Renewal of the States of Jersey Complaints Panel membership.

STATES OF JERSEY

RENEWAL OF THE STATES OF JERSEY

COMPLAINTS PANEL MEMBERSHIP

Presented to the States on 25th August 2023 by the Privileges and Procedures Committee

STATES GREFFE

2023  R.127

REPORT

Since  the  Assembly  agreed  to  consider  the  establishment  of  a  Public  Sector Ombudsman (P.32/2018 Public Services Ombudsman: establishment of office') the long-term future of the States of Jersey Complaints Panel has remained uncertain. However, until an Ombudsman is established, it is important to maintain the existing provision, so that Islanders can still seek help if they are not satisfied with the decisions or actions of Ministers or Government Departments.

Section 4.13 of the Appointments Commission's Code of Practice recommends that the term of office of a member of a public body should not exceed 10 years, although in some circumstances this limit can be extended. Maintaining the numbers of members ensures that there is a broad range amongst the Panel membership to avoid conflicts of interest. In that way, the public can be certain that the consideration of any complaint is completely unbiased and impartial.

In 2020, having agreed to extend the tenure of the Chair and Deputy Chairs of the Panel until 2024, the former PPC oversaw a recruitment process for additional members to join the Panel and 8 new members were recruited. During the selection process, the Panel sought to appoint a balanced group of people in terms of gender, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, experience and skills. Those new members were initially appointed for a three-year term until September 2023, by which time it had been anticipated the new Public Sector Ombudsman would be in place. The renewal of the tenure of 7 of those members of the Complaints Panel for a further year will allow the Panel to continue to function. The tenure of the Chair, Geoffrey Crill, will be extended by 2 months so that it expires at the same time as the remaining members in September 2024.

In accordance with Article 5(2) of the Administrative Decisions (Review) (Jersey) Law 1982, the Privileges and Procedures Committee shall approve the renewed appointment of the following members of the States of Jersey Complaints Panel until September 2024 - .

• Geoffrey Crill (Chair)

• Christine Blackwood

• Penny Chapman

• Tina Chatterley

• David Curran

• Andy Hunter

• Kerry Leadbetter

• Damian Warman

In accordance with Article 2 of the States of Jersey (Appointment Procedures) (Jersey) Law 2018, the Committee is required to provide at least 2 weeks' notice before approving the appointment. The appointment will, therefore, be confirmed in 2 weeks from the date of this report.

The Complaints Panel system

The Complaints Panel is established under the Administrative Decisions (Review) (Jersey) Law 1982, and it enables any person who is aggrieved by a decision made by a Minister or department, or any person acting on behalf of any such Minister or department, to apply to the Greffier of the States to have the matter reviewed by a Complaints Board. Everyone has a right to expect a good standard of service from Government Departments and to have things put right if they go wrong. The Complaints Panel  conducts  independent  investigations  if  the  public  feel  that  Government Departments have not acted properly or fairly, or have provided poor service.

There are currently 13 members of the Panel, including the Chair and 2 Deputy Chairs. 3 longer serving members remain in addition to those appointed in 2020 (their term of office expires in September 2024). All members of the Complaints Panel serve in an honorary capacity and the Committee is extremely grateful to the Members who give many hours of their time on this basis in relation to the work of the Panel, and is delighted that so many quality candidates submitted an interest in serving and existing members remain willing to continue to do so.

The Panel members to be reappointed are as follows: Geoffrey Crill - Chair

Geoffrey Crill is a retired Solicitor of the Royal Court of Jersey. He attended Victoria College in Jersey and has been a Solicitor of the Royal Court of Jersey since 1977. Mr. Crill began his legal career as a Conveyancing Assistant at Crill, Cubitt-Sowden and Tomes in 1967. In 1977 he became a Solicitor in Crill, Cubitt-Sowden and Tomes, and in 1979 became a Partner at Crill, Cubitt-Sowden and Tomes (latterly Crills). In 1992 he became a Senior Partner in Crill Canavan Solicitors and Advocates, until 2009, when he retired from practice.

From 2004–2010 he was a Trustee of the Jersey Heritage Trust, and in 2010 a member of the Carswell Review Panel (appointed by the States of Jersey to review the role of the Bailiff and other Crown Officers in Jersey).

Mr. Crill has previously been a member of Solicitors' Disciplinary Tribunal and Honorary Secretary of the Chambre des Écrivains (governing body of the Solicitors of the Royal Court of Jersey). Having joined as Deputy Chair in December 2014, Mr. Crill has been the Chair of the Complaints Panel since 17th July 2015.

Christine Blackwood

Before  moving  to  Jersey  in  1993,  Christine  Blackwood  worked  with  General Practitioners in North Yorkshire supporting the development of Health Promotion services in primary care. During this time, she attained a post graduate diploma in Health Promotion from Leeds Metropolitan University. Christine graduated from Leeds University with a BSc Honours in Psychology in 1984 and trained as a nurse in Edinburgh qualifying in 1979. Christine retired from full time employment in June 2019 having worked for over 20 years in health and social care regulation for both the

Government of Jersey and more recently the Jersey Care Commission. She was first appointed in 1995 as nursing and residential homes inspector and latterly held a senior manager position as Head of Professional and Care Regulation. This role included a range  of  regulatory  responsibilities  for  both  health  and  social  care  services  and professional  registration  and  provided  Christine  with  many  years'  experience  of investigating  complaints  and  concerns,  collecting  and  analysing  information  and weighing up evidence. In addition to supervising a team of regulatory officers and managing  the  regulatory  functions  under  various  Laws,  Christine  led  on  the development of health and social care legislation including the Regulation of Care Law and associated Regulations. She continues to work as a part time policy consultant assisting the Jersey Government develop additional Regulations for new services to be included in the regulatory framework. She has been a member of the Complaints Panel since 2020.

Penny Chapman

Penny Chapmen is a locally born mother of 2. She trained in property management and then went on to manage a large portfolio of both residential and commercial properties for  Clyde-Smith  Management  for  9  years,  before  a  move  to  the  Social  Security Department where she was employed as the Administration Manager of the Training & Employment Partnership (TEP). Following the restructuring of the TEP department she took up a role at Vibert s Lawyers in the Probate department.

Following the birth of her daughter in 2005, she gave up work and became a full-time parent carer. Penny has been a Trustee of Steps Charity Worldwide, working with the Special Needs Advisory Panel and Honorary Secretary of the Kennel Club of Jersey since 2018.

Penny is the Co-Founder and Chair of the local charity AllMatters Neurodiverse Jersey, a charity dedicated to promoting understanding and acceptance of Neurodiversity. She has been a member of the Complaints Panel since 2020.

Tina Chatterley  

Tina Chatterley is Jersey born and spent 20 years building a career in Company and Trust Administration before retraining whilst in full time employment to become a psychotherapist and life coach. In 1999 she set up her private practice based on values and putting people before profit. She has since also qualified as a Clinical Supervisor to provide support to professionals working in mental health. Tina has supported staff and service users in many organisations and charities in the community and designed and delivered training courses in personal and professional development within the public sector focusing primarily on employability and mental health issues. Tina has a proven record of working both independently and as a part of a team. She works positively and constructively with individuals from all walks of life and of differing abilities having regard to all aspects of diversity, discrimination and equality in an objective and non- judgemental manner. Tina has been an independent member of the Fostering Panel for 5 years and was appointed as an independent member of the Performers List Appeals Panel 12 months ago. As a past Trustee of the Jersey Women's Refuge, she now provides clinical supervision to senior managers and staff in the private and public

sector as well as student counsellors in training. She has been a member of the Complaints Panel since 2020.

David Curran

Since graduating from the University of Glasgow in 2014 with a Bachelor of Dental Surgery qualification, David Curran has worked in a variety of healthcare settings with different groups of people and varying patient demographics. Throughout all of this, many situations have arisen which have required sensitivity, conflict management and de-escalation skills. An awareness of medical ethics, patient expectation, and the importance  of  following  certain  protocols  and  guidelines  have  given  him  an understanding of how complaints may arise against a service provider, and how this can escalate without appropriate attempts at resolution. David came to Jersey in January 2020 as a Dental Associate at Colomberie Clinic and is keen to be able to provide some of his time and experience to help in complaint resolution and to help both service providers and service users come to a satisfactory and an amicable conclusion. David has been working as a Dentist in the Dental Department of Jersey General Hospital since July 2021. He has been a member of the Complaints Panel since 2020.

Andrew Hunter

Educated at Victoria College Jersey, and European Business School, London, Andrew Hunter started work in the City of London for stockbroking firm Hoare Govett, then spent 9 years with Hillsdown Holdings plc in various head office roles, and as a part of the senior management board. He co-led a Management Buy Out and co-founded Argent Group Europe Limited. Whilst at Argent Group Europe, he founded Argent Energy Limited, which has today become Europe's leading waste to energy biofuel operation, now owned by one of the largest UK private companies, John Swire and Sons Limited (Swire'). He has experience gained over 30 years, managing, financing, operating and being chair of companies in several industry sectors including the renewables, food, animal by products, animal skin processing and leather tanning, printing, construction and property development industries in Europe, North America and Australia. Though various roles he has experience of Internal Audit and Monopoly and Merger Committee enquiries on behalf of Hillsdown Holdings plc and has worked with government agencies in the UK, Channel Islands, New Zealand and European Union. He has been a member of the Complaints Panel since 2020.

Kerry Leadbetter

Since settling in Jersey with her children, Kerry Leadbetter has worked for NatWest International,  always  in  customer  service  roles.   She  initially  worked  with  the investments team, moving to corporate relationship management, and for the last 3 years as a quality assessor for the centralised complaints team to ensure fair outcomes are provided and that regulatory compliance is adhered to. Her role allows her to improve service by way of providing feedback on the root cause and to the service provider.

Kerry's complaints insight has allowed her to restructure the way complaints are handled by the bank to improve the customer's experience, resulting in customers

receiving quicker responses and much more engagement with the bank during the complaint handling process. Prior to relocating to Jersey Kerry specialised in customer retention for HomeServe UK, a nationwide household utility insurer. She has been a member of the Complaints Panel since 2020.

Damian Warman

Damian Warman has lived in Jersey since 2011, having come to Jersey in his role as a Director  with  Waitrose  and  Partners.  He  studied  at  Southampton  College  and Portsmouth University and has had Leadership positions over the last 30 years in Retail, Travel & Tourism, Hospitality and Business Consultancy. He is an active member of the community and gets involved in charitable events, was previously a member of the Lions Club and continues to invest his time in OFR, a charitable motorsport club, and GOSH. Over the years, he has gained experience of disciplinary, grievance and general complaint hearings as well as tribunals. As an ex-retailer, public servant and business owner, he has a passion for detail, compliance and policy; however-making things better in day to day life is what really motivates him. He has been a member of the Complaints Panel since 2020.