In a year like no other, Jersey’s Chief Minister Senator John Le Fondré and the Government of Jersey’s Chief Executive Charlie Parker will be reflecting on 2020 and discussing the Island’s future at the IoD Jersey Leaders’ Lunch. The event, sponsored by HSBC, will take place on 23rd November 2020.
ITV Channel Television’s Jess Dunsdon will chair the discussion, which will take an in-depth look at Jersey’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, as well as other areas affecting the Island’s business and economic outlook.
Giving a glimpse of what the audience can expect, Ms Dunsdon said: “This year has produced unprecedented challenges for Jersey’s Government. The uncertainty of Brexit followed quickly by the collapse of Flybe set the tone for 2020, which has been dominated by the devastating impact of coronavirus. At the IoD Leaders’ Lunch, we will take the opportunity to probe deeper into Jersey’s response to the pandemic, as well as a look at the plan in managing the ongoing risks and when we might see normality return.
“We shall be asking these questions and many more; looking at the government’s new financial plan to plug the deficit caused by Covid-19, the security of air and sea links post the pandemic and the vision for the island going forward to build back better”.
After the discussion, Senator Le Fondré and Charlie Parker will be taking questions from the live and online audience. IoD Members are invited to submit questions in advance, by emailing IoD Jersey Branch Officer, Zoe Wauton: officer.jersey@iod.net.
John Le Fondré was first elected as Deputy of St. Lawrence and sworn into office on 5th December 2005. He was re-elected as Deputy of St. Lawrence in 2008, 2011 and 2014 before being elected as Senator in 2018. Since then, the former St Lawrence Deputy has overseen a number of ongoing issues for the Island’s government including the new hospital, the civil service pay dispute, the creation of a new Common Strategic Policy and Government Plan and, of course, the island’s Coronavirus response strategy.
Charlie Parker has been Chief Executive of the Government of Jersey since January 2018, during which time he has led a major restructure and modernisation of Jersey’s public service, resulting in the ‘One Government’ five-year transformation programme. He took up the role in Jersey after four years as Chief Executive at Westminster City Council, where he led a period of successful transformation for the local authority. He previously held senior roles at Oldham Council, English Partnerships, Liverpool City Council and Manchester Council.
Aline Ayotte, Head of Commercial Banking for event sponsor HSBC Bank, Channel Islands and Isle of Man, states: “In these challenging times, it is more important than ever that there is strong communication between Government and business and that we come together to support our local community. We are delighted to be a part of this year’s IoD Leaders’ lunch and look forward to hearing some valuable insights from the Chief Minister and Charlie Parker about the future of our island”.
The event will take place at the Royal Yacht Hotel, from 12:45 pm on 23rd November. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, members of the public are warmly welcome to join for free, via live video-link.
