Amendments to Standing Orders – Jersey Youth Assembly

STATES OF JERSEY

AMENDMENT TO STANDING ORDERS

– JERSEY YOUTH ASSEMBLY

Lodged au Greffe on 11th November 2025 by the Privileges and Procedures Committee Earliest date for debate: 20th January 2026

STATES GREFFE

2025  P.103

PROPOSITION

THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion to make the following amendments to the Standing Orders of the States of Jersey with

immediate effect

1. Standing Order 1 [Interpretation] –

After the definition of "government plan" insert the following –

""Jersey Youth Assembly" means the body endorsed by PPC through its Act dated 28th April 2025."

2. New Standing Order –

After Standing Order 174, insert the following –

"175  Reports from the Jersey Youth Assembly

1. The Executive Group of the Jersey Youth Assembly may present a maximum of three reports to the States on behalf of that Assembly during each school year.
2. Standing  orders  36  and  37  apply  to  reports  approved  by  the Executive Group of the Jersey Youth Assembly for presentation to the States.
3. Where the Executive Group of the Jersey Youth Assembly has presented a report (a "Youth Assembly report") to the States, the relevant  Minister  must,  no  later  than  8  weeks  after  the  Youth Assembly report is  presented,  present a  report to the  States  (a "Minister's report") responding to the Youth Assembly report.
4. In  paragraph  (3),  "relevant  Minister"  means  the  Minister  or Ministers with official responsibility for the topic or topics of the report presented by the Jersey Youth Assembly.
5. If there is more than one relevant Minister, the Ministers must decide which of them is to present the Minister's report to the States and they must confer in the preparation of that report.
6. If  a  Minister's  report  has  been  presented  to  the  States,  at  the following meeting, during the arrangement of public business for future meetings, the Chair of PPC must ask the States to decide whether they wish to consider the Youth Assembly report and the Minister's report in committee.
7. Only one consideration by the States in committee of a Youth Assembly report and a Minister's report may take place during each school year.

8. In this standing order "school year" has the same meaning as in the Education (Jersey) Law 1999."

 PRIVILEGES AND PROCEDURES COMMITTEE

REPORT

The Privileges and Procedures Committee (PPC) has lodged these amendments in order to provide a means by which the Jersey Youth Assembly (JYA) can interact directly with the proceedings of the States Assembly.

In 2024, operational responsibility for what was the Jersey Youth Parliament (JYP) transferred from the Jersey Youth Service to the States Greffe. Subsequent to the transfer, the States Greffe undertook a process of design, engaging with young people and other stakeholders, to confirm how the body would operate and be supported. As a result of this work, the JYP was rebranded as the JYA. However, the underlying purpose of the body remained the same: that it be a representative body of young Islanders that will provide opportunities for them to have their voices heard by the Island's decision-makers.

Feedback from the work of the former JYP was that it was unclear how its decisions and actions had a meaningful impact on the work of the States Assembly and of States Members. In light of that feedback, PPC has agreed it would be beneficial for Standing Orders to clarify how the JYA can interact directly with the States Assembly.

This would be achieved by amending Standing Orders to provide the JYA with the ability to present reports directly to the States Assembly. As a result, the JYA would not need to rely upon a States Member (such as the Minister for Children and Families) or a Committee (such as PPC itself) to agree to present the report on the JYA's behalf.

Once presented to the Assembly, there would be a requirement for the relevant Minister or Ministers to present a response to the JYA's report to the States. There would also then be an obligation on the Chair of PPC to invite the Assembly to decide whether it wished to debate the JYA's report (and the Ministerial Response) in Committee. Whilst in-Committee debates do not allow for votes to be taken, the Standing Orders governing in-Committee debates allow for non-States Members to take part. PPC therefore envisages that any in-Committee debate on a report from the JYA would include representation from the JYA in that debate.

PPC has been mindful of the resource implications of allowing the JYA to present reports and of holding in-Committee debates. The amendments to Standing Orders would therefore limit the number of reports to three, and the number of in-Committee debates to one, during each school year (which runs from 1st September until 31st August the following year).

Structurally, the JYA will consist of an Executive Group (comprising either 5 members or 10% of the full membership of the JYA) that will be elected on an annual basis by the wider membership. It is this Executive Group that would agree the content of any report from the JYA for presentation to the States Assembly.

In addition, the JYA will establish Inquiry Groups that will look into specific topics (such Groups being open to all young people from the ages of 14 to 19). Independently of any in-Committee debates that might arise from these amendments to Standing Orders, there would also be two occasions during each academic year when the JYA would meet in the States Chamber for its own debates.

Financial and staffing implications

There are no additional financial or staffing implications arising from adoption of the proposition. PPC anticipates that work by Ministers on responding to the three JYA reports during each school year would be accommodated within existing resources. The Council of Ministers was briefed on the proposed amendments prior to their lodging. Similarly, the resourcing required to facilitate one in-Committee debate during each school year would be accommodated within the existing resources of the States Greffe.

Children's Rights Impact Assessment

A Children's Rights Impact Assessment (CRIA) has not been prepared in relation to this proposition as a CRIA is not required, in accordance with Schedule 2 to the Children (Convention Rights) (Jersey) Law 2022