Sir,
I am pleased to present my first update to the Assembly as President of the Committee for Home Affairs. Although we are early in this term, the Committee has already made progress in setting priorities across its broad mandate, and I welcome the opportunity to brief the Assembly as we look ahead to 2026.
Balancing community and industry expectations on population policy is likely to be one of the Committee’s most significant challenges this term. Alongside this, progressing our justice policy mandate remains a core focus. Justice, like health and education, is a fundamental pillar of any modern society.
Last term, the Assembly resolved to prepare and publish a Justice Action Plan—a ‘live’ document to prioritise and monitor justice actions. Developed in consultation with other Committees, this Plan will help us phase work, make meaningful progress, and track outcomes. Community engagement is essential; our recent Justice Survey received a positive response, and we are now analysing the feedback to inform cross-committee discussions which will form the foundation of the Action Plan.
To complement this, we will also publish a Committee Work Plan, outlining our strategic objectives and their relationship with operational service delivery and the Government Work Plan. The Justice Framework principles will connect our objectives and ambition. We aim to publish both plans in the first quarter of 2026.
The Committee has identified several justice priorities for this term, which are important to both the community and the administration of justice. These initiatives will be scoped and phased alongside Government Work Plan priorities.
A key priority is an independent review of sentencing. Given the expertise required and the scope of this work, we believe engaging an independent reviewer is appropriate to ensure stakeholder confidence in the review and its outcomes. With support from the judiciary, we hope to determine the scope and terms of reference early in the new year. This workstream will require appropriate resourcing.
We also recognise the need to consider alternative sentencing options, including the potential value of electronic monitoring (tagging), already discussed in the Assembly this term and highlighted as a potential alternative to custody. Additionally, the Committee has prioritised the review of specific offences, and the penalties they attract, such as the perceived disparity in sentences for drug and sexual offences, this work will complement the broader review.
Much of the Committee’s work is grounded in legislation. Balancing the need to discharge Resolutions, conduct legislative reviews (such as the review of police complaints legislation), and respond to emerging operational risks is an ongoing challenge.
Rather than introducing new services or policy, these workstreams are necessary to maintain service delivery standards and respond to risk. Rapidly evolving legislation around cyber, digital technology, and sexual offences requires us to be agile to ensure our community’s protections remain robust.
Last month, we directed proposals for amendments to the Sexual Offences Law. Under these reforms, creating or sharing intimate images without consent—including deepfakes—will become a specific offence. Other new offences will include cyberflashing, requesting deepfakes, and possession of indecent cartoons or drawings of children. We aim to present a Policy Letter for debate at the end of March, following formal consultation. Our goal is to ensure criminal justice legislation protects the most vulnerable, deters crime, and supports successful prosecutions.
We remain committed to supporting survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence. Since the new legislation came into force in June, we have prioritised training and embedding the law in everyday practice. Three sets of training have taken place, with more planned for 2026.
Progressing the second phase of legislative reform is a priority. Phase Two, agreed by the Assembly in April 2025, will be drafted and circulated for consultation. We will keep the Assembly and community updated. Learning from Phase One, we will implement impact assessments, guidance, and pathways earlier to ensure the work is fully resourced and planned. Legislation must be a practical tool, not just a formality.
We will also refresh the Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Strategy, engaging professional stakeholders and third sector partners, and considering strategies from other jurisdictions, including those focused on violence against women and girls.
Road safety remains a subject of political and public interest. Working with the Committee for the Environment & Infrastructure, we are determined to make improvements this term. Recently, we held a joint meeting with E&I and Guernsey Police to discuss a data collection trial on decibel limits and enforcement strategies, as directed by the States. This trial will be conducted jointly by E&I officers and the Police, alongside the police’s “Fatal Five” priorities. Addressing issues such as enforcement of UK-registered vehicles on the island will also be a focus this term.
As the Assembly will be aware we are progressing a comprehensive review of the statutory police complaints framework to ensure it supports modern policing principles and public confidence. A political group, including members outside the Committee, has been established to monitor progress and provide challenge and support. This group does not replace the Committee as decision-makers but ensures appropriate scrutiny and recognises the Assembly, public, police, and police complaints commission as key stakeholders.
The Committee has directed a programme of work which will discharge the 2022 Extant Resolution to review the States strategic population objective, in consultation with other stakeholder committees, by the end of 2027. In 2025, we focused on stabilising operations, strengthening joint working across Population Management and Immigration, and enhancing system functionality.
The joint policy framework has enabled Guernsey to diverge from the post-Brexit UK immigration system while preserving CTA membership and supporting business access to a global workforce, though not without challenges. A review of the Employment Permit Policy is underway, including roles, sectors, and dependent data, to inform the wider population policy review, which we propose to commence by Q3 2026.
The Committee looks forward to working with those Deputies and organisations who are indicated that they are keen to support this work.
Cyber security is essential to Guernsey’s safety and digital innovation. Current activity focuses on implementing the Guernsey Cyber Security Centre, developing a Telecoms Security Framework and legislation, and evaluating the Online Safety Act’s provisions for local adoption.
Online safety is a local and global concern. We appreciate the ongoing work of the digital safety development officer within Guernsey Police, who delivers an ongoing programme of work in schools and the community, including delivery of training, as well as bespoke incident-based sessions and public events.
A working group is assessing what legislation is needed to offer protections comparable to England and Wales, learning from their experiences to provide robust local protections which can be delivered.
Other critical legislation, such as RIPL, PPACE, and the Fire Law, also requires review. Balancing these competing priorities is challenging. The Committee has met with all Operational Service Leads to review current activity and discuss objectives and challenges.
As a Committee responsible for operational services that keep our community safe, we are mindful of our responsibility to provide strategic oversight without interfering in operational direction. Scrutiny and challenge, without interference, are key. We must balance good governance with assurance to the Assembly and community that we are holding Service Leads to account. Open and clear communication is essential to maintaining this confidence.
I welcome questions from the Assembly.