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Express investigates what can be learned from the suggested shredding of 135 States' resolutions at this week's opening debate on the Government Work Plan.
The States' senior committee, Policy & Resources, has been working with other committees to identify 135 extant resolutions that they would like to get off the books when the States meets this week.
The list contains resolutions that are out-of-date, policies that have been superseded since, and resolutions that have remained in stasis without the resources and, in some cases, the political drive to take them forward.
Some are very specific, and date back more than a decade, such as the introduction of legislation banning the use of “bull bars”, which was approved in the 2006 Road Transport Strategy but has been stuck in traffic ever since.
Another such example is a resolution from 2007 that would have imposed new regulations upon those running Crown & Anchor stalls, such as annually-updated police disclosures, new pitch prices and the removal of win limits.
Pictured: Policy & Resources says there are currently 535 'outstanding' resolutions, however some have been acted upon or dealt with indirectly.
Of the others, 28 relate to now outdated and undelivered gambling legislation and 23 are resolutions that the current Education, Sport & Culture Committee wants to get rid of in order to "clear the decks" of all vestiges of the currently-approved two-school model.
In among the stragglers - which P&R plan to rescind in order to focus resources on new priorities in light of Covid-19 and Brexit - are some wide-ranging resolutions which have been put on the too-hard-to-do pile.
The agreement to "promote and require Travel Plans for businesses, schools and States Departments" following Environment's Minority Report in 2015 has been deemed "too broad" by the current committee.
Meanwhile, the proposals to create Guernsey Harbours and Guernsey Airport States Trading Companies have since been subsumed by the creation of the States' Trading Supervisory Board in 2016.
In a rare example of recent policy reversal, P&R proposes keeping probate services with the Ecclesiastical Court, asking the States to rescind a resolution that was approved by the Assembly just eight months ago.
In this instance, P&R will argue that resources can be saved by undoing the previous States' decision, which Deputy Peter Ferbrache opposed staunchly at the time, prior to his appointment as Chief Minister.
"The proposals will achieve similar outcomes with regards directing surplus funds to the Social Investment Fund without additional legislation, increasing the operational cost base of the States of Guernsey or incurring the cost of transformation," P&R said of its decision.
Pictured: Probate services will remain with the Ecclesiastical Court, if the States agrees to rescind a resolution that was approved by the Assembly from last year.
In some cases, the principles of resolutions have been achieved but through different means. Of these, perhaps the may significant is the raft of decisions that were approved as part of a 2012 debate on improving governance in the States of Guernsey.
Some close to this proposals believe these resolutions were dealt with by the 2016 reforms of the machinery of government, while P&R argue that "understanding has matured and moved on since 2012".
Among the decisions was an agreement to create "operating frameworks" for political Boards of Departments that would better define the lines between the policy and their operation, and to look into the formation of a joint political/staff level steering group, with a view to providing guidance on more effective decision-making.
Meanwhile, the suggested transformation of the civil service, has been started but not yet been accomplished.
While it is felt by P&R that these resolutions have been answered, effective decision-making has been a crisis issue for the States in recent years. It is noteworthy that at the same meeting that the States will be debating the rescission of these resolutions, the Chamber will also hear the arguments for undoing more States resolutions on the transformation of education.
Pictured: A refusal to accept States decisions riddled the previous Assembly, with proposals around extending the runway and the L'Ancresse Sea Wall returning to the States multiple times and a number of big issues - including the future of education, the justice review and improved connectivity - left unresolved.
The list also features proposals that are deemed to be out-of-date, highlighting a lack of legislative resources in bringing to fruition policy objectives that are not a top priority.
Rafts of resolutions relating to support for gambling addicts and the way bookmakers are permitted to operate in the island have been shelved on two separate occasions. It has been concluded that all the time spent looking into those matters is now pointless because of how much time has passed.
The hard truth is that while these resolutions have expired, social issues like problem gambling, which can wreck lives, have not done likewise.
A 2007 Report proposed reviewing whether an entire new gambling legislative framework was needed. That led to further proposals eight years later, which are themselves being thrown onto a policy bonfire.
"All Outstanding Resolutions relating to this Policy Letter and which belong to the Committee for Home Affairs are being proposed for rescission, as they are considered to be no longer relevant," P&R said of resolutions dating back to 2015.
Home added: "The Committee recognises the legislation that underpins gambling in Guernsey dates back to the early 1970’s and doesn’t necessarily reflect or support modern practices, however, it does not believe it is likely that it will be able to progress the implementation of these changes in the coming political term.
Pictured: Policy & Resources President Deputy Peter Ferbrache and Deputy Heidi Soulsby, who has led the Committee's efforts on the GWP.
"At which point the Resolutions will be between 10 and 18 years old and will be in need of further review. The Committee has agreed that all of the Resolutions relating to the review of gambling which took place in 2007 and 2015 should be rescinded."
That rate of progress - which, ultimately, stymied any progress - is emblematic of the lack of policy planning that the current Policy & Resources Committee says it wants to consign to the past.
The Government Work Plan states an intention to match policy to resources so that the post-pandemic pandemic priorities can be achieved. It remains to be seen, however, whether the States' senior committee is actually freeing up officer time by shredding policy papers that have for years been gathering dust in the annals of States buildings.
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