THE Chief Minister has denied that the Council of Ministers is “dysfunctional” but promised to “reconcile competing interests” ahead of next week’s no confidence debate in the States.
Speaking at the Chamber of Commerce lunch event yesterday[Thurs], Deputy Moore avoided direct reference to former Infrastructure Minister Tom Binet’s efforts to unseat her.
But – referring to her controversial public criticism of Assistant Environment Minister Hilary Jeune’s decision to reject the Les Sablons development in town – Deputy Moore acknowledged that “tensions” existed within the Council of Ministers.
She said: “The initial decision made on Les Sablons was disappointing, and yes, I was annoyed by it. But I recognise that it created an uncomfortable moment for some of my colleagues and caused the public to question our unity. My job is to keep us all on track and ensure that such issues do not arise again.”
Deputy Jeune’s decision to dismiss major plans by developer Le Masurier, to transform 2.5 acres of land between Broad Street and Commercial Street, was ultimately quashed, with proposals subsequently approved by Deputy Binet while he was still Infrastructure Minister.
Addressing members of the Island’s business community yesterday, Deputy Moore said: “So, while we won’t let up on our aspirations for this wonderful Island, nor shirk the challenge of protecting the public purse, there will be a greater focus on reconciling competing interests and keeping a team that is focused on delivering its priorities.”
She acknowledged that “in government you must try to reconcile and balance many interests, often competing, on the same issue”.
“I’m afraid we haven’t always succeeded in that although, you’ll be glad to hear we collectively agree much more than we disagree,” she added.
Responding to questions from the floor, the Chief Minister rejected the suggestion that the Council of Ministers was “dysfunctional”, allowing herself a moment of levity when she added “particularly not this week” in apparent reference to Deputy Binet’s departure.
Deputy Moore took the opportunity to set out the Council of Ministers’ priorities for 2024 – promoting ecomomic growth, helping deliver more homes, improving health services, doing more for children and families, and investing in St Helier.
She positioned them in the context of the falling population revealed in the 2021 census, which she said provided both a challenge and an opportunity.
“That decline is a huge worry for business…but it should also be a huge worry for every Islander because we have full employment, and our public finances depend on income tax…It means that we should all be obsessing more about practical ways to improve the productivity of the workforce by embracing technology and less about the ebbs and flows of immigration,” she said.
The Chief Minister told her Chamber of Commerce audience that the government would suspend charges for registered and licensed permissions in 2024 and 2025, give additional permits for employers to engage staff, and double the size of the government’s productivity grant scheme, which intends to support business innovation, efficiency and productivity improvements.
She set out areas of priority for the government:
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Developing the necessary infrastructure to support building more homes.
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Improving targets for health services.
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Supporting children and young people, including an increase in the number of foster places, reducing waiting times for ADHD and neurodevelopment assessment and treatment, and fulfilment of the commitment to offer hot meals in all primary schools by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, she committed to investment in St Helier that included building a new town primary school.
Although not specific on the detail, she also said that the number of public projects would be reduced to allow £30 million to be returned to reserves while giving “the capacity to deliver on the projects we desperately need as an Island”.
“I fully expect you to hold the Council of Ministers and [me] to account on delivering those goals,” she told her audience.
