Deputies pushing for housing committee will support P&R’s bid for delay
A group of deputies pushing to set up a dedicated States committee for housing have said they will support a bid from the Policy & Resources Committee to delay the debate from next week until November until the States has agreed its Budget for 2025.
The proposal from the group of seven, led by Deputy Sasha Kazantseva-Miller, was due to be debated at the September meeting. If approved, the new committee would come into being after June’s general election. But P&R wants to delay.
‘We are very happy to work with P&R, other committees and stakeholders to ensure we get it right and make the best decisions for Guernsey,’ said Deputy Kazantseva-Miller.
‘The short postponement of the debate will not have a material effect on the implementation date as the requete seeks to establish the committee from the beginning for the next political term in July 2025.’
P&R wants the delay to ensure that all financing and resource demands for 2025 are considered as a whole.
‘Given the well-known position of our public finances we want to make sure that decisions made are financially prudent and that we have the right level of support and prioritisation for key issues affecting community,’ said former chief minister Deputy Peter Ferbrache, one of the seven signatories.
‘P&R would not have taken the proposal to delay lightly, and we respect their reasoning as the senior committee responsible for the budget process.’
The deputies say that a new principal committee will have more decision-making powers to cut through the bureaucracy, inefficiency and slow progress when mandates are fragmented among numerous political committees.
‘The rate of homebuilding is completely inadequate and needs to increase four times if we were to meet the indicator of 1,500 new homes by 2027. There has not been any meaningful change in the rate of homebuilding since the States Strategic Housing Indicator was approved in March 2023,’ said Deputy Kazantseva-Miller.
‘We have no confidence that maintaining the status quo will achieve what is required and a step change in approach is essential.’
The new committee would seek to amalgamate the different mandates on housing currently split between the Committees for Employment & Social Security, Environment & Infrastructure, and Policy & Resources, expand it further to include industry capacity and financing, and reprioritise policy areas under the Guernsey Housing Plan.
The deputies also see it being responsible for operational delivery, with a bigger say in planning policies affecting homebuilding, and to have more resources to drive delivery forward.
But those committees currently holding the responsibility are opposing the move.
‘We are pleased to see that the requete has brought into sharp focus the States’ delivery on housing, provoking increased levels of discussion and consideration,’ said signatory Deputy Nick Moakes.
He said a delay would allow all to consider ‘how and whether we can afford to keep the same system ticking along’.
