Scrutiny Committee get online with Facebook

The committee hopes the new site will encourage interaction

With the proliferation of social networking websites as a way to contact people the States of Guernsey were not far behind the crowd.

In February 2010 the Scrutiny Committee of the States of Guernsey launched their own Facebook profile page.

The committee's chairman, Deputy Barry Brehaut, said: "It's a sincere attempt to say 'This is what we do, what do you think?'."

In its first few weeks the page had already gained more than 80 "friends".

Guernsey Scrutiny on Facebook

The idea to have a presence on Facebook came about when the committee were thinking "how do you make scrutiny more accessible to the public?", Deputy Brehaut said.

Deputy Brehaut said the site seemed to be working just after its launch

He explained that the States official website is "quite cold, and not that clear to navigate" so they hope the easier and more familiar navigation of the social networking site will encourage more interaction with the committee.

Deputy Brehaut explained the role of the Scrutiny Committee as to "monitor States policy, implementation of policy and service delivery" with an aim to get reaction from the public on all these things.

Though the page had only been live for a few days when he spoke to BBC Guernsey Deputy Brehaut said: "It's early doors but it seems to be working."

The Committee will continue to post information on its section of the government website and issue information on its activities through the media. The Committee can also be contacted by the more traditional methods of post, at Sir Charles Frossard House, or telephone on 717000, or e-mail at [e-mail]