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WQ.3/2022
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE
CHAIR OF THE PRIVILEGES AND PROCEDURES COMMITTEE BY DEPUTY J.M. MAÇON OF ST. SAVIOUR
QUESTION SUBMITTED ON MONDAY 17th JANU ARY 2022 ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 24th JANUARY 2022
Question
Will the Chair advise whether the Committee has any plan in place in the event that no States Members stand to be the chair of a Scrutiny panel; if there is no such plan, why not; and were a chair not to be selected, what impact this would have on the scrutiny and progress of legislation?
Answer
The Privileges and Procedures Committee has not planned for the event that no States Members stand to be the chair of a Scrutiny Panel. Although this would be an unfortunate position for the States Assembly to find itself in reputationally, the Committee is not, in any event, able to plan for every eventuality under Standing Orders.
If no Member put themselves forward to be chair of a Scrutiny Panel, we would anticipate that the appointment would be added to the Order Paper for the next sitting and the Scrutiny Liaison Committee would be expected to assist in finding a candidate for Chair. This would have an impact on the scrutiny function as there would be a delay in a Panel establishing itself and appointing its Members. As the Code of Conduct for Elected Members stipulates, the primary duty of elected members is to act in the interests of the people of Jersey and of the States. Elected members have a general duty to act in what they believe to be the best interests of Jersey as a whole, and a special duty to be accessible to the people of the constituency for which they have been elected to serve and to represent their interests conscientiously. The Committee believes that it will be important for States Members to consider these particular aspects of the Code when it comes to the appointment process of Ministers and Scrutiny Panel Chairs.