Government of Jersey

The Government of Jersey (Gouvèrnément d'Jèrri) is the executive body of the States of Jersey and is the central government of the Bailiwick of Jersey. The government is led by the Chief Minister (currently Lyndon Farnham, since 2024), who nominates all the remaining ministers, all elected by the States Assembly.

All Ministers of the Government are required to be elected States members and are accountable to it. They make statements in and take questions from the assembly. The government is dependent on the assembly to make primary legislation, however ministers can make secondary legislation, such as Orders and Regulations. The government is not formed of one single party, but made of multiple independent members.

The 'Government of Jersey' is the official identity of the executive and administrative arm of the States of Jersey. The government no longer uses the term States of Jersey in reference to executive and administrative departments.

History
Under the uncodified constitution of Jersey, executive power lies in the Council of Ministers, formed of the Chief Minister and his ministers. Before 2005, the States of Jersey held both legislative and executive power through committee-led government

Since the implementation of the States of Jersey (Jersey) Law 2005, the executive and legislative functions have been split between the Council of Ministers and States Assembly respectively. In 2019, the Council of Ministers formally adopted the identity of the 'Government of Jersey' for the executive responsibilities of the States.

Ministers
The decision-making body for the island's government is the Council of Ministers. The Council lead the island's executive and administrative governance. The ministers are nominated by the Chief Minister or by any States member and confirmed by the States Assembly. The States of Jersey (Jersey) Law 2005 establishes the role and function of ministers.

The administration of the Government is made up by a number of departments that may have more than one minister. The Ministers are responsible each for an area of policy. The Ministers provide policy direction to civil service officers, having given fair consideration and due weight to informed and impartial advice from such officer.

A new (or existing) Chief Minister is (re-)appointed after:


 * every ordinary election of Deputies
 * the previous Chief Minister ceases to be a States member
 * the previous Chief Minister resigns, is incapacitated (for a period exceeding 8 weeks) or is deceased
 * the States have no confidence in the Chief Minister or the whole Council

One Government
Under the 'One Government' structure implemented by former Government Chief Executive Charlie Parker, there are nine government departments. In April 2018, the States approved changes to the Government machinery. The Chief Executive was appointed the Principal Accounting Officer for public finances, giving them the control and responsibility for government spending. The Government states this change has improved funding allocations and government transparency. In February 2022, the Democratic Accountability and Governance Sub-Committee.

The same proposition also proposed to make the Government a single legal entity. Currently, each Minister forms a single corporation sole, however when the changes are implemented (as they have been approved), 'Jersey Ministers' as a single entity will become legally responsible for all areas of government. The argument in favour of this is that it will allow more cross-Ministerial working. However, some are worried that this move would lead to more centralisation of power in the Chief Minister and Chief Executive.

The OneGovernment structure has been criticised for blurring the lines of accountability in the Government and that the introduction of the reforms 'have had a negative effect on governance' because departments are no longer necessarily have one political lead. On 28 April 2022, the States voted to scrap the One Government scheme and return to Minister-led government departments by the end of the year.

Office of the Chief Executive
The Office of the Chief Executive '[works] to support the Council of Ministers in delivering [the Government of] Jersey's long-term strategic objectives'. It answers to the Council of Ministers as a whole, however its primary Ministers are the Chief Minister, Minister for External Relations and Assistant Chief Minister for Communications. The department is structured into the –


 * Office of the Chief of Staff - supports Ministers and day-to-day Government business
 * External Relations Directorate - handles Jersey's relationship with other countries, including the UK
 * Directorate of Communications - 'aims to inform, educate and persuade islanders so that their daily lives are enhanced by the Government, and their voices are heard by the elected Council of Ministers'

Customer and Local Services
Customer and Local Services' mission statement is 'CLS's priority is making it easy for customers'. Customer and Local Services is split into three directorates, two of which are split into 'Hubs' –


 * Customer Operations Directorate
 * Work and Family Hub - income support, work-related benefits, Housing Advisory Service
 * Pensions and Care Hub - pensions, long-term care, and income support for pensioners
 * Customer Services Directorate
 * Business Hub - business licensing, employer contributions and manpower
 * Service Hub - registration cards, customs and passports, One Gov support, People Hub
 * Local Services Directorate - Superintendendent Registrar, libraries, disability strategy and Crematorium

Children, Young People, Education and Skills
The department is organised into four directorates –


 * Directorate of Children's Social Care - safeguarding, Children in Need, residential care, fostering and adoption
 * Education Directorate - schools, colleges, curriculum, teaching and learning, child care regulation, special educational needs
 * Directorate of Young People, Further Education, Higher Education and Skills - skills and lifelong learning, Skills Jersey, Youth Service, Highlands College
 * Directorate of Integrated Services and Commissioning - Family and community support, CAMHS, department operations

Economy
The department for the Economy was established on 1 January 2022 after splitting from the Office of the Chief Executive. The department is organised into four directorates –


 * Local and Digital Economy
 * High Value Residency
 * Digital Economy, including telecoms, cyber and Data Protection
 * Local Economy, including well as rural and marine, retail and visitor, aviation, growth, trade and arts and culture
 * Financial Services
 * Financial Crime Strategy
 * Economic Advisory - competition, intellectual property, Economics

Health and Community Services
The Department of Health and Community Services is the department of the Minister for Health and Social Services. The department is organised into -


 * Adult Social Care, Mental Health & Community Services
 * Primary and Preventative Care
 * Women's, Children's and Family Services
 * Surgical and Scheduled Care
 * Therapies
 * Immediate Care
 * Quality and Safety
 * Non-Clinical Support Services
 * Corporate Nursing
 * Service Improvement and Innovation

Infrastructure, Housing and Environment
The Department of Infrastructure, Housing and Environment manages national infrastructure and the regulation of Jersey's natural and built environment. It employs 678 people and has a £77 million budget, managing £1 billion in property assets. It is organised into four directorates:


 * Operations and Transport - maintenance of open spaces, gardens and amenities; management of transport, traffic and waste systems
 * Transport Highways and Infrastructure
 * Engineering and Development
 * Solid Waste Management and Recovery
 * Liquid Waste Management
 * Technical Support Services
 * Sports Operations
 * Natural Environment Directorate - Channel Islands Met Office, government vet services, fisheries protection & territorial water management, countryside access, biodiversity and crops and vegetation.
 * Marine Resources and Management
 * Biodiversity team
 * Office of the Chief Veterinarian
 * Land Resource Management
 * Meteorology Office
 * Property and Capital Delivery - maintenance of States property, delivery of capital projects
 * Property Strategy
 * Project Delivery
 * Estates and Property Maintenance
 * Commissioning
 * Regulation - Driver and Vehicle Standards (DVS), housing and food regulation, consumer protection, pollution control, town and country planning, border controls for plants and animals
 * Development and Land
 * Regulatory Improvement
 * DVS
 * Environmental and Consumer Protection

Justice and Home Affairs
Justice and Home Affairs manages the island's law enforcement, emergency services, immigration and customs and health and safety services and laws.

The department is split into a number of 'services':


 * States of Jersey Ambulance
 * States of Jersey Fire & Rescue
 * States of Jersey Prison Service
 * Jersey Customs and Immigration Service
 * Health and Safety Inspectorate
 * Official Analyst
 * Jersey Field Squadron
 * States of Jersey Police

Strategic Policy, Planning and Performance
Strategic Policy, Planning and Performance 'leads strategic policy, planning and performance to achieve the ambitions of Islanders for the future'.

They are responsible for –


 * Future Jersey
 * Government strategic policies: Common Strategic Policy, Government Plan and Island Plan
 * Policy programme and development
 * Legislative programme
 * Scenario planning and long-term planning
 * Performance analysis, reporting and framework
 * Corporate Portfolio Management
 * Risk Management

The department is divided into –


 * Directorate of Policy - 4 Heads of Policy
 * Justice and Criminal Justice Policies
 * Education, skills, Family law justice, Structure and government organisation and constitution
 * Children, Families, Care Inquiry, Wellbeing and health
 * Population and migration, housing, social assistance, social inclusion, diversity and employment and labour markets
 * Director of Strategy and Innovation -
 * Sustainability and Foresight: Sustainability; Environment, energy and climate change, Foresight, Development of Future Jersey, Strategy reviews and capability
 * Planning Policy and Historic Environment: Planning policy (Island Plan) and supplementary planning guidance, housing land supply, place-making and master-planning, urban design policy, historic environment
 * Directorate of Strategic Planning and Performance -
 * Strategic Planning and Accountability: Strategic planning framework, Common strategic policy, Government plan, Department Business Plans, Strengthening public sector accountability, business planning capability
 * Strategic Performance Management: strategic performance management framework, corporate annual reports, insight and analysis, performance management capability
 * Health and Social Care informatics: information culture across government, Informatics Strategy, health and social care informatics
 * Head of Governance
 * Delivery planning and performance review
 * Best practice governance of resources
 * Governance of Department Arms Length Functions
 * Department improvement
 * Working with partners

Treasury and Exchequer
The States Treasury is divided into four teams -


 * Strategic Finance - long-term financial sustainability of Government
 * Business Planning - financial plans and the Government Plan
 * Cost-benefit analysis and investment appraisal - investment decisions of the Government
 * Business and performance - efficiency, effectiveness and financial control
 * Performance, Accounting and Reporting
 * Finance Business Partnering - ambassadors in each departments who have financial insight
 * Finance Hub - operational centre of management and financial accounting
 * Shared Services Centre - services to Government and to customers like suppliers and pensioners
 * Group Reporting - financial performance information
 * Analytics and Management Information - reporting to stakeholders across government about financial data
 * Treasury Investment and Management
 * Treasury investment and Management - oversees cash and investment management
 * Shareholder relations - acts as the shareholder in States-owned companies
 * Risk and Audit
 * Internal Audit
 * Governance - formal rules and regulations including Public Finances Law
 * Risk management
 * Revenue Jersey
 * Revenue Operations - assessment and collection of taxes
 * Revenue Policy and Technical - modernising tax legislation
 * International Tax Policy and Operations
 * Tax and Information Governance - training for Revenue Jersey, data protection, programme management

Cabinet Office (was Chief Operating Office)
The Office aims ' to deliver effective public services through the provision of the appropriate people, technology, commercial and support arrangements; and to protect the organisation from external and internal threats to the provision of these services' –


 * People & Corporate Services - manages the States of Jersey workforce, skills
 * Modernisation & Digital - centralised IT department for States of Jersey
 * Commercial Services - procurement, supply chain and commercial

Common Strategic Policy
The Common Strategic Policy is the Government's high-level ambitions for the island. As of 2023, the Government's proposed Common Strategic Policy consists of 'seven priorities for change':


 * Housing and Cost of Living
 * Economy and Skills
 * Children and Families
 * Ageing Population
 * Health and Wellbeing
 * Environment
 * Community

The strategic priorities for the 2018 to 2022 Government contained five strategic priorities, 8 common themes and 5 ongoing initiatives:


 * 1) Put children first
 * 2) Improve Islander's wellbeing and mental and physical health
 * 3) Create a sustainable, vibrant economy
 * 4) Reduce income inequality and improve the standard of living
 * 5) Protect and value our environment

Local government
Jersey is divided into 12 parishes, which are further divided into vingtaines (or, in St. Ouen, cueillettes), divisions that are historic. Today they are used chiefly for purposes of local administration and electoral constituency. Each parish has their own Assembly.