The Government of Jersey () is the executive and administrative government of Jersey, a Crown Dependency in the Channel Islands. It is led by the Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers, whose members are elected members of the States Assembly. Ministers are politically accountable to the States Assembly and are supported by Jersey's public service.
Ministerial government was introduced in 2005, replacing the previous committee system. The Council of Ministers co-ordinates government policy and administration, including the Common Strategic Policy and the annual Government Plan, also known as the Budget. Individual ministers remain legally responsible for many statutory functions and for the departments and agencies that support their areas of responsibility.
Since 2019, 'Government of Jersey' has been used as the official identity for Jersey's executive and administrative functions. The term is distinct from the States Assembly, which is Jersey's elected legislature and holds ministers politically accountable. The older term 'States of Jersey' remains in use in legislation, finance and official documents, and may refer to Jersey's public administration, to the States acting in a legal or corporate capacity, or, in some contexts, to the Assembly.
History
Superior Council during the Occupation During the German occupation of Jersey from 1940 to 1945, the occupying forces allowed the island's civil administration to continue under German overall direction. The pre-war system did not continue unchanged: executive government was carried out by an ad hoc body, the Superior Council, chaired by the Bailiff and made up of eight heads of department, including departments responsible for areas such as agriculture and finance. The Superior Council became controversial after liberation. The Jersey Democratic Movement criticised its wartime conduct and alleged maladministration, corruption and collaboration, while later accounts have also emphasised the constraints under which the island administration operated and its role in maintaining essential services under occupation. The experience of wartime administration contributed to post-war demands for constitutional reform and to wider debates about democracy, social policy and the future of self-government in Jersey.
Committee government 1945-2005 Until the introduction of ministerial government in 2005, most executive functions were carried out through committees of the States. The system reflected Jersey's non-party political culture and its tradition of limited government: the executive was drawn from the States, and members acted both as legislators and as participants in executive administration. Its political culture was also shaped by parish government, the honorary system and a strong attachment to local self-government and voluntary public service.
The post-war constitutional reforms of 1948 removed the Jurats and Rectors from the States, created 12 island-wide Senators and increased the number of Deputies, but retained committee government rather than creating a cabinet or party-based executive.
Committees had considerable autonomy within their policy areas and directed the corresponding parts of the civil service. The system was regarded by supporters as inclusive and participatory, because most elected members could take part directly in executive work. It was criticised, however, for blurring legislative and executive functions, diffusing political responsibility across several committees, slowing decision-making and making strategic co-ordination more difficult as public administration became more complex.
The Review Panel on the Machinery of Government in Jersey, chaired by Sir Cecil Clothier, reported in 2000. It concluded that the existing committee structure did not provide a clear centre of governmental authority and recommended replacing the 24 States committees with a smaller number of departments, each led by a minister, together with a Council of Ministers and a system of scrutiny by non-executive members.
Ministerial government since 2005 Since the implementation of the States of Jersey (Jersey) Law 2005, the executive and legislative functions have been split between the Council of Ministers and States Assembly respectively.
In 2019, the Council of Ministers formally adopted the identity of the 'Government of Jersey' for the executive responsibilities of the States.
One Government programme 2018-2022 From 2018, Jersey's public administration was reorganised under the One Government programme (branded ‘OneGov’), implemented under chief executive Charlie Parker. This sought to bring departments together within a more unified corporate structure and was accompanied by changes to senior management, departmental organisation and government premises.
The reforms were criticised for blurring lines of political accountability, particularly where departments no longer had a single ministerial lead. In 2022, the Jersey Evening Post reported that there was no evidence that the reforms had created a more efficient public sector. On 28 April 2022, the States Assembly voted to move away from the One Government model and return to a structure based on minister-led government departments by the end of that year.
Ministers
Ministerial government is governed principally by Part 4 of the States of Jersey Law 2005.
Chief Minister The States Assembly selects an elected member as Chief Minister after each ordinary election and in other circumstances specified by the Law, including where the office becomes vacant, the Chief Minister is incapacitated, or the States votes no confidence in the Chief Minister or Council of Ministers.
The Chief Minister-designate proposes Ministers, but other elected members may also nominate candidates; the Chief Minister and Ministers take office once the Assembly has made the selections required to constitute the Council of Ministers.
Council of Ministers The Council of Ministers consists of the Chief Minister and at least seven Ministers. Its statutory functions include co-ordinating ministerial policy and administration, agreeing policy affecting more than one Minister, and lodging a common strategic policy. The 2005 Law distinguishes the Council's collective co-ordinating role from the legal responsibilities of individual Ministers: each Minister, including the Chief Minister, is a corporation sole, and Government of Jersey guidance describes Ministers as individually accountable to the States Assembly for the departments and agencies which discharge their responsibilities.
The number of members holding executive office is limited by the so-called Troy Rule. Article 25A of the 2005 Law provides that the aggregate of the Chief Minister, Ministers and Assistant Ministers must not exceed the limit set in the States Assembly Standing Orders, and Standing Order 112A currently sets that limit at 21.
The Chief Minister may, by Order and after reporting to the States, establish, abolish or rename ministerial offices and transfer functions, rights and liabilities between Ministers. A consolidated list of ministerial functions and delegations must be published under Article 30A of the Law.
Deputy Chief Minister The Chief Minister must appoint one of the Ministers as Deputy Chief Minister, who discharges the Chief Minister's functions during temporary absence or incapacity or during a vacancy in the office.
Assistant Ministers The Chief Minister and Ministers may appoint elected States members as Assistant Ministers; ministerial functions may be delegated to Assistant Ministers or to officers, subject to statutory limits.
Code of Conduct The States of Jersey Law 2005 requires the Chief Minister and Ministers, within three months of appointment, to agree and present to the States a code of conduct and a code of practice for Ministers and Assistant Ministers. The current documents are presented together as the Ministerial Code and apply to Ministers and Assistant Ministers as "Executive Members". Alleged breaches of the Ministerial Code may be investigated by the Commissioner for Standards.
Collective responsibility Collective responsibility is dealt with in the Ministerial Code. The States of Jersey Law 2005 formerly required the Chief Minister, Ministers and Assistant Ministers to adhere to collective responsibility, but the current Law instead requires the Ministerial Code and gives the Council of Ministers a limited power to direct an individual Minister on policy matters falling within the Council's statutory functions, while excluding directions about the exercise of statutory functions.
Under the Ministerial Code, Executive Members are expected to work as a cohesive team, support ministerial colleagues, seek consensus through debate and constructive challenge, and, after a Council decision, coalesce around a coherent public position. The Chief Minister may, where necessary and appropriate, permit Executive Members to adopt alternative positions, including on matters of conscience or where a Minister has made a published manifesto commitment.
In 2024, Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham told the States Assembly that he would not enforce "full collective responsibility", but would seek ministerial unity where reasonably possible and allow free votes on matters of conscience.
Proposals for government as a single entity Under the States of Jersey Law 2005, each Minister, including the Chief Minister, is a corporation sole, with powers such as entering agreements, holding property, and suing or being sued in the name of the office.
The Machinery of Government (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Jersey) Law 2018 included provisions that would have replaced this model with the Government of Jersey as a single corporation aggregate. Those provisions were intended to allow ministerial functions to be exercised more collectively, but they were contained in Part 4 of the 2018 Law, which has not been brought into force. Critics argued that these reforms risked concentrating power in the Chief Minister and senior civil service leadership.Privileges and Procedures Committee (2022). R.2022/23 - Democratic Accountability and Governance Sub-Committee [Report]. States Greffe. Presented: 18 February 2022 [Accessed: 21 February 2022]. As a result, Ministers remain legally separate corporations sole. Chief Executive The Chief Executive Officer is the senior official in Jersey's public service. The office holder has four main roles:
executive officer and principal adviser to the Council of Ministers head of the paid civil service, responsible to the States Employment Board chief officer of the Chief Minister's Department executive officer for the Emergencies Council.
The office is established by the Employment of States of Jersey Employees (Jersey) Law 2005, which provides that the Chief Executive Officer is the Chief Executive to the Council of Ministers and Head of the Public Service. In that capacity, the Chief Executive Officer leads chief officers in the administration and general management of the public service and in the implementation of corporate and strategic policies. The Chief Executive Officer is also the Principal Accountable Officer under the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019.
The role was created in 2003, before the introduction of ministerial government, and became part of the machinery of government established after the States of Jersey Law 2005. The Chief Executive is accountable to the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers for the performance of the role, and may be required to give evidence to the Public Accounts Committee and scrutiny panels in the States Assembly.