A last-minute schedule shift has altered plans for the next parliamentary sitting in Antigua and Barbuda, pushing the gathering from its original September 18 date to September 28, according to an official announcement from Maurice Merchant, the nation’s Director General of Communications. Merchant confirmed the adjustment during a press briefing held immediately after this week’s Cabinet meeting on Thursday, but offered no public explanation for why the delay was ordered.
Despite the change in timeline, the upcoming sitting is set to tackle a slate of high-priority policy issues touching public safety, social welfare and public health that have been in preparation for months. Among the most closely watched items is a planned review of the country’s Child Justice Act, where government officials are expected to outline updated positions on a divisive policy question: whether juveniles charged with firearms violations and other major violent offenses should face trial in adult court, rather than being routed away from formal judicial processes through diversion programs.
Lawmakers will also deliberate on sweeping changes to sexual offense sentencing rules, designed to crack down on repeat offenders. The Cabinet has already thrown its support behind a proposal tabled by Prime Minister Gaston Browne to consider chemical castration as a sentencing option for serial sexual offenders, alongside discussions of stiffer prison terms and heavier financial penalties for these crimes.
In addition to justice reform, Social Transformation Minister Rawdon Turner will update parliament on progress toward establishing a new dedicated care facility. The site is intended to house children removed from unsafe household environments and women fleeing intimate partner abuse, addressing a longstanding gap in the country’s social support infrastructure.
Mental health system overhaul is another key item on the tentative agenda. The Cabinet has recently approved a $95,000 USD contribution to a technical cooperation partnership with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) that will back the rollout of new national mental health legislation, expand community-focused treatment programs, train clinical and administrative workforces, and upgrade national mental health crisis response capacity. Merchant noted that drafting work on a new, updated Mental Health Bill has already advanced substantially, bringing the reform effort closer to a parliamentary vote. As of the post-Cabinet briefing, the full formal agenda for the September 28 sitting has not been made public.