Constituency Offices Sub-Committee Minutes (Part A) - 23 February 2023

Privileges and Procedures Committee Constituency Office Sub-Committee (1st Meeting )

23rd February 2023

Part A (Non-Exempt)

All members were present with the exception of Deputy T. A. Coles from St Helier South and Deputy P.F.C. Ozouf from St. Saviour from whom apologies had been received.

Deputy C.S. Alves of St Helier,

Deputy I. Gardiner of St Helier,

Deputy R. J. Ward of St Helier,

Connétable K. E. Shenton-Stone of St Martin,

Deputy M.R. Scott of St Brelade,

Deputy L.K.F Stephenson of St. Mary , St. Ouen and St. Peter , Deputy B. Ward of St Clement,

Deputy M. M. Tadier of St Brelade,

Deputy K. F. Morel of St Lawrence

In attendance –

Mr. W Millow , Deputy Greffier of the States

Ms K. Boydens , Principal Committee and Panel Officer Ms K. Camara, Research and Project Officer

Note: The Minutes of this meeting comprise Part A

Appointment A1. The Sub-Committee agreed to appoint Deputy Alves as Chair and Connétable of Chair and Shenton-Stone as Vice Chair of the Sub-Committee.

Vice Chair

Terms of A2. The Sub-Committee noted the draft Terms of Reference as follows: Reference

1. To identify the resourcing requirements (including venues, staffing and equipment) in order to establish, or embed, a constituency office in each constituency (or, where the constituency comprises more than one Parish, in each Parish of that constituency);
2. To consider how the provision of constituency offices sits alongside the provision of central facilities in Town for States Members;
3. To report back to the Privileges and Procedures Committee with findings and recommendations for the establishment or embedding of constituency offices in time for any recommendations to be considered during the preparation of the Government Plan 2024-2027.

The Deputy Greffier explained that the Terms of Reference asked the Sub-Committee

1stMeeting 23.02.2023

to consider the establishment of constituency offices alongside the provision of central facilities for States Members. In terms of central facilities, it was noted that the Privileges  and  Procedures  Committee  (PPC)  had  overseen  the  establishment  of dedicated  facilities  in  23  Hill  Street  which  was  intended  to  provide  an  office environment for Members when they were in town. In that regard, the Sub-Committee requested that a site visit to 23 Hill Street would be beneficial, and the Principal Committee and Panel Officer was tasked to make the necessary arrangements.

The  Sub-Committee  discussed  the  Terms  of  Reference  and  requested  minor amendments to part (a) to include options to establish a physical venue for constituency offices as well as administrative support mechanisms. The Sub-Committee agreed that varying  constituencies  could  require  differing  resources  and  that  the  Terms  of Reference should reflect this.

The Deputy Greffier advised that the Terms of Reference would be updated and circulated to PPC.

Constituency  A3. The Sub-Committee acknowledged that the provision of constituency offices could Office  mean different things to different people and that consideration had been taken into provision  account about what could be delivered within existing resources. The Deputy Greffier

suggested that the Sub-Committee consider establishing a clear vision of what a constituency office should look like in the Jersey context. Furthermore, the Deputy Greffier advised a number of questions had arisen following various discussions on the topic which could assist the Sub-Committee in its deliberations including:

1. Does a constituency office need to be permanently open (and staffed) or opened and staffed as and when required (e.g. to hold constituency surgeries)?
2. What facilities should be included within a constituency office for use by Members and constituents?
3. Is the project about delivering physical infrastructure? In other words, identifying spaces for use by Members and ensuring they were appropriately provisioned. Or was it also about staffing support for members and, if so, what was the nature of support required?

The Sub-Committee agreed to consult with other States Members in order to determine what each individual constituency would require in terms of the physical infrastructure, resources and administrative support. It was agreed that the Sub-Committee would base its discussions on the questions raised and would report back at the next meeting.

Regular  A4. The Sub-Committee agreed that the next meeting should take place at the end of meeting day  March 2023. The Research and Project Officer advised that a meeting request would be and time  circulated in due course.