4 Weeks In

dudleyowenDeputy's Blog 2016

Well, you’ll know that the main events have now occurred and all the elections are well and truly done, culminating with the elections of the Vice Presidents this week to each of the principal Committees.

It’s been a very busy few weeks and my first experiences of working within the States have been positive. The help and welcome from the officers of the Royal Court, Frossard House and within each of my Committees: Education Sport & Culture and Economic Development has been fantastic. I am sensing a good working relationship ahead with our teams and am really excited to be part of this.

There is LOADS to do, but they say if you want something doing ask a busy person – so I’ve been asked lots! Whilst I’ve said no to some suggestions, I’ve said yes to others and am getting involved with many of the sub groups (we have nearly 30 in ESC alone to split between 5 of us!) which cover the mandates of each Committee: so I am sitting on the committees for some schools, business & skills, language, arts, finance, digital organisations to name a few. There is cross over with many these and a common theme of working towards a diverse and vibrant economy, as well as ensuring that the education we are providing for our young and talented islanders is just right to enable them to chose to settle in their home-island as adults.

So we have lots of reading and more inductions and work stream presentations to attend, getting us up to speed on the work in hand. Armed with all this information and everything that you’ve told us on the doorstep we can then judge whether current policies are doing well for Guernsey or if we need to change tack and try something new. Empire building and following personal agendas is out. Working together to achieve the simplest, most appropriate Guernsey centred solution is in.

My husband says I am now sounding like a politician so I will try and sound less so: it’s been a few weeks of juggling diary dates and remembering to put in the computer and family organiser! Working from home and managing things around the needs of my family is something I’ve been used to doing, so getting into a pattern of work now is satisfying.

So finally, I am beginning to seeing a glimmer of the familiar organised chaos, that is our household management system, now the dust has begun to settle.