Thursday 29 April 2021
The Policy & Resources Committee, which has responsibility for the relationship with the parish Douzaines, wants to work more closely with the Douzaines in future.
On Tuesday night, at a presentation to parish representatives, Deputy Heidi Soulsby, Vice-President of the Policy & Resources Committee and Chair of the Douzaine Liaison Group, explained how the Committee believed there were many opportunities to do things differently as the Government Work Plan is delivered.
Deputy Soulsby, who was joined by her fellow members of the Douzaine Liaison Group, Deputies Aldwell, Matthews and Moakes, acknowledged the breadth and depth of knowledge that existed across the parishes and said that tapping into that could support one of the four priorities of the Government Work Plan, namely right-sizing, or re-shaping, government.
As a first step, the Douzaine Liaison Group is seeking volunteers from the parishes to form a working group to look at potential opportunities for the parishes to become more involved in the delivery of some services. Lockdown had proved how effective the parishes could be in supporting their communities, and Deputy Soulsby thanked them for their efforts in this respect.
Speaking afterwards, Deputy Soulsby said
"We need to think differently about how we deliver our services and the parishes are well-placed to help in that respect. What we have done this evening is start a conversation about how we might go about involving them more in the future and changing the whole relationship with them. We haven't been prescriptive about what that might look like because we want to hear their ideas first, which is why we are setting up the working group."
The presentation was well attended, with every parish sending several representatives.
Mick Fooks, Chair of the Douzaine Council, said
"We're pleased that the new Policy & Resources Committee has recognised the skills and experience that exist across the parish Douzaines. The mood in the room was overwhelmingly positive tonight and I believe we have a great opportunity for the parishes to work more closely with government in the future, to the benefit of our community."
