The States debated two policy letters

Guernsey's politicians have voted in fundamental changes to the way the island is governed.

Members of the States spent three days debating the proposals put forward by the Advisory and Finance and Procedures and Constitution committees.

The changes will see a complete restructuring of the system of government.

In total, the two policy letters faced a total of 35 amendments - only a handful of which were passed.

Government sittings

The Advisory and Finance proposals in the first policy letter set out the way in which the government would work.

They faced 17 amendments and all but four were thrown out. The moves passed did not fundamentally change the Advisory and Finance committee's initial suggestions.

The way the government sits will remain unchanged with the States of Deliberation remaining in place.

A new Policy Council will be responsible for the development and control of corporate policy and a Treasury and Resources Department will look after how money and resources are allocated to each department.

There will be nine departments, which will have responsibility for delivering services.

A further three committees will look after the development of States' procedures and departmental constitutions, scrutiny of policy and services and public sector pay negotiations.

'Unnecessary amendments'

A number of politicians made speeches on the proposals, with lingering doubts expressed by many.

Criticism was led by Deputy Dan Le Cheminant, who said the problem was not the system but some of the people in it.

He was unhappy with the placing of unnecessary amendments and the long speeches made by some deputies. He suggested islanders believed too much power was going to end up in too few hands.

Deputy Le Cheminant's speech won a chorus of support from other states members, but other speakers backed the plans.

Deputy Kevin Prevel said it represented an evolution and an ability to adapt to change. Deputy Mike Torode argued the proposals were a shortcut to cabinet government and put too much power in the hands of the executive.

Department structures

Speaking to close the debate on the first policy letter, the president of the Advisory and Finance Committee, Deputy Laurie Morgan, said members should not feel pressured into agreeing to the proposals, but should cast their votes as they saw fit.

All the proposals were carried.

The second policy letter from the Procedures and Constitution Committee dealt with the structure of departments and committees.

It also addressed the elections of the chief minister, deputy chief minister, ministers and department members.

The proposals faced 19 amendments, four of which were withdrawn after clarification from the Procedures and Constitution Committee. Eight were thrown out and seven were passed.