Skip to main content

Comptroller and Auditor General Board of Governance: Appointment of Member

This content has been automatically generated from the original PDF and some formatting may have been lost. Let us know if you find any major problems.

Text in this format is not official and should not be relied upon to extract citations or propose amendments. Please see the PDF for the official version of the document.

STATES OF JERSEY

COMPTROLLER AND AUDITOR GENERAL BOARD OF GOVERNANCE: RE-APPOINTMENT OF MEMBER

Lodged au Greffe on 1st August 2024

by the Chief Minister

Earliest date for debate: 10th September 2024

STATES GREFFE

2024  P.50

PROPOSITION

THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion

in accordance with Article 2(2) of the Comptroller and Auditor General (Board of Governance) (Jersey) Order 2015, to approve the recommendation of the Chief Minister and the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee to re-appoint, from the end of his current term of office on 25th March 2025, Mr Robert Tinlin MBE, as an  independent  member  of  the  Board  of  Governance  of  the  Office  of  the Comptroller and Auditor General, for a term of five years.

CHIEF MINISTER

Note: In accordance with Article 2(3) of the Comptroller and Auditor General (Board of Governance) (Jersey) Order 2015, this proposition has the support of both the Chief Minister and the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee.

REPORT Background

Article 15 of the Comptroller and Auditor General (Jersey) Law 2014 provided for the establishment  of  a  Board  of  Governance  ("the  Board")  to  perform  functions  in connection with the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General ("C&AG").

The Comptroller and Auditor General (Board of Governance) (Jersey) Order 2015 ("the 2015 Order") established the Board to scrutinise the use of resources by the C&AG and the governance arrangements of the Office. In accordance with Article 2 of the 2015 Order, as amended in February 2023, the Board shall be constituted by two to four members appointed by the States Assembly, one of whom shall also be appointed by the States as Chairman of the Board.

In addition to Mrs Grace Nesbit OBE, the Chairman of the Board, and the Comptroller and Auditor General, there are currently three independent members in post. The Chairman, Professor Russel Griggs OBE, and Mr Robert Tinlin MBE, come to the end of their current terms on 25th March 2025. While Mrs Nesbit and Professor Griggs cannot be re-appointed, in line with the 2015 Order, having served two terms of office, Mr Tinlin can be re-appointed for a further term, effective from 25th March 2025.

Separately, a recruitment exercise will be undertaken to appoint a new Chairman and independent member(s), in accordance with Article 24 of the Employment of States of Jersey Employees (Jersey) Law 2005, following the guidance issued by the Jersey Appointments Commission.

Re-appointment of an independent member

Accordingly, the Chairman of the Board has advised that Mr Tinlin has expressed a willingness to be re-appointed, as an independent member of the Board, for a second term of five years, following the end of his current term of office.

The proposed re-appointment has the support of the Chairman of the Board, the Chair of the Jersey Appointments Commission and the Comptroller and Auditor General. Mr Tinlin is not disqualified from serving as an independent member by virtue of Article 2(7) of the 2015 Order. A short biography for Mr Tinlin is set out below.

Mr Robert Tinlin MBE

Robert Tinlin has extensive experience of strategic working in political environments. His principal career and professional experience has been in local government. For almost 20 years he held the post of chief executive, firstly of a Northamptonshire district council and latterly, for 12 years, leading Southend-On-Sea unitary council. Before that he spent 8 years as East Lothian Council's most senior corporate advisor on strategy and performance. This background has given him an innate ability to work across the political spectrum, manage political change and challenge, and to both advise and deliver at a strategic level. He has wide experience in working at regional, national and international level. This experience has included appraising and providing advice and guidance on governance issues as well as serving on and chairing a range of public

Page - 3

P.50/2024

sector boards and committees. This experience includes chairing the Association of Local Authority Chief Executives and the Essex Asset Management Partnership, being a board member of the Department of Health National Information Board and chairing a national workstream on digitising the health service, providing challenge and support through numerous corporate peer reviews, acting as lead regional advisor on planning and on health and social care, and through Council of Europe missions.

Most recently he has held several non-executive director roles, on the boards of NHS Digital in England, and, in Scotland, the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service and Healthcare Improvement Scotland. In NHS Digital he served on its Audit & Risk Committee and its Talent, Remuneration and Management Committee, as well as being the lead NED for organisational change. In the Crown Office he sat on its Business Improvement Committee, its Remuneration Committee and chaired its Audit & Risk Committee for the five years he served. In Healthcare Improvement Scotland he chairs its Executive Remuneration Committee and sits on its Audit and Risk Committee and is its designated counter fraud champion. He will assume the chair of its ARC from July 2024.

Over the last six years he has acted as an advisor to various councils on governance and, particularly, senior recruitment, mentored a range of new chief executives and assumed the role of interim chief executive for four councils. He is the treasurer and a trustee of a local heritage trust and a member of a community support group. He has a commitment to the delivery of high-quality services for communities, delivered as efficiently and effectively as possible whilst making every public pound count, and has needed to display leadership, sound judgement, the ability to listen and hear good advice, and an innate ability to influence and advise colleagues, politicians of most hues, agencies and government. The success of this approach has been recognised by numerous national awards, including an MBE, UK Council of the Year, UK Senior Leadership Team of the Year, and Freedom of the Borough of Southend.

Financial and staffing implications

The  post  is  unpaid.  Where  necessary,  reasonable  expenses  for  travel  and accommodation will be paid for attendance at meetings in London and Jersey. These are estimated not to exceed £1,000 per annum and will be met within the existing budgets.

Children's Rights Impact Assessment

A Children's Rights Impact Assessment (CRIA) has not been prepared in relation to this proposition as a CRIA is not required, in accordance with Schedule 2 to the Children (Convention Rights) (Jersey) Law 2022.