Jersey Charity Commissioner: re-appointment.

STATES OF JERSEY

JERSEY CHARITY COMMISSIONER: RE-APPOINTMENT

Presented to the States on 12th June 2023 by the Chief Minister

STATES GREFFE

2023  R.102

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REPORT

Background

The Assistant Chief Minister with responsibility for Financial Services is presenting this Report to the States Assembly in accordance with the Charities (Jersey) Law 2014 ("the 2014 Law") to give notice of her proposed intention to reappoint Mr John Frederick Mills C.B.E as the Jersey Charity Commissioner ("the Commissioner").

The Commissioner is established under Article 3 and Schedule 1, paragraph 1 of the 2014 Law. Paragraph 1 requires that –

1 Appointment of Commissioner

1. The Minister must appoint a person appearing to the Minister to be suitable to hold the office of the Commissioner.
2. Before appointing a person as the Commissioner, the Minister must seek the views of the Jersey Appointments Commission, established by Article 17 of the Employment  of  States  of  Jersey  Employees  (Jersey)  Law  2005, on  the appointment  (without  prejudice  to  the  powers  of  the  States  or  the  Jersey Appointments Commission under Article 15 of that Law).
3. The  Minister  must,  at  least  2  weeks  before  appointing  a  person  as  the Commissioner, present to the States a notice of his or her intention to make the appointment.
4. A  person  appointed  as  the  Commissioner  holds  and  vacates  that  office  in accordance with the terms of his or her appointment, subject to this Law.
5. When appointing a person as the Commissioner the Minister must determine the period of the appointment, being not more than 6 years.
6. The  Minister  may  re-appoint  a  person  serving  as  the  Commissioner  (and references in this paragraph to appointment include re-appointment).
7. The Minister must take all reasonable steps to ensure that at all times the office of the Commissioner is filled.
8. Nothing in sub-paragraph (7) is to be construed as preventing the terms of a person's appointment from requiring the person to work under the appointment for only a limited number of days in a year or hours in a day.

Schedule 1, paragraph 3 (4) of the 2014 Law provides for the expiration of office as Commissioner.

3 Termination of office as Commissioner

(4) A person's appointment as the Commissioner expires if –

1. the  period  for  which  the  person  was  appointed  expires  without  re- appointment;
2. the person becomes a member of the States; or
3. the person completes 12 years (whether consecutive or in aggregate) of service as Commissioner.

R.102/2023

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Matters relating to appointment

In accordance with Schedule 1, paragraph 1 (1), and as set out in R.74/2017 in 2017 the Minister appointed Mr John Mills CBE as Commissioner, for a period of three years. In 2020  Mr  Mills'  appointment  was  extended  for  a  period  of  three  years.  The Commissioner may serve up to a maximum of 12 years.

After seeking the views of the Jersey Appointments Commission, the Minister will reappoint Mr Mills for a further period of three years commencing 12 June 2023 and ending on 11 June 2026 (inclusive). This will allow for continuity as the office and regulatory regime develops and also concludes at the maximum recommended term of the Jersey Appointments Commission of nine years.

Finance and manpower implications

Schedule 1, Part 4 of the Law provides for staff, resourcing and reporting -

(7)  Subject to Article 20(1) of the Dormant Bank Accounts (Jersey) Law 2017, the cost of providing staff, accommodation and equipment under this paragraph must be met out of the annual income of the States.

There are no new financial or manpower implications for the States.

Biography

John Mills had a lengthy public service career in the UK, Hong Kong and Jersey, holding a range of senior positions including as a member of the Prime Minister's Policy Unit and as a director at the Office of Fair Trading. In the 1990s he forsook Whitehall for local government, becoming chief executive of Cornwall County Council. From there he was recruited to the role of chief executive (Policy and Resources) in Jersey, the senior post in the States administration. He ended his full-time career in the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in London, where he was Director of Rural Policy.

Mr Mills has held a variety of non-executive roles in Jersey and in the UK. He was a Commissioner of the Financial Services Commission from 2009-14 and is currently senior independent director of Ports of Jersey Ltd and the Jersey-based director of the Channel  Islands  Financial  Ombudsman.  Honorary  roles  in  Jersey  have  included membership of the States Members Remuneration Review Body from 2011-17 and Tax Commissioner of Appeal (2009 – 2017), from which latter role he has stepped down upon appointment as Charity Commissioner.

As a governor of a large educational charity in London from 1993-2017 (chairman of the trustees 1999-2017) John gained considerable experience of charity governance and public benefit delivery in a regulated environment akin to that now about to commence in Jersey. His roles, in Cornwall and at Defra especially, brought him into close contact with a wide range of charities and voluntary organisations, small and large, including those delivering public sector contracts.

Mr Mills was educated at Highgate School, London, and the University of Oxford, where  he  was  awarded  first-class  honours  in  the  School  of  Modern  History  and subsequently read for a research degree in medieval English history. He is a sometime Senior Scholar of Merton College, Oxford.

R.102/2023