Minutes - PPC (a) - 13 March 2023

Privileges and Procedures Committee (14th Meeting)

13th March 2023

Part A

All members were present with the exception of Deputy C.S. Alves of St. Helier Central from whom apologies had been received.

Connétable K. Shenton-Stone of St. Martin

Deputy M.R. Le Hegarat of St. Helier North , Vice-Chair Deputy L.J Farnham of St. Mary , St. Ouen and St. Peter Deputy L.K.F Stephenson of St. Mary , St. Ouen and St. Peter Deputy M.R. Ferey of St. Saviour

Deputy L.V. Feltham of St. Helier Central

In attendance -

L-M. Hart , Greffier of the States

W. Millow , Deputy Greffier of the States

J. Long, States Members' Remuneration Reviewer (Item A3) Deputy I.J. Gorst , St. Mary , St. Ouen and St. Peter (Item A6)

Deputy M.R. Scott , St. Brelade (Item A6)

Deputy K.M. Wilson , St. Clement (B1)

R. Johnson , Associate Director, Health Policy Strategic Policy, Planning and Performance (Item B1)

K. Boydens , Principal Committee and Panel Officer

K. Camara, Research and Project Officer

Note:  The Minutes of this meeting comprise Part A and Part B.

Minutes.  A1. The Minutes of the meetings held on the 27th February 2023 (Part A) having

previously been circulated were taken as read and approved.

Forthcoming  A2. The Committee considered forthcoming business for debate by the Assembly at its business for  meeting on 21st March 2023. The Committee decided that it did not wish to make a debate by the  formal comment on any of the Propositions which had been lodged au Greffe' for debate States  on that date.

Assembly.

The Committee raised concerns that the number of Propositions was markedly less than in periods following an election. In that regard, the Committee agreed that a letter should be drafted to the Chief Minister to ask her to provide assurance that there would be Government matters coming forward and that there would be a measured approach to imminent lodgings and requests for debate. The Principal Committee and Panel Officer was tasked to take the necessary action.

States  A3. The Committee, with reference to Minute No. A9 of its meeting of 27th February Members'  2023, welcomed Ms. J. Long, States Members' remuneration reviewer to the meeting. Remuneratio The Committee recalled that Ms. Long had been formally appointed on 15th February n. 2023, following the presentation of the report entitled States Members' Remuneration Reviewer' (R.44/2023) which notified the Assembly of the proposed appointment.

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In accordance with the provisions of the States of Jersey (Amendment – Remuneration of Elected Members) (Jersey) Law 2022 the Committee was required to direct the reviewer to carry out the review and determine any other matters relating to remuneration and allowances as required. In relation the review, Ms. Long explained that she considered stakeholder engagement an important responsibility of the reviewer and that the public interest was best served if the review was conducted in a transparent manner and was informed by evidence, including stakeholder input.

The Committee agreed that stakeholder engagement would be an important element of the review and anticipated that Ms. Long would benefit from meeting a wide range of Members. In that regard, it was agreed that Ms. Long would visit Jersey in May 2023 to undertake her consultation with Members. It was envisaged that this would include a briefing to all States Members in addition to individual sessions over a number of days.

In terms of the scope of the review, the Committee confirmed the following -

• The focus would be the amount of remuneration and allowances payable to elected members as specified in the States of Jersey (Amendment-Remuneration of Elected Members) (Jersey) Law 2022.

• Consideration would also be given to the payment on loss of office as part of overall remuneration, but it was acknowledged that options may be limited.

• Differential pay would not be included in the review.

The Chair advised Ms. Long that the scope of the review would be confirmed in correspondence following the meeting. The Principal Committee and Panel Officer was tasked to make the necessary arrangements.

The Committee thanked Ms. Long for her time, and she withdrew from the meeting.

States A4. The Committee, with reference to Minute No. A6 of its meeting of 27th February Members 2023, recalled that a States Members' Training and Development Programme had been Training and developed to help new and established Members to improve their professional and Development personal skills through continuous professional development. Following the Programme. Committee's discussion on the programme, the Principal Committee and Panel Officer

advised that Deputy C.S. Alves of St. Helier Central had queried whether there were any plans to offer training on how Members could resolve disputes.

The Deputy Greffier of the States explained that he had been liaising with the Resolution Centre (a social enterprise specialising in mediation) about a training programme for States Members entitled Negotiating for Success in Politics'. It was anticipated that a meeting would be arranged in due course with the Chair of the Privileges and Procedure Committee, President of the Scrutiny Liaison Committee and Chair of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Executive Committee to discuss the training further. Part of the offering by the Resolution Centre, however, included a session on conflict resolution.

The Committee also recalled that other types of training had been offered to Members including Cultural Humility by Mindset Matters UK. The training had explored self- perception and the need to consider matters from other's perspectives. The Committee noted that not all Members had attended the training, which had been very disappointing, especially as those who had attended had found it to be enlightening and extremely useful. It was suggested that the duration of the course had been a disincentive and that the title had not adequately reflected the content.

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The Committee, having agreed that such training was of value, directed the Greffier to consider repackaging the training later in the year to make it available to those Members who had been unable to attend. The Committee further agreed that publishing attendance levels could be beneficial in encouraging participation in the sessions.

Election  A5. The Committee, with reference to Minute No. A7 of its meeting of 27th February Observation  2023, received a letter from the Comité des Connétable s regarding the recommendations Mission  made in the Election Observation Mission Report 2022. The Comité had reviewed the Report 2022. recommendations and prepared comments for the Committee's consideration.

The Committee recalled that some of the recommendations made in the EOM report related to ongoing workstreams, but there were 7 which could require legislative changes across the States of Jersey Law 2005, Elections (Jersey) Law 2002 and Public Elections (Expenditure and Donations) (Jersey) Law 2014. The Committee had previously agreed that the recommendations requiring law changes should be discussed incrementally over the course of future meetings, along with those of the Jersey Electoral Authority.

The Greffier of the States advised the Committee that the comments made by the Comité would be incorporated into future papers on this matter. The Committee agreed and looked forward to discussing the recommendations further at its next meeting.

Deputy L.J Farnham of St. Mary , St. Ouen and St. Peter raised the matter of postal voting which had been made available on demand during the 2022 Election. Deputy Farnham asked whether electronic counting would be introduced in time for the 2026 Election. Following a brief discussion, the Greffier of the States suggested that UK Engage (Election Services Provider) be invited to present to the Committee. It was recalled that the company had overseen the electronic counting system administered in Guernsey during the successful 2020 Election. The Committee agreed and tasked the Principal Committee and Panel Officer to make the necessary arrangements.

Reinstatemen A6. The Committee, with reference to Minute No. A8 of its meeting of 23rd January t of Senators.  2023, welcomed Deputy I.J Gorst of St. Mary , St. Ouen and St. Peter and Deputy M.R.

Scott  of  St.  Brelade  to  the  meeting  to  discuss  the  reinstatement  of  Senators.  The Committee recalled that Deputy Gorst 's proposition entitled Reinstatement of Senators' (P.79/2022) had been defeated during the States debate held on 17th January 2023. The Committee also recalled that Deputy Scott had publicly stated that she would call for there to be a referendum on whether to reinstate the role of Senator.

Deputy   Gorst  asked  the  Committee  whether  it  planned  to  undertake  any  work  on reinstatement of the Island-wide mandate, as this was a matter which he considered was important to constituents. The Chair explained that the Committee was reviewing the findings  of  the  Election  Observation  Mission  undertaken  by  the  Commonwealth Parliamentary  Association  and  the  recommendations  made  in  the  Jersey  Electoral Authority Report. Deputy Scott asked about the timescale of proposing a referendum on the matter. The Deputy Greffier of the States explained that the Referendum Commission was responsible for advising on the wording of any question to be used in a referendum and for appointing the lead campaign groups. As the former Chair of the Commission had recently being appointed as a Jurat, a recruitment process was currently being undertaken in order to reconstitute the Commission. In terms of the timing, it was anticipated this would be undertaken within six months.

The Committee considered whether a survey should be undertaken to find out what people's views were on the abolition of Senators and the Island-wide mandate. The Greffier explained that, following the 2018 General Election, the States Greffe had

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commissioned a survey with ComRes to find out why public engagement had been so low, but had not chosen to replicate this in 2022, due to the high cost (in excess of £60,000) and the fact that a series of relevant questions had been included in the the Jersey Opinions and Lifestyle Survey. In addition, the Committee was also awaiting the results of the voter journey focus groups, which had been undertaken by Professor C. Pich, Senior Lecturer at Nottingham Trent Business School in collaboration with the Digital and Public Engagement Team, which would hopefully offer some insights on the Island-wide mandate. The Head of Digital and Public Engagement advised that the findings of the focus groups were due to be shared in June 2023.

The  Committee  was  mindful  that during  the debate  on  P79  several  Members  had suggested that the new system should be given sufficient time to bed in' and it was generally agreed that this should be at least one full term before further change was considered, Deputy Gorst opined that although the public had welcomed the increased diversity achieved by the new system, there remained a desire to reinstate the all Island mandate. The Committee accepted that it would be worthwhile gauging Islander's views on the Island-wide mandate and tasked the Principal Committee and Panel Officer to provide a paper on the matter.

The Committee thanked Deputy Gorst and Deputy Scott for their time, and they withdrew from the meeting.

Update on the  A7. The Committee received and considered a paper by the Principal Committee and work of the  Panel Officer regarding an update on the work of the Sub-Committees. The Committee Sub- noted the following:

Committees.

Political  Awareness  and  Education  Sub-Committee:  The  Sub-Committee  was exploring ideas for a 'Citizenship Day' or ceremony when individuals became eligible to vote. The Sub-Committee had also noted publication of a book for children aimed at promoting active citizenship which was being distributed to all year 5 primary school children.

States Members' Pensions Sub-Committee: The Sub-Committee was due to meet on 29th March 2023 when it would receive an update on the pension scheme.

Diversity Forum Sub-Committee: The Sub-Committee had discussed the previous Forum's legacy report and agreed to a number of actions including writing a letter to the Chief Minister about an equality duty and contacting Government network groups to learn about their respective roles.

Constituency Office Sub-Committee: The Sub-Committee was next due to meet in March 2023 when it would discuss the availability of States owned buildings in each Parish and consider a draft job description for a Constituency Support Officer.

Work  A8.  The  Committee  received  and  considered  a  work  programme  produced  by  the Programme  Principal  Committee  and  Panel  Officer  outlining  its  workstreams  for  2023.  The 2023.  Committee noted the work programme accordingly.