Jersey States Member Scorecard
Deputy for St Helier Central · Reform Jersey
No manifesto promises extracted for this term yet.
Deputy for St Helier Central · Independent
Will push to increase education spending, improve crisis support for children, and explore extending free nursery care to two-year-olds.
No recorded vote yet“Jersey's education spend is too low. We need more assistance available for children in crisis, urgently, and should examine the potential for extending free nursery care to two year olds.” — Catherine Dolores Curtis, 2022-2026 election manifesto
During the 2022-2026 Assembly term, Curtis chaired the Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel, leading a major Secondary Education Funding review (S.R.10-2024, December 2024) with 29 findings and 24 recommendations, and her panel brought successful budget amendments calling for universal early years nursery provision. The 2026 Budget subsequently allocated £3 million to extend 15 free term-time hours to 2-3-year-olds, implemented from January 2026, directly addressing the nursery-extension strand of her promise. On children in crisis, Jersey CAMHS received favourable Jersey Care Commission inspection reports in both 2024 and 2026 noting 'significant progress' and 'significantly improved' out-of-hours crisis support, though persistent gaps and neurodevelopmental waiting times of 55 weeks were also documented. The education-spend increase strand was examined rather than decisively resolved: the scrutiny review exposed structural underfunding but did not produce a government commitment to a step-change in overall education spending during the term.
Will work to address housing affordability for first-time buyers and renters in Jersey.
No recorded vote yet“Many first time buyers cannot afford to buy and many residents cannot afford to rent. Those who have bought a one bedroom flat cannot afford to buy anything bigger, so young people are leaving Jersey.” — Catherine Dolores Curtis, 2022-2026 election manifesto
During the 2022–2026 Assembly term, Deputy Curtis served as Chair of the Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel, with her documented scrutiny work centred on education, online safety, apprenticeships, and lifelong learning — not housing. No housing-specific propositions, scrutiny reviews, or ministerial actions attributable to Curtis personally were identified; she publicly supported a Reform Jersey housing proposition lodged by colleague Deputy Mézec in May 2023, but that was not her own initiative and was largely rejected by the Assembly. Reform Jersey's own 2026 manifesto acknowledged that many 2022 housing commitments 'were not passed as they were opposed by a majority of States Members', and the Jersey Housing Minister confirmed as recently as August 2026 that first-time buyer affordability 'remained a challenge'.
Will pursue action to reduce the cost of living, including addressing GST on essentials.
No recorded vote yet“Cost of living – with GST added to already expensive essentials, cost of living is too high. As well as causing hardship, the wider impact is that people have little disposable income to spend to stimulate the local economy.” — Catherine Dolores Curtis, 2022-2026 election manifesto
Throughout the 2022–2026 Assembly term, Deputy Curtis lodged one directly relevant amendment in September 2022 — to extend a temporary 2% social-security contribution cut by three months — but it was defeated by the Assembly. Reform Jersey's associated push to remove GST from food (P.100/2022) was also rejected 28 votes to 17 in November 2022. No further proposition specifically authored by Curtis on GST on essentials or broader cost-of-living reduction was identified, and Jersey's GST remained at 5% on all goods including food throughout the term with no new exemptions for essentials added.
Will advocate for more quality sheltered housing and protection of older homeowners from pressure to move.
No recorded vote yet“Older people's wishes must be respected. Those who own their homes must not be put under pressure to move, while those who do want to downsize often can't find anything suitable. We need more quality sheltered housing.” — Catherine Dolores Curtis, 2022-2026 election manifesto
No evidence was found that Deputy Curtis lodged a proposition, scrutiny review, written question, or ministerial challenge specifically targeting sheltered housing provision or the protection of older homeowners from pressure to move during the 2022–2026 term. Her Assembly record was focused on children, education, online safety, pets in rentals, and the reuse centre at La Collette; her chairmanship of the Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel placed her outside the housing policy domain. While she participated in April 2025 Assembly debate on pensioners' access to the Affordable Housing Gateway (P.26/2025), this was a general debate contribution rather than the dedicated advocacy her manifesto promised. Progress on sheltered housing in Jersey—such as the December 2025 approval of 42 units at St Joseph's Care Home—was driven by government planning processes and ministerial decisions with no identified link to Curtis's advocacy.
Will support establishing a health ombudsman, reining in hospital debt, and thoroughly assessing the new Care Model.
No recorded vote yet“Health – an ombudsman is urgently needed. The proposed huge debt for the new hospital needs reigning in. The new Care Model needs thorough assessment.” — Catherine Dolores Curtis, 2022-2026 election manifesto
On the Care Model, the newly elected Council of Ministers ordered a review immediately after June 2022; the review was published 30 November 2022 and the Jersey Care Model was effectively ended, broadly meeting Curtis's call for thorough assessment. On hospital debt, the incoming government reviewed the single-site £805m Overdale plan, concluded it was no longer affordable, and reset it as a phased multi-site programme with a £710m budget (£523m approved debt for healthcare), partially addressing the concern about runaway costs, though large-scale borrowing remained. On the health ombudsman, law drafting instructions for a Jersey Public Services Ombudsperson (JPSO) were issued October 2022 and scrutiny panels pushed for progress throughout the term, but by March 2026 the JPSO was still unestablished — a States Assembly report that month recommended prioritising it — and healthcare complaints were explicitly excluded from the JPSO's initial scope, leaving this strand of the promise undelivered. Curtis herself served as chair of the Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel, with no recorded health-specific propositions lodged by her personally.
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