States Meeting Summary 9 December
States Assembly
9 December 2025
Public BusinessAt the start of Public Business, the Council of Ministers accepted a further amendment to the proposed Budget. The amendment that was accepted was Amendment 21.
The Assembly then resumed the debate on the Government’s Proposed Budget, beginning with the continuation of the debate on Amendment 32.
P.70 Proposed Budget: Amendment 32 – Environment Department funding
The Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel proposed an amendment which would restore the Environment Department’s Budget to its 2025 levels and not subject it to a cut of £656,000 for 2026.
The States Assembly voted to APPROVE the Panel’s amendment with 44 votes for, 1 vote against and 0 abstentions.
You can view how Members voted on our website.
Skip 2 hours and 39 minutes into yesterday afternoon’s recording to watch the beginning of this debate, and 8 minutes into this morning’s debate to watch the conclusion and vote.
P.70 Proposed Budget: Amendment 30 - No Agricultural Loans for Cannabis-based products
Deputy Karen Wilson proposed an amendment to remove any possibility that the Agricultural Loans Scheme could be used to provide publicly funded financial assistance to growers of medicinal cannabis in Jersey.
The Council of Ministers proposed an amendment to Amendment 30, which would limit the amount of the Agricultural Loans Scheme being used for growers of medicinal cannabis, to no more than 10% of the total funding, and would therefore not exclude them.
The Assembly voted to APPROVE the Council of Ministers’ amendment to Amendment 30, with 28 votes for, 13 votes against and 3 abstentions.
You can view how Members voted on our website.
The Assembly then voted to APPROVE Deputy Wilson’s amendment, as amended by the Council of Ministers (limiting cannabis loans to no more than 10% of total funding), with 39 votes for, 4 votes against and 2 abstentions.
You can view how Members voted on our website.
Skip 29 minutes into this morning’s recording to watch the debate in full.
P.70 Proposed Budget: Amendment 8 - Sport addition to Jersey Premium
Deputy Lucy Stephenson proposed an amendment to take £350,000 from Cabinet Office expenditure and put into Education and Lifelong Learning to support a pilot project for the introduction of an additional sport and Physical Education component within Jersey Premium funding, to run in 2026 with the same amount made available in 2027.
The Assembly voted to REJECT the Deputy’s amendment, with 11 votes for, 32 votes against and 1 abstention.
Skip to 1 hour and 48 minutes into this morning’s recording to watch the debate in full.
You can view how Members voted on our website.
P.70 Proposed Budget: Amendment 31 - Empty residential properties
The Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel proposed an amendment which would reserve £250,000 of the Cabinet Office Head of Expenditure for the development of a policy to tackle empty residential properties and reduce long-term housing pressures.
Deputy Alex Curtis proposed an amendment to Amendment 31 which would reduce the ring-fenced money from £250k to £25k, with an empty homes policy to be developed in-house with existing resources, and a small budget for external input if required.
The Assembly voted to REJECT the Deputy’s amendment to Amendment 31, with 16 votes for, 27 votes against and 0 abstentions.
You can view how Members voted on our website.
The Council of Ministers then proposed a second amendment to Amendment 31, stating that ring-fenced money is not required to develop a policy on empty homes as existing resources and expertise can be used until such time as a clear plan has been developed, after which additional resources can then be sought if needed.
The Assembly voted to APPROVE the Council of Ministers’ second amendment to Amendment 31, with 40 votes for, 4 votes against and 0 abstentions.
You can view how Members voted on our website.
The Assembly then voted to APPROVE the Panel’s Amendment, as amended by the Council of Ministers (not to ring-fence money until a clear plan has been developed), with 41 votes for, 3 votes against and 0 abstentions.
You can view how Members voted on our website.
Skip to 2 hours and 40 minutes into this morning’s recording to watch the beginning of the debate and the start of this afternoon’s recording to watch the conclusion and vote.
P.70 Proposed Budget: Amendment 35 – Reduction in Public Expenditure
Deputy Kristina Moore proposed an amendment which would cut the Government’s proposed expenditure by more than £89million, keeping it at 2025 levels.
This would mean a cut in the proposed budget for Health and Care Jersey by £57.2million; Economic Development, Tourism Sport and Culture by £5.7million; and the Treasury and Exchequer by £26.6million.
The Assembly voted to REJECT the Deputy’s amendment, with 2 votes for, 40 votes against and 1 abstention.
You can view how Members voted on our website.
Skip 22 minutes into this afternoon’s recording to watch the debate in full.
P.70 Proposed Budget: Amendment 23 – Increased Police funding
The Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel proposed an amendment which would reduce Health and Care Jersey expenditure by £240,000 and increase States of Jersey Police expenditure by the same amount to assist with their cost pressures.
The Assembly voted to APPROVE the Panel’s amendment, with 36 votes for, 5 votes against and 1 abstention.
You can view how Members voted on our website.
Skip 1 hour and 40 minutes into this afternoon’s recording to watch the debate in full.
P.70 Proposed Budget: Amendment 22 – Victoria Marine Lake Repair and Maintenance
Deputy Inna Gardiner proposed to fund the necessary repairs to the Victoria Marine Lake in St Helier by reducing the expenditure for the Economic Development Arts, Heritage and Culture Budget by £200,000, and the Infrastructure Rolling Vote and Public Realm by £200,000.
The amendment also requests that the Minister for Treasury and Resources request the States of Jersey Development Company fund a further £200,000. Going forward the Marine Lake should be allocated £60,000 per year from Infrastructure.
The Assembly voted to REJECT the Deputy’s amendment, with 2 votes for, 41 votes against and 2 abstentions.
You can view how Members voted on our website.
Skip 2 hours and 6 minutes into this afternoon’s recording to watch the debate in full.
P.70 Proposed Budget: Amendment 28 – Funding for respite care
Deputy Karen Wilson proposed an amendment that the monies detailed in the Health and Care Budget for growth funding of Assisted Dying be removed and instead put towards Respite Care to improve palliative service.
This relates to £525,000 in 2026, £727,00 in 2027, £688,00 in 2028 and £718,000 in 2029.
Skip 3 hours into this afternoon’s recording to watch the amendment be read out in full. The Assembly adjourned before debate could begin.
Adjournment
The States Assembly will reconvene at 9:30am tomorrow, Wednesday 10 December, to begin the debate on Amendment 28 to the Proposed Budget 2026-2029.
Please note, Amendment 34 relating to ring-fenced funding for the Election on 6 June 2026 was withdrawn by the Comité des Connétables.
