States Assembly – Jersey's elected parliament

Do you have any questions for the Minister for External Relations? Deputy Ian Gorst, who is also responsible for Jersey's financial services, will be questioned by the Economic and International Affairs Scrutiny Panel next week. The Panel is inviting members of the public, and industry experts, to submit questions particularly on: • Proposals concerning changes to Jersey's sanction and asset-freezing regulations • Double taxation agreements, including a proposal to approve one with the Kingdom of Bahrain • Existing and recently approved trade treaties, and the rationale behind them • Revenue generated through global taxation agreements such as Pillar 2 If you would like to share a question with the Panel, please email scrutiny@gov.je by 5pm on Monday 9 February so it can be considered in advance of the hearing.

🏛️ A group of colleagues from the Government of Jersey joined us for a tour of the States Chamber on Friday. 🙋♂️ During their visit they: • used the voting buttons • learnt about the Island’s political history • sat in the seats of States Members • experienced the Chamber first‑hand • learnt about this year’s upcoming election 📧 If you would like to arrange a tour - for your school, charity or organisation - get in touch with us: getinvolved@gov.je.

The States Assembly has now adjourned and will return on Tuesday 24 February at 9:30am. You can read a full summary of this week's Meeting on our website: bit.ly/4khlHJM

The Children, Education, and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel questioned the Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning, Deputy Rob Ward, in a Quarterly Public Hearing. The Panel learnt: 1. Student support: The Minister encourages any university students who are having issues securing accommodation in the U.K. – or facing challenges with guarantors – to contact the Student Finance Team or himself directly. The Minister does not believe a dedicated Higher Education Officer to assist students with these areas is necessary at this stage. 2. School Finances: 13 primary schools are in a financial deficit, with 9 in a surplus or breaking even. Every secondary school on the Island is in a financial deficit. A finance board has been set up centrally to tackle this issue, with officers from CYPES and education professionals working closely with the senior leadership teams from schools to assess how to bring down deficits and mitigate financial challenges. 3. Jèrriais: The Minister reaffirmed his commitment to supporting the teaching of Jèrriais in the Island, including adult learning, but uncertainty remains surrounding funding measures amongst CYPES, Jersey Heritage and the Office de Jèrriais. The Minister confirmed this matter is due to be sorted out this week. 4. 2–3-year-olds nursery funding: The application form for the support scheme will be going live in February, with the first payment – backdated to January - arriving in April. Further information can be found on gov.je, and guidance has been issued to nursery care providers/settings. 5. IT facilities: Officers confirmed that a business case is being prepared to support the purchasing and installation of IT equipment in schools and educational settings; greater funding will be required to keep pace with technology advancements. 6. Recruitment: The Minister agreed that the process for recruiting teachers is still hampered by bureaucratic challenges. However, both the use of agency staff and staff turnover rates have fallen since 2024. You can re-watch the Hearing in full here: bit.ly/4ag9dxp

At 9:30am today, the States Assembly will meet to discuss and debate topics including: • Amendments to the States Members’ Code of Conduct • The use of fireworks and other pyrotechnics • Fire Safety Regulations for tall residential buildings Watch this morning’s session live on our website: bit.ly/45AQD1t or via our YouTube channel. The Meeting will continue at 2.15pm today. Watch this afternoon’s session on our website: bit.ly/4kitZRx or via our YouTube channel.

There are three Public Scrutiny Hearings on this week: Monday 2 February 12.30pm-2pm The Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel will be questioning the Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning in their Quarterly Public Hearing. Watch Live or watch back on: Our website: http:// bit.ly/4bs2fYs YouTube: http:// bit.ly/4tc9MRy Wednesday 4 February 1pm-2pm The Parishes and Government Review Panel will be questioning the Chair Comité des Connétables. Watch Live or watch back on: Our website: http:// bit.ly/4a7GISp YouTube: http:// bit.ly/3M2cAzJ Friday 6 February 10.30am-12.30pm The Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel will be questioning the Chief Minister in their final Quarterly Public Hearing. Watch Live or watch back on: Our website: http:// bit.ly/4a7GISp YouTube: http:// bit.ly/49WR3C1

The Government has put forward a proposal to extend four international treaties to the Island to help modernise Jersey's Intellectual Property (IP) framework. ▶️ Watch Deputy Moz Scott explain more about the proposal which will be debated at next week's States Meeting, starting on Tuesday 3 February. Read more: bit.ly/3NypaaA

The Children, Education, and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel questioned the Minister for Justice and Home Affairs, Deputy Mary Le Hegarat, in a Quarterly Public Hearing yesterday afternoon. The Panel learnt: · Mobile Speed Camera: The new Mobile Speed Camera will be operational next week, following the completion of officer training, and will be deployed extensively around the Island over the next month. · Budgets & Legislation: The Minister believes that for the delivery of imminent and future legislation (such as the VAWG), the next government must anticipate that further funding will be required to ensure appropriate levels of delivery, inspection and enforcement. The Panel are concerned that departments within Justice and Home Affairs are working against budget and resource constraints and need to prioritise certain areas of work; an issue that will worsen as new legislation is passed. · Work Permits: In 2025, Customs and Immigration approved 3,275 work permits (2,433 temporary, 842 skilled). In the same year, 195 applications were rejected, and Customs and Immigration confirmed that they have sanctioned employers that have found to have broken the Law. · SOJP recruitment: The Police have recruited 10 new local police officers, who for the first time in 10 years have been trained exclusively on-Island. · JFRS: Firefighters are being offered comprehensive health screenings as an ongoing response to concerns surrounding carcinogens and PFAS. · Community Policing Officers: The Community Policing team will be returned to a compliment of eight officers. Following the amendment from the Panel to reallocate £240,000 from the Budget to the service, the Chief of Police confirmed that the money had been used to strengthen the team and further support the work of the Digital Forensic Unit. You can re-watch the Hearing in full here: bit.ly/3NZme6V

The Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel has held their second Public Hearing for the Animal Welfare Review. The Panel questioned representatives from the States of Jersey Police and the Comité des Chef de Police. The Panel learned that: • The States of Jersey Police think it is essential that the public understand which is the right agency to call when reporting an animal related incident and would like to see clear guidance issued. • There is no central collation of the number of Honorary Police animal welfare call outs. The SOJ Police recorded around 300 animal welfare reports in 2025, 124 of these related to dangerous dogs and these have been steadily rising since Covid. 44 of those went to a criminal investigation. • The police had 17 cases of livestock worrying reported in the last five years, but these are very hard to investigate as identifying owners and dogs can be impossible. • The Code of Conduct for professional dog walkers allows Honorary police to deal with poor behaviour. •The Honorary Police noted there is no middle ground in terms of compelling someone to pay compensation to a victim whose livestock has been killed. The parish hall can ask for a fine to be paid but if this doesn’t happen the only course of action is to refer it to the Courts. You can watch the Hearing back on: On our website: bit.ly/4r7PbvA Or YouTube: bit.ly/49DS1Tv

The Economic and International Affairs Scrutiny Panel has questioned the Minister for Sustainable Economic Development, Deputy Kirsten Morel, as part of its review into the Ferry Service Concession Agreement. Key points raised during the Hearing include: • The Minister agreed that inter-island travel should have received stronger consideration in the Concession Agreement, and stated that he is open to discussions with his Guernsey counterparts on further ways to improve inter-island services. • DFDS is due to present a proposal for a car service between Jersey and Guernsey, which would include a Friday evening arrival and Monday morning return as part of its Portsmouth sailing. The proposal will require agreement from the Guernsey authorities before it can be introduced. It is likely that DFDS would be restricted from picking up Guernsey passengers for onward travel. • Lessons have been learned following the withdrawal of Tuesday evening sailings until April. The Minister agreed to the change before DFDS consulted stakeholders. He has now asked for the process to be amended so that stakeholders are consulted with before any proposed revisions are presented to Government. • The Minister has held discussions with DFDS regarding the possibility of increasing crossing speeds to St Malo, but confirmed that any change would depend on vessel capacity. • The Minister informed the Panel that he remains confident in DFDS's performance at this stage of the contract, and that there is open and high quality dialogue between the ferry operator and the Government. Watch the Hearing back via our website: bit.ly/4k2Q8mV or on YouTube: bit.ly/4bU8pAu