ALTHOUGH the final cast-list for the next Council of Ministers will not be confirmed until the end of the month, that does not mean the likely candidates will not be spending lots of time visualising the contents of their in-trays once they take office.
Senator Lyndon Farnham will retain the clunky title of “Chief-Minister-Designate” until all ministers have been voted in on 29 or 30 June, but with his return to the top job a formality, the planning for the next four years need not wait that long.
All 92 candidates in the election earlier this month heard about the key issues from Islanders, laid their priorities out in manifestos and discussed them at hustings meetings and on doorsteps, but soon it will be time for the dozen or so appointed to ministerial office to roll up their sleeves and start work.
In analysing what the major topics will be for the next government, some over-arching goals stand out. Cutting the £118 million financial deficit, reducing the size of the public sector and tackling the steep rise to the cost-of-living in recent years are likely to be front-of-mind, but beyond these, what are some of the specific “big-ticket” items that ministers need to get to grips with?
Health
The contract for the new hospital was signed days before the election, and the continuity between Senator Farnham’s government of last term and the one he is about to lead should mean no going back on the decision.
But key details about how the £710m project will be funded, whether it will remain within the forecast budget, and actually getting on with it are key areas where Islanders will expect progress. How close to fully operational will the new facility at Overdale be, by the time the Island is gearing up for the 2030 election?
The overall cost of healthcare is a massive issue, repeatedly flagged by Senator Tom Binet during his stint as Health Minister. Members of the Island’s ageing population have a wider range of options for their care and treatment than ever before, and the minister warned that there was no magic solution for footing the bill.
We heard repeatedly that a new funding model for healthcare would be required during the next political term, so it will soon be time for some detail, and action, on that front.
Beyond the new hospital, Senator Binet has indicated a desire to redevelop other parts of the Health estate, but how successful will the next minister be in securing the necessary funding?
Should he retain the Health brief, Senator Binet would also need to decide whether to reintroduce his proposition to overhaul how cannabis is treated in Jersey – this was lodged by the Health Minister last December but withdrawn the following month as business in the Assembly was squeezed in the run-up to the election.
One major area of health policy which did make it over the line was the introduction of a legal right to assisted dying – but there remains a significant amount of work to do on the details of the new legislation.
Education and Children
The falling birthrate means there are questions around the corner about what changes, if any, are needed to the school estate. Plans for a new town primary school on the old Gas Place site were a top priority for the past government, with the Investing in Jersey document, published in July 2025, giving a 2027 start date for the scheme.
But with a smaller representation from Reform Jersey in the Council of Ministers, will the new government maintain this policy, or start considering whether the school is needed, or if alternatives could be found. Opponents of the plan are unlikely to miss any opportunity to advance the case for their preferred option, the extension of the Millennium Town Park.
Further down the line, will it be necessary to maintain the same number of secondary schools, if there are fewer students progressing through the system in each year group?
While some items were front-and-centre during the campaign, others have appeared more recently. The announcement by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer about under 16s being banned from social media platforms from next year has inevitably sparked questions about whether Jersey may follow suit, moving the subject to a significantly higher spot in the in-tray.
Planning and Environment
Mentioned repeatedly during the election campaign, reform of the planning system as part of making it easier to “get stuff done” is an area where many Islanders will be looking for action. At this early stage, this seems like one of those knotty issues where the government needs to move fairly quickly with a risk that, if the process is not initiated fairly soon after taking office, achieving meaningful change within four years could be challenging.
A new Island Plan should provide some structure to the planning arena, moving things forward from the plan’s “Bridging” iteration, which several observers have described as unfit for purpose.
Tackling the ongoing after-effects of PFAS contamination is another area that will need to be addressed sooner rather than later, while a decision will also need to be made on whether Jersey continues with plans to build an offshore wind farm.
Infrastructure
A number of new projects were flagged at the launch of the Investing in Jersey initiative, including works to improve roads and footpaths, coastal sea defences and the water and drainage networks, as well a refurbishment of public buildings. Start dates of 2026 were given for each of these headings, so the clock is ticking quite loudly.
Better sports facilities are also being seen by many as an important area for focus, with a decision needing to be taken soon as to whether Jersey will progress the initial interest in hosting the 2035 Island Games into formal confirmation of a bid to bring the biennial event back to Jersey for the first time since 2015.
Initial work, led by the Jersey Development Company, is already under way on the redevelopment of Fort Regent. The government has already committed to £43m of investment in the initial stage of the project, out of a total “envelope” of £110m. However questions remain over where this funding will come from, and ministers will want to ensure that a sufficient level of private funding to ensure the level of liability faced by taxpayers doesn’t grow any further.
Housing
Another area to feature prominently at the launch of Investing in Jersey, with a 2026 start date specified for three initiatives: increasing the supply of accommodation for essential workers, delivering more family-sized homes and moves towards a greater level of support for first-time buyers, including a shared equity scheme.
Justice and Home Affairs
As work continues to implement the recommendations of the Violence Agaainst Women and Girls taskforce, the expectation is that this will lead to more convictions against offenders. Will there be capacity at La Moye Prison? And do ministers intend to do anything about a facility for young offenders, given the limitations of the existing provision at Greenfields.
External Relations and International Development
Although unlikely to make it right to the top of the government’s to-do list, there are some important considerations under these headings. Will there be sufficient money to maintain existing levels of overseas aid, and could the current focus on the defence budget in the UK lead to a requirement that Jersey should contribute more?
