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Democratic Accountability and Governance Sub- Committee #12
5 August 2021 1pm - 2pm
Privileges and Procedures Committee: Democratic Accountability and Governance Sub-Committee
Meeting 12: 5 August 2021
Members present: Senator Tracey Vallois (Chair), Senator Sam Mézec and Connétable John Le Bailly and Deputy Kirsten Morel of St. Lawrence
Apologies were received from Senator Ian Gorst and Connétable Richard Buchanan Also present - Mark Egan, Greffier of the States
Kellie Boydens , Principal Committee and Panel Officer
- Workshops for all States Members
The Sub-Committee discussed the outcomes of the workshops with States Members:
Workshop 1 - Scrutiny
Workshop 2 - Accountability and decision making Workshop 3 - Ministerial and Civil Service structures
The Sub-Committee agreed that it was a valuable exercise in order to gather the views of Members.
- Suggestions on Improvement Paper
The Sub-Committee received a paper detailing a number of suggestions for change following the workshops for all States Members. The Sub-Committee agreed that it should discuss and confirm the main problems with Jersey's system of government at its next meeting.
- Diversity Forum - States Assembly Gender Audit
The Sub-Committee noted correspondence from the Diversity Forum regarding a gender sensitive audit' of the States Assembly, which was published in 2019 (States Assembly Gender Audit: Diversity Forum Report (gov.je)).
The Diversity Forum explained that its strategic plan for 2020-22 had focused on improving the diversity of candidates for election, but one area the Forum hoped to address before the election related to positions in the Assembly, summarised by recommendations 3 to 6 in part B of the report:
Recommendation 3. The absence of descriptions for roles, particularly assistant minister roles, which can be very varied, was identified by the audit group as a barrier to women putting themselves forward. This is something which should be addressed.
Recommendation 4. The audit group considered that it should be mandatory for the Chief Minister to have at least one male and one female Assistant Chief Minister. Recommendation 5. The audit group considered that it should be a formal requirement that all panels and committees comprise both men and women.
Recommendation 6. Informal committees and working groups comprising States Members should always include both men and women.
The Forum considered that these recommendations fell within the remit of the Sub-Committee and had asked whether it may support the requisite Standing Order changes ahead of the election and the formation of the next government and scrutiny function.
The Sub-Committee discussed the recommendations and questioned how practical they would be to implement, particularly when the ratio between male and female States Members was unbalanced. The Sub-Committee agreed to discuss the matter further at its next meeting.
- Future Meetings
The Sub-Committee agreed that it would next meet on Wednesday 8th September at 1pm.