15th November 2023 Dear Colleagues, The States debate on the 2024 Budget is yet to conclude and we take this opportunity to write to you jointly following the adjournment last Thursday. We are in the unusual situation of being partway through debate on two specific and critical Amendments being discussed and debated concurrently which seek…
I am delighted to have been part of a group of deputies who have developed an alternative set of proposals for the Tax Review. Holistic Approach The proposals, under the banner of “A Fairer Alternative”, embrace a holistic approach to the structural deficit by concentrating both on constraining and reviewing public spending as well as…
Kickstarting the 2022 Guernsey Press political podcast series with Andre Austin, director of Swoffers, hosted by Simon de la Rue. We discussed housing, fibre rollout, public amenity, attracting young people, upcoming tax review and an array of other topics. Thank you for the invite. Listen here or directly on the page. Housing, development, and the…
The Rules of Procedure allow deputies to ask written questions to Committees of the States of Guernsey under Rule 14. Committees have 14 days to respond to the questions unless they have asked for an extension from the Presiding Officer. I have recently asked a number of questions to the Committee of Home Affairs on…
Under Rule 29 of the Rules of Procedure, States’ Members are required to submit an annual Declaration of Interests to the States’ Greffier. Declaration of Interest is a standard practice in the corporate world, with many businesses going to extensive lengths to ensure they have open and transparent procedures in how potential conflicts of interest…
The St Peter Port Regeneration Areas Development Framework has just been published by the Development and Planning Authority, one of the Committee I sit on. This has involved two rounds of consultations with the community, with much of the feedback taken on board. The overarching vision of the regeneration framework is: “To enhance the St…
Earlier this year Deputy Burford and I championed the need to launch a Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) in Guernsey as soon as possible. Our amendment to the Government Work Plan was successful and achieved unanimous support from the Assembly. While we knew that Committee for Home Affairs was considering different avenues to support victims…
The Committee for Education, Sport and Culture provided an update on work progressing the Education Strategy. This is a key action area under the Government Work Plan and has been referenced many times in debate. The update provided a high-level overview of the strategic objectives going forward developed with Education professionals: Achieving Equity, Safety and…
Recently I had dissented from supporting the view of the Committee for Economic Development that the minimum wage should not be increased in line with recommendations of a 4% raise proposed by the Committee for Employment and Social Security (CfESS). I fully supported the CfESS proposals. If we cannot have an economy where islanders can…
Amidst the global pandemic, another crisis is long in the making. Research piece after research piece shows just how much workers around the world are dissatisfied with their jobs. Nearly half of employees in the UK surveyed by Investors in People were looking to move jobs in 2019, citing pay, not feeling valued and work-related…