TOWARDS the end of last week, deputies received a letter from the Public Accounts Committee on behalf of the four non-States members who will also lose their seats if a vote of no confidence in them is successful.

Any of those supporters of the confidence requete, to be debated this week, who give the response any consideration at all will quickly realise that the motion has no grounds at all, which makes this something of a grudge move.

That, of course, is scarcely a surprise.

From the purchase of tankers, to the resolution of the firefighter dispute and the Fallaize requete on consensus government, there is a pattern here – don’t rock the boat.

As the most criticised Assembly (source: Wales Audit Office) or the States least willing to act on earlier calls for reform (source: Burchill, Shepley, Robinson et al), this House is also emerging as the one keenest to stifle any criticism.

Again, that is scarcely a surprise. Stop islanders from knowing what’s really going on (source: zero progress on freedom of information) and this most reactionary of Houses believes it can continue to ignore all the evidence that change is essential.

In its way, the forthcoming debate highlights something else members want to ignore: that levels of scrutiny are insufficient.

That’s not a reflection on the Scrutiny or Public Accounts Committee members but of the fact that those supposed to be keeping an eye on States members are themselves part of the same club – and a club that takes action against those who offend it.

When the States decided to kill off the truly independent Audit Commission in 2004, the commission warned that ‘it is a crucial element of scrutiny that those charged with the scrutiny role can be… independent of the interests of those it is scrutinising’.

Aware of the five States members and four non-States members on PAC, the commission further warned: ‘Hence, the commission believes that the [committee] faces an enormous challenge to uphold and demonstrate its independence of action.’

That challenge is now the peevish vote of no confidence.