Political Awareness and Education Sub-Committee Minutes (Part A)

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Privileges and Procedures Committee Political Awareness and Education Sub-Committee (12th Meeting)

3rd April 2025

  Part A (Non-Exempt)

All members were present, with the exception of Connétable A.N. Jehan of St. John and Deputy M. Tadier of St. Brelade, from whom apologies had been received.

Deputy C.S. Alves of St. Helier Central , Chair (for a time) Connétable M.A. Labey of Grouville

Deputy I. Gardiner of St. Helier North (for a time)

Deputy C.F. Labey of Grouville and St. Martin (for a time) Deputy R.S. Kovacs of St. Saviour (for a time)

In attendance -

J. O' Brien, Head of Digital and Public Engagement, States Greffe

M. Gladwin, Education Manager, Digital and Public Engagement, States Greffe

C. Tucker, Assistant Secretariat Officer, Specialist Secretariat, States Greffe

E. Patterson, Assistant Secretariat Officer, Specialist Secretariat, States Greffe

Note:  The Minutes of this meeting comprise Part A only.

Minutes.  A1. The Minutes of the meeting held on 29th January 2025, having previously been

circulated, were taken as read and were confirmed.

Jersey Youth  A2. The Sub-Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A6 of 29th January 2025, Assembly –  considered  a  presentation  outlining  the  new  programme  format  and  branding programme  materials for the Jersey Youth Assembly (JYA) and heard from Ms. M. Gladwin, format and  Education Manager, Digital and Public Engagement, States Greffe.

branding.

The Sub-Committee recalled that, following significant recruitment challenges in the Jersey Youth Service in 2024, the decision was made to move the programme across  to  the  States  Greffe.  Subsequently,  the  States  Greffe  conducted comprehensive  research  to  inform  the  future  direction  of  the  Jersey  Youth Parliament (JYP). A number of recommendations had been proposed, which aimed to increase opportunities for young people in Jersey to engage with democracy, as follows –

- to establish a closer relationship with the Assembly to enhance visibility;

- to combine the work of the JYP and the JYA, which was previously held annually;

- to name the new combined programme the JYA, to reflect its renewed focus and closer working relationships; and

- to adjust the age range for participants from 12-18 to 14-19 years old.

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Ms. Gladwin informed the Sub-Committee that, in order to ensure that the JYA programme considered the voices of young people in Jersey, the design process had been heavily informed by the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry 2017, the Youth Voice Report 2018, the Children, Young People, and Families Plan 2024-27, feedback from previous Youth Parliament participants and their parents, and input from key stakeholders across the public service.

The proposed updated programme and branding had also been directed by in-depth feedback from 200 young people in person and high-level feedback from over 30 young people via social media. It was noted that the programme had 6 key objectives, as follows –

- to provide young people with regular opportunities to meet for discussion with decision makers;

- to facilitate collaboration between young people and decision makers regarding ongoing projects;

- to provide young people with opportunities to engage with the States Assembly and Jersey’s democratic process;

- to develop young people’s knowledge on how to influence decision making in Jersey;

- to provide young people with opportunities to improve the skills required for future careers; and

- to help young people to connect with peers in other jurisdictions.

It was noted that the JYA would comprise of numerous Inquiry Groups and one Executive Group. Inquiry Groups would discuss and scrutinise relevant political topics and would be open for young people to join year-round. The Executive Group would consist of circa 5 members, as elected on an annual basis by their peers, and these individuals would be responsible for directing the workstreams of the wider JYA membership. The JYA would also be given the opportunity to select 2 topics each year to formally debate in the States Assembly. Additional learning and development opportunities would be available for the entire JYA membership to access, including shadowing, mentoring, and apprenticeships.

The programme was due to commence in September 2025 for young people aged between 14 and 19 years old and would run in tandem with the academic year. Scheduled sessions would be held bi-weekly for approximately 90 minutes, with additional meetings to be held as required. The Sub-Committee also noted possible opportunities for JYA members to be involved in future networking events to further increase their exposure to Jersey’s political field.

The Sub-Committee was apprised of the branding materials for the JYA, which had been produced collaboratively alongside Jersey’s young people. The core colour used across all branding materials, and the JYA logo was the same shade of red used for broader States Assembly branding, forming a cohesive and synergic design that young people felt would be respected. To further maintain a cohesive branding style, 3 background and 3 secondary colours were to be utilised across all JYA materials, such as posters and website headers.

The Sub-Committee discussed a number of avenues in relation to JYA participation in the States Assembly. It was suggested that JYA could submit one written question with notice to a Minister for each States sitting, which the Minister could respond to verbally, allowing other Members to ask supplementary questions. It was also suggested that providing the JYA with the autonomy to submit reports to the States Assembly in their own name and a requirement for Minister to respond to these reports, would further increase the political engagement of JYA Members It was

further suggested that young people could take part in in-committee debates with Members. It was noted that, in order to make these provisions, changes would need to be made to the Standing Orders of the States of Jersey. Therefore, this matter would be referred to the Privileges and Procedures Committee for consideration.

Automatic  A3. The Sub-Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A5 of 29th January 2025, Voter  received  an  oral  update  from  Ms.  J.  O’Brien,  Head  of  Digital  and  Public Registration  Engagement,  States  Greffe,  in  connexion  with  the  ongoing  Automatic  Voter project.  Registration (AVR) project.

It was recalled that the AVR project aimed to streamline the voting process by virtue of the introduction of automatic registration using live data. It was noted that an AVR Communications Plan (the Plan) had been established in which the annual ‘Register to Vote’ letter sent to all households prior to the election would no longer be  required,  allowing  the  election  campaign  to  focus  on  important  messages, including ‘why vote’ and ‘how to vote’. It has been agreed by the AVR Project Board that a telephone helpline be established at key points leading up to the 2026 election, allowing Islanders to query their electoral record.

The Sub-Committee was advised that the AVR project had progressed well and, subject  to  the  approval  of  required  legislative  changes  by  the  Assembly, communication messages included in the Plan would appear on the Vote.je, Parish and Government of Jersey websites, requesting that members of the public review their registration details.

It was acknowledged that risk factors remained which impacted the expected date of completion of the AVR project. One such risk was highlighted in connexion with potential further data protection assessments by the Jersey Office of the Information Commissioner  (JOIC).  The  Sub-Committee  was  advised  that,  should  these assessments be necessary, a delay of circa 26 weeks could impact the introduction of the project to the wider public. Whilst it was agreed that the risk of this was low, a further update would be provided to the Sub-Committee if required. A second risk existed, in that Tirage, the system used by the Viscount office in connexion with Jury Duty selection in the Island, could encounter issues with the proposed updates to  the  Electoral  Registration  System  (ERS).  It  was  agreed  that  any  required enhancements to the Tirage system would be funded by the underspend on the projected budget for AVR to ensure the roll out of the project in a timely manner.

The Sub-Committee noted the position and thanked Ms. O’Brien for the update.

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E-Petitions  A4. The Sub-Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A9 of 29th January 2025, process.  received  an  oral  update  from  Ms.  J.  O’Brien,  Head  of  Digital  and  Public

Engagement, States Greffe, in connexion with the E-Petitions process.

It  was  recalled  that  the  Privileges  and  Procedures  Committee  (PPC)  had

commissioned  a  review  into  the  thresholds  of  the  petitions  process  and  its

comparison to other jurisdictions. For example, it was noted that within the current

process, a threshold of 5,000 petition signatures was in place to activate an in-

Committee debate. It was also noted that whilst the process provided an accessible

channel for Islanders to raise awareness of pertinent issues, having been in place for

eight years, it was timely review how it might be improved. A Consultation Plan for

the E-Petitions process had been formulated, which sought to achieve the following -

− gather feedback from 1,000 Islanders;

− measure awareness of the 2 petition systems available in the Island;

− note the experiences and views of Islanders who had lodged or signed a petition; and

− evaluate public opinion on the effectiveness of the current systems as a vehicle for change in Jersey.

The Consultation Plan would utilise anonymised surveys (online and paper) to seek the opinion of all Islanders, with particular consideration to be given to non-English speakers, young Islanders, previous petitioners, non-digital users, charities, industry bodies, community groups and local media outlets. Work had begun on formulating survey questions for approval by PPC, and it was envisaged that the implementation of any updates to the petitions processes would be in place by quarter 3 of 2025.

The Sub-Committee was advised that, whilst it had been envisaged that the survey would accrue circa 1,000 responses, the survey had received just over 330 responses to date. It was noted that the survey deadline had subsequently been extended until 20th April 2025, in order to obtain a greater breadth of responses. It was noted that a  recent  ‘pop-up’  event  in  St.  Helier  with  elected  Members  had  successfully influenced survey engagement and that more ‘pop-up’ events could be held prior to the survey deadline to improve response rates. It was acknowledged that whilst the survey  deadline  could  be  further  extended,  this  would  delay  the  scheduled conclusion of the project.

The Sub-Committee noted the position and thanked Ms. O’Brien for the update.

Events for  A5. The Sub-Committee received an oral update from Ms. J. O’Brien, Head of prospective  Digital and Public Engagement, States Greffe, in connexion with upcoming events candidates  for prospective candidates.

It was recalled that the recent International Women’s Day event, held on 8th March 2025 by Vote.je, had given members of the public the opportunity to hear from current female States Members and undertake a guided tour of the States Chamber. The event had celebrated female political pioneers and aimed to inspire women in the Island to stand in the 2026 public election. In consideration of the success of the event, it was planned that further events of this nature be organised in advance of the 2026 public election for the broader public.

The Sub-Committee thanked Ms. O’Brien for the update.

Ongoing  A6. The Sub-Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A7 of 29th January 2025, research –  received  an  oral  update  from  Ms.  J.  O’Brien,  Head  of  Digital  and  Public update.  Engagement, States Greffe, in connexion with ongoing research into young people’s

political engagement.

The Sub-Committee recalled that research had been undertaken by the University College London, whereby 2 focus groups has been established, which included young people aged 18 to 25. Additionally, a survey had been co-created by the focus group participants to gather thoughts on political engagement within this particular demographic. It was noted that the survey had been circulated in February 2025, and the data gathered would help to inform the 2026 election campaign.

The Sub-Committee was advised that the survey had received over 140 responses, and that analysis of the survey’s findings was progressing and would be presented to the Sub-Committee in due course. The Sub-Committee was also informed that the questions were being finalised for the Jersey Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (JOLS) 2025. It was noted that 2024 iteration of the JOLS had been successful in informing the work of the Digital and Public Engagement Team.

The Sub-Committee thanked Ms. O’Brien for the update.

Date of next  A7. The Sub-Committee noted that the next scheduled meeting would be held on meeting.  8th May 2025, from 2.00 pm – 4.00 pm in the Blampied Room.