To co-ordinate policy including leading the policy planning process, the allocation and management of resources, including the States' budget and facilitating cross-committee policy development.
Constituted as a Senior Committee of the States with effect from 1 May 2016.
Constitution
- A President and four members who shall be members of the States: provided that neither the President nor any member of the Policy & Resources Committee shall be the President or a member of any of the six Principal Committees or the President or a member of the Scrutiny Management Committee or the President or a member of the Development & Planning Authority or the President or a member of the Transport Licensing Authority.
- The Policy & Resources Committee shall designate its President or one of its members to be the States' lead member for external relations.
President: Deputy Lyndon Trott Vice-President: Deputy Heidi Soulsby Members: Deputy John Gollop Deputy Jonathan Le Tocq Deputy Bob Murray Head of the Public Service Mark de Garis
Duties & Powers
- To advise the States and to develop and implement policies and programmes relating to:
- (a) leadership and co-ordination of the work of the States, which includes:
- 1. developing and promoting the States' overall policy objectives;
- 2. leading the policy planning process as set out in the States' Rules of Procedure;
- 3. promoting and facilitating cross-committee policy development;
- 4. advising, when necessary, on the implications of other committees' proposals, policies and activities and in particular whether they accord with States' objectives and policy plans;
- 5. advising other committees on the implications of policies which it is itself developing;
- 6. examining issues which expressly do not fall within the mandates of other committees;
- 7. requiring any committee to examine any issue whether within or extraneous to its mandate;
- 8. requiring, and monitoring, the implementation of extant States' resolutions;
- 9. submitting to the States annually a report on progress on outstanding States' resolutions;
- 10. initiating reviews in areas where it appears that performance could be improved;
- 11. recommending to the States the agenda items for future meetings of the States;
- 12. prioritising the States' legislative programme and submitting to the States annually an order of priority for the drafting of significant items of legislation for the year ahead;
- 13. enacting urgent legislation in accordance with Article 66 of the Reform Law;
- 14. advising on the allocation of policy responsibilities to committees;
- 15. allocating operational functions to committees, or transferring them between committees, as set out below to the mandates of committees of the States, without requiring the approval of the States provided that the allocation or transfer has the agreement of all committees concerned and also provided that neither mandates of committees of the States may be amended without resolution of the States and further provided that this power to allocate or transfer operational functions shall not have effect until such time as the Committee has approved a comprehensive schedule of committees' operational functions.
- (b) fiscal policy, economic affairs and the financial and other resources of the States, which includes:
- 1. setting the framework for the planning, approval and control of public expenditure;
- 2. preparing the States' budget and submitting it to the States annually;
- 3. preparing the States' accounts and submitting them to the States annually;
- 4. monitoring financial performance against budgets;
- 5. advising, when necessary, on the financial implications of other committees' proposals, policies and activities;
- 6. raising and collecting taxes and revenues;
- 7. the States' Treasury functions, including authorising committees' borrowings and loans;
- 8. the role of the States as an employer;
- 9. policies on financial management, assets and corporate services, including information and communication technology, internal audit, risk management, the corporate identity and communications of the States, procurement, property, and statistics and research;
- 10. annually recommending the appointment of external auditors to the States.
- (c) external relations and international and constitutional affairs, which includes:
- 1. the Island's constitutional position and the relationship with the Crown;
- 2. relations with the United Kingdom and other jurisdictions;
- 3. relations with the European Union and other supranational organisations;
- 4. relations with the other islands of the Bailiwick and the Island's parishes;
- 5. representing, or overseeing the representation of, and negotiating for, the Island;
- 7. executing and requesting the extension of international agreements to which the Island is invited to acquiesce;
- 8. the policy framework regarding overseas aid and development;
- 9. authorising for external relations purposes only the adaptation of titles and offices held within the States.
- (d) other matters which have been delegated to the Committee, which include:
- 1. the policy framework for the regulation of financial services;
- 2. non-operational matters in an emergency to preserve life, wellbeing and law and order.
- To exercise powers and perform duties conferred on the Committee by extant States' resolutions, including those resolutions or parts of resolutions which relate to matters for the time being within the mandate of the Policy & Resources Committee and which conferred functions on the former Policy Council and Treasury and Resources Department.
- To fulfil the responsibilities and operation functions set out below.
Responsibilities
- A. General Responsibilities of the Policy & Resources Committee and all Principal Committees
- 1. to contribute to fulfilling the States' objectives and policy plans, including by supporting and participating in cross-committee work;
- 2. to monitor and report on policy outcomes in areas relating to its mandate;
- 3. to ensure that public funds and other resources are used to best advantage, including through co-operative and flexible working practices.
- B. General Responsibilities of all Committees of the States
- 1. to exercise powers and perform duties conferred on the committee by extant legislation and by extant States' resolutions;
- 2. to be accountable to the States for all policies developed, actions taken and services delivered or overseen by the committee;
- 3. to be accountable to the States for the management and safeguarding of public funds and other resources entrusted to the committee;
- 4. in any policy letter submitted to the States to set out clearly how the proposals contained therein relate to the duties and powers or the purpose and policy responsibilities of the committee, how the proposals contribute to the States' objectives and policy plans and what joint working or consultation has taken place with other committees;
- 5. to act in accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the States and their committees;
- 6. to be aware of the powers, duties and limits of the committee's mandate and to respect and not to undermine the mandates of other committees of the States;
- 7. to be aware that a committee of the States is in effect an agent of the States of Guernsey exercising functions conferred on it by resolution of, or legislation approved by, the States of Deliberation; and as such to respect that, save in specific circumstances where legislation provides otherwise, the States may at any time they consider it desirable issue directions to a committee and that committee shall be expected to carry into effect any such directions irrespective of whether that committee or any of its individual members agree or disagree with such directions: provided that the rejection by the States of recommendations or advice of a committee shall not ipso facto require the resignation of that committee.
- C. Reference to Enactments
- 1. unless otherwise provided, or the context requires otherwise, a reference to an enactment in the mandate of a committee is to be interpreted as a reference to the enactment as from time to time amended, re-enacted with or without modification, extended or applied.
Operational Functions
- The Policy & Resources Committee shall deliver or oversee the delivery of those operational functions which immediately before the 1st of May, 2016 were delivered by:
- (a) the Policy Council, with the exception that the following operational functions will transfer:
- to the Committee for Education, Sport & Culture
- - Island Archives
- to the Committee for Employment & Social Security
- - Legal Aid
- to the Committee for the Environment & Infrastructure
- - Operational matters relating to the preparation of the States' Strategic Land Use Plan
- - Regulatory, advisory, administrative and appeals functions relating to land planning other than those relating to certifying the States' Strategic Land Use Plan
- to H M Greffier
- - Administrative functions relating to the preparation and publication of the Agenda, Billets d'État and other accompanying papers for meetings of the States of Deliberation and the States of Election
- (b) the Treasury and Resources Department, with the exception that the following operational functions will transfer:
- to the States' Trading Supervisory Board
- - Shareholder's functions and duties in respect of the States' trading companies
- - Management of all States-owned and leased property and real estate including the provision of advice to the organisation on property matters and the provision of corporate engineering and architectural services
- (c) the Legislation Select Committee, in relation to the following operational functions only:
- - Advice and support in relation to legislative functions
- (d) the Public Accounts Committee, in relation to the following operational functions only:
- - Advice and support in relation to the appointment of external auditors and their remuneration
Data Protection
- For details regarding how the Committee processes personal data, please see the Data Protection page.
