Redress and Accountability Systems in Jersey (S.R.21/2021): response of the Chief Minister

Findings

Comments

1

The Government of Jersey launched a new  Customer  Feedback  Policy  in September  2019  which  sets  out  the expectations  of  the  complaints procedure and timescales for resolution of issues. At this stage it is not possible for the Panel to state whether or not the policy is effective.

Agreed.

2

The  Government  of  Jersey  Customer Feedback Policy contains a three-stage model for the resolution of complaints. The  policy  places  a  focus  on  early resolution  of  a  complaint  where possible,  with  the  option  for  the complaint to be escalated if required. Should a complaint reach the third stage of  the  policy  then  this  is  ultimately escalated to the Director General of the respective department who may in turn refer the complaint to another Director General to resolve.

Agreed. For clarification, at the third stage, the Director  General  can  refer  the  complaint  to another Director General or an independent third party, if it is considered to be more appropriate.

3

The Government of Jersey is able to collect substantial data in relation to the new Customer Feedback Policy which tracks  complaint  numbers  across  the various  departments.  Since  the introduction of the policy, the number of recorded complaints has increased. The Government sees this as being a result  of  the  policy  providing  more

Current  data  reporting  includes  volumes  of complaints by department and stage. Data relating to  complaints  will  be  improved  when  planned system enhancements are delivered.

Findings

Comments

accurate data and highlights one of the potential  deficiencies  of  the  previous policy not being as effective.

4

The Government of Jersey launched a new, non-statutory redress scheme in 2019 to provide ex-gratia payments to people, who as children, were abused or suffered harm between 9th May 1945 and  31st  December  2005  while  a resident  in  a  Government  of  Jersey children's home, Government of Jersey foster  care  placement  or  while accommodated  at  the  Les  Chênes secure  residential  unit.  The  closing report on the scheme was presented on 6th October 2021.

The Closing Report is available on www.gov.je

5

Applicants that settled a claim as part of the  Government  of  Jersey's  redress scheme  must  confirm  acceptance  of payment as full and final settlement of their  claim  and  cannot,  therefore subsequently  seek  further compensation  for  abuse  or  harm suffered through the courts system.

Applicants cannot seek further compensation for the harm or abuse for which they have received a redress payment. This does not extend to any other harm or abuse. This is standard across all schemes of this nature.

6

The Government of Jersey disciplinary policy is an internal document which, as far as the Panel can establish, is not available to the general public on the gov.je website. The policy itself, sets out clearly the processes to be followed in the event of a disciplinary procedure.

We are currently exploring the technical solution to make all policies and procedures accessible online as we roll out the new policy framework.

Members of the public who wish to complain about  employees  should  do  so  through  the Customer  Feedback  mechanisms.  The Disciplinary Policy and procedure is an internal reference document.

7

The  Code  of  Conduct  for  States  of Jersey Employees which is available on the gov.je website is dated May 2002. This is significantly out of date and the document  itself  does  not  take  into account changes in working practices (e.g., the use of modern systems such as social media) which require direction and  expectations  in  relation  to  staff conduct with the Government of Jersey and non-ministerial departments.

Agreed. The Code of Conduct was superseded by the Standards in Public Service in 2021. The suite of  documents  related  to  this,  including whistleblowing,  disciplinary  and  bullying  and harassment will be reissued in May 2022, having recently been updated to reflect modern working practices.

Findings

Comments

8

The  design  and  feel  of  the  Code  of Conduct  document  available  on  the gov.je website is outdated and is not in keeping with a modern organisation or advances made by the Government in its own communication and branding initiatives.

Agreed.   This  has  been  superseded  by  the Standards  in  Public  Service  Code  of  Practice issued by the SEB in 2021.

9

The Jersey Court Service Staff (Judicial Greffe and Viscount's) are bound by broadly the same complaints procedure as the Government of Jersey. The Code of  Conduct  for  members  of  staff working within these services is also the same as that for other Government of Jersey employees.

Agreed.   The  SEB  are  issuing  new  Codes  of Practice for all employees and office holders. The local  policies  may  be  adapted  as  necessary  to reflect legal, professional standards or regulatory requirements for non-Government bodies.

17

Staff  working  with  the  Jersey  Court Service  are  bound  by  the  same disciplinary procedures as Government of  Jersey  employees.  Similarly,  the code of conduct for employees utilised by  the  Government  of  Jersey  also applies  to  staff  working  within  the Court Service.

Agreed. All employees under the responsibility of the States Employment board are bound by the same Codes of Practice.

19

All  staff  within  the  Law  Officers' Department  are  subject  to  the  same disciplinary  procedure  and  code  of conduct  as  Government  of  Jersey Employees.  Lawyers  within  the department are, however, also subject to a separate code of conduct specific to that  role  which  is  overseen  by  the Attorney General.

Agreed:  The  SEB  are  issuing  new  Codes  of Practice for all employees and office holders. The local  policies  may  be  adapted  as  necessary  to reflect legal, professional standards or regulatory requirements for non-Government bodies.

29

Ministers and Assistant Ministers are also  bound  by  a  separate  code  of conduct  specific  to  their  roles. Complaints  against  Ministers  or Assistant  Ministers  may  also  be referred  to  the  Commissioner  for Standards who in turn will report their findings  to  the  Privileges  and Procedures Committee. Unlike reports in  relation  to  States  Members,  the Committee  may  simply  choose  to publish a report and leave the matter to the Chief Minister to determine whether

Agreed.

It is reasonable for some matters of conduct to be presented to the Chief Minister for decisions as to how to proceed, for example, if the complaint relates to a Minsiter's adherence to government policy or executive administrative processes.

Consideration is also being given as to whether the availability of intermediate processes before a full  complaint  under  the  Code  would  be beneficial, for example, to support relationship

Findings

Comments

the Code of Conduct for Ministers and Assistant Ministers has been breached.

management  or  development. This  will  be  a matter for the next government.

30

The  States  Complaints  Board  is established  to  investigate  complaints into any matter of administration by a Minister or a department. The members of  the  Board  are  independent  and provide their services on a voluntary basis.  The  Board  does  not  have  the power to overturn a decision made by a Minister,  but  it  can  come  to  a conclusion as to whether the basis of the complaint should be upheld and suggest any further actions to remedy it.

Agreed.

34

Despite updated complaints processes being in place since September 2019, which  have  been  stated  as following best practice as per the Comptroller and Auditor General's report on Handling Complaints, the Panel has found that some historical complaints prior to the policy  introduction  do  not  appear  to have  been  dealt  with  and  remain outstanding. The new policy does not seek to address these issues.

The  scope  of  Customer  Feedback  Policy (introduced  in  2019)  means  feedback  about services that were provided within the 12 months prior to the feedback being received are covered. In the annual review of the policy, we are planning to update the policy to include the wording This time limit may be extended should there be good reasons for not providing feedback sooner, and it's possible to complete a fair investigation.'

With  regard  to  the  historical  complaints referenced, please see response to Finding 51.

35

From the submissions received by the Panel, there appears to be a significant level  of  distrust  in  relation  the Government  of  Jersey's  complaints processes. This may be partly due to the absence of a previous complaints policy and  this  new  policy  should  be monitored to ensure it is delivering on the improvement it intends. This does, however, require further promotion to ensure Islanders are aware of it.

Work  is  ongoing  to  keep  improving  our complaints handling, increase trust and promote the  Customer  Feedback  Policy,  showing  we actively encourage feedback and will learn from when we have got things wrong.

36

The  customer  feedback  form  on  the gov.je website appears to be accessible and  easy  to  understand,  with  clear outlines of the timescale for a response and  details  about  how  the  persons complaint will be handled. However, the use of the word feedback rather than complaint  has  been  identified  as

Feedback  covers  complaints,  compliments, suggestions  and  comments.   Our  customer research has shown that they wanted to have a clear way they could recognise great service, or give a suggestion for improvement – without it being a complaint.

Findings

Comments

confusing for members of the public accessing this online.

37

The Panel has been unable to identify training courses that exist for all States employees specifically in relation to the handling  and  management  of complaints. It is noted that this is also not included in the My Welcome virtual training for new employees. This is a vital component of ensuring any new policy is implemented correctly.

Complaints handling is now included within the corporate  My  Welcome  induction  within  the Customer Feedback module and is available for all staff to complete on joining or as a refresher. In addition, a new hard copy and on-line brochure for inducting Volunteers has been produced that includes full information on complaints handling. NB a review and refresh of all of the My Welcome induction materials is scheduled for Q2 in 2022

40

The issues of separation of powers in relation to the dual role of the Bailiff and the Attorney General is a topic of debate that is seen as being at the centre of the negative perception relating to the Jersey Way'. Since the publication of the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry report and subsequent two-year follow up report, there have been propositions taken to the States Assembly in regard to  electing  a  speaker  for  the  States Assembly,  none  of  which  have  been adopted by the Assembly. The Panel considers  that  the  spirit  of  the  Care Inquiry  recommendation  that consideration  on  how  to  address  the negative perception of the Jersey Way involving the whole community has yet to be taken forward in this regard.

Taking  the  spirit  of  the  Care  Inquiry recommendation  7,  Government  has  during  its term of office, begun to build its experience and knowledge  in  deliberative  processes.  These approaches have been applied to a range of policy areas which cut across government and provoke high levels of public interest.

The recent PAC Report Use and Operation of of

Citizens' Panels, Assemblies and Juries in Jersey'

(2022) describes the work in this area as exercises in public engagement....increasingly important to our democracy...overall PAC welcomes the way participants of Jersey's deliberative practises have engaged with the critical issues being discussed.

The arrangements surrounding the dual role of the Bailiff  remain  a contested  political  matter  and have been subject to several propositions since the publication of the P.108/2017. It is democratically right and proper that if any future change should be  agreed  this  should  be  arrived  at  through political debate by elected members in the States Assembly.

41

Concerns were raised in relation to the support  that  is  available  for complainants  both  during  and  after making a complaint, with some feeling that barely any support was provided at all and a defensive attitude was often taken  in  response  to  them  raising  a complaint.

A revised policy for handling complaints from employees is to be introduced in June 2022. This provides  more  support.   Where  necessary,  the investigation will be undertaken from outside the originating department. Every complainant has a named contact. Every complaint is now logged centrally and monitored.

Findings

Comments

42

The Chief Minister outlined that, as of March  2021,  of  the  28 recommendations  made  by  the  HR Lounge  report  on  bullying  and harassment  in  relation  to  the Government of Jersey, 20 have been implemented, 7 are in progress and 1 has  yet  to  be  started.  The  Director General of Strategic Policy, Planning and  Performance,  explained  that  a number of the recommendations also relate to a person making a complaint more broadly.

 We have completed the roll out of the actions for the first report and a recently updated Dignity at Work Policy, reaching beyond the Bullying and Harassment Policy is due in Quarter 2 of 2022, alongside further training materials and enhanced toolkits. All B&H complaints are now managed centrally.

43

The ethos of the Customer Feedback Policy within the Government of Jersey is  about  learning  from  feedback, especially  in  relation  to  complaints. There is, however, an acknowledgment that the policy is still relatively new, and  questions  remain  from  the submissions raised as to whether this has been embedded sufficiently. This in itself will take time to resolve.

Agreed

44

There is an acknowledgement that in order for a complaint to be dealt with to satisfaction,  staff  must  seek  to understand  what  the  ideal  outcomes look  like  for  a  person  making  a complaint. There is, however, also an acknowledgment that this is not always something that services get right all of the time but is being addressed through staff training.

Agreed

45

The  Customer  Feedback  Policy  does not currently record the outcomes or redress that are applied in the event a complaint  is  upheld.  It  is,  however, acknowledged that this will form one of the enhancements to the overall system.

The  Customer  Feedback  Management  System records the steps taken to resolve and the outcome for each complaint when it is closed. As this is free text, it is not currently in a reportable or measurable  format.   The  planned  system enhancements will allow better reporting.

46

A  number  of  submissions  gave examples  where  staff  were  not  held accountable for conduct arising from a variety of forms of complaints or issues. The  Government  of  Jersey  has reiterated that it has robust disciplinary

Accept: All complaints against employees must be  reviewed  or  investigated  in  line  with  the Customer  Feedback  policy  and/or  internal procedures for conduct.

Findings

Comments

procedures  in  place  to  manage  this, however,  the  Panel  is  not  convinced that this is correct, and this issue must be addressed as a matter of priority.

47

There  was  a  mixed  view  from  the evidence received as to the necessity for a Jersey Public Service Ombudsman. On  balance,  however,  given  the information  received  in  some  of  the private  submissions  to  the  Panel,  it finds  that  the  need  to  introduce  an Ombudsman is required and should be brought forward as soon as possible.

It is envisaged that draft legislation establishing an Ombuds will be brought forward in late 2022.

49

The  States  Assembly  has  agreed  an Appointed Day Act which brings into force  certain  parts  of  the  Access  to Justice (Jersey) Law 2019, specifically the formation of a Legal Aid Guidelines Committee  which  is  tasked  with presenting  a  preferred  scheme  to  the Chief  Minister  within  six  months  of July  2021.  Once  the  scheme  is presented, the Chief Minister will lay the  guidelines  before  the  States Assembly. This will not be debated as a proposition,  but  States  Members  can bring a proposition requesting that the guidelines be rescinded.

Agreed.

50

Poorly managed complaints processes can in turn lead to significant issues affecting a person's wellbeing. In some instances,  people  have  been significantly  financially  and/or emotionally affected. It is the view of the  Panel  that  this  is  often  not acknowledged  by  the  organisation involved and should be.

Noted.

51

Concern has been raised that historic cases that have yet to be resolved are not intended to be addressed through the new complaints policy. The Panel believes that serious consideration must be given to a mechanism in order to address these issues once and for all. A suggestion  has  been  made  through submissions of a further public inquiry

It  is  correct  that  the  new  Customer  Feedback Policy  does  not  provide  a  mechanism  through which to address historic or legacy complaints.

The Panel, in para 105 of their report reference having received submissions that made reference to legacy' complaints. In para 164, the Panel make reference to legacy complaints involving

Findings

Comments

in order to manage and resolve these cases.

former States Members and employees. It is not clear whether those legacy complaints are:

1. complaints which are unresolved because they have not been investigated, or

2. complaints which have not been resolved to the satisfaction of the person making the complaint.

Whilst is it accepted that there will, regrettably, be complaints that fall into both a) and b) above the Minister would require more information from the Panel  about  the  nature  and  details  of  those complaints in order to be able to respond with any degree of accuracy to the Panel's finding

52

There are a number of pieces of work ongoing  within  the  Government  of Jersey in order to address the findings of the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry in relation to instances of administrative redress. These include bringing forward a Public Services Ombudsman, a new public inquiries law and addressing the findings of the Comptroller and Auditor General's Thinkpiece on Governance.

Agreed.

Recommendations

To

Accept/ Reject

Comments

Target date of action/

completion

1

In  order  to  enhance openness  and transparency  with  the general public as to the disciplinary  procedures for Government of Jersey employees,  the  Chief Minister  should  seek  to publish the policy on the Government  website  by the end of January 2022.

CM

Accept in part

We are currently looking into the most appropriate  platform  to  publish  these policies. Different  pay  groups  have different  policies  and  at  present publishing  and  maintaining  them  is cumbersome.  We  anticipate  a  new solution  in  place  with  updated  and refreshed policies in place by June 2022.

2

The  Chief  Minister should,  by  the  end  of 2022, ensure that the code

CM

Neither accept

The Code of Practice for Standards in Public  Service   replaced  the  Code  of Conduct in 2021. the relevant policies

Recommendations

To

Accept/ Reject

Comments

Target date of action/

completion

of conduct for States of Jersey  employees  is updated  to  include specific  reference  to changing  working practices of employees in 2021.  It  should  also contain  specific expectations  of  staff when  engaging  with social media platforms.

nor reject

are being revised in line with the new code already.

5

The  Chief  Minister,  as Minister  for  Justice, should seek to establish a document,  to  be published  on  the  gov.je website, which sets out in plain English, the process by which a person may appeal a judicial decision made against them. This should be completed by the end of Q4 2022.

CM

Accept

Agreed. If the purpose of the proposed project  is  to  provide  an  easily understandable  one  stop  shop  for Litigants  in  Person  (LIP  who  are interested in appealing a decision, the task should not be underestimated. Such appeals cover a wide range of scenarios which include (amongst others):

• Appeals from the Mags Court

• Appeals  from  the  Petty  Debts Court

• Appeals  from  Administrative decisions under RCR 15

• Appeals to the Court of Appeal

• Appeals from the Commissioner of Appeal for Taxes

• Appeals  from  the  Jersey Employment  and Discrimination Tribunal

• Appeals  from  the  Court  of Appeal to the Privy Council

Each of these is governed by different legislation and rules.

Moreover, any LIP wishing to appeal a matter  to  the  Royal  Court/Court  of Appeal/Privy Council is provided with direct  assistance  from  one  of  the Greffiers  of  the  Royal  Court.   That guidance includes the provision of crib documentation for the LIP to populate,

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confirmation  of  the  deadlines  and general procedural advice throughout.

6

The  Qualified  Persons that comprise a Panel to undertake an inquiry into disciplinary  matters within the Judiciary has the  possibility  of  being comprised  solely  of current or former Jersey judges. The Panel would suggest  that  this definition  is  revised  in order  to  ensure  that  all disciplinary investigations  are undertaken  by  external and  independent  judges. This  would  assist  in removing  the  negative perception of the Jersey Way'.

The Bail iff

-

To this extent that this is intended to be a process for the discipline of members of  the  judiciary  (and  not  members  of staff within the Judicial Greffe), this is a matter that falls within the ambit of the Bailiff  and  should  be  brought  to  the attention of the Bailiff 's Chambers.

9

The  Chief  Minister should ensure a campaign raising awareness of the new complaints system is conducted  prior  to  the 2022  election  to  ensure that  members  of  the public are fully aware of the  new  process.  This should include reference and  recognition  to  that fact that the Government has not always addressed things as well as it could so  as  to  be  open  and transparent to the public in  relation  to  the  new policy  and  its requirement.

CM

Accept

Work is underway to design, plan and relaunch  customer  feedback'  and  the importance  of  it,  both  internally  and externally prior to the elections in 2022. There will be an element of the campaign which focuses on you said, we did' to show  that  we  recognise  we  have  not always  got  things  right,  but  we  are learning from feedback.

June 2022

10

The  Chief  Minister should ensure that, as a matter  of  urgency,

CM

Accept

Training is available on how to use the Complaints Handling manual and 'How to log feedback on CFMS' for all staff in

December 2022

Recommendations

To

Accept/ Reject

Comments

Target date of action/

completion

mandatory  training  is provided  to  all  States employees  through  the Virtual College portal in relation  to  the  handling and  management  of complaints.  This  should also  be  included  in  the My Welcome training on the Virtual College for all new  employees  going forward.

Virtual  College.  All  new  starters undertake  training  as  part  of  the mandatory  My  Welcome'  induction. New/refreshed training is being designed as part of the relaunch which will be mandatory for all colleagues. There are also bespoke training available in Early Resolution of Complaints, and Complex Complaints Handling.

11

The  Chief  Minister should  revisit  the response to P.108/2017 in respect  of Recommendation  Seven (The  Jersey  Way')  and bring  forward  proposals and  consultation,  that genuinely  involves  the whole  community,  that consider how best to deal with  the  negative perception of the Jersey Way' on a lasting basis. The Panel shall continue to review this matter as part of its ongoing work programme.

CM

Neither accept nor reject

There are a range of measures that have been progressed since P.108/2017 (listed but  not  limited  to  below)  that  have contributed to improving transparency in Government and the Assembly work to represent the electorate of the Island.

- Ability to raise issues via petition

- Increased  use  of  deliberative approaches

- Policy Development Boards

- Public  Sector  Ombudsman  – Consultation

- Increase  number  of  independent public

- entities  holding  Government  to account

- Implementing  reform  in  the democratic system

- Establishment of a Youth Parliament

- Media  campaign  to  promote  voter turnout

- Establishing  a  generic  government wide approach to feedback

The arrangements surrounding the dual role of the Bailiff remain a contested political matter and have been subject to several  propositions  since  the publication of the P.108/2017.

Recommendations

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Target date of action/

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It is democratically right and proper that if any future change should be agreed this should be arrived at through political debate by elected members in the States Assembly.

12

The  Chief  Minister should ensure that, as a matter  of  priority,  any outstanding recommendations  from the  HR  lounge  report which  relate  to  the support  provided  to  a complainant  and associated aftercare', are implemented as soon as possible. This should also be applied to the overall complaints  policy  and procedure for members of the public who are raising a complaint.

CM

Neither accept nor reject

The  HR  Loung  report  refered  to  the Government  of  Jersey's  internal complaints  procedures.1:1  counselling support  is  in  place  for  staff   needing support during and after the complaints procedure. We also have in place 24/7 wellbeing  support  (Besupported) provided  by  our  Occupational  Health Advisers.  During  a  complaints procedure the Case Manager is able to signpost and make referrals should an employee like to access these services. These remain private and confidential. Mediation  and  faciliated  meetings  are also offered within the 14 day resolution period and after any formal procedure, this  is  to  provide  further  support  and resolution to the parties invloved.

13

The  Chief  Minister should  ensure  that,  in developing  training  in relation  to  the  handling and  management  of complaints for States of Jersey  employees,  it contains  information  on how  to  best  support  a person  both  throughout the  complaints  process and afterwards.

CM

Accept

Agreed.  The  corporate  induction,  My Welcome,  emphasises  the  need  to provide excellent customer services and how  to  handle  complaints  sensitively. The  Espresso  training  session  on Customer  Experience  highlights  the need  to  think  about  the  customer sentiment' and how they are feeling to be integral to how we serve customers.

Current Customer Feedback training and the  Complaints  Handling  Manual,  all focus  on  the  use  of  empathy  when dealing with complaints and underline the importance of supporting a customer throughout the complaints process.

14

The  Chief  Minister should  ensure  that  the necessary  enhancements are made to the customer

CM

Accept action /reject

Planned enhancements to the Customer Feedback  Management  System  will ensure  outcomes  and  any  redress  are recordable.   Although  we  share  the

December 2022

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To

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completion

feedback  policy  and system  to  ensure  that outcomes  of  complaints and  any  associated redress is recorded on the system.  This  should  be completed  prior  to  the 2022 election.

timefra me

desire to get these system enhancements in as soon as possible, the Modernisation

& Digital resource required for this work to  be  completed  is  spread  across  a number  of  competing  priorities  -  full completion of this work is due by the end of 2022.

15

The  Chief  Minister should  ensure  that  the necessary  legislation  to give effect to the Jersey Public  Service Ombudsman  is  brought forward  for  lodging  so that the debate can take place  in  the  States Assembly  prior  to  the 2022 election.

CM

Accept principl e / reject timefra me

Whilst is accepted that the work on the Ombuds  should  be  brought  forward, delays have been experienced due to the pandemic.  It  is  anticipated  that  the legislation will brough forward before end 2022

End 2022

16

The  Chief  Minister should  ensure  that  the points raised by the Legal Aid Review Panel in its comments  on  P.63/2021 are actioned as a matter of priority. Furthermore, an updated  Legal  Aid Scheme  should  be implemented by the Chief Minister  by  the  1st January 2022.

CM

Accept principl e / reject timefra me

Further  to  the  presentation  of R.191/2021, a new Legal Aid Scheme came into effect on 1 April 2022.

In addition, work is ongoing to prepare draft  Regulations,  under  the  Costs  in Criminal  Cases  (Jersey)  Law  1961, which  would  remove  the  payment  of costs  to  lawyers  in  criminal  legal  aid cases  (as  is  consistent  with  the  new publicly  funded  criminal  legal  aid scheme where lawyers now receive fixed fee  payments  for  criminal  legal  aid work) and place a cap on costs that could be  paid  in  non-legal  aid  cases  of £200,000  per  defendant,  after  which legal aid rates would be paid. This latter measure  is  intended  to  ensure  the taxpayer  is  protected,  to  some  extent, from large costs payments to wealthy defendants. It is expected that these draft Regulations will be ready in time for consideration early in the term of the new Council of Ministers.

Recommendations

To

Accept/ Reject

Comments

Target date of action/

completion

17

The  Chief  Minister should, prior to the 2022 election,  bring  forward Terms  of  Reference  in respect  of  a  public inquiry for the resolution of  outstanding complaints  against  the Government of Jersey.

CM

Accept principl e / reject timefra me

Legislation is being brought forward to provide for public inquiries in Jersey. It is anticipated that this will be presented to the Assembly by end of 2022.

Public inquiries are very high cost and should only be instigated where:

• there  is  no  more  suitable  way  to investigate a matter

• legal  force  is  needed  to  compel people to give evidence

• the matter is of public concern

• the value to public can be justified.

It is not clear that these criteria could be meet

in  relation  to  individual  legacy complaints,  as  distinct  from  multiple complaints about a

potential  systemic  failure,  even  if  the Public Inquires legislation were in place.

As the Panel rightly identify, unresolved complaints can have a significant impact on people's wellbeing. If, however, the Assembly should determine to establish an independent non-statutory inquiry, or a Committee of Inquiry under Standing Orders, to investigate such complaints consideration would need to be given to:

• the extent to which it is possible to investigate legacy complaints (ie. is the necessary information still available?)

• criteria  (complaints  that  have not  been  investigated; complaints  not  managed  in accordance  with  policy; complaints  not  resolved  to satisfaction  of  individual  who made  the  complaint)  and

N/A

Recommendations

To

Accept/ Reject

Comments

Target date of action/

completion

complexity  associated  with assessment against criteria

 whether such an inquiry was in the  wider  public  interest  -  as distinct from the interest of the individuals  who  made  the complaints – and hence whether the  cost  to  the  wider  public could be justify.

Notwithstanding this, should the C&AG consider that there are outstanding items of a material nature by the end of 2023, consideration  should  be  given  to establishing  a  public  enquiry  for  the resolution  of  outstanding  complaints against the Government of Jersey.