PPC Sub-Committee: Diversity Forum - 13 February 2025

Privileges and Procedures Committee Diversity Forum

(15th Meeting)

13th February 2025

Part A (Non-Exempt)

All members were present, with the exception of Deputies L.K.F. Stephenson of St. Mary , St. Ouen and St. Peter , Chair, L.M.C. Doublet of St. Saviour , Vice Chair and Connétable M.O.’D Troy of St. Clement , from whom apologies had been received.

Deputy H.L. Jeune of St. John , St. Lawrence and Trinity , Vice Chair Deputy H.M. Miles of St. Brelade

Deputy M.R. Ferey of St. Saviour

Deputy I. Gardiner of St. Helier North

Deputy R.L. Kovacs of St. Saviour (for a time)

In attendance -

T. Oldham , Assistant Greffier, Committees and Panels, States Greffe

J. Hales , Research and Project Officer, States Greffe

C. Tucker, Assistant Secretariat Officer, Specialist Secretariat, States Greffe

E. Patterson, Assistant  Secretariat Officer, Specialist Secretariat, States Greffe

  Note:  The Minutes of this meeting comprise Part A only.

Minutes.  A1. The Minutes of the meeting held on 21st November 2024, having previously

been circulated, were taken as read and were confirmed.

Privileges and  A2. The Sub-Committee received and noted the  following Part A Minutes of Procedures  meetings of the Privileges and Procedures Committee (PPC) –

Committee

Minutes.  -  2nd December 2024

- 9th December 2024

- 11th December 2024

- 17th December 2024

- 10th January 2025

- 20th January 2025

- 24th January 2025

- 31st January 2025

Due to the high volume of PPC Part A Minutes to be considered, it was agreed that officers  would  compile  a  list,  highlighting  Acts  which  were  relevant  for consideration  by  the  Diversity  Forum,  for  inclusion  on  the  agenda  of  future meetings.

Actions Arising:

 

Task Owner	Action
ASO	Highlight  relevant  Diversity  Forum Acts from the PPC Part A Minutes for inclusion on future agendas.

Government  A3. The Sub-Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A5 of 21st November Diversity,  2024, received an oral update from Deputy M.R. Ferey of St. Saviour , Assistant Equity, and  Chief Minister, in connexion with Government of Jersey updates on Diversity, Inclusion  Equity and Inclusion (DEI).

update.

The Sub-Committee recalled that it had agreed that Deputy Ferey would provide an update on behalf of Government in relation to ongoing DEI matters at each meeting.

Deputy Ferey informed the Sub-Committee that the States Employment Board (SEB) were committed to pursuing DEI across the public sector and that employee led networks were providing consistent feedback to the SEB in relation to DEI, which had informed future points of action. It was noted that over 1,400 employees had been involved with a number of DEI initiatives, such as Inspiring Women into Leadership and the Neurodiversity Network. It was noted that the ‘Be Heard Survey’ results for 2024 had been more promising than in 2023, and that the results were due for imminent circulation to staff and the media. Deputy H.M. Miles of St. Brelade enquired, in her capacity as Chair of the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel (CSSP), as to whether the CSSP would be alerted before the survey results were circulated to the media and Deputy Ferey confirmed that this would be accommodated.

It was noted that developments to the Community Transport Scheme (the scheme), under the wider Disability Strategy were ongoing. The scheme would entail third sector organisations pooling resources, such as minibuses, to transport clients around the Island. The scheme would reduce costs for third sector organisations, who would pay a monthly fee for the service, reduce workload, as the task of transporting clients would  be  shared  between  organisations  and  would  also  increase  networking opportunities. Deputy Ferey noted that, despite some initial issues with vehicle insurance, the scheme was due for soft launch in the forthcoming days. It was noted that 800 public and private car parking spaces had been identified and mapped for disabled parking in Jersey, with prominent signage to indicate their whereabouts. The locations of these spaces were also available on a mobile phone application to increase accessibility.

Deputy Ferey apprised the Sub-Committee of the recruitment of a new member of the Disability and Inclusion team, who would provide courses on lip reading, Makaton, and British Sign Language, to increase deaf awareness across the public, private, and third sectors. Further updates included  the provision of  Inclusion Champions within all primary and secondary schools, a review of the Disability Strategy Action Plan for short-term actions and the planned launch of Anti-Racism and Speak Up Campaigns throughout 2025.

The  Sub-Committee  discussed  the  importance  of  Children’s  Rights  Impact Assessments (CRIAs) in relation to DEI but noted that completing CRIAs had proven to be a time consuming administrative task. The possibility of authorising an experienced officer from the Children’s Commissioner’s Office to undertake the administrative responsibility for CRIAs was considered. However, concerns were noted with regard to maintaining the confidentiality of Propositions to the States Assembly.

The Sub-Committee noted the position and thanked Deputy Ferey for the update.

Common- A4. The Sub-Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A2 of 3rd February 2025, wealth  received  and  noted  a  draft  report  entitled  ‘Commonwealth  Parliamentary Parliamentary  Association  Gender  Sensitive  Parliament  Self-Assessment’,  which  had  been Association:  prepared by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) in connexion Gender  with the progress made since the Sub-Committee, as previously constituted, had Sensitive  undertaken an internal Gender Audit in 2019.

Parliament

Self- It was recalled that the report had commended the States Assembly for the progress Assessment.  made towards becoming a more gender sensitive institution and noted the increased

representation of women in the Assembly. However, the report had also identified pertinent areas for improvement to ensure the establishment and success of a more diverse parliament, including –

- the formalisation of diversity in leadership roles;

- the equality of participation in parliament; and

- the increased support for staff and Members with childcare responsibilities.

Due to the complex and comprehensive list of recommendations, a summary of the report had been produced for review and discussion. The Sub-Committee noted the matters  yet  to  be  considered  and  agreed  that  it  would  take  ownership  of recommendation Nos. 32 and 33. It was agreed that all other recommendations would be distributed to the appropriate Sub-Committee or Officer.

The following discussions also arose from the report – Recommendation No. 20 – To Define Bullying and Harassment

It was recalled that recommendation No. 20 had proposed an interim review of the Code of Conduct by the Privileges and Procedures Committee (PPC) to ensure the presence of an explicit statement or principle that defined bullying and harassment. The Sub-Committee discussed the current systems in place and noted the absence of a lower-level behavioural complaints process for cases that did not require formal investigation by the Commissioner for Standards. Examples of campaigns such as the Speak Up initiative, available to Government of Jersey staff were discussed and it was suggested that similar models be made available to States Members. It was proposed that communications be drafted to Ms. L.M. Hart , Greffier of the States, to raise these suggestions for consideration under the interim review.

Recommendation No. 21 – Mandatory Bullying and Harassment Workshops

The Sub-Committee was informed that recommendation No. 20 had sought to engage an external gender and inclusion expert to deliver mandatory bullying and harassment workshops on an annual basis for States Members and parliamentary staff. It was noted that previous gender inclusion and bullying workshops had been positively received by States Members, but concerns had been expressed with regard to the ability to compel attendance at such training. It was noted that a number of Members of the Sub-Committee were due to attend meetings with their counterparts at the Houses of Parliament in London, in their capacity as Scrutineers. It was acknowledged  that  these  meetings  provided  the  opportunity  to  discuss  the practicalities of enforcing training in other parliamentary jurisdictions. The Sub- Committee suggested that training, whether it be optional or mandatory, be offered

19 15th Meeting 13.02.2025

during the induction process for all States Members following the 2026 Election. It was further proposed that all training undertaken by States Members be included on their public profile on the States Assembly website.

The Sub-Committee agreed that the above suggestions would be included in further communication to the Greffier of the States.

Recommendation No. 23 – Plan to Stand Resources

It was recalled that recommendation No. 23 had suggested the creation of a video, for inclusion in the Plan to Stand campaign, in connexion with the expected behaviours of States Members and potential candidates. The Sub-Committee unanimously agreed with this recommendation and proposed that further discussion in this regard be held at a future meeting, with an invitation extended to the Greffier of the States.

Recommendation No. 25 – Coaching and Counselling Services to Members and Staff

The Sub-Committee was reminded that recommendation No. 25 had proposed the continued provision of coaching and counselling services to States Members and States Greffe staff, with a committed budget to ensure its sustainability. It was noted that these services were already in place and were utilised by staff and Members alike. To ensure the success of this programme, it was proposed that a review of these resources might be undertaken and that coaches could complete impact assessments prior to, and following, these sessions to quantify the results of the services.

Recommendation No. 28 – Formal Debate of the Gender Equality Plan

The Sub-Committee recalled that, as an overarching suggestion, recommendation No. 27 had sought to produce a Gender Equality Plan (the Plan) detailing efforts and ambitions for each of the 4 CPA dimensions and indicating their prioritisation, timeframe for completion, and reviewal of actions in place. As such, recommendation No. 28 sought to formalise the Plan via a debate during a States Assembly sitting. Whilst the benefits of this were noted, it was acknowledged that there limited procedural mechanisms for such a debate. Consequently, it was proposed that the Sub-Committee’s outline comments on the recommendations, once finalised, be forwarded to PPC for its consideration as the basis for such a Plan.

Recommendation No. 32 – Ensure Equality and Diversity in Policy

It was recalled that recommendation No. 32 had proposed the establishment of a dedicated stream of Scrutiny, either under the Scrutiny Liaison Committee or the proposed Women’s Caucus, to ensure equality and diversity within Policy. Having discussed the benefits of the recommendation, it was agreed that this would be included in the Scrutiny Panel Scoping document to ensure that all work undertaken by Panels was considered through an equality and diversity lens. Further discussions with Scrutiny Panels were required to ensure that the implementation of this recommendation was successful.

Recommendation No. 33 – Collection of Sex Disaggregated Data

It was noted that recommendation No. 33 had proposed the collection and publication of sex disaggregated data on witnesses and experts who had given evidence to Scrutiny Committees and Panels. The Sub-Committee concurred that

such data could prove valuable in providing guidance to future actions of the Sub- Committee  and  Scrutiny  Liaison  Committee.  It  was  proposed  that  officers investigate the matter further to determine the feasibility of collating this data for future presentation to the Scrutiny Liaison Committee.

Having considered the recommendations, it was agreed that a further letter would be drafted to the Greffier of the States outlining the Sub-Committee’s position on the suggestions and extending an invitation to its next meeting.

Actions Arising:

Task Owner	Action
ASO	To draft communication to the Greffier of the States outlining the Sub- Committee’s consideration of CPA Report, including an invitation to a future meeting. The correspondence would also include reference to the following matters - - the investigation of additional levels of mediation for lower-level complaints, prior to the involvement of the Commissioner for Standards; - the provision of bullying and harassment workshops to Members during the induction period; - the creation of a video on the expected behaviour of Members and candidates as part of the Plan to Stand campaign; - the review of counselling and coaching sessions from the States Greffe; - the inclusion of training undertaken by State Members on the States Assembly website profile pages; and, - the provision of a ‘Speak Up’ type platform for States Members.
Members	To discuss the provision of mandatory training and the practicalities of enforcing this in other jurisdictions.
RPO	To add to the Scoping Document in connexion with Scrutiny Panel thinking through an equality/diversity lens and undertake further discussions with Scrutiny Panel in this connexion.
AGOS	To determine whether it is feasible to produce and publish sex disaggregated data on witnesses and experts from 2023 and 2024.

Disability  A5. The Sub-Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A8 of 21st November Access in the  2024, welcomed Messrs P. Dodd, Head of Estates and Property Maintenance, Jersey States Building  Property Holdings (JPH), C. Carvalho, Project Coordinator, JPH and B. Makin, – Jersey  Maintenance Officer, JPH, in connexion with the ‘States Building Access Audit’ Property  completed  in  2018  and  the  ‘Accessibility  Audit  of  the  States  Building’ Holdings.  commissioned by Liberate in 2020.

The Sub-Committee recalled that despite alterations which had been made to the States Building to aid accessibility, such as the installation of ramps, accessible toilets and the provision of live-streamed debates, the usability of the States Building for disabled individuals had remained an issue. Notable concerns had been raised regarding accessibility for wheelchair users due to narrow corridors and doorways and  the efficacy of evacuation procedures for those individuals in case of an emergency. Therefore, it had been recommended that the Sub-Committee invite representatives  from  JPH  to  attend  a  future  meeting,  in  their  capacity  as  the building’s landlord.

The Sub-Committee was advised that JPH’s annual budget for projects across its building portfolio was £750,000, which had proven challenging to delegate across its sizeable estate. It was acknowledged that due to the limited budget, improvement to school toilet facilities was considered to be a priority. In response to a question from Deputy I. Gardiner of St. Helier North , it was noted that no specific framework had informed the prioritisation of the JPH budget. The Sub-Committee emphasised its role in ensuring the facilitation of a diverse Assembly and stressed that it was challenging to deliver this commitment within the current constraints of the States Building. Concerns were raised that if wheelchair access in the building was not improved, it could deter those individuals from standing for future elections, and hinder opportunities to enhance the diversity of the Assembly.

Mr. Dodd advised that JPH would evaluate the ‘States Building Access Audit’ and the ‘Accessibility Audit of the States Building’ and produce a report which would prioritise key recommendations to improve the compliance of the building. The report would also clarify the remit of recommendations, as to whether they were the responsibility of the landlord or the tenant and highlight additional barriers to certain recommendations, such as gaining planning permission. It was decided that a 4-week period would be sufficient to provide a report to the Sub-Committee and Chamber

Buildings Steering Group for review.

The Sub-Committee apprised Mr. Makin, in his capacity as Maintenance Officer, of current maintenance issues in the States Building, and requested that an upstairs restroom be installed for Members’ convenience during States sittings. Mr. Makin undertook to enquire about these requests and to update the Sub-Committee in due course.

The Sub-Committee thanked Messrs Dodd, Carvalho, and Makin for the update, and they withdrew from the meeting.

Actions Arising:

Task Owner	Action
JPH	To produce a report outlining the Audit recommendations which should be prioritised and to highlight which recommendations are landlord or tenant responsibilities.
JPH	To enquire about replacing a faulty facet in the ladies’ toilets in the States Building and constructing a new toilet

 

on the first floor.

Actions list  A6. The Sub-Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A3 of 21st November and work  2024, noted the ongoing work programme and action lists.

programme.

It was recalled that further clarity had been requested in regard to matters arising from forthcoming meetings of the Sub-Committee. As such, a live actions list had been prepared to ensure that all Members were apprised of ongoing matters and their progress.

The Sub-Committee noted the position.

Diversity of  A7. The Sub-Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A6 of 21st November recruitment  2024, received and noted a report entitled ‘Diversity of recruitment within States- within States-  owned  bodies  and  Arm’s-Length  Organisations’  which  had  been  prepared  in owned bodies  connexion with a report entitled ‘Diversity of Public Sector Appointment – Research and Arm’s- by the Diversity Forum’ (R.25/2022 refers).

Length

Organisations.  It was recalled that following the Assembly’s adoption of Proposition P.118/2019

entitled ‘Diversity Working Group’, it had been agreed to evaluate the development and implementation of policies which proactively encouraged greater diversity of applicants  for  States-owned  bodies  and  Arm’s-Length  Organisations  (ALOs). ‘R.25/2022 - Diversity of Public Sector Appointment – Research by the Diversity Forum’ had subsequently been presented to the States Assembly on 4th March 2022. A summary outlining the updated views of the Sub-Committee had been requested to accompany this report ahead of the commencement of the Public Accounts Committee’s review of ALOs in March 2025.

The Sub-Committee was apprised of the work undertaken by the Sub-Committee, as previously constituted, such as the creation of surveys to gather the views of States- funded, States-owned Bodies and ALOs in relation to diversity. The absence of an Equality Duty in the jurisdiction was also acknowledged and it was agreed that an action plan be created to provide a framework to implement a strategy for Jersey. Scotland’s strategy for enhancing equality of opportunity in the public appointments process was also identified as a suitable foundation on which to formulate a diversity strategy for Jersey.

Having considered the Diversity of recruitment within States-owned bodies and Arm’s-Length Organisations report, the Sub-Committee agreed that a request be made to Government to provide a definitive formal update as to the action it had taken to implement the proposals outlined in R.25/2022. Further interaction with the Jersey  Appointment’s  Commission  (JAC)  was  also  proposed  to  establish  its approach to the possible implementation of an Equality Duty in Jersey. The Sub- Committee undertook to request that Deputy C. Alves of St. Helier Central , Assistant Chief Minister, who was due to attend a future meeting of the Sub-Committee, provide an update on this matter as a Member of the JAC and Government. As such, the  Diversity  of  recruitment  within  States-owned  bodies  and  Arm’s-Length Organisations report would be sent to the Deputy for her consideration prior to the meeting.

The Sub-Committee was apprised of a draft letter to Ms. K. Wright, Chair of FREEDA (Free from Domestic Abuse) and founder of the Diversity Network. It was recalled that Women for Politics (WFP) was due to resume under the presumed leadership of Ms. Wright and the benefits of the role of campaign groups such as this  in  achieving  the  diversification  of  States-owned  bodies  and  ALOs  were acknowledged.  Subsequently,  correspondence  from  the  Sub-Committee  to  Ms. Wright had been drafted, which had outlined WFP’s function in forming a powerful vehicle for female representation in politics. The Sub-Committee requested that it be apprised of current and scheduled activities of WFP and that an invitation be extended to its representatives to attend a future meeting of the Sub-Committee to gather their views on the strategies implemented by Government to meet actions proposed in R.25/2022.

Having considered the matter, the Sub-Committee approved the correspondence to Ms. Wright, subject to minor amendments.

Actions Arising:

Task Owner	Action
ASO	To invite Deputy Alves to a subsequent Sub-Committee meeting to discuss R.25/2022, noting the briefing paper prepared in this respect.
ASO	To send the amended letter to Ms. Wright (WFP), inviting representatives to a future meeting of the Sub-Committee.

Feedback from  A8. The Sub-Committee received a verbal update from Deputy I. Gardiner of St. guided tours of  Helier North in connexion with the perceived outreach and awareness opportunities the States  surrounding the encouragement of Islanders to stand for election, that had arisen Chamber.  from States Chamber tours.

The Sub-Committee was informed that the Jersey Polish Community had attended a guided  tour  of  the  States  Chamber,  organised  in  partnership  with  Ms.  M. Chmielewska, Honorary Polish Consul, on 11th February 2025. The political interest and diversity of the Members of this tour was noted and it was suggested that the Sub-Committee be apprised of such tours in the future in order to help establish future networking opportunities.

Action Arising:

Task Owner	Action
AGOS	To ensure that States Chamber tour information is circulated, as appropriate, to relevant parties.

Date of Next  A9. The Sub-Committee noted that its next scheduled meeting would be held on meeting  13th March 2025, from 10.00am to 12.00pm in the Blampied Room.