Votes to decide who will run Guernsey's committees

Politicians will elect the presidents of the States of Guernsey's committees in a secret ballot of members later.

First up the States will choose who should lead the seven principal committees.

Following that, the presidents of the Scrutiny Management Committee, Development and Planning Authority and States Assembly and Constitution Committee will be elected.

The final significant election will be for the President of the States Trading Supervisory Board.

In 2020 there were no willing candidates for the position at the head of the States' highest spending committee, before Deputy Al Brouard was eventually elected to the role.

This time around, it looks set to be a coronation, with Deputy George Oswald, a retired doctor and founding partner of the Medical Specialist Group, set to run for the role.

He has also served as a non-States member on HSC for the past five years

Deputy Marc Leadbeater had said he would stand, but after conversations with the new Policy and Resources Committee, he said he was set to run for the presidency of Home Affairs.

The committee has a wide mandate including everything from the running of the Princess Elizabeth Hospital to overseeing the food hygiene ratings dished out by environmental health.

Bringing together a lot of the mandates of the old Environment and Public Services Department, Environment and Infrastructure covers a huge amount of work in the States.

It looks after the quality of local roads, the island's policy on climate change and popular spots such as Sausmarez Park.

Former committee vice-president Adrian Gabriel has said he would run for the role.

New States members deputies Andrew Niles and Sally Rochester have both said they were interested in a seat on the board.

The Committee for Home Affairs has a broad mandate, including the police, border force, the island's immigration regime and trading standards.

Simon Vermeulen, the committee's former vice-president, said he would be interested in the presidency, while Deputy Marc Leadbeater who resigned from the committee in the last term has said he will run.

New deputy Jayne Ozanne has also said she would like to run the committee.

Despite having the smallest budget of all the principal committees, there has been a lot of interest in the presidency.

Deputies Sasha Kazantseva-Miller and Marc Lainé have both said they would be interested in the role after Deputy Steve Falla who said he wanted the job was elected to Policy and Resources, which means he can't be on any other committees.

While Deputy Chris Blin also said he wanted the job, but now says he will most likely stand for a position on the board.

Newcomer Deputy Hayley Camp has said she would be keen to serve on the board, while Alderney representative Edward Hill has also said he will stand in an election on Monday.

Last term it was one of the key committees which secured the island's new ferry contract with Brittany Ferries.

Education, Sport and Culture has been seen by many within the States as a poisoned chalice, with every leader of the committee losing their seat at an election in the last two decades.

The committee oversees the running of the island's primary and secondary schools alongside cultural events like Liberation Day.

Deputies Sarah Hansmann-Rouxel and Aidan Matthews have both said they would like to run the committee, while new and former teacher Deputy Paul Montague has said he may also be interested, after initially having said he would not want to run a committee in his first term.

The Committee for Employment and Social Security admisters benefits, including pensions, alongside looking after health and safety in the workplace.

In the last term it was responsible for the introduction of secondary pensions and the island's first anti-discrimination legislation.

Deputy Tina Bury sat on the committee in the last term and has said she would like to lead it in the new assembly.

Returning politician Deputy Garry Collins has said he would like to serve on the board, alongside new politician Deputy David Dorrity.

A successful proposal from Deputy Sasha Kazantseva-Miller led to the creation of this new committee.

Former Guernsey Housing Association CEO Steve Williams has said he wanted to lead this new board, while Deputy Marc Lainé also said he would be interested.

It will have responsibility for the island's social housing stock and will take over general housing policy from Environment & Infrastructure.

The new housing committee is the last of the principal committees so there is a chance some of the candidates who fail to get a place at the top of other boards may run for this role.

The board is not like the other big committees in the States, partly because it has fewer deputies on it and in the way it operates.

It has political oversight of Guernsey Electricity, Waste, Water and the Channel Island Lottery amongst other things.

Deputy Mark Helyar is set to run for the role, while Deputy Neil Inder had said he would contest the position, but has now decided not to.

Father of the house Deputy John Gollop, the longest-serving politician in the States, has said he would like to run this committee, which looks at whether committees within the States of Guernsey are delivering their services effectively and efficiently.

It has also run a series of public hearings where politicians and officials are quizzed on their work.

He will face competition from former States economist Deputy Andy Sloan.

Former environment department minister Deputy Yvonne Burford could stand as the president of the authority.

Before the changes to the machinery of government in 2016, environment had responsibility for planning.

One of the first jobs for the new committee will be to finish the review of the Island Development Plan which was started, paused and restarted in the last term.

With a lot of talk before the election about the shape and size of government, alongside talk at election time about the electoral system, it seems likely both of these areas will be looked at by whoever takes up the presidency of the States Assembly and Constitution Committee.

Deputies Aidrian Gabriel, Andy Cameron, John Gollop and Tom Rylatt have all said they would like to stand for roles on the committee, while Deputy Burford has also said she would be keen to run the committee alongside the Department and Planning Authority, if elected.

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