support) are met.

• Children's Rights – we support PPC and the Scrutiny Panels as duty-bearers under the Children (Convention Rights) (Jersey) Law 2022, ensuring that Children's Rights Impact Assessments (CRIAs) are completed when required.

• Data Protection – we are a scheduled public authority under the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018 and a data controller in our own right. We must therefore abide by the Law, ensuring that policies are in place, that Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) are undertaken and that we respond to individuals when exercising their rights as data subjects.

• Freedom of Information  – we are also  a scheduled public authority under the  Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 and respond to requests for information that we hold.

• Health and Safety – we have obligations towards our staff, States Members and to building users for the premises we occupy in Morier House, the States Building and 23 Hill Street. We work with

the Corporate Health and Safety Team in fulfilling these obligations.

• Records-Management – under the provisions of the Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002 we prepare and  administer  retention  schedules  to  ensure  our  records  are  appropriately  managed  and retained.

• Risk-management – we engage with the corporate system within the Public Service to ensure the risks we face are identified, addressed and managed. The principal risks affecting the department are as follows –

What do we want to achieve in 2025?

The activity of the States Greffe is driven by the work of the States Assembly, of its Committees and Panels and of States Members. Much of what we do is therefore business as usual' but this does not detract from the significance of the work undertaken across the various sections to ensure the functions of the individuals and bodies we support are well administered. There is always a need for us to be responsive both to the decisions taken by the Assembly and its Committees and Panels and to the requests we receive from States Members.

Each Section within the department nevertheless identifies operational needs and objectives for the year (taking into account the political decisions that impact on our work) in order to plan what is to be delivered.

Further to these operational plans, we have also identified the following operational objectives for 2025 to which we will work as a department during the course of the year. These reflect significant changes to existing functions that we expect to deliver. In addition to delivering our business as usual' activities therefore, we will –

1. support PPC in the delivery of the Automatic Voter Registration project, including the communication of the new system to Islanders.
2. host –

1. the Conférence des Présidents of the European Region of the Assemblée Parlementaire de la Francophonie (APF);
2. the annual conference of the Parliamentary and Assembly Procedural Officials Network (PAPON); and
3. the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) BIMR PAC Network Conference.

3. support PPC in a review of the E-petition system.
4. deliver countdown campaigns for the 2026 Election, targeting both voters and potential candidates.
5. relaunch, recruit and deliver Jersey's Youth Assembly (formerly the Jersey Youth Parliament) programme to provide opportunities for young people to have their voices heard by the Island's decision-makers.
6. develop a CPD programme for Island teachers in order to help build confidence in the delivery of political education in schools.
7. continue investigating and implementing opportunities to integrate advances in technology and software (including Artificial Intelligence) into the work of the department.
8. support PPC and its Sub-Committees in the implementation of measures to improve the accessibility of the States Assembly.

In Appendix 1 to this Business Plan, we provide more detail on how we intend to achieve these objectives and how we will measure performance in delivering them.

Appendix 1: 2025 Objectives and Performance Measures

The table below sets out the performance measures we have in place or are developing for our 2025 objectives.

APPENDIX 2 – Organogram

Appendix 3 – Legislative Drafting Office Business Plan 2025

Introduction

This is the 6th business plan of the Legislative Drafting Office (the LDO) published  alongside the States Greffe Business Plan. It sets out our aims for 2025 and the values that drive our work.

Overview of the LDO

The LDO sits within the States Greffe as a separate unit. It shares the States Greffe budget, and the Greffier of the States is the line manager of the Principal Legislative Drafter and the accounting officer for the LDO as well as for the States Greffe. The States Greffe provides accommodation, facilities and services to the LDO on matters not relating to the production of legislation.

The main purpose of the LDO is:

To prepare draft legislation that gives legal effect to the policy of the Minister or other promoter of it in a way that is:

1. sufficiently unambiguous as to leave no room for construction other than that intended by the promoter; and
2. sufficiently clear as to be readily understood by the users of the legislation.

The work of the LDO feeds into all aspects of the Jersey performance framework to the extent that legislation is required. The Government Legislative Programme sets out the items of legislation that Ministers wish to be lodged in any given year. "Minor and routine" items that may still be of great importance but take only a day or so to draft, as well as work for the States Assembly, its Committees, Panels and individual Members, comprise the rest of the LDO's workload. The work of the LDO supports the whole of Government whenever any of its plans or policies require a law change.

The  secondary  purpose  of  the  LDO  is  to  ensure  accurate  and  up-to-date  access  to  Jersey legislation.

How we work

The LDO's mission statement is "turning policy into Jersey law". This is achieved by taking the policy of Government (or, where applicable, that of an individual States Member, Committee or Scrutiny Panel) and producing draft legislation which, if the States Assembly (or in the case of an Order, a Minister) so decides, can pass into law.

We receive instructions from the Department, Member, Committee or Scrutiny Panel, analyse their requirements and, through working with the instructor, produce a draft that as far as is possible reflects their policy intention. Most of our work is for Government, and with large legislative items this necessitates honing the policy through a number of drafts. But, importantly, the office also assists Members and Scrutiny Panels who wish to alter Government policy, principally by preparing for them amendments to any Government legislation that requires passing by the States Assembly.

The LDO also has a responsibility as guardian of the statute book in a manner that is consistent

with the principles of the Free Access to Law Movement, of which the Jersey Legal Information Board (JLIB) is a member. Since the Legislation (Jersey) Law 2021 came into force in September 2021, the Principal Legislative Drafter has a statutory duty to prepare and publish consolidated legislation so that anyone can see what the law is as of today. This gives us our secondary purpose

of giving everyone easy access to current law. We are responsible for notifying the public of any new legislation, maintaining a continually updated database of legislation, and ensuring it is published. This is done in conjunction with JLIB.

What we want to achieve in 2025

Our objectives for 2025 are:

• We will continue to work to the requirements of Government to deliver the Government Legislative Programme provided that drafting instructions are supplied and responses to drafts are received within a reasonable time to allow for lodging. In this pre-election year we have been directed by the Council of Ministers to give priority to 59 "green" items for lodging by the end of January 2026, but our ability to deliver is dependent on when the drafting instructions are delivered.

• We  will  continue  to  work  with  JLIB  to  enhance the  appearance  and  usability  of  the legislation section of the jerseylaw.je website to improve access to the law by all users. In 2024 we worked with JLIB to deliver a point in time' facility that is particularly useful to specialist users such as the judiciary, practitioners or academics needing to access legislation for a given date in the past. This year we hope to work with JLIB to enhance its features to show not just earlier versions of existing Laws but the whole statute book on a given date in the past (back as far as 2019).

• We will continue to improve our drafting template as well as keeping in mind the possible future use of XML, including LawMaker, LegalRuleML and Akoma Ntoso. This year we are

looking at:

• the ability to auto-generate documents that display legislation as it would look if amendments are adopted, and
• the mark-up of defined terms to point to the definition provision, thereby assisting the reader's understanding.

• We have published our current drafting practice, as required by the Legislation (Jersey) Law 2021. This year we intend to publish an updated version and we will continue to examine our house style to develop more consistency and clarity in how we draft.

• We will run more of our training courses for instructing officers, subject to the demand for them, as well as conducting an on-line refresher for policy officers (see further below).

• If time allows, we will finalise the drafting of a new Interpretation Law and use it also as a vehicle for tidying up minor errors and making other changes to the statute book, in particular improvements to the Legislation (Jersey) Law 2021.

• We will continue to use Law Revision powers to prepare draft revised legislation to put before the Law Revision Board on a twice-yearly basis. The Board is empowered to make changes that fall outside of editorial powers but short of changing the actual meaning. This year we hope to put for the Board's approval rewritten versions of some legislation that, without changing the meaning, will recast some older legislation in a more modern style.

• We will see our work on the Computer-Readable Legislation Project continue with some extra funding from JLIB and culminate in a final report on its achievements by mid-year.

• We will continue to use social media to promote our achievements and matters of interest to drafters and others worldwide.

• We will continue to participate in international drafting conferences and other training opportunities that may arise, this year ensuring Jersey is represented at both the Statute Law Society conference in Westminster and at a conference for Commonwealth drafters expected to be held in Belfast. We also continue to assist in training of drafters from various parts of the Commonwealth in partnership with Public Administration International.

Our values

The LDO is staffed by lawyers and support staff with specialist skills committed to delivering high quality legislation for Jersey in accordance with public policy. The core values of the Government of Jersey are reflected in what we do and, as refreshed and applied in the LDO, are as follows:

1. We are respectful

We aim to treat all those we come across in our work with respect and co-operate with them as appropriate in all our dealings. We care about our  colleagues as individuals and respect their positions and responsibilities in the workplace. We also respect their opinions even when we disagree with them.

2. We are better together

We share knowledge and expertise, valuing the benefits of working collaboratively with colleagues across departments and disciplines to help maintain the highest standards in drafting legislation for Jersey.

3. We are always improving

We look for ways of improving our expertise for the benefit of Jersey, whether it be modernising or simplifying our style of drafting or upgrading the technology that supports what we do. We look outwards to the practices and systems that evolve in drafting offices in other Commonwealth jurisdictions and take opportunities to learn from and share ideas with them.

4. We are customer focused

We are passionate about using our expertise to produce legislation that benefits the people of Jersey. We never forget that our purpose is to respond to the needs of those who instruct us, and, through them, the wider public. We aim to meet their needs as efficiently and effectively as we can.

5. We deliver

We are proud of working for Jersey and are passionate about delivering high-quality draft legislation as quickly as is consistent with the high degree of accuracy our work demands.

Measuring and benchmarking

We  are  committed  to  assisting  Government  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  Government Legislative  Programme  for  each  year.  We  rely  on  Government  Departments  to  send  us appropriately detailed instructions so that we can give effect to Ministers' policy ambitions in legislation. Like the Greffe as a whole, we are also there to respond to the drafting needs of Scrutiny Panels, Committees and individual States Members. Our work is therefore demand-led and does not easily lend itself to targets.

Our Drafting Office Management Information System (Domis) makes it easier for the Principal Legislative Drafter to track progress on legislation projects. Domis, as well as being a way to store and retrieve electronic documents, provides a semi-automated system of recording time which has been used for all new drafting projects from the beginning of 2020. Since the launch of Domis 2' in March 2022 it became much easier to extract useful management information from the system, such as how long drafting projects are with the LDO and how long they spend being reviewed by the instructing Department or elsewhere. It also enables time spent in drafting to be recorded more accurately. Domis 2 is also capable of producing reports on the progress of each drafting project by pulling out information on the most recent activity. This information is fed back to the Cabinet Office, which hosts the Government Legislative Programme.  

Results of the LDO Annual Feedback Survey for 2024

Since 2022 we have been running a brief satisfaction survey for instructing officers. The survey consists of an introductory question concerning the extent of interaction between the respondent and the LDO, followed by an extended survey consisting of questions eliciting their satisfaction with the various services provided by the LDO, and other matters, using 3- and 4-point Likert scales and a qualitative comment opportunity for each question.

The survey was sent to 73 people (8 fewer than in the previous year) and 28 responses were received  (5  more  than  in  the  previous  year).  The  extended  survey  was  completed  by  20 respondents. The table below shows the number of surveys, responses and extended responses since the survey began.

The majority of the participants that responded to the survey worked with us frequently on one or more large projects (14), where frequently' means 6 or more times and large project' means a project on the Government Legislative Programme.

Responses to the questions in the extended survey were overwhelmingly positive. Across all the questions there was only one negative response  – one participant recorded being somewhat dissatisfied' about the drafter's availability and prioritisation of the participant's project, but no further details were provided.

A majority of participants (17) were very satisfied with the drafter's analysis of the policy aims on larger projects. Three participants were somewhat satisfied and nobody was dissatisfied (to any degree) in this area. The same ratings were received in response to the helpfulness of the drafter's advice. Comments praised drafters' ability to identify and suggest solutions to issues that had not been considered previously; one comment resented that the drafter was "reluctant to accept direction from Officers", but it is not known whether this relates to a policy direction or preferences in the style of the drafting. Others commented that they were happy for their instructions to be challenged so that the right result could be obtained at the end of the process.

The drafter usually explained the content of the draft clearly according to 18 participants, while 2 participants  said  this  happened  sometimes'.  There  were  no  negative  responses.  Nearly  all participants were very satisfied (18) that the draft legislation produced met the policy objectives with only 2 participants being somewhat satisfied. Nobody was dissatisfied (to any degree) in this area.

Sixteen participants were very satisfied that the drafter was available when needed and gave the appropriate priority to the relevant project so that it progressed as required. Three were somewhat satisfied and one was somewhat dissatisfied. No participants were very dissatisfied.

All participants stated that they understood the stages in the process of producing legislation and

the input that is needed from them – 10 answering that they completely understood and 10 that they mostly understood. Comments referenced the effectiveness of the training sessions and manual for instructing officers, with one comment asking for clarity on the difference between "minor and routine matters" and "major and significant drafting".

Actions under consideration

As a result of the survey responses, we aim to:

• encourage drafters to request legal and editorial reviews earlier in the drafting process to prevent the possibility of substantial changes in language and structure being made after the IO has approved the draft in principle.

• complement the training for instructing officers with an online refresher to give a further explanation of the drafting process and areas which we think instructors need to focus on when producing drafting instructions. We plan also to include an explanation of the LDO's editorial and technological functions.

Resources

The LDO has a budget of just under £2 million, the majority of which covers staff costs.

In-house personnel consists of:

• 12 legislative drafters (the Principal Legislative Drafter, 2 Senior Legislative Drafters, 4 Legislative Drafters, a half-time Legislative Drafter assisting with a variety of work, 2 trainees and 2 half-time temporary posts to cover or backfill large projects); and

• a team of 3 editorial and technology staff.

There is also 1 further drafter, not included in our complement, who sits outside of the LDO, working on road traffic matters for I&E.

The office receives specialist drafting office IT and related support from the Legislation Services Consultant, who works for us remotely as needed.

At the time of writing our organisational chart is as follows:

[1] Exclusive of the Legislative Drafting Office