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

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Privileges and Procedures Committee
Political Awareness and Education Sub-Committee (2nd Meeting)

6th November 2025

  Part A (Non-Exempt)

All members were present, with the exception of Deputies C.F. Labey of Grouville and K.M. Wilson of St. Clement , from whom apologies had been received.

Deputy C.S. Alves of St. Helier Central , Chair Deputy I. Gardiner of St. Helier North , Vice Chair Connétable A.N. Jehan of St. John

Connétable K. Shenton-Stone of St. Martin Deputy R.S. Kovacs of St. Saviour

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, Secretariat Officer, Specialist Secretariat, States Greffe

E. Patterson, 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 18th September 2025, having previously

been circulated, were taken as read and were confirmed.

Coming-of-age  A2. The Sub-Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A4 of 18th September events.  2025, received an oral update from Connétable A.N. Jehan of St. John , in connexion

with the Coming-of-Age' events which were due to be hosted by parishes and were designed to increase political engagement.

It was recalled that the events sought to encourage engagement with the democratic process. As attendance levels at recent events organised for new parishioners had been disappointing, it had been suggested that the Comité des Connétable s establish a schedule of events ahead of the 2026 public election.

Connétable K. Shenton-Stone of St. Martin advised the Sub-Committee that the above matter was due to be considered by the Comité at its next meeting, and an update would be provided in due course.

Jersey Youth  A3. The Sub-Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A6 of 18th September Assembly.  2025, received an oral update from Mesdames. J. O' Brien, Head of Digital and

Public Engagement (DPE), States Greffe, and M. Gladwin, Education Manager, DPE, States Greffe, in connexion with the Jersey Youth Assembly (JYA).

It was recalled that the Sub-Committee, as previously constituted, had endorsed the new programme format and rebranding of the JYA. A number of options had been

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discussed in relation to strengthening the relationship of the JYA with the States Assembly, as follows –

- extending authority to the JYA under Standing Order 25 to submit reports to the States Assembly in its own name;

- a requirement for Ministerial responses to reports; and,

- participation by JYA members in in-committee debates with elected Members, which was already facilitated under Standing Order 972(b).

The Sub-Committee recalled that the Privileges and Procedures Committee (PPC) had considered the revised format, and concerns had been raised in connexion with the frequency of in-committee debates arising from JYA reports and the impact this would have on States business. Consequently, the proposals had been revised so that a maximum of 3 JYA reports would be presented to the States each year and the number  of  in-committee  debates  would  be  limited  to  3  per  year.  Following consideration of the revised proposals on 6th October 2025, PPC had endorsed the recommendation to limit the number of reports presented by the JYA to 3 per year, but had concluded that only one in-committee debate should be held each year, rather than the 3 proposed. A maximum of 3 members of the JYA would participate in the debate. Concerns remained about the lack of a tangible outcome arising from the in- committee debate mechanism and the resultant potential for disengagement. It had also been agreed that topics for in-committee debates should be reviewed in the first instance by the Sub-Committee ahead of consideration by the main Committee. PPC would also consider draft amendments to the relevant Standing Orders at is meeting on 10th November 2026. It was also noted that the Council of Ministers had been briefed on the proposals on 14th October 2025, and support for the revised format had been received.

The Sub-Committee was advised that there were currently 144 members of the JYA, with additional members being able to join at any time during the academic year. The Executive Group of 5 core members had been elected and a further 6 members who would join the Group on a rotational basis. It was advised that the JYA had submitted its first review paper in connexion with the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel review of the 2026-2029 Government of Jersey budget (P.70/2025 refers). A number of opportunities for JYA members were noted, to include an invitation to attend a Youth Parliament session at the House of Commons in relation to mental health and wellbeing. Attention was also drawn to a document entitled Engaging with  the  Jersey  Youth  Assembly:  A  Short  Guide'  which  aimed  to  improve understanding  of  the  role  of  the  JYA  and  provide  information  on engagement/participation and input. The guide would be made available to all States Members via Microsoft Teams.

It was noted that the JYA was due to hold its inaugural meeting in the States Assembly Chamber on 4th December 2025. It was advised that the following topics would be considered during the debate -

how to encourage young Islanders to remain or return to Jersey;

single sex education; and,

assisted dying.

On a related matter, Connétable A.N. Jehan of St. John advised that a briefing for States Members on the proposed redevelopment of Fort Regent project would be held on 7th November 2025, and he suggested that a similar briefing be arranged for the JYA. To further enhance engagement and inclusivity further, Deputy I. Gardiner of St. Helier North , Vice Chair suggested that the JYA participate in International

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Women's Day events in March 2026. In this connexion, she requested that officers provide a breakdown of the number of male and female JYA members.

The Sub-Committee noted the position.

Democracy  A4. The Sub-Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A11 of 18th September Week 2025.  2025, received a PowerPoint presentation and heard from Ms. J. O' Brien, Head of

Digital and Public Engagement, States Greffe, in connexion with the sixth annual Democracy Week campaign in 2025.

It was recalled that Democracy Week events had been held between 20th and 27th September  2025  and  had  included  the  following  –

- inaugural meeting of the Jersey Youth Assembly (Minute No. A3 of the extant meeting refers);

- outreach activities, including pop-up stands, across the Island;

- guided tours of the States Chamber;

- distribution of Easy Read leaflets about the States Assembly and voting in Jersey - in Portuguese - were distributed by hand;

- political history walking tours;

- school visits (inbound and outbound);

- Democracy Week Activity packs (primary) and resources (secondary) were provided to all schools

- a screening of the Suffragette film and an exhibition of the 1924 women's petition at the Jersey Museum, which had been attended by 37 Islanders;

- a People Power' exhibition in the Royal Square;

- the second anniversary of the States Assembly podcast;

- political literary display at Jersey Library;

- social media content across all three brands;

- Plan to Stand' breakfast events, which had been attended by 13 prospective election candidates (bringing the total across three Plan to Stand' events to 46); and,

- the final of the Mark my Words' oracy competition for Year 8 pupils.

Feedback from events had been positive and it was estimated that circa. 3,000 Islanders had engaged with Democracy Week events. Opportunities arising from events included potential future collaboration with the Jersey Festival of Words, a month-long democracy festival and the creation of informal events that engaged parents. It was noted that whilst Democracy Week had been established to coincide with  the  anniversary  of  the  Corn  riots,  consideration  was  being  given  to  the organisation of events which aligned with the academic year, The opportunity for the Jersey Youth Assembly (JYA) to participate in 2026 Democracy Week events was also noted.

Deputy C.S. Alves of St. Helier Central , Chair, advised the Sub-Committee that she had previously been invited to an event hosted by World Teen Parliament, a globally elected parliament of teenagers. The collaborative and educational opportunities associated  with  this  were  noted  and  officers  undertook  to  research  and  share information in this connexion with JYA Members.

On a related matter, the Sub-Committee was advised that upcoming events in 2026 in  advance  of  the  public  election  included  a  6  week  course  for  prospective candidates. Information pertaining to the same would be communicated before the end of 2025.

Automatic  A5. The Sub-Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A7 of 18th September Voter  2025, received an oral update from Ms. J. O' Brien, Head of Digital and Public

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Registration  Engagement, States Greffe, in connexion with the Automatic Voter Registration project.  (AVR) project.

The Sub-Committee recalled that, in adopting P.27/2025 – draft Elections (Electoral Registers)  (Jersey)  Amendment  Law  202-, the  States  Assembly  had  approved changes which enabled a move to AVR, replacing the current paper-based opt in' system with a database created from the People Directory. In practice, this meant that, rather than completing an annual statement which listed those eligible for inclusion on the electoral register, members of the public who were over 16 years old and who met the residency criteria, would automatically be included on the register. It was anticipated that this would make it easier for people to exercise their democratic rights and would remove barriers to voting.

The Sub-Committee noted that, as a result of delays to the project timeline, the Sub- Committee was advised that the Privy Council had only approved the Elections (Electoral Registers) (Jersey) Amendment Law 2025 and the Elections (Jersey) Amendment Law 2025 on 15th October 2025, therefore the Law does not yet have an agreed commencement date, therefore the current Law required that the 2025 annual statements had been issued by parish authorities for the final time in Autumn 2025.

The Sub-Committee noted the position.

Matters for  A6. The Sub-Committee noted the following matters for information - information.

- that  items  for  inclusion  in  the  Sub-Committee's  2026  legacy  report  be considered at the next scheduled meeting; and,

- Deputy C.S. Alves of St. Helier Central , Chair, suggested that, subsequent to the States Assembly decision to decrease voting eligibility requirements to one year's residency (P.28/2025 refers), targeted messaging to increase awareness of the same might be required. It was noted that planning was underway in respect  of  the  communication  campaign  associated  with  the  2026  public election. Lunch and Learn' events were also planned.

2026 meeting  A7. The Sub-Committee received and noted a list of proposed meeting dates for dates.  2026, as follows –

- 15th January 2026; and,

- 5th March 2026.

It was noted that calendar invitations would be extended for the meetings.

The Sub-Committee agreed to cancel its next meeting, which was due to be held on 18th December 2025, as a result of scheduling conflicts.