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WQ.97/2022
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE
CHAIR OF THE PRIVILEGES AND PROCEDURES COMMITTEE BY DEPUTY G.P. SOUTHERN OF ST. HELIER
QUESTION SUBMITTED ON MONDAY 14th MARCH 2022 ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 21st MARCH 2022
Question
"Given the Code of Conduct for Elected Members require that they should act solely in the public interest, will the Chair advise members –
- what investigations, if any, have been undertaken into the actions of the Deputy of Grouville and Deputy Wickenden in lodging amendments to the Draft Bridging Island Plan that proposed re- zoning fields G403C, G403D and part of G432A for housing;
- if no investigations have been undertaken, why not; and
- whether the issue of "reversionary ownership" of land should be referred to the Commissioner for Standards?"
Answer
The Commissioner for Standards is responsible for investigating possible breaches of the Code of Conduct for Elected Members, under the terms of the Commissioner for Standards (Jersey) Law 2017. The Commissioner may initiate an investigation himself, if he believes that a breach of the code may have occurred, or may initiate an investigation having received a complaint. When a complaint is received or an investigation commences brief details are published on the States Assembly's website here Complaints about States Members or States Greffe employees (gov.je).
At the present time, the Commissioner has not indicated that he has received a complaint or initiated an investigation in connection with the matters referred to by the Deputy in his question.
The Commissioner is not responsible for the States Assembly's rules on the registration and declaration of interests nor the contents of the Code of Conduct, so it would not be appropriate to refer the issue of the reversionary ownership of land to him. The requirements in relation to the registration of interests in land are set out in section 7 of Schedule 2 to the Standing Orders. A Member who owns land in Jersey, other than their principal residence, must register that land, including if someone else benefits from use of the land on a reversionary basis.