The Governor has decided to exercise her constitutional discretion to make a number of changes to Ministerial responsibilities as requested by the Chief Minister. The Anguilla Constitution states that decisions on ministerial portfolios may be made by the Governor, acting on the advice of the Chief Minister. The current responsibilities of Permanent Secretaries and the reporting lines of teams that work to them will not be impacted by the changes in Ministerial lead.
The changes in Ministerial portfolios proposed by the Chief Minister in January presented some challenges. Had they been directly reflected in the areas of responsibilities for Permanent Secretaries, this would have had the effect of unwinding the new Permanent Secretary responsibilities as determined by the Deputy Governor, following consultation with Ministers and the Public Service Commission.
The Governor and Chief Minister have considered how best to balance the Chief Minister’s desire, as the head of the elected government, to make decisions about the responsibilities of his ministerial team, without impacting upon the current responsibilities of Permanent Secretaries and the departments that support them. In accepting this accommodation, the Chief Minister reiterated his commitment to preserving the impartiality of the public service in his letter of 2 February to Baroness Anelay.
A graphic showing the new Ministerial responsibilities, as well as the ongoing areas of Permanent Secretary responsibilities, is attached.
The effect of the changes is that a number of Permanent Secretaries will now work closely with more than one Minister in delivering their responsibilities. Permanent Secretaries remain accountable for the delivery of policy decisions for the areas of responsibility that have been assigned to them.
This arrangement has the benefit of ensuring policy consistency at the official level on closely aligned topics, even where at Ministerial level the responsibilities may be separate (e.g. youth and culture and education, or lands and planning and economic development). It provides for a continuation of the structures set out in the Government of Anguilla’s 2017 Budget. It upholds the Deputy Governor’s reallocation of Permanent Secretary roles, which came into effect in January. Further, there is precedent for this approach in Anguilla, and it is fairly common practice in the UK Government.
The Chief Minister, Governor and Deputy Governor are in agreement that given the close way in which the Ministerial team work together to develop policies for the Government, and also in light of the skills of the Permanent Secretary cadre and the public officers that support them, this arrangement can work effectively for the good of Anguilla.
– Press Release
