Deputy Tracey Vallois resigned on Monday as Assistant Treasury Minister following months of frustration and warnings to her minister, Senator Alan Maclean.
She says that despite her best efforts to integrate with the Council of Ministers she was never trusted or given any real responsibility, was excluded from meetings and never made to feel a part of the team.
The Deputy, who has been in the States for seven years –much of that spent scrutinising Treasury in her role on the Public Accounts Committee – is now questioning whether she was only ever invited to take on the ministerial role a year ago to ‘keep her quiet’ and away from the Scrutiny process.
And in a parting shot to her former colleagues she has criticised the ‘disorganised’ top levels of government, especially the role of the chief executive – currently John Richardson – who she says has too much power.
The Deputy now plans to lodge a proposition on the role of the chief executive and has called for ‘huge improvements’ to the system, particularly around time management, engagement and meeting deadlines.
Deputy Vallois said she would now be seeking a return to Scrutiny – a role which would enable her to challenge alongside a team rather than on her own from the ‘inside’.
‘I had a certain reluctance to go into the role in the first place but thought “nothing ventured nothing gained”,’ she said. ‘But as I have found out, being an Assistant Minister doesn’t necessarily mean you get any delegated responsibility.
‘It took ten months just to get invited to all my minister’s meetings – that was the first bell ringing that something was not right.’
In her letter of resignation, the St John Deputy says that she has raised her concerns about the chief executive with the Chief Minister and his Treasury Minister.
‘I am struggling to be convinced that the current position is the right way forward,’ she says. ‘Having met with the States Employment Board on this matter it leaves me feeling uncomfortable and, although sympathetic to the situation, this is too important to allow to continue without due consideration. The Chief Minister was given an option by myself as to how this should be taken forward and I have heard nothing since.’
She adds: ‘I have concluded that my skills and abilities would be better utilised through the function of a backbencher or via the scrutiny process.’
Dear Alan,
After serving through the Scrutiny process for almost 6 years the opportunity arose last year to become your Assistant Minister. As cautious as I was, I saw this as a way to integrate my skills into the executive and assist the Council of Ministers with some extremely challenging policies going forward.
During the past year I have assisted with work on property, utilities, the MTFP, Scrutiny responses, Treasury ministerial decisions, the budget, the hospital, health spending, higher education funding, personal taxation and attended numerous Council of Ministers meetings. Even though I am told I am a valuable member of the team it would appear I am the only Assistant Minister to yet receive any delegation or to be given the ability to lead any projects, even with my 7 years of political experience.
This is through no fault of my own. I have consistently raised issues with yourself and the Chief Minister and have been met with endless promises that never come to fruition. A warning was given to you on the 31 July 2015 via email that my position was becoming untenable and an email of resignation was provided on the 5th October 2015 due to continued ignorance of the situation.
Whether it is an issue of trust or not, my ability to achieve anything worthwhile is hampered as an Assistant Minister.
A serious concern that I have raised with you and the Chief Minister is in relation to the role of the Chief Executive and the increased power this role has received. I have been left in a position whereby I am expected to have confidence in a very difficult plan of reform to be delivered and I am struggling to be convinced that the current position is the right way forward. Having met with the States Employment Board on this matter it leaves me feeling uncomfortable and, although sympathetic to the situation, this is too important to allow to continue without due consideration. The Chief Minister was given an option by myself as to how this should be taken forward and I have heard nothing since. I will therefore be lodging my proposition on the role of the Chief Executive so that the States Assembly can share their views and be party to the debate on this matter.
On a very basic level, there could be huge improvements to the way in which the Executive is run. When talking about productivity there needs to be serious consideration as to time management, meeting deadlines and keeping to them, sufficient time to challenge policies in a more organized manner politically and a much better engagement policy. Even better use of the data sets held right across the organization.
Documents such as the distributional analysis and an ageing population paper for the MTFP, which I have requested numerous times earlier this year, have also not been produced but have been raised in the FPP report as needed.
Therefore, after careful thought and consideration I have concluded that my skills and abilities would be better utilized through the function of a backbencher or via the scrutiny process and resign from my position as Assistant Minister for Treasury and Resources.
Yours faithfully,
NEWS that a senior politician has quit her job out of frustration with the ministers and senior civil servants who run this Island poses some serious questions for the roles and true intentions of our minsters.
After spending years as a scrutineer, holding the Council of Ministers to account, particularly those at Treasury, Deputy Tracey Vallois was invited to become Assistant Treasury Minister and serve under Treasury Minister Alan Maclean.
She hoped that being on the ‘inside’ would enable her to gain a better understanding of the process of government and be in a position to make more of a difference. However, she is now beginning to wonder whether she was only every invited into the club in a bid to silence her.
In the 12 months that have followed since her appointment, she has discovered meetings have been held without her knowledge, she was never made to feel part of the team and her calls for more responsibility were ignored.
After resigning from her role yesterday, the Deputy has also claimed that the top level of government is ‘disorganised’, and the role of chief executive, currently held by John Richardson, ‘holds too much power’.
She intends to shake things up immediately with a proposition to the States looking particularly at the role of the chief executive. She is also calling for huge improvements in management generally, especially time-keeping and deadline-meeting, which she cites as the government’s biggest failures.
Deputy Vallois should be commended for the stance she has taken. Many States Members enter a career in politics with a raft of promises and values, hoping to shake things up, to make sure that their colleagues are doing their jobs properly and to keep Islanders’ interests at heart.
But many, while starting with the best of intentions, fall into the all-to-comfortable life of a States Member and forget the very reason they are there. Those that are either elected or invited to a ministerial role often lose their critical voice and conform with the rest.
But this Deputy has bravely stood against all of that. For a busy working mother, she could have taken the easy route and ridden out the next two years in the shadows. Instead, she has chosen to make a stance, putting her commitment to her role first.
She may have jeopardised a future role in senior government for the time being, but she will certainly have increased her political chances at the next election beyond measure.
