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Senator John Le Fondré By email
29th April 2020 Dear Chief Minister,
Scrutiny Liaison Committee
Follow up to meeting held on 28th April 2020
Further to the meeting held yesterday between yourself, the Chief Executive and the full Scrutiny Liaison Committee, the Committee found it constructive that you acknowledged shortcomings in the Government's communication with States Members in respect of the Covid-19 response to date. We have raised these concerns with you on a number of occasions and welcome your commitment to provide the necessary political direction to now address the situation.
We do appreciate the challenges you face to communicate to Members in such a fast moving situation. As States Members, we are not a homogenous group and have many varied roles and responsibilities, as such, good communication will necessarily involve considered and tailored approaches, with variations for Ministers, Assistant Ministers, Scrutiny Panels, all Member briefings and for matters that are specific to a Parish or local area amongst others. That will be time well invested, as at the very least, engaged and conversant Members will be able to significantly assist the Government to inform the community about the Government's actions and, in adopting your stated objective of greater inclusivity, will help Members to more effectively contribute to decision making processes.
All of us in the meeting were in agreement that a refreshingly trusting and open tone, and the level and type of detailed information shared, at a joint briefing provided by senior officials to the Health and Social Security Panel and this Committee on 24th April regarding testing strategy amongst other matters, recognised the professionalism of Members and the seriousness with which we all take our responsibilities to constituents and the wider good of the Island. We re-iterate that it should serve as a benchmark for future communication.
As we were unable to complete the agenda items due to the challenges of time, we said that we would forward the remaining item to you in writing and request a written response. To that end please could you update us about the Government's framework for identifying and prioritising legislative changes, and forward us a copy of the associated pipeline. This will complement the non-emergency work programme/pipeline that you also committed to provide us.
Yours sincerely
Senator Kristina Moore
President, Scrutiny Liaison Committee
States Greffe: Scrutiny Liaison Committee | Morier House | St Helier | Jersey | JE1 1DD Tel: 01534 441080 | email: scrutiny@gov.je | web: www.statesassembly.gov.je