Long list of priorities for new committee head

The new president of the employment and social security committee has outlined her priorities for the next political term, with agreeing a direction on long-term care topping the list.

Deputy Tina Bury said it was her "absolute priority" to find a future model, as projections indicate funding is set to run out "in the not too distant future".

Other areas she wants to prioritise include maternity and shared parental leave, the right to flexible working, redundancy and anti-discrimination legislation and the "ever-widening" poverty gap.

Referring to her goals during the political term, she said: "If people have better employment rights or are feeling better supported, then that's success."

Bury told BBC Radio Guernsey the issue of long-term care "is getting very urgent now".

She said it was a "three committee workload", highlighting the need to work closely with policy and resources and health and social care on the issue, to reach a solution.

"We are struggling to provide the capacity in care homes or looking after people in their homes, through the model of the care we deliver," she said.

"It's really important for what we're doing now, but also important for the future generations, who are going to need to be looked after."

Bury said she would also like to look at some key areas where Guernsey is "behind our comparators and leaving our workforce at a disadvantage" including parental leave where "we're really lagging behind".

She noted the "really positive strides made in other comparable jurisdictions" with parental leave and Guernsey had the "opportunity to follow quite easily".

In other areas to focus on, Bury said she was keen not to delay the next phase of the anti-discrimination legislation any further, as well as ensuring social security contributions system reform is finished.

She also highlighted the need to focus on poverty, to help those who that are "barely scraping by".

"There's a list as long as my arm of things for ESS to tackle this term, these are just a few of the top priorities for me at this time," she said.

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