I am sure I will upset the traditionalists over this, after all the Royal Court has been the home of the States since time immemorial. But times have changed and in fact, last year, a successful motion was brought to establish a more formal use or priority for States Members to use areas of the Court building for their Parliamentary business whilst in session. This was partly because very occasionally, there may be conflicting demand for the Royal Court itself (should a scheduled States Meeting overrun), but also, there was demand for Deputies to be able to meet either as groups, or individually, or even with constituents.
Sir Charles Frossard House (SCFH) does have a Members room which some Deputies do use from time to time, but SCFH is primarily the home of much of the Civil Service and it is not the place that most Islanders might imagine going to in order to discuss a private matter with a Deputy. Furthermore, if an individual has a complaint about any States Member or wants to register dissatisfaction with some decision of the Assembly, or a Committee – where is the logical place to do that? There isn’t one – which perhaps is why people will just fire off an email to the All Deputies address and then wait and see.
But regardless of the foregoing, the fact that The Assembly sits (normally) for up to 3 days every 3 weeks (meaning there isn’t even a specific day of the month when it will actually be in session) and if you want to attend, you have to go first to the Court Building, then detour towards the Royal Court because there is no PERMANENT home for the States Assembly. This contributes I believe, to both a lack of a distinct identity and certainly lessens the perception of your Government as an institution. More importantly, if your Government doesn’t have any apparent Home – it doesn’t carry a lot of authority either. This all goes to undermine credibility – and it encourages the ‘Government by Facebook’ approach.
So, why St James? Well, a number of reasons. Firstly, it is in itself an historical monument with a very impressive facade and attractive interior, providing a number of different rooms in order to accommodate many types of functions and activities. Secondly, it’s proximity to the offices of the Greffier and Court Officers such as the Procureur and the Comptroller, who also attend States Meetings. Thirdly, it has already been widely publicised that it faces closure as a venue as it is struggling to attract sufficient business. It is certainly not beyond the realms of possibility that much of its existing business could continue, given the needs of the Assembly every month. Finally, it is also accessible – there is immediate parking for disabled access for example, and there is also a cafe which would very likely fare much better if there was States business being conducted, not just when it was in session, but also if other, related support opportunities were made available to the Public.
St James offers an attractive proposition for a permanent home for The States of Deliberation and Election. But what do YOU think? Use the comments box below to reply.
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