Plans to appoint a Chief Scientist for Jersey sparked by a £250,000 review into the island’s covid response have been abandoned because of the restrictions on recruitment and Public Health budget cuts, it has emerged.
But a Minister for Resilience is amongst the policy proposals outlined in the final update to the Government’s plan on how the island responds to crises.
The Government this month quietly published the final update to its Crisis Resilience Improvement Plan, outlining progress in how the island prepares for and responds to emergencies.
Originally developed in response to the recommendations of the Independent Covid Review, which cost around £250,000, the most recent update said that many actions to enhance crisis readiness had now been completed or embedded into normal operations.
In the foreword, Government CEO Andrew McLaughlin explained that this will be the last update to the Crisis Resilience Improvement Plan.
He wrote: “It is essential that as a government, we are able to demonstrate our preparedness when crisis happens.
“We have, as an island, experienced many major incidents over the last few years.
“We must always learn from them and enhance our continued commitment to always working together for the good of islanders, whether that is with other Government of Jersey departments or other expert agencies in Jersey and beyond.”
Chief Scientist role abandoned
Following the pandemic, it was recommended that the Government considers appointing a Chief Scientist – equivalent to the role played by the UK’s Sir Patrick Vallance during the pandemic – who could co-ordinate advice necessary to mitigate threats or exploit opportunities.
It was suggested that this individual would report both to Government and States Assembly members.
Options for this role were being developed in 2023, but it has now emerged that “there has not been capacity to take this forward because of the restrictions on recruitment and budget cuts for the Public Health team”.
However, the report said that other senior appointments had strengthened the expertise of the Public Health team.
“The appointment of a Director of Public Health and a specialist Public Health Consultant
specialising in health protection brings scientific expertise to the island that was not initially available in the Covid-19 response, and will support a more scientific approach to future threats,” it explained.
Legal reforms progressing… slowly
The update also reflected how reforms to the nearly century-old Public Health Law, which largely underpinned the island’s covid response, have fallen behind.
A draft law was originally due to be put forward for debate in the second half of 2022. However, revision of the primary law is anticipated in the first half of 2026.
Plans for a new Resilience Law – to replace the outdated Civil Contingencies legislation – were also reported to be advancing, with a draft law expected to be lodged after the 2026 election.
The proposal includes creating a Jersey Resilience Council to replace the Emergencies Council, as well as a Minister for Resilience role – which would be combined with an existing Ministerial portfolio, according to the report.
Emergency powers are also set to be updated, with an article enabling the States Assembly to make regulations, and Ministers to make emergency orders.
There would be a “triple lock” safeguard on the use of these powers:
- It is an emergency
- Use of powers is necessary
- An immediacy or urgency exists, making use of powers the proportionate option
Similarly, a revised Public Health Law is in development and is also scheduled for debate next year.
Data sharing overhaul
Learning from recent major incidents, Jersey’s Crisis Communications Plan was revised in late 2024 and is now reviewed every six months.
A new overarching Major Incident Communications Strategy, covering response and recovery, is expected to be finalised by mid-2025.
The report explained that data sharing agreements for sharing data between Health Groups and Environmental Health in relation to notifiable diseases was completed in November 2023.
“Public Health and Health and Social Services are now part of the new Health & Care
Jersey Department, which has automatically made some sharing activities easier and
simpler,” the report said.
A further data sharing agreement has now been developed to facilitate sharing of data
between all entities that may be involved in a major incident.
These include privacy-compliant forms and guidance developed in coordination with Information Governance Officers and are due for final sign-off in June 2025.
Public Health and population insights
The report explained that the use of administrative data enabled Statistics Jersey to produce more detailed population and migration data, including by residential status.
However, these reports all present aggregate data and could not be used to identify or target individuals during a crisis.
The Crisis Resilience Improvement Plan update said: “Population health needs will continue to be investigated by Public Health, but a cross-government register of vulnerable people needs to be established and updated, to be available for use as required in emergency situations.”
There are plans to start a “Health in All Policies approach” in 2026 after the revision of the
Public Health Law, according to the report.
Strengthened risk management and planning
A key achievement outlined in the Crisis Resilience Improvement Plan is the overhaul of Jersey’s risk management system.
The Corporate Risk Register is now reviewed quarterly by the Executive Leadership Team, with major risks – including cyber threats, telecoms resilience, and supply chain vulnerabilities – assigned to departmental leads.
Meanwhile, the Community Risk Register has been renamed the Jersey Emergency Risk Register.
The new version is nearing completion, with Phase 3 – a public-facing version – due by the end of Q1 2025.
Improved training and exercises
Training for emergencies has become more regular and structured, according to the report.
Last year, two Strategic Emergency Management courses trained 40 leaders, and Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Principles training reached 184 participants.
Tactical and strategic command training sessions were also delivered for partner agencies.
A five-year training and exercising programme is being developed to maintain momentum under the Jersey Resilience Forum.
Regional and international partnerships
Jersey has deepened collaboration with Guernsey and the UK, according to the update.
A formal Channel Islands Public Health Alliance is now active, and Jersey is represented in the UK Health Protection Committee.
Local Emergency Planning teams also engage regularly with UK regional forums such as the South West Local Resilience Forums.
Public Health is exploring a memorandum of understanding with the UK Health Security Agency for future emergency support.
What’s next?
A Major Incident Communications Strategy is expected to be completed this year, incorporating learnings from the recent major incidents in the island.
Once feedback and approval has been completed, the strategy will be adopted by the
Communications Service.
The Emergency Planning team has been expanded, including three new Assistant Emergency Planning Officers.
A new Humanitarian Assistance Working Group has also been created to coordinate support in future incidents, with documents due for completion in July.
“This is an ambitious timeline, so there is a risk of delay,” the report noted.
You can read the full Crisis Resilience Improvement Plan online.