States Meeting Summary 20-23 April
23rd April 2021
Announcements
To begin this week's States Meeting, the Bailiff paid tribute to His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. This was followed by statements from Senator Ian Gorst on behalf of the Senators, Constable Simon Crowcroft on behalf of the Constables, Deputy Judy Martin on behalf of the Deputies, and the Chief Minister, Senator John Le Fondré. The Bailiff also welcomed the newly elected Constable Andy Jehan to his first States Meeting.
Question time
Oral questions with notice
Non-executive States Members asked Ministers oral questions with notice for two hours and 20 minutes.
See what questions were asked by skipping to the end of page nine in the Order Paper.
Catch up on questions with notice by skipping to 25 minutes into Tuesday morning's meeting.
Oral questions without notice
After questions with notice, non-executive States Members asked the following Ministers questions without notice for 45 minutes (15 minutes each):
The Minister for International Development, Deputy Carolyn Labey
The Minister for Social Security, Deputy Judy Martin
The Chief Minister, Senator John Le Fondré
Catch up on questions without notice by skipping to two hours and 45 minutes into Tuesday morning's meeting.
Public business
Minimum wage increase
The first item for public business was Deputy Geoff Southern's amended proposition to set Jersey's minimum wage at the level of the low-income threshold (60% of median wage) from October 2021, and to raise the minimum wage to £10 per hour by October 2022. Deputy Southern's amendment asked to change the law so that these changes could be made without the consideration of the Employment Forum.
The States Assembly voted to REJECT part a and part b of Deputy Geoff Southern's proposition and APPROVE part c. Part c requested that the Minister for Social Security instruct the Employment Forum to investigate whether the minimum wage can be set at the level of Jersey Living Wage. States Members' votes will become available here shortly.
To watch the full debate on minimum wage increase, skip to half an hour into Tuesday afternoon's meeting.
Appointment of Deputy Chair for the Social Security Tribunal
The Minister for Social Security, Deputy Judy Martin, proposed to appoint Advocate Barbara Corbett as Deputy Chair of the Social Security Tribunal for five years.
The States Assembly voted to APPROVE the appointment.
Appointment of Deputy Chair for the Social Security Medical Appeal Tribunal
The Minister for Social Security, Deputy Judy Martin, proposed to appoint Advocate Barbara Corbett as Deputy Chair of the Social Security Medical Appeal Tribunal for five years.
The States Assembly voted to APPROVE the appointment.
Appointment of Deputy Chair for the Income Support Medical Tribunal
The Minister for Social Security, Deputy Judy Martin, proposed to appoint Advocate Barbara Corbett as Deputy Chair of the Income Support Medical Appeal Tribunal for five years.
The States Assembly voted to APPROVE the appointment.
Amendments to the Road Traffic Law
To begin Wednesday's States Meeting, the Minister for Infrastructure, Deputy Kevin Lewis, proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Law, in relation to the Jersey Coastguard service.
The States Assembly voted to APPROVE the Minister for Infrastructure's proposed amendments. This means that traffic lights and other traffic restrictions will not apply to vehicles used for emergency purposes by the Jersey Coastguard service. See how States Members voted here.
To watch the full debate, skip to 10 minutes into Wednesday morning's meeting, a recording of which will be uploaded here within the next few days.
Amendments to the Intellectual Property Law
Constable Richard Buchanan proposed, on behalf of Senator Ian Gorst, amendments to the Intellectual Property Law so that a wider range of disabled people can access literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works without infringement of copyright.
The States Assembly voted to APPROVE the proposed amendments – see how States Members voted here.
To watch the full debate, skip to 25 minutes into Wednesday morning's meeting.
Proposed changes to the States Assembly's constitution
The Privileges & Procedures Committee asked States Members to accept the legal changes which would amend the States Assembly's constitution.
If passed, the revised electoral system will remove the role of the Senator, increase the number of Deputies from 29 to 37, change the schedule of Deputies' constituencies, and confirm the date of Jersey's next General Election as 22 June 2022.
Senator Ian Gorst proposed an amendment to the Privileges and Procedures Committee, asking to retain the role of the Senator within the States Assembly and decrease the number of Deputies in the Assembly from 29 to 28.
Senator Lyndon Farnham proposed an amendment to Senator Ian Gorst's amendment. Whilst in support of retaining the Senators, Senator Farnham's amendment requested to add three Deputies to three different districts, in turn, increasing the number of Deputies from Senator Gorst's proposed 28 to 31.
The States Assembly voted to REJECT Senator Farnham's amendment to Senator Gorst's amendment – see how States Members voted here.
The States Assembly voted to REJECT Senator Ian Gorst's amendment to the Privileges and Procedure Committee's proposition – see how States Members voted here.
Senator Ian Gorst proposed another amendment to the proposition. He asked that States Members remain in office until new or re-elected Members are sworn in, and Ministers until a new Council is appointed, therefore maintaining the current terms of office. Toward the end of the debate, this amendment was accepted by PPC.
The States Assembly voted to APPROVE Senator Ian Gorst's amendment – see how States Members voted here.
Senator Ian Gorst proposed another amendment to the proposition, asking for the date of Jersey's next General Election to be on 18 May 2022, as opposed to PPC's proposed date of 22 June 2022.
The States Assembly voted to REJECT Senator Ian Gorst's amendment – see how States Members voted here.
The States Assembly voted to APPROVE the Privileges and Procedures Committee's proposal, as amended. This means that from 22 June 2022, voted as the official date of Jersey's next General Election: Senators will be removed from office, 37 Deputies will be elected from nine new districts, and 12 Parish Constables will remain. See how States Members voted here.
To watch the full electoral reform debate, skip to 35 minutes into Wednesday morning’s meeting, which continued into the Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. All meetings will be available to watch back shortly here.
Adjustment of green travel and regional categorisation
The Safer Travel Guidelines Review Panel proposed that, before 26 April, the Government should categorise regions as 'green' if they hold a positive case number of 25 per 100,000 over a 14-day period, rather than the current 50 cases per 100,000. The Panel also requested that the upper tier local authority level approach is used rather than the regional approach for categorisation, and that Scrutiny and States Members are briefed ahead of any changes to the Safer Travel Policy.
The States Assembly voted to REJECT part a of the proposition relating to green and amber travel categorisation and part b relating to the upper tier local authority level for categorisation. The Assembly voted to APPROVE part c relating to the briefing of Scrutiny and Members – see how States Members voted in part a, part b and part c.
Skip to two hours 30 minutes into Thursday morning's meeting to watch the debate from the beginning, which continued into the afternoon. A recording of both meetings will be uploaded here within the next few days.
Loan scheme for the repair of Les Quennevais Park Flat balconies
The Minister for Housing and Communities, Deputy Russell Labey, asked States Members to approve a loan scheme for the repair of balconies in Les Quennevais Park Flats.
The States Assembly voted to APPROVE Deputy Russell Labey's proposition – see how States Members voted here.
Skip to two hours 15 minutes into Thursday afternoon's meeting to watch the beginning of the debate.
Bank holiday on 27 September 2021
The Chief Minister, Senator John Le Fondré, asked States Members to approve an amendment to the law so that Monday, 27 September 2021 could become a one-off bank holiday to mark the 250th anniversary of legislative reform known as the Code of 1771, which arose as a result of the Corn Riots two years earlier.
States Members voted to APPROVE Senator John Le Fondré's proposition – see how States Members voted here.
Skip to two hours 30 minutes into Thursday afternoon's meeting to watch the beginning of the debate.
Additional States of Jersey Standing Order
The Privileges and Procedures Committee proposed to add an new Standing Order to the States of Jersey Standing Orders, which would require a Minister to present a report and statement to the States Assembly responding to the findings of the States' Complaints Board, within 12 weeks of receiving its findings.
The States Assembly voted to APPROVE the Privileges and Procedures Committee's amendment to the States of Jersey Standing Orders – see how States Members voted here.
Skip to two hours 45 minutes into Thursday afternoon's meeting to watch the beginning of the debate.
Appoint Non-Executive Director to States of Jersey Development Company
The Minister for Treasury and Resources, Deputy Susie Pinel, proposed to appoint Carolyn Dwyer as an additional Non-Executive Director of the States of Jersey Development Company for three years.
Skip to three hours into Thursday afternoon's meeting to watch the beginning of the debate.
On Friday morning, the States Assembly voted to APPROVE the Minister's proposed appointment – see how States Members voted here.
Extension of temporary COVID-19 provisions
The Minister for Health and Social Services, Deputy Richard Renouf, proposed amendments to the law which will extend the expiry date of temporary, emergency COVID-19 provisions from 30 April to 31 October 2021.
These provisions will remain dormant unless deemed necessary, when a 'revival' Order will be made to re-implement them.
The States Assembly voted to APPROVE the Minister's proposition – States Members' votes will be available to view here shortly.
Skip to 45 minutes into Friday morning's meeting to watch the beginning of the debate, a recording of which will become here within the next few days.
Enable extension of COVID-19 legislation
The Minister for Health and Social Services, Deputy Richard Renouf, asked States Members to approve a proposition which would allow for emergency COVID-19 legislation to be extended until 31 March 2022.
The States Assembly voted to APPROVE the Minister's proposition which will allow for the extension of emergency COVID-19 legislation – States Members' votes will be available to view here shortly.
Prevent illegal fishing in Jersey
The Minister for the Environment, Deputy John Young, proposed regulations which sought to prevent and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in Jersey's territorial waters.
The States Assembly voted to APPROVE the Minister's proposed regulations – States Members' votes will be available to view here shortly.
Skip to two hours 10 minutes into Friday afternoon's meeting to watch the beginning of the debate.
Fishing boat licensing legislation
The Minister for the Environment, Deputy John Young, proposed to amend legislation related to fishing boat licensing, necessary for implementing the UK-EU Cooperation Agreement (TCA).
The States Assembly voted to APPROVE the Minister's proposition - States Members' votes will be available to view here shortly.
Following this final item of public business, the States Assembly adjourned. It will meet again on Sunday 9 May, at 10:30am, to mark the 76th anniversary of Jersey's Liberation.
The next usual States Meeting will be held on the following Tuesday, 11 May, at 9:30am.
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