Questions are a key part of States Assembly proceedings. States Members use questions to seek information and to hold other Members to account for official responsibilities they hold, in particular Ministers. There are four main types of question used by States Members in this way although questions may occur at other times during States Meetings. The rules for how questions are submitted and framed are set out in Standing Orders.
Every week from mid-January to mid-July and from mid-September to mid-December (when the Assembly is formally in session), States Members may submit written questions to other Members on matters for which they are officially responsible. They are submitted on the first working day of the week and the States Members to whom the questions are submitted have one week to provide a written response. The Order Paper for a States Meeting lists all the written questions to which responses have been provided since the previous Order Paper was published.
At every States Meeting, 2 hours and 20 minutes are set aside for Oral Questions with notice. In advance of the Meeting, every Member is able to submit two Oral Questions, designating which of the two is their priority. They must submit them by the third working day before the Meeting.
Oral Questions with notice are listed on the Order Paper for the Meeting. At the Meeting, the questions are asked in the order they are listed; with the first priority questions all being asked before the second questions. Once a question has been put, the Member who submitted the question and other Members are able to ask supplementary questions on the same subject.
If an Oral Question cannot be asked and answered during the period of 2 hours and 20 minutes, a written response is provided.
At each States Meeting, two Ministers and the Chief Minister face Oral Questions without notice. This means they are not given warning of what they will be asked and States Members are not required to submit their questions in advance.
45 minutes is set aside at each Meeting for this to happen. Each Minister and the Chief Minister faces up to 15 minutes of questions; but if less time is spent questioning one of the two Ministers, that time is added to the allocation for the Chief Minister.
Ministers can be asked questions about any matter at all that relates to their Ministerial responsibilities. The Chief Minister, as leader of the Council of Ministers, can be asked questions about any matter relating to the Government of Jersey. Aside from the Chief Minister, Ministers appear on a rota basis and therefore appear two or three times during the year.
| 6 February | Minister for Health and Social Services | Minister for Housing and Communities | Chief Minister |
| 27 February | Minister for Justice and Home Affairs | Minister for International Development | Chief Minister |
| 19 March | Minister for Infrastructure | Minister for Social Security | Chief Minister |
| 16 April | Minister for Sustainable Economic Development | Minister for Treasury and Resources | Chief Minister |
| 21 May | Minister for Children and Education | Minister for Environment | Chief Minister |
| 11 June | Minister for External Relations | Minister for Health and Social Services | Chief Minister |
| 25 June | Minister for Housing and Communities | Minister for Infrastructure | Chief Minister |
| 16 July | Minister for International Development | Minister for Justice and Home Affairs | Chief Minister |
| 10 September | Minister for Social Security | Minister for Sustainable Economic Development | Chief Minister |
| 1 October | Minister for Treasury and Resources | Minister for Children and Education | Chief Minister |
| 22 October | Minister for Environment | Minister for External Relations | Chief Minister |
| 12 November | Minister for Health and Social Services | Minister for International Development | Chief Minister |
| 26 November | Minister for Infrastructure | Minister for Housing | Chief Minister |
| 10 December | Minister for Justice and Home Affairs | Minister for Social Security | Chief Minister |
States Members are able to submit Oral Questions after the deadline that normally applies if they believe the subject to be one for which an urgent response is needed that cannot be left until the next Meeting. The Bailiff determines whether the submitted question is of an urgent nature and relates to a matter of public importance. If the Bailiff does, the Member is able to ask their Urgent Oral Question at the Meeting outside of the 2 hours and 20 minutes allocated to Oral Questions with notice. That Member and others are able to ask supplementary questions at the meeting on the same subject.
There are other times during States Meetings when States Members may ask questions, but which do not occur every time.
If a States Member makes a statement relating to their official responsibilities, other States Members may ask them questions about it following the statement. If a Member makes a personal statement, however, there is no opportunity for questions.
When the Assembly appoints States Members to positions such as Minister or Scrutiny Panel Chair, each candidate faces a period of questions from other States Members.
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You can find out what was said during question time in States Assembly meetings through reading Hansard, the written record of all that takes place during States Assembly meetings. Or you can watch on demand the recordings of these meetings. You can also see the questions a States Member has asked, or answered, by visiting their individual profile.
Members of the public wanting to ask questions of their elected representatives have several options:
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