15 January 2023
The Government of Jersey takes the resilience of the Island very seriously indeed and is
constantly reviewing how it is assessing the challenges ahead and learning from those
which we have recently faced.
For example, the Report of the Jersey Independent COVID-19 Review, High Expectations,
contained a number of recommendations aimed at ensuring that civil contingencies
legislation in the States of Jersey is up-to-date and fit planning for and responding
effectively to future major emergencies, and other potential shocks and risks. In particular,
it recommended that a new Civil Contingencies Law be prioritised to be completed
within two years.
This Recommendation echoed a Recommendation made by the Scrutiny Liaison
Committee (SLC) / Public Accounts Committee (PAC) who, in their report on the response
to the COVID-19 pandemic (Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic by the Government of
Jersey), recommended that "the Government should prioritise the replacement of the 32
year old Emergency Powers and Planning (Jersey) Law 1990 in order to ensure that it
fully reflects the realities of ministerial governance for future crises, drawing on learnings
from the Covid 19 pandemic."
In producing proposals for a new Civil Contingencies Law, the Government wants to ensure
that:
- It covers all experience gained in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including
explicitly addressing the areas identified for improvement by the COVID-19 Review
and the Comptroller and Auditor General
- It covers fully the respective roles of the Council of Ministers and of the
Emergencies Council in circumstances where a State of Emergency has not been
declared, one of the key areas identified by the Comptroller and Auditor General
- The conclusions are soundly based; it gathers evidence from a wide range of
organisations and individuals, not only within the public sector but also in
businesses, in the voluntary and community sector, and in Parishes and
communities
- It draws on international leading practice on the legislative arrangements that best
support the building of resilience and preparedness across an island state like
Jersey.
The Government has asked Bruce Mann and Kathy Settle to facilitate the development
of proposals for this new legislation. Bruce and Kathy are highly experienced resilience
experts who previously led the Civil Contingencies Secretariat in the Cabinet Office in the
UK Government as Director and Deputy Director, including in the introduction and
amendment of the UK's civil contingencies legislation. They have also supported a range of
international governments in improving their emergency preparedness, and a number of
Local Resilience Forums in England. In March 2022, they also published an Independent Review of the [UK] Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and its Supporting Arrangements which
drew on international best practice in making recommendations on how UK resilience
could be improved, which was cited by the UK Government as influencing their thinking in
the recently published UK Government Resilience Framework.
The Government has also asked that their study will deliver a report on the current civil
contingencies arrangements in the Island of Jersey, including identification of areas for
improvement. This study will take place from January to June 2023 and will involve
engagement with various stakeholders. It will not only shape the law but also the future
planning and response arrangements and any required further mitigations as we continue
to respond to global challenges. We will also work on building resilience in collaboration
with our neighbour Guernsey as these issues extend beyond our shores.
Resilience building is always a work in progress and we will continue to keep the safety of
Islanders and the future of our Island at the core of this endeavour, as evidenced by our
recent work on the recent major incidents at Haut du Mont and at sea, the war in Ukraine,
and Brexit.
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