New P&R keen to ‘hit the ground running’
The new Policy & Resources Committee will meet again tomorrow as it starts life with a flurry of meetings.
It met briefly last Friday, minutes after being elected by the States, and its first full meeting yesterday was extended into the afternoon when there was too much business to complete in the scheduled half-day session.
P&R president Lyndon Trott said yesterday that the new committee wanted to get as much done as it could in the 18 months which remain of the current States term, after which he has said he will leave local politics.
‘It’s a busy but also a very positive start to our work,’ he said.
‘There is a lot to get done in the remainder of this political term and the briefings we have had have helped to bring us up to speed quickly so we can hit the ground running.
‘There’s much more to discuss as the committee has a broad mandate and so we will meet again throughout this week. I’m very encouraged.’
The committee did not disclose the items on the agenda of its first full meeting. But its in-tray is known to include sea links, with Condor Ferries having admitted difficulties amid speculation about its financial health, the need for an estimated 1,600 new homes over the next four years, and secondary and further education, on which the committee is under pressure to announce its intentions swiftly.
P&R will also need to make an early decision on what to do with the Government Work Plan, led on the previous committee by Deputy Bob Murray, which sets the policy direction for all committees, but which was withdrawn from the agenda at last week’s States meeting following the change in membership of the senior committee.
Deputy Trott defended P&R’s unusual move to split the role of treasury lead between its president and vice-president, Deputy Soulsby.
‘My business background in financial services and Deputy Soulsby’s experience as a chartered accountant mean we are both a natural fit to lead in this area,’ he said.
‘By having more than one of our committee taking lead roles in this way, we also make better use of our combined skills and knowledge. This committee is very committed to working together to make some real progress in the coming months.’
Deputy Jonathan Le Tocq, who was absent from yesterday’s meeting on leave, had already been appointed to continue as the States’ external relations lead, a position he has held since 2016.
