DURING the past six months we have seen three different politicians occupy the post of Children’s and Education Minister. And now, it seems, we’re about to see a fourth. After news of Deputy Jeremy Maçon’s resignation from the role this week, the Chief Minister has finally been forced into a situation where a proper decision needs to be taken.

I say ‘finally’ because a number of us have been raising concerns for a good while now about the temporary solution that was put in place when Deputy Maçon found himself unable to discharge his ministerial duties. The idea that such a pivotal portfolio as Children and Education could be covered by the already overburdened Chief Minister and a caretaker assistant was, to say the least, worrying.

It hardly chimed with the government’s oft-repeated slogan about putting children first, nor did it suggest that thoughts of children’s rights had been anywhere close to the decision-making process.

On a number of occasions I have, both formally and informally, advised the Chief Minister to split this giant ministerial portfolio in two – one to cover Education (in itself, an enormous remit) and another to focus on Children (again, a huge range of responsibility). But sadly those letters and conversations came to nothing.

However, when the announcement of an interim arrangement was made a few months ago, our correspondence was reignited. But it soon became clear that the Chief Minister did not intend to appoint a permanent replacement for Deputy Maçon.

Thankfully, though, a decision has now been made for the Chief Minister, by Deputy Maçon himself, and the issue of who should now step into this role has been thrust back into the public domain and will, I sincerely hope, become a subject of popular debate.

Because, let’s not forget, the Government of Jersey has committed to making the Island the best place for children to grow up: a Jersey where the rights of children and young people are respected, protected, enabled and fulfilled across our public services and society as a whole.

And nor is this just a soundbite commitment – it is one that has a fair amount of resource and dedication thrown behind it. There are plans and ‘policy pipelines’ in place, there are workstreams and projects, all of which have very competent, highly professional civil servants at their helms.

And most importantly of all, there are the Island’s children – and not just the ones who might benefit from future improvements and policies, but the ones who are growing up right now, and who might still be struggling to adjust after more than a year of major disruption.

These young citizens are owed a genuine, meaningful show of political leadership, and not just a few tweets and banners reassuring them that they’re being ‘put first’.

As the late, great Elvis would have put it: a little less conversation, a little more action.

But what, in this context, does ‘more action’ look like? Well, for one thing, it means properly addressing the crack that has appeared in the Council of Ministers, rather than just papering over it. This would involve appointing a new, permanent, full-time minister – something which should never have been a point of hesitation in the first place.

But more than that, the government also now finds itself in an ideal position to take an open, transparent and roundly debated decision on whether or not to appoint separate ministers to the Education and Children portfolios.

When the government signed up to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, it committed, among other things, to ‘undertake all appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures for the implementation of the rights recognised in the present Convention’.

The UNCRC is at the heart of the government’s promise to ensure that all children and young people have the best possible start in life, regardless of their circumstances. This means that they are expected to do everything they can to implement the Convention and to uphold children’s rights.

Surely, then, appointing a minister dedicated to the role of protecting and promoting children’s rights would endorse the government’s obligations under the UNCRC and provide an important mechanism to promote and ensure the implementation of everything the Convention stands for.

There are some able and experienced politicians in the current States Assembly who understand Jersey’s commitment to upholding children’s rights and who, even without the benefit of a ministerial platform, have tirelessly and vociferously championed them.

By creating a dedicated minister to protect and promote children’s rights, the government would be sending a positive and powerful message to children and young people that its commitment to making their rights a reality in Jersey is more than just talk.

There is a lot at stake here, and it would be a great shame if this debate were sidestepped. A decision of political expediency is not what we need at this point. This is a matter that should be debated and discussed as widely as possible.

It is something that all Islanders, and most particularly children and young people themselves, should have a say in.

‘ ...the Government of Jersey has committed to making the Island the best place for children to grow up: a Jersey where the rights of children and young people are respected, protected, enabled and fulfilled across our public services and society