Rule 14 questions are written questions submitted by States members to committees, which aim to gather information or clarify issues.
Overall, just more than 230 questions were asked between between the 2020 election and mid-2025.
And newly-elected Policy & Resources vice-president Gavin St Pier asked over 70 of them – nearly a third of all of the Rule 14 questions asked over that period.
He had asked no Rule 14 questions in the previous States term up to 2020, though he was president of Policy & Resources at the time.
The former chief minister said the questions had proved to be useful after he ended up on no committee memberships after the 2020 election.
‘In creating a role for myself as an "active backbencher", I quickly recognised the value of questions, including the Rule 14 written ones, as an effective tool to scrutinise committees and hold them accountable,’ he said.
The second most prolific questioner was now-retired deputy Lester Queripel, with 64 over the four and a half years.
The third place questioner trailed far behind, with former deputy Chris Le Tissier asking 17, but 12 of these were asked together, as he scrutinised travel costs of every board, authority and committee in mid-2024.
Looking at when questions were asked, only 19 of the 38 States members had asked any Rule 14 questions, up to the start of this year.
As the election approached, four politicians submitted their first Rule 14 questions in the last few months of the term.
Policy & Resources faced more than 60 questions, partially due to its wide remit.
They ranged from parking at Frossard House, to the tax office, to the sale of Fort Richmond.
Pay reviews, possible housing sites and pensioners were also raised.
The Education and Health committees faced the next most questions, with them each getting just over 40.
Health & Social Care faced questions about the infected blood scandal, GP costs, assisted dying, vaccines and waiting lists.
Education, Sport & Culture had questions about class sizes, bullying, exclusions and the retention of teachers.
The States Trading Supervisory Board's wide range of utilities and commercial entities put it in fourth place, with more than 20 questions, with queries about ports, aviation fuel, water storage and Alderney Airport runway.
Home Affairs, Environment & Infrastructure and the Development & Planning Authority each had about a dozen questions.
No other boards or committees broke double figures, while the much-derided Transport Licensing Authority was the only one to receive none over the political term.
Of the main parliamentary committees, Economic Development faced the fewest questions, with just seven, despite the committee facing challenges with the ferry tender process and a push to improve air links last term.
There has been a sharp increase in questions in the last term.
Just over 70 questions were asked over the entiriety of the 2016 to 2020 States term by all members.
This was only a third as many as the 2020 to 2025 term.
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