Deputies Adrian Gabriel, Gavin St Pier, Garry Collins and Jayne Ozanne took part in meetings on the overall subject of Modern Legislatures for Modern Challenges and attended plenaries that discussed future-ready economies in small jurisdictions, developments in digital parliaments, and voter and youth engagement in democracy.
While it cost £1,880.50 for the four members to attend, Gibraltar paid for their accommodation as the host branch.
There will be another trip in September, when Sasha Kazantseva-Miller and Sarah Hansmann-Rouxel will join Deputy Gabriel and the States’ Greffier for the 69th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in South Africa.
At the Gibraltar meeting, two of Guernsey’s delegation provided updates on key global developments at the region’s annual general meeting, which took place during the conference.
Guernsey has been sending members to CPA meetings for more than 50 years.
Deputy Gabriel, the chairman of the Guernsey CPA branch, said that it was important for the island to be represented at such meetings.
‘The opportunity to project Guernsey on an international stage and for Guernsey parliamentarians to engage with other parliamentarians to establish networks and discuss best practice is a substantial benefit to the island,’ he said.
‘Guernsey has always punched above its weight within the organisation. Myself and Deputy Kazantseva-Miller currently hold elected international posts within the organisation and [former Chief Minister] Lyndon Trott is serving his second term as one of the international trustees.’
The local branch is not a department of the States, but an association of members, but it does receive taxpayer funding of some £60,000 a year.
The CPA’s goal is to democratically empower elected members across the Commonwealth by building networks of shared experiences.
Deputy Gabriel said that attendance supported the island’s external engagement and enabled it to maintain constructive relationships with other democratic jurisdictions, and for local perspectives to be understood in discussions on parliamentary standards and governance.
‘The cost of participation represents value for money when compared with commissioning external advice or undertaking separate study visits,’ he said.
‘The CPA is the biggest international organisation in the world apart from the UN, and we are very fortunate to have access to it in our own right as an independent legislature.’
Deputy St Pier has also defended the value of attending CPA events and the opportunity to learn from other legislatures and politicians.
But it has emerged that any progress on a proposal he pushed through the States, to investigate the opportunity to dedicate more space to parliamentary activity and States members, back in 2024, is going to be delayed.
Deputy St Pier said the proposal was inspired by what he learned from contact with other politicians through the CPA.
The States Assembly and Constitution Committee was supposed to have produced a report to the States by June. It said that the work was complex and had been constrained by a lack of resources. It now hopes to report later this year.