Government of Jersey

The Government of Jersey is the executive body of the States of Jersey and is the central government of the Bailiwick of Jersey. The government is led by the Chief Minister, who nominates all the remaining ministers, all elected by the States Assembly.
All Ministers of the Government are required to be elected States members and are accountable to it. They make statements in and take questions from the assembly. The government is dependent on the assembly to make primary legislation, however ministers can make secondary legislation, such as Orders and Regulations. The government is not formed of one single party, but made of multiple independent members.
The 'Government of Jersey' is the official identity of the executive and administrative arm of the States of Jersey. The government no longer uses the term States of Jersey in reference to executive and administrative departments.

History

Under the uncodified constitution of Jersey, executive power lies in the Council of Ministers, formed of the Chief Minister and his ministers. Before 2005, the States of Jersey held both legislative and executive power through committee-led government
Since the implementation of the States of Jersey Law 2005, the executive and legislative functions have been split between the Council of Ministers and States Assembly respectively. In 2019, the Council of Ministers formally adopted the identity of the 'Government of Jersey' for the executive responsibilities of the States.

Ministers

The decision-making body for the island's government is the Council of Ministers. The Council lead the island's executive and administrative governance. The ministers are nominated by the Chief Minister or by any States member and confirmed by the States Assembly. The States of Jersey Law 2005 establishes the role and function of ministers.
The administration of the Government is made up by a number of departments that may have more than one minister. The Ministers are responsible each for an area of policy. The Ministers provide policy direction to civil service officers, having given fair consideration and due weight to informed and impartial advice from such officer.
A new Chief Minister is appointed after:

every ordinary election of Deputies
the previous Chief Minister ceases to be a States member
the previous Chief Minister resigns, is incapacitated or is deceased
the States have no confidence in the Chief Minister or the whole Council
One Government

Under the 'One Government' structure implemented by former Government Chief Executive Charlie Parker, there are nine government departments.

Department	Group	Group Director	Minister
Office of the Chief Executive	CEO and Head of Public Service	Paul Martin Interim from March	Chief Minister
Office of the Chief Executive	Chief of Staff	Catherine Madden	Chief Minister
Office of the Chief Executive	Financial Services and Digital Economy	Richard Corrigan
Office of the Chief Executive	Economy	Dan Houseago
Office of the Chief Executive	Communications	Dirk Danino-Forsyth
Office of the Chief Executive	External Relations	Kate Nutt	Ian Gorst
Office of the Chief Executive	Partnerships	TBD
Customer and Local Services Director General: Ian Burns	Customer Services	Sophie Le Sueur
Customer and Local Services Director General: Ian Burns	Customer Operations	Steve Jackson
Customer and Local Services Director General: Ian Burns	Local Services	Paul McGinnety
Children, Young People, Education and Skills Director General: Mark Rogers	Children's Services	Susan Devlin
Children, Young People, Education and Skills Director General: Mark Rogers	Education	Seán O'Regan
Children, Young People, Education and Skills Director General: Mark Rogers	Young People, Further Education, Skills and Learning	Saboohi Famili
Health and Community Services Director General: Caroline Landon	Group Managing Director	Rob Sainsbury
Health and Community Services Director General: Caroline Landon	Group Medical Director	Patrick Armstrong Interim
Health and Community Services Director General: Caroline Landon	Chief Nurse	Rose Taylor
Health and Community Services Director General: Caroline Landon	Health Modernisation	Hilary Lucas
Infrastructure, Housing and Environment Acting Director General: Andrew Scate	Natural Environment	Willie Peggie
Infrastructure, Housing and Environment Acting Director General: Andrew Scate	Operations and Transport	Ellen Littlechild
Infrastructure, Housing and Environment Acting Director General: Andrew Scate	Regulation	TBD
Infrastructure, Housing and Environment Acting Director General: Andrew Scate	Property	Tim Daniels
Infrastructure, Housing and Environment Acting Director General: Andrew Scate	Capital Projects	TBD
Justice and Home Affairs Director General: Julian Blazeby	Public Protection and Law Enforcement	Kate Briden
Strategic Policy, Planning and Performance Director General: Tom Walker	Policy	TBD
Strategic Policy, Planning and Performance Director General: Tom Walker	Strategic Planning and Performance	Dr Anuschka Muller
Strategic Policy, Planning and Performance Director General: Tom Walker	Strategy and Innovation	Steve Skelton
Strategic Policy, Planning and Performance Director General: Tom Walker	Statistics Jersey	Dr Duncan Gibaut, Chief Statistician
Strategic Policy, Planning and Performance Director General: Tom Walker	Medical Officer of Health	Dr Ivan Muscat Deputy
Treasury and Exchequer Director General: Richard Bull	Comptroller of Revenue	Richard Summersgill
Treasury and Exchequer Director General: Richard Bull	Strategic Finance	Alison Rogers
Treasury and Exchequer Director General: Richard Bull	Performance Accounting and Reporting	Steven Mair
Treasury and Exchequer Director General: Richard Bull	Treasury and Investment Management	Simon Hayward
Treasury and Exchequer Director General: Richard Bull	Risk and Audit	Mike Thomas
Cabinet Office Chief Operating Officer: John Quinn	People and Corporate Services	Mark Grimley
Cabinet Office Chief Operating Officer: John Quinn	Commercial Services	Maria Benbow
Cabinet Office Chief Operating Officer: John Quinn	Modernisation and Digital	Fiona Capstick

In April 2018, the States approved changes to the Government machinery. The Chief Executive was appointed the Principal Accounting Officer for public finances, giving them the control and responsibility for government spending. The Government states this change has improved funding allocations and government transparency. In February 2022, the Democratic Accountability and Governance Sub-Committee.
The same proposition also proposed to make the Government a single legal entity. Currently, each Minister forms a single corporation sole, however when the changes are implemented, 'Jersey Ministers' as a single entity will become legally responsible for all areas of government. The argument in favour of this is that it will allow more cross-Ministerial working. However, some are worried that this move would lead to more centralisation of power in the Chief Minister and Chief Executive.
The OneGovernment structure has been criticised for blurring the lines of accountability in the Government and that the introduction of the reforms 'have had a negative effect on governance' because departments are no longer necessarily have one political lead. On 28 April 2022, the States voted to scrap the One Government scheme and return to Minister-led government departments by the end of the year.

Departments

Office of the Chief Executive

The Office of the Chief Executive ' to support the Council of Ministers in delivering Jersey's long-term strategic objectives'. It answers to the Council of Ministers as a whole, however its primary Ministers are the Chief Minister, Minister for External Relations and Assistant Chief Minister for Communications. The department is structured into the –

Office of the Chief of Staff - supports Ministers and day-to-day Government business
External Relations Directorate - handles Jersey's relationship with other countries, including the UK
Directorate of Communications - 'aims to inform, educate and persuade islanders so that their daily lives are enhanced by the Government, and their voices are heard by the elected Council of Ministers'
Customer and Local Services

Customer and Local Services' mission statement is 'CLS's priority is making it easy for customers'. Customer and Local Services is split into three directorates, two of which are split into 'Hubs' –

Customer Operations Directorate
* Work and Family Hub - income support, work-related benefits, Housing Advisory Service
* Pensions and Care Hub - pensions, long-term care, and income support for pensioners
Customer Services Directorate
* Business Hub - business licensing, employer contributions and manpower
* Service Hub - registration cards, customs and passports, One Gov support, People Hub
Local Services Directorate - Superintendendent Registrar, libraries, disability strategy and Crematorium