SOME OF My Work 2020-2025...
At a Glance...
Guernsey Housing Plan Affordable Housing Development Electricity Strategy Dairy Farm Support Flood Defences Water Pollution Legislation Animal Welfare Bathing Pools Discrimination Legislation Water Security States Pensions Housing Standards Strategic Use of Inert Waste Aggregate Policy Renewable Energy Nature Commission Third Sector Support Secondary Pensions Minimum Wage Excessive Vehicle Noise Carers’ Allowance States Pensions School Streets Bridge Regeneration Joined Up Planning Al Fresco Permits Taxi Reform Bus Service Improvements Scrutiny of Education Telecoms Infrastructure and more...
Roles Held:
President of the Committee for the Environment & Infrastructure
Vice-President of the Committee for Employment & Social Security
Member of the Civil Contingencies Authority
Chair of the Electricity Strategy Steering Group
Member of the Housing Forum
Member of the Guernsey Development Agency Political Oversight Group
Member of the Offshore Wind Sub-Committee and Offshore Wind Governing Board
Member of the SEND Alliance Political Oversight Group
Member of the Fibre Rollout Political Oversight Group
The Guernsey Housing Plan
I've been the most proactive deputy in addressing Guernsey's many interrelated housing problems, which include (but are not limited to) availability, affordability, suitability, quality and legal rights and protections. I led the development of the Guernsey Housing Plan (first published in April 2023 and updated in August 2024) which sets out how we address the many issues in the most effective way and in the best order of prioritisation. The solutions take time, but the huge amount of work that we have put in is starting to pay dividends. Whereas we started the political term with no pipeline of affordable homes, we now have around 450 in development. We have also worked closely with landowners and developers to unlock stalled sites, and that too is proving effective: some large privately-owned sites will soon come forward for development as a result. Other achievements include the introduction of housing standards legislation (which will improve the rental market) and an Open Market Inscriptions Policy (which will better match supply with demand whilst protecting the stability of both the open and local markets) and developing a modelling tool that helps us much more quickly and accurately assess how many homes the island needs of what sizes - work that used to be outsourced at great expense to the taxpayer and which could previously only be carried out once every five years.
Electricity Strategy
The Electricity Strategy, which was approved nearly unanimously by the Assembly in 2023, sets out how Guernsey can best meet its electricity needs over the next few decades. The priorities underpinning this strategy (which were identified by working with a broad range of stakeholders) include strong energy security, greater energy independence, affordability and decarbonisation. The agreed pathway, which will enable us to meet the increasingly electrified needs of our growing population in the most effective and cost-effective way, is a combination of greater interconnection with Europe and more locally-generated renewable energy (including solar PV and offshore wind), along with innovation to help householders and businesses improve their energy efficiency and reduce their need for as much electricity in the first place.
The Future of Dairy Farming
Our dairy farming sector reached crisis point in 2022 following the economic shocks that led to sky-high agri-inflation, so working with the Guernsey Farmers' Association and P&R, I played a big part in ensuring that the sector was supported by emergency funding. My E&I committee then led a major review into the future of dairy farming in Guernsey, and our proposals for a more economically and environmentally sustainable model were very strongly supported by the States. Our dairy farmers now have a more secure future, which is important as they play such a valuable role in managing our countryside and conserving Guernsey's iconic breed.
Discrimination Legislation
I played a key role in bringing about this long-anticipated legislation, following a detailed technical consultation and some political challenges in the States, which I played a part in successfully defending against. Since its introduction, the evidence suggests that it is working effectively, as intended, giving people protection against discrimination on grounds of disability, race, sexual orientation, religion or belief, and carer status. The most recent success has been securing approval for our proposals on age discrimination, which will be developed into legislation in the next political term.
Animal Welfare
Under my leadership we have made a lot of progress on animal welfare during this political term. My committee brought forward legislation to modernise Guernsey's animal welfare standards, outlawing a variety of cruel practices which will better protect wild, domestic and farm animals in the island. We have successfully managed the (at times severe) threat of bird flu, introducing a poultry keepers' register so that information can be shared quickly and efficiently with those most likely to be affected, and we have also introduced welfare codes for a range of domestic pets and guidance for professional dog walkers, while the licencing scheme for businesses that work with animals is being extended so that people can have more confidence that their animals are in safe hands.
Transport Innovation
My Committee has made some significant improvements to on-island transport this political term. We've grown bus passenger numbers to record levels by improving the service and keeping fares affordable, whilst investing in a more efficient and less polluting fleet. We've introduced the app, complete with live bus tracking data, which has been well received. We carried out a major review of the taxi sector and have been making incremental improvements based on its recommendations, including the introduction of the Guernsey Taxi App and cutting red tape to make it easier to attract and retain drivers. We've had a real focus on making travel to and from schools easier and safer, including the introduction of School Streets, which helped one of our primary schools become what's thought to be the school with the highest rate of sustainable transport anywhere in the British Isles! And we've also seen a significant decrease in car commuting (despite the very high rate of population growth over the last few years) and an enormous increase in walking and riding bikes, which has helped to ease congestion, pollution and pressure on public parking. Our proactive approach to maintaining and improving our road network has saved a lot of taxpayers' money and means we now have better, safer road infrastructure across the island (though there's a lot that still needs to be improved.) I've also been a driving force behind taking a much more joined-up approach to planning and transport: rather than the piecemeal approach of old, we now plan for development and its cumulative impacts across the whole area to make sure the whole network can support that development. This is very much focused not just on mitigating negative effects of development, but improving choice, convenience and safety for people already living in the area. As a member of the Political Oversight Group for the Guernsey Development Agency, I've also worked closely with them on transport infrastructure improvements that are planned for St. Peter Port and the Bridge.
Scrutiny of Education
As the parent of four children in state schools, I am very much aware of the impacts political decisions have had on students and teachers. I believe I have been the most active scrutineer with respect to education during this political term, and the problems I have been warning of and the issues that I have been shining a spotlight on are now much clearer to many more people as a result: larger class sizes, less curriculum choice, worse pupil/teacher ratios, less access to subject specialists, and less cost-efficiency to name just a few.
Working with colleagues, I put forward and made a strong case for alternative proposals for the Sixth Form Centre in an effort to keep it in its custom-built facility at Les Varendes rather than move it either 500m down the road or - as is happening now - to La Mare de Carteret High School, a building that was deemed no longer fit-for-purpose many, many years ago. Now that the build costs for the proposed new standalone Sixth Form Centre are projected to be around £50m, with student numbers (which we know thanks to answers to my formal questions) projected to be a little over 300 in the early 2030s, it looks likely that model is unviable and the Sixth Form could be stranded at La Mare indefinitely, with curriculum choice shrinking all the while. Had we had the review promised by the so-called Pause & Review Requete, I believe it would have shown up the problems inherent in the the proposed approach, but the ESC Committee decided not to carry it out, despite me and others calling for it.
I also called for the Primary Review to be progressed this term, as it was scheduled to be, but again the ESC Committee decided to postpone it for the next Assembly to deal with - all the while our primary schools are having to cope with huge differences in average class sizes and other problems that can't be meaningfully addressed until that work is done.