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Jersey Care Commission Chair: extension of term of appointment

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STATES OF JERSEY

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JERSEY CARE COMMISSION CHAIR: EXTENSION OF TERM OF APPOINTMENT

 

Presented to the States on 22nd April 2020 by the Chief Minister

 

STATES GREFFE

2020  R.43

2

REPORT

Introduction

In 2017 the Chief Minister appointed Mr. Robert Glenn Houston (known as Glenn) as Chair of the Health and Social Care Commission (the "Jersey Care Commission") for an initial term of 3 years (see R.50/2017 and MD-HA-2017-0017  R.27/2017).

The Chief Minister, having consulted the Council of Ministers, intends to extend this appointment for a further 3 years.

The Chief Minister is, therefore, providing the States Assembly with 2 weeks' notice of his intention to extend the Chair's term of office.

The  Care  Commission  is  established  under  Article 35  of,  and  Schedule 2  to,  the Regulation of Care (Jersey) Law 2014 (the "2014 Law"). Schedule 2, paragraph 2 states –

"2  Appointment of Chairman of Commission

  1. One of the Commissioners shall be the Chairman of the Commission.
  2. The  Chief  Minister  shall,  after  consulting  with  the  Council  of Ministers –
  1. select and appoint, by instrument in writing, a person to be a Commissioner and the Chairman of the Commission; and
  2. decide  the  duration  of  that  person's  appointment  as  a Commissioner and Chairman.
  1. The JAC shall oversee the selection.
  2. The  Chief  Minister  shall,  at  least  2 weeks  before  making  the appointment under sub-paragraph (2), present to the States a notice of his or her selection and the intention to make the appointment.
  3. A person may be appointed under this paragraph more than once."

Background to the Care Commission

The 2014 Law provides for the establishment of the Care Commission. The functions of the Care Commission, which are conferred on it by the 2014 Law, include –

serving of improvement notices on registered health and social care providers or managers

preparation and publication of standards for compliance with requirements imposed by Regulations

carrying out inspections of any regulated activity at such interviews as specified in Regulations.

R.43/2020

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Matters relating to extension of appointment

In accordance with the requirements of the 2014 Law, the original selection process was overseen  by  the  Jersey  Appointments  Commission.  The  appointment  met  the requirements of the 2014 Law regarding skills, knowledge and experience (as set out in Schedule 2,  paragraph 3(2))  and  disqualification  for  appointment  (as  set  out  in Schedule 2, paragraph 4).

The Director General of the Department for Strategic Policy, Planning and Performance, has confirmed that the performance of the Chair of the Jersey Care Commission has been good, and that the extension of the appointment for a further 3-year term is supported.  The  extension  has  been  considered  and  duly  noted  by  the  Jersey Appointments Commission.

Financial and manpower implications

The Chairman will be contracted to work 30 days per year at £600 per day. Time spent travelling to and from Jersey is also able to be claimed.

As detailed within P.95/2014, the costs associated with the functioning of the Care Commission are met partly from fee income.

Short biography: Mr. Robert Glenn Houston (known as Glenn) A biography of the Chair is set out below.

Mr. Houston has been Chair of the Jersey Care Commission since May 2017. During this time, he has led the Commission through its establishment; consequentially, it is now fully formed and performing its statutory functions effectively.

Mr. Houston is an experienced senior executive, with over 35 years' experience of working in the integrated health and social care system in Northern Ireland. He has over 20 years' experience of operating at Board level, having worked at both Director and Chief Executive levels in a number of organisations.

Between 2009 and 2016, he  was Chief Executive of the  Regulation and  Quality Improvement  Authority –  Northern  Ireland's  independent  health  and  social  care regulator.

He was for 3 years a member of the Board of the European Partnership of Supervisory Organisations, served as President of that Board in 2015 and worked on projects in The Netherlands, Denmark and Kosovo.

Mr. Houston is a qualified social worker. In 2014 he was awarded a Master of Science Degree  in  Inter-Professional  Health  and  Social  Care  Management  from  Queen's University Belfast.

He is currently Vice-Chair of the Board of the Disclosure and Barring Service, is a Board member of the Human Tissue Authority, the Northern Health and Social Care Trust, and the Northern Ireland Public Prosecution Service.

R.43/2020