Because the States Assembly website has been given a makeover, to make it easier to use and easier to read if you are accessing it from a mobile phone or tablet.
The ‘responsive design’ is part of a gradual roll-out of the new look, which follows months of feedback and testing from users.
Each States Member gets a dedicated page with their contact details and a biography outlining their roles within the Assembly, as well as a menu of the questions they’ve asked in the States and how they voted during debates.
Geraldine Cardwell, from the States of Jersey Digital Delivery Team, said: ‘Each page is getting a make-over with a new look and feel, improved features and, more importantly, they are responsive for mobiles and tablets – no more pinching and zooming.
‘We’ve put together a simple homepage for the beta site, which lists all of the pages that are available for testing at the moment.’
Beta mode means the site is a work in progress. The finished website will have more content on the homepage, making it easier to find news articles and search for specific content.
The way States business is listed on the site has also been updated, with a searchable Hansard record of debate, as well as clearer graphs showing the outcome of votes. The next stage of the improvements will see the work of the Scrutiny committees included on the States Assembly website, as well as a ‘newsroom’ which will give an at-a-glance summary of what’s happening in the States.
The old site remains available at statesassembly.gov.je but you can now use the beta site at beta-statesassembly.gov.je and give your feedback by clicking the smiley faces on the corners of each page or by emailing digital@gov.je.
The development is part of a wider project by the States Greffe to improve the way it interacts with Islanders.
Other plans include an expansion of its video coverage of States sittings to include other public meetings, including Scrutiny hearings.
It will also launch an e-petition facility which will allow Islanders to set up an online petition, which, if they gather enough support, would lead to a debate in the States – as happens at Westminster.
