Will 'executive' be the answer for 'effective'?
IT IS possible that the fact Policy & Resources calls this element of the Government Work Plan workstream for ‘Reshaping Government’ ‘effective government’ says much about the potential for change within the States over the next few years. It’s also entirely possible that ‘effective government’ merely means not having ‘ineffective government’.
We will know more soon, when Policy & Resources’ new sub-committee organises ‘engagement sessions’ with States members and community representatives.
An ambitious timetable will see the sub-committee report back to P&R in a year or so, with the intention that any changes recommended come into place when the new States is elected in the summer of 2025. Those close to those in the know are focusing on the prospect of executive government appearing around the corner.
There’s only one hint of that in the sub-committee’s terms of reference, as it talks about structuring government in an agile way for the 'benefit of the community'.
But point number one is to ‘consider the effectiveness of the existing system of government, taking note of any lessons learned from significant and ongoing recent challenges such as the impact of Brexit and the management of and response to the Covid-19 pandemic’
We already know that the P&R president is a fan of executive government. Critics have been saying for some time that the States is increasingly moving in that direction through P&R's actions and a rather supine response from deputies, and the operations of the CCA have arguably built confidence in the model.
Deputy Peter Ferbrache has said that he would like to pursue such a model, but that such a change would not happen in his political lifespan, which he says will end in 2025. ‘While the democratic process must continue, debating everything to death is not a luxury we can use all the time,’ he said.
Executive government is bound to feature in the committee’s considerations. It will be revealing to see just how seriously. Will the sub-committee conclude that the States and the island missed out by not implementing the Harwood report from 2000 – wasting 25 years in the process?