I’d like to try and explain how the role of Assistant Minister works on my blog to the general public especially as new Assistant Ministers will shortly be selected.
I was hoping to do this before the election but time ran out. This was the question I sent out:
What do Assistant Ministers do? How much to they get to have a say in policy and confer with their Minister? Is it purely a top down delegated job, or is there any opportunity for feedback and shaping policy? Do Ministers ever listen to suggestions coming up from Assistant Ministers? Do Assistant Ministers have any say on the area of delegated responsibility, and are they restricted to that once in place, unable to comment on other areas under the Ministerial umbrella?
Perhaps you could enlighten me from your experience, and I could enlighten the public. It seems to be a very dark area, where AM’s have clearly some delegated responsibility, but presumably on implementing policy, not shaping policy. And how you think the system could be improved.
This was sent to:
Deputy Tracy Valois
Deputy Richard Rondel
Constable Deidre Mezbourian
Deputy Scott Wickenden
Deputy Graham Truscott
Constable Steve Pallett
All replied and my thanks to all for taking time and trouble, especially while campaigning for re-election, and for agreeing to share their replies on my blog.
Reply to Questions
by Deputy Tracy Valois
An assistant minister role is very much a grey area within the political arena. It is very dependent on the minister and department and has no real clearly defined role. Deputy Judy Martin brought a proposition to the states a while ago for the chief ministers to carry out work on this area and produce a new way or working, unfortunately by the end of the term the most we got out of machinery of government changes was giving more power to the chief minister and the chief executive officer.
Assistant ministers will usually be invited to ministerial meetings, sometimes to the council of ministers (depending on subject being discussed), some have delegated responsibility others have none. I’m not sure whether ministers listen to their assistant ministers as they’re all tucked away behind closed doors in each of their departments. From my experience, I was listened to but the minister never followed through on some of the big issues that I suggested change for.
There is no automatic right to attend the same meetings as your minister and sometimes the department itself will not invite you.
Although collective responsibility was usually used as a tool to make excuses the purpose of it was to ensure proper debate was had before a proposition was taken to the states assembly. It was rather disorganised and mismanaged. From what I saw, I would say it depended on who you were and how much you were liked by the minister. Some ministers supported and worked closely with their assistant ministers, some just let them get on with things and then offer no support at crunch time.
Because it was all behind closed doors it was much harder to push policies, so it was more enlightening going back to scrutiny because it is a more open and transparent process.
In terms of improving the system, I would suggest that a hybrid system has to be formed where there is a board type system that works it’s the ministers and provides cross functioning roles for board members. Scrutiny of legislation would have to be in place, possibly shared on a rota basis and without any conflict of interest. More items being discussed in an a agenda rather than just b at the council of ministers and a better understanding of how green and white papers are supposed to work.
Reply to Questions
by Richard Rondel
My own view is that Assistant Minister is an important role especially with a large portfolio like infrastructure. There is the opportunity for delegated responsibly and you receive all the information as per the Minister. Also should the Minister be away or ill the role falls to the Assistant Minister. With a large portfolio I believe that two people can assist each other and give their own views and opinions.
The Minister has the final say in decisions but the question as to whether a Minister will listen to his Assistant Minister depends very much on the individual and the personality of the Minister. Everyone is different!
Reply to Questions:
by Deidre Mezbourian
My understanding is that the only thing an Assistant Minister is not able to do is to take an Order to the States.
My own experience is that AMs step up as and when necessary (sickness/absence from Island), making any decisions that the Minister may have been required to make/attending/chairing meetings etc).
The approach at Home Affairs with Kristina and myself has been to hold weekly meetings to consider all aspects of HA matters (we do not have operational responsibility for front line services), and to hold regular meetings with the Heads of Service pertaining to our specific areas of responsibility.
I have delegated responsibility for Jersey Fire and Rescue, Jersey Customs and Immigration and the Office of the Superintendent Registrar; any ministerial decisions needed in those areas have been made by me.
We have worked closely together on all matters of policy, considering matters in all areas of Home Affairs (Police, Prison, Jersey Field Squadron and my own areas).
Collective responsibility has meant that I have had to support propositions taken to the States by the Minister; I have always made it clear that if I did not agree with something she was taking, I would not support it. Had that meant my resignation, then I would not have hesitated. Working closely and well together, it never came to that.
Of course, it is down to the Ministers and their AMs to decide how they want to manage things but I expect that with the recently agreed changes, things will be different moving forward
I hope that goes some way to answering your questions.
Reply to Questions
by Scott Wickenden
As you know in June 2016 Ian Gorst asked me to take on ministerial responsibility for the eGovernment programme as he was concerned about how the programme was being run and with my background working in the Tech industry for over 15 years, I was uniquely skilled in the assembly to oversee the programme.
It was a very unique assistant minister role as I was to oversee a budgeted programme of work not a department/service as is the usual.
As far as your questions, I believe that each assistant minister will have a different experience depending on the person who is their minister.
I was very lucky to report in the Ian Gorst, I was invited to weekly meetings to get updates from myself and discuss propositions and questions in the upcoming states assembly.
Ian would also invite me to many meetings so I could better learn what was involved in his role as Chief Minister.
I was fortunate to be given an open invite to attend any of the weekly Council of Minister meetings, I was able to attend the meetings and could give my input in to the discussions however of course I would not have a vote.
I hope this helps.
Reply to Questions
by Graham Truscott
Assistant Ministers support Ministers across the whole of Government and take an active part in policy decisions. In some areas, Assistant Ministers also hold delegated responsibility for a specific operational area. For example, as Assistant Minister for Social Security, I have had specific oversight of the Back to Work function and policy development over the last 3 1/2 years.
Assistant Ministers play a valuable role in helping to shape new policies and provide feedback on existing policies. Most departments have a weekly ministerial meeting attended by both the Minister and the Assistant Minister(s). This is an opportunity for the whole ministerial team to discuss the development of new policies with senior departmental officers and to exchange views and provide feedback on any current issues. Assistant Ministers also attend the Council of Ministers meetings when major departmental issues are being discussed and attend and take an active role in formal Scrutiny Panel hearings.
Under the current rules, ministerial collective responsibility extends to Assistant Minsters in respect of areas of direct departmental responsibility. However, Assistant Ministers are not bound by collective responsibility in other government areas.
Reply to Questions
by Steve Pallett
The role of an Assistant Minister will be different from department to department depending on the level of delegation given to the respective Assistant Ministers .I can only really talk about my own experiences which cover all degrees of involvement from an AM point of view.
Starting with my role as AM at the Environment Department.I have no delegated functions at the department with the Minister Deputy Steve Luce having control in all areas of the department.The decision not to delegate any functions was one that was taken jointly and based on the level of commitment I had within the Parish of St. Brelade and both the Education and Economic Development departments at the time.
I have had the opportunity to discuss and provide feedback into all policy decisions and have made my thoughts known to the Minister when I felt necessary.I did not wish to take on any delegated responsibility in Environment although the Minster had made it clear to me early on that he would have been happy to delegate areas that I had an interest in should I have indicated a willingness to commit further time to the department.I have been fully involved in Ministerial meetings and have on a couple of occasions made decisions on planning applications that had been subject to a Public Inquiry.
During two spells as AM at the Education Department I have played a full role in Ministerial meetings and been delegated various responsibilities by the Minister. More recently I was given delegated responsibility for Primary Schools and have in the past been responsible for chairing appeals for various areas including schools admissions and Higher Education.I was involved in all policy making decisions and contributed where I felt that an issue needed highlighting.I did not request any delegated function,any given were as a result of a discussion between myself and the Minister.I felt I was a full part of the Ministerial team and that my views were taken seriously
My role as AM at Economic Develoement, Tourism,Sport and Culture was my main role within government and the one that took up the bulk of my time outside of my parish commitments.As am,I had delegated responsibility for Sport ,the RNLI Lifeguards and Liquor Licensing ,all areas that allowed me to set and deliver policy .In regards to the Sports Division,I had a substantial budget running into millions along with a vast portfolio of property that made up sports provision in the island.With delegated responsibility for Sport I had the opportunity to represent Jersey both at the home Island Games
Within my role in Sport I have set policy such as implementing the new independent body for sport in jersey, ‘Jersey Sport ‘ and have been able to set new policy direction for Sport Facilty provision and many other internal policies that have looked to improve efficiency and services within the department.I have done this working closely with the other members of the Ministerial team but have had the necessary responsibility to get things done.
With the RNLI Lifeguards I have had delegated responsibility to both oversee and renew the contract for a service that improves year on year.There has been a huge financial commitment made by the RNLI to lifeguard services in the island over recent years that I am pleased to have been a part of.
With delegated responsibility for liquor licensing matters I have overseen the development of a new Liquor Licensing Law that included the lodging of the law.I was heavily involved in its development and laws - deeply disappointed when I had to withdraw the law due to failures in process that run it out of time.Nevertheless as an AM I was given the necessary responsibility and resources to develop a fully workable new law.
I have had ample opportunity to both shape and implement policy within EDTSC and moving forward under Ministerial government would encourage future Ministers to give more delegated responsibility to their AM’s to both widen accountability and inclusivity and make more use of the specific skills of some members .
Every Minister will have a different view if how his Ministerial team should operate but Ministers should not just pay lip service to their AM’s as this will alienate certain members unnecessarily which has been a complaint from some AM’s in the past.I do not wish to go back to the committee style of government but more members should be involved in important policy making decisions and not just a select few that sit on the Council of Ministers.There does though have to be clear rules to when Scrutiny becomes involved in new draft policy or legislation .Too early and Scrutiny can be seen to be setting policy but too late and it will not have the opportunity to contribute or influence poorly constructed policy or legislation.
I do though believe Minsterial government can and does work if Minsterial teams work collaboratively
Kind Regards Steve
During two spells as AM at the Education Department I have played a full role in Ministerial meetings and been delegated various responsibilities by the Minister. More recently I was given delegated responsibility for Primary Schools and have in the past been responsible for chairing appeals for various areas including schools admissions and Higher Education.I was involved in all policy making decisions and contributed where I felt that an issue needed highlighting.I did not request any delegated function,any given were as a result of a discussion between myself and the Minister.I felt I was a full part of the Ministerial team and that my views were taken seriously
My role as AM at Economic Develoement, Tourism,Sport and Culture was my main role within government and the one that took up the bulk of my time outside of my parish commitments.As am,I had delegated responsibility for Sport ,the RNLI Lifeguards and Liquor Licensing ,all areas that allowed me to set and deliver policy .In regards to the Sports Division,I had a substantial budget running into millions along with a vast portfolio of property that made up sports provision in the island.With delegated responsibility for Sport I had the opportunity to represent Jersey both at the home Island Games
Within my role in Sport I have set policy such as implementing the new independent body for sport in jersey, ‘Jersey Sport ‘ and have been able to set new policy direction for Sport Facilty provision and many other internal policies that have looked to improve efficiency and services within the department.I have done this working closely with the other members of the Ministerial team but have had the necessary responsibility to get things done.
With the RNLI Lifeguards I have had delegated responsibility to both oversee and renew the contract for a service that improves year on year.There has been a huge financial commitment made by the RNLI to lifeguard services in the island over recent years that I am pleased to have been a part of.
With delegated responsibility for liquor licensing matters I have overseen the development of a new Liquor Licensing Law that included the lodging of the law.I was heavily involved in its development and laws - deeply disappointed when I had to withdraw the law due to failures in process that run it out of time.Nevertheless as an AM I was given the necessary responsibility and resources to develop a fully workable new law.
I have had ample opportunity to both shape and implement policy within EDTSC and moving forward under Ministerial government would encourage future Ministers to give more delegated responsibility to their AM’s to both widen accountability and inclusivity and make more use of the specific skills of some members .
Every Minister will have a different view if how his Ministerial team should operate but Ministers should not just pay lip service to their AM’s as this will alienate certain members unnecessarily which has been a complaint from some AM’s in the past.I do not wish to go back to the committee style of government but more members should be involved in important policy making decisions and not just a select few that sit on the Council of Ministers.There does though have to be clear rules to when Scrutiny becomes involved in new draft policy or legislation .Too early and Scrutiny can be seen to be setting policy but too late and it will not have the opportunity to contribute or influence poorly constructed policy or legislation.
I do though believe Minsterial government can and does work if Minsterial teams work collaboratively
Kind Regards Steve
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