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Privileges and Procedures Committee
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Deputy S.Y. Mézec
Chairman, Care of Children in Jersey Review Panel c/o Andy Harris
Scrutiny Office
Morier House
St. Helier
Jersey
JE1 1DD
28th November 2017
Dear Chairman
Care of Children in Jersey Review Panel
I am writing to update you on the progress that the Privileges and Procedures Committee (PPC') has made in respect of those recommendations of the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry which specifically fall under its remit.
The inquiry recommended that "there should be mandatory briefing for all States Members as to their responsibilities as corporate parents for looked after children, and that new States Members would be unable to take their seat until this had been undertaken". We have agreed that the States Greffe, working with colleagues in the Department for Community and Constitutional Affairs, will organise a briefing session for States Members on corporate parenting responsibilities immediately after the election and we will offer more than one date, in order to ensure that all States Members can attend.
All Members will be expected to attend a briefing before they are sworn in before the Royal Court. This will meet the spirit of the Inquiry's recommendation, but there are significant difficulties in going further and mandating attendance before a Member can take their seat. It is possible to conceive of a situation where a Member refuses to attend a briefing because it is provided by the States, perhaps arguing that States staff should not be involved to avoid any connection with the events the Inquiry investigated. The Member may have promised to act in this way in their election manifesto. It would be contrary to the democratic process to deny such a Member the opportunity to take their seat. In our view, the approach we envisage will achieve the outcome envisaged by the Care Inquiry without causing any constitutional difficulties.
A further recommendation was that reference should be made to Members' corporate parenting responsibilities in the oath of office taken by States Members. PPC has appointed a sub-committee, comprising Deputy J.A. Martin of St. Helier as Chairman and Deputy S.M. Wickenden of St. Helier , to devise the appropriate wording for the duties of States Members, with a view to the relevant projet being approved by the States Assembly. I anticipate that this could be by Easter 2018.
I hope that this input is of assistance to the Panel. Yours sincerely,
Connétable L. Norman
Chairman, Privileges and Procedures Committee