Note to Committee president from officer: I’ve tried to keep this around three minutes at your request
Draft of Committee president’s update to States (to be checked against delivery)
I shall be brief, as I realise that esteemed colleagues are under considerable pressure in these unusual times to get through a lot of business involving my own committee and many others. I shall therefore keep what I have to say short and hopefully sweet and will be ready afterwards to answer any and all questions which you may or may not have.
I would just like to say first, however, and on behalf of all of the members of my committee, that we much appreciate this opportunity to bring you all up to date with the meaningful progress we are making as part of our ongoing process of decision-making.
You know that from our perspective we always aim to act only on the evidence before us based on the science, and we routinely strive to report to you in an open, honest and transparent way. We think that is really important.
Turning, then, to our activities, under our planned work schedule we have continued our review of potential future models in order to understand the relative importance of the various different priorities the assembly has, so to speak, delegated to us.
We have been working at pace to conduct the necessary detailed surveys to capture an extensive range of data-rich information. We are going out into the community to learn people’s concerns over the issues around our role, and we have asked users and staff for their feelings about the potential new ways of working we have modelled.
The feedback we have so far received over several months will provide a starting point for more detailed conversations and will influence the technical analysis which we are also planning to undertake, in particular regarding potential threats and possible mitigations.
We anticipate our findings will influence the final options and recommendations which we hope to submit to the States next year. We would expect to be asking for additional resource in order to assess potential future models and provide information around the legal requirements behind any changes.
Clearly, going forward we shall continue taking a careful and considered approach around this process, working closely with all stakeholders to ensure the resilience and sustainability of our service in these unprecedented times. Our aim is to enhance our ability to respond to events and to future proof our service.
Finally, we would just like to say how grateful we are that everyone has come together cooperatively to bring this project closer to fruition. The process has been constructive, and we remain committed to hearing everyone’s views to shape our final review of models and findings.
