Jersey Data Protection Authority – re-appointment of Voting Member.

STATES OF JERSEY

JERSEY DATA PROTECTION AUTHORITY – REAPPOINTMENT OF VOTING MEMBER

Presented to the States on 27th June 2025

by the Minister for Sustainable Economic Development

STATES GREFFE

2025  R.104

REPORT

Background

The Minister for Sustainable Economic Development is presenting this Report to the States Assembly in line with the Data Protection Authority (Jersey) Law 2018 (the "2018 Law") to give notice of his intention to reappoint Mr Tom Noel as a Voting Member of the Jersey Data Protection Authority.

The Data Protection Authority is established under Article 3 of the 2018 Law, which states –

"3  Constitution of Authority

1. The Authority consists of –
   1. the Chairman;
   2. no fewer than 3 and no more than 8 other voting members; and
   3. the Commissioner as an ex officio and non-voting member.
2. Subject to paragraph (4), the Chairman and the other voting members are appointed by the Minister who must have particular regard to the need to ensure that voting members of the Authority –
   1. have  the  qualifications,  experience  and  skills  necessary  to exercise and perform the functions of a member, in particular relating to the protection of personal data;
   2. have a strong sense of integrity; and
   3. are able to maintain confidentiality.
3. Before appointing any individual under this Article, the Minister may require the individual to provide, or to authorize the Minister to obtain, any information and references that the Minister reasonably requires to ascertain the individual's suitability for appointment as a voting member.
4. At least 2 weeks before making an appointment under this Article the Minister must present to the States a notice of the Minister's intention to make the appointment.
5. Each voting member is appointed for a term of 5 years or such shorter period as the Minister thinks fit in a particular case and is eligible for reappointment up to a maximum period of service of 9 years.
6. An individual is ineligible to be a voting member if the individual –

1. is, or has at any time during the preceding 12 months been, a member of the States of Jersey;
2. is a States' employee or is otherwise under the direction and control of the States; or
3. is engaged in any employment, occupation (whether or not remunerated) or business, or receives any benefits, that is incompatible with the functions of a member of the Authority."

Matters relating to appointment

Article 3 of the 2018 Law requires the Minister to appoint Voting Members of the Authority and states the maximum period of service for such members is 9 years.

3

The current Authority consists of the Chair and 4 Voting Members. The appointment of Mr Noel from September 2025 will be to fill a vacancy created by the retirement of a Voting Member at the end of July 2025.

An open selection and recruitment process has been completed by the Chair of the Data Protection Authority in order to identify suitable Jersey based candidates with the requisite finance, governance, leadership and data protection capabilities, to replace the skills that will be lost from the Authority. A number of high calibre candidates were shortlisted and interviewed by the selection panel, which consisted of representatives from the Authority, Government and an appropriate independent member.

Mr Tom Noel was selected from the strong field of candidates, demonstrating his strong financial oversight and strategic leadership. He will bring his experience of governance, risk management and regulatory compliance to the Authority.

Mr Noel will be appointed from 1 September 2025, for a period of service of 4 years.

Mr Noel does not currently sit on any other Boards of significant government grant supported bodies.

The Minister is not aware of any circumstances that would make Mr Noel ineligible for appointment as a Voting Member of the Authority.

Biographical details: Mr Tom Noel

As a former member of Jersey Telecom's Executive Committee, Mr Noel has further developed his strategic leadership through a number of non-executive director roles with local companies and charities. He is currently chair of the IoD sub-committee for corporate governance.

Financial and staffing implications

Article 7(1) of the 2018 Law states –

"7  Remuneration and resources

(1)  The voting members of the Authority are entitled to –

1. such  fees,  allowances  and  other  emoluments  as expenses as the Minister determines in consultation with the Authority and publishes; and
2. if the Minister so determines, reasonable out-of-pocket or other expenses occasioned in the course of carrying out the Authority's duties."

Fees payable to Voting Members of the Data Protection Authority are sourced from the annual grant made to the Authority to administer the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018 and the Data Protection Authority (Jersey) Law 2018, as well as revenue raised from the annual data protection registration fee. Authority member remuneration and time commitments  are  reported  each  year  in  the  Jersey  Office  of  the  Information

R.104/2025

Commissioner's  Annual  Report,  available  at:  Jersey  Office  of  the  Information Commissioner - Annual Reports1

There are no other financial or staffing implications for the States of Jersey.

1 https://jerseyoic.org/governance/annual-reports/