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STATES OF JERSEY
APPOINTMENT OF PAN-ISLAND COMMISSIONER FOR STANDARDS
Presented to the States on 8th February 2023 by the Privileges and Procedures Committee
STATES GREFFE
2023 R.21
2
REPORT
The Privileges and Procedures Committee (PPC) is proposing the appointment of a Pan- Island Commissioner for Standards to work across both Jersey and Guernsey.
Before the election in 2022, the previous Committee wrote to the President of the States Assembly Constitution Committee in Guernsey to confirm arrangements to appoint a Commissioner for Standards who would work across the two Islands.
The current Commissioner for Standards in Jersey, Mr. Paul Kernaghan, was appointed in September 2017. His term of office was originally due to end on 31st August 2022, however the previous Committee agreed a six-month extension, to the end of February 2023, to ensure continuity during the election process and to enable the new Committee to plan a recruitment exercise in tandem with Guernsey. Following the adoption of legislation in Guernsey which created the Commissioner role, a joint recruitment exercise was undertaken in late 2022, based on the understanding that each Island will have its own legislation and Codes of Conduct, and therefore there would be two separate roles to fill.
The position was advertised in the local media in both Islands and also nationally.
A total of 14 people applied for the role, 4 of whom were shortlisted and interviewed by a recruitment panel on 3rd February 2023. The recruitment panel comprised the Greffier of the States of Jersey, the Greffier of the States of Guernsey, the Chair of the Privileges and Procedures Committee, the Chair of the Guernsey States Assembly Constitution Committee and the Chair of the Jersey Appointments Commission, as a non-voting member. The panel was unanimous in recommending Dr Melissa McCullough for appointment. Article 3(2) of the Commissioner for Standards (Jersey) Law 2017 requires the Committee to give the States at least 2 weeks' notice of its intention to make an appointment.
Dr Melissa McCullough
Dr McCullough moved to Northern Ireland from the US in 1994 and obtained her PhD from Queen's University Belfast, Faculty of Medicine. She also has a Master's degree in Bioethics and Applied Ethics, a Bachelor of Laws degree and a degree in Biology.
Since 2005, Dr McCullough has worked as an academic in law, ethics and professionalism in the UK and Ireland. She served as Non-Executive Director (Ministerial appointment) for the Health and Social Care Board in Northern Ireland from 2009 until 2020 and is currently a visiting academic at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and an assessor for undergraduate medical programmes for the Medical Council Ireland.
Dr McCullough is the current Northern Island Assembly Commissioner for Standards. She carries out investigations of often complicated and sensitive complaints against Ministers and Members of the Legislative Assembly in an independent and impartial manner. As well as investigating complaints, she is also responsible for promoting the highest ethical standards in public life, providing advice and guidance to elected politicians and the Northern Ireland Executive Office, external representation, strategic planning, operational management and leadership of the Office of the Commissioner for Standards.
R.21/2023