Why cut the pay of just one deputy?

A requete signed by six charter signatories and one other deputy seeks to downgrade the role of president of the States Assembly & Constitution Committee by cutting his or her pay level to that of an ordinary member.

As a statement of intent it is a strange first move. With so many major social, economic and environmental issues on the agenda is the pay grade for one job the best place to start?

The requete does align with the charter mission to ensure that the island gets more bang for its buck and, loosely, with the notion that the States is better at spending money than earning. But a saving of £13,000 a year will not make much of dent in the States’ annual expenditure of £350m.

That aside, there is an undeniable logic in the requete’s premise.

Sacc has an important role in the States. It helps to shape our democracy.

However, it demands nowhere near the levels of responsibility that fall on the shoulders of, say, the presidents of Health & Social Care or Education.

It is not an exaggeration to say that Health is a life and death role, given that it presides over the budget, administration and staffing levels of a huge and vital organisation.

But why stop there?

Just as good an argument can be made for downgrading the pay of at least two members of Policy & Resources.

For it is clear that the supposed P&R champions of social policy and environment are getting an easy ride compared to the presidents of Employment & Social Security and Environment & Infrastructure.

The big question, of course, is whether deputies who do not sit on any principal committees should get as much money as those who do.

Given that this could save considerably more than cutting the Sacc president’s pay it should be high on the agenda of Charter 2018.

However, as eight of the group’s 13 members would stand to lose money as a result, that requete would be a quick test of the group’s principles and their unity.