Ten year strategic plan sets course for Anguilla’s legislature
ANGUILLA--On 14 October 2025 the Anguilla House of Assembly approved a ten-year strategic plan that sets a clear mandate, an institutional road map, for how the legislature will work through 2034. The plan centers on four priorities, effectiveness and efficiency, independence, connectivity with the public, and visibility. Each priority includes goals, strategies, timelines, and indicators, with early actions funded across the first three years.
At its core the plan restates the mission of the Assembly, to debate and legislate issues of importance, to hold the Executive to account, and to promote engagement, openness, and transparency. The vision is an independent, efficient, and effective Assembly that responds to the aspirations of Anguillians and supports national transformation. Guiding principles include the Nolan Principles, legality, integrity, inclusiveness, openness, a people focus, coordination across government, and forward planning.
Pillar one: a more effective and efficient Assembly
The first priority turns intent into measurable practice. By the third quarter of 2026 the Assembly aims to complete a review of best practice for moving bills and the budget, including fuller use of the Committee Stage and improved explanatory notes. Within the same window the Rules of Procedure are slated for amendment, with proposals such as a minimum of ten working days between readings and structured stakeholder consultation. The result should be better scrutiny and fewer late changes.
Oversight is strengthened through the Public Accounts Committee. The plan locks in audit support from the Chief Auditor for every inquiry, sets annual training for PAC members, and commits at least two members each year to regional or international training from 2026 onward. A best-practice review of parliamentary oversight is due by mid-2026, followed by a model and benchmarks for committee work by the end of 2026.
Members’ capacity is treated as a system need. Post-election seminars begin in 2025, annual skills assessments guide training, and at least one full-membership training session runs every year. The Secretariat will provide independent legal counsel to help members draft resolutions and bills, and will equip members with devices and information platforms. The plan also envisions staffed district offices for elected members when resources allow.
Continuity and security round out this pillar. A contingency plan will cover elections, disasters, civil unrest, building loss, dissolution, alternative venues, and the illness or death of members, with implementation beginning in 2027. Security upgrades include controlled entry, scanning, cameras, access cards, lighting, and hurricane shutters, with health and safety scans each fourth quarter.
Pillar two: a more independent House
A central move is structural separation from the Executive. The plan schedules a House of Assembly Services Commission Bill for enactment by the first quarter of 2026, with commencement by the third quarter of 2027. The Assembly will also advocate constitutional recognition of this separation, support public outreach on why it matters, and put in place the policies that govern an independent parliament, including codes of conduct, recruitment, finance, procurement, audit, and technology use. Annual work plans, annual reports, and audited statements will formalize accountability once the new Act is in force.
Financial security is addressed through routine budget planning and public reporting of expenditures and achievements each year by the end of the first quarter. The plan also supports constitutional reform work that benefits the legislature, beginning with an administrative committee to assess the House’s place in the Constitution and formal recommendations by the third quarter of 2026.
A separate and adequate parliamentary building is listed as a strategic need. Milestones include identifying an alternative location, defining spatial requirements, securing a lease with Government, commissioning designs, and constructing a fit-for-purpose space with the Ministry of Infrastructure. Dates are staged, with some to be determined as funding and design advance.
Pillar three: connected to the people
The plan invests in civic understanding from primary school through public service. Grade 5 and 6 students across all schools receive regular presentations, an online repository of information is created for teachers and students, and at least 200 secondary students are targeted for outreach each year. A teacher training course in civic education and a short civics course for all new public servants will be in place by the third quarter of 2026. A civics booklet for work-permit holders also begins that year.
Youth Parliament is strengthened with orientation every two years, twice-yearly training, and sustained support for space and meeting needs. To keep the public informed, the Assembly commits to pre and post sitting briefings at least every two weeks. Access expands through open proceedings, open committee meetings where appropriate, and direct public engagement in committee work through hearings, expert advice, witness lists, and calls for evidence.
Trust and confidence are treated as outcomes that flow from conduct. A Code of Conduct and a register of interests are established by the third quarter of 2025, with a review in early 2026 that includes terms for a Commissioner of Standards.
Pillar four: a visible House
Visibility is access. A communications plan will define and safeguard the House’s brand by the third quarter of 2025. The online presence will be maintained through a website and social channels. Proceedings gain a stable digital record, with consistent use of a YouTube channel, livestreamed House and committee meetings, and recordings and transcripts stored on secure drives and cloud platforms. Minutes are shared publicly. This creates an archive that supports reporting, research, and teaching.
How progress will be tracked
The plan uses a logical framework with outputs, timelines, and indicators, and it calls for annual reviews. A comprehensive mid-term monitoring and evaluation at the five-year mark will update goals, strategies, and indicators for the second half of the period. This introduces discipline to a long horizon and keeps the program responsive to change.
What the first budgets fund
Early funding is modest and targeted. For 2025 the plan totals about 220,753 US dollars, led by member development, PAC support, security upgrades, public outreach, the Code of Conduct program, and digital access to proceedings. The 2026 total rises to about 266,843 dollars as the Assembly scales transcription and archiving and deepens training and outreach. The 2027 total is about 223,843 dollars, maintaining the record-keeping push and continuing PAC support, Youth Parliament, and civics programs. The largest early allocations go to oversight, member capability, public trust, and digital visibility.
Approved by Resolution of the House of Assembly on 14 October 2025.