States of Jersey Complaints Panel: renewal of membership.

STATES OF JERSEY

STATES OF JERSEY COMPLAINTS PANEL: RENEWAL OF MEMBERSHIP

Lodged au Greffe on 9th July 2015

by the Privileges and Procedures Committee

STATES GREFFE

2015   Price code: B  P.71

PROPOSITION

THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion

in  accordance  with  Article 5(2)  of  the  Administrative  Decisions  (Review) (Jersey) Law 1982, to re-appoint the following persons as members of the States  of  Jersey  Complaints  Panel,  from  whom  members  of  Complaints Boards can be drawn, for a further period of 4 years –

Members

Mr. Christopher Beirne

Mr. Robert Frederick Bonney Mr. Graeme George Marett Mr. Patrick David McGrath.

PRIVILEGES AND PROCEDURES COMMITTEE

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. Once a complaint is received, the Greffier seeks the response of the Minister or department concerned before referring the papers to the Chairman of the Complaints Panel, who decides whether or not the circumstances justify review by a Complaints  Board.  If  the  Chairman  is  conflicted,  then  the  matter  is  referred  for adjudication by one of the Deputy Chairmen. If the Chairman or Deputy Chairman considers that the circumstances justify a Board, before holding a hearing, they may first attempt informal resolution of the complaint, but if this is not appropriate or has failed, the matter is then referred to a Board and a hearing date is normally set for 6 weeks  later.  A  Board  of  3 members  selected  from  the  Complaints  Panel  is established to deal with the case. If the Board finds in favour of the complainant it can request the Minister or department concerned to reconsider the decision. Article 5(2) of the Law requires the States to appoint the members of the Complaints Panel.

Although 4 members of the current Panel of 14 are stepping down at the end of their term of office, the Committee is pleased that 4 members are willing to serve for a further term. (The terms of office of the remaining 6 members run until 2016 and 2019.) Whilst the Committee considers that it is important to appoint new members, it is also vital to maintain some continuity and experience and, with the agreement of the Appointments Commission, the Committee is pleased to be able to nominate them for re-appointment.

The Committee is extremely grateful to the members who give many hours of their time on a totally honorary basis in relation to the work of the Panel, and very pleased that they have offered to serve for a further 4 years. Brief biographical details of each nominee are set out in the attached Appendix.

The  Committee  would  like  to  pay  particular  tribute  to  Nigel  Le Gresley,  who  is retiring from the Panel after 12 years' service (as Deputy Chairman and most recently as Chairman), Frank Dearie and Stephen Platt who have both served for 6 years, and also to John Mills, C.B.E., who has been a member of the Panel since 2012. The Committee recognises that they are extremely busy people in their own right, and have generously given their time freely to serve the community, for which the Committee is very grateful.

Financial and manpower implications

All members of the Complaints Panel serve in an honorary capacity, and there are no financial or manpower implications arising from this proposition.

APPENDIX

Mr. Christopher Beirne

Mr. Beirne is currently the Headmaster and Chief Executive of Beaulieu Convent School, a position he has held since September 2006. Mr. Beirne was educated at St. Mel's College, Longford, Ireland, the Gregorian University in Rome, the Institute of  Education  at  the  University  of  Hull  and  Oxford  University  Department  for Educational Studies. He worked for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Northampton between 1985 and 1993 before becoming Head of Religious Studies at Eggar's School Alton, Hampshire between 1994 and 1996, during which period he was also a part- time lecturer at Portsmouth Sixth Form College. He came to Jersey in 1996 and worked at Victoria College as Head of Religious Studies and then Director of Spiritual and  Moral  Development  before  being  appointed  as  Vice-Principal  of  the  Jersey College for Girls in September 1999, a position he held until he was appointed to his current  post.  Mr. Beirne  is  a  member  of  the  Management  Board  of  the  Jersey Teachers' Superannuation Fund and Director of the Channel Islands Operations for Rainbows (Bereavement Support for young people). He is the holder of a private pilot's licence and a member of the Jersey Aero Club, and he has been a member of the Complaints Panel since 2009.

Mr. Robert (Bob) Bonney

Mr. Bonney was born in Jersey and was a member of the States of Jersey Police Force for some 28 years, retiring in 2005. During his Police career, Mr. Bonney served in all areas of the Police Force, including a significant period in a management role in States and Honorary Police training. The majority of his service was, however, performed in various criminal investigative roles, during the course of which he led a number of the Island's murder inquiries. He led the Drugs Squad at the rank of Detective Inspector for  3 years  before  being  appointed  as  the  Head  of  the  Criminal  Investigation Department, a position he held for 5 years before his retirement. Since his retirement he has been involved with his wife in developing his family property, and he has been a member of the Complaints Panel since 2009.

Mr. Graeme George Marett

Mr. Marett attended De La Salle College and Highlands College, graduating in 1971 with  a  City  and  Guilds  of  London  Institute  Technological  Certificate  in Telecommunications. He subsequently gained a number of qualifications through the Open University (Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science and Master of Engineering) as well  as  a  Post-Graduate  Certificate  in  Competition  Law  and  Economics  from Nottingham University. He worked in the telecommunications industry before running his own computer brokerage business and working as a computer consultant for a number of local businesses including Jersey Post and the Education Department. From 2002  to  2011  he  was  employed  by  the  JCRA  as  the  case  officer  for telecommunications,  and  was  involved  in  the  introduction  of  competition  to  the mobile telephone market. Following his retirement, Mr. Marett continues to operate as a computer consultant. He has been a member of the Board since 2012.

Mr. Patrick David McGrath

Mr. McGrath served with the States of Jersey Police Force for 27 years, and he holds a Master of Arts degree in Police and Criminal Justice studies. He retired from the Force in the rank of Chief Inspector in September 2002, and during his policing career saw service in many departments, predominantly in an investigative role; he also served with the Police Complaints and Discipline Department, receiving a commendation from  H.M. Attorney General  for  the  quality  of  his  investigation  in  one  particular instance. Following retirement, he secured management positions within the finance industry in areas of compliance and anti-money laundering. He currently works on a part-time basis at Mont à l'Abbé School, transporting children to and from school on a daily basis. He has been a member of the Board since 2012.