The official version of this document can be found via the PDF button.
The below content has been automatically generated from the original PDF and some formatting may have been lost, therefore it should not be relied upon to extract citations or propose amendments.
2.3 Senator B.E. Shenton of the Chief Minister regarding the conduct of business by the States Employment Board:
In light of the written answer on 13th February 2007 that Senator Vibert takes no part in discussions relating to teachers at the States' Employment Board, would the Chief Minister explain how the board conducts its business in relation to these matters when its legal quorum is fixed at 3 Ministers by the Employment of States of Jersey Employees (Jersey) Law 2005?
Senator F.H. Walker (The Chief Minister):
Senator Shenton is correct that the States Employment Board was established with a membership of 3: namely myself and Senators Le Sueur and Vibert . It is also correct to state that the quorum was set in the legislation at 3. I am grateful to Senator Shenton for highlighting this, as erroneously in line with the previous arrangements for the then Human Resources Sub-Committee, the Board had been working on the understanding that the quorum had been set at 2. I can assure him and the House, however, that to date all decisions taken by the Board have been agreed by all 3 members. Additionally, I can confirm that the Board has taken no decisions during the period from inception to date specifically regarding teachers' conditions of service. As one would expect, the Board has had discussions about general pay awards and Senator Vibert has on each occasion properly declared an interest in relation to his wife's employment as a teacher. The only issue specifically pertaining to teachers which was referred to the Board was in November 2006, when the Board was advised that, due to a delay at the Privy Council, the enactment of new arrangements relating to teacher pensions would be delayed from 1st of January 2007 to 1st March 2007. Now, this issue of the quorum has been brought to our attention, the Board has agreed to extend its membership to 4 and the report will be placed before the Council of Ministers on 1st March seeking its agreement to appoint another Minister to the Board.