PPC Sub-Committee: Diversity Forum - 13 March 2025

25 16th Meeting 13.03.2025

Privileges and Procedures Committee Diversity Forum

(16th Meeting)

13th March 2025

Part A (Non-Exempt)

All members were present.

Deputy L.K.F. Stephenson of St. Mary , St. Ouen and St. Peter , Chair Deputy H.L. Jeune of St. John , St. Lawrence and Trinity , Vice Chair Deputy L.M.C. Doublet of St. Saviour , Vice Chair

Connétable M.O.'D Troy of St. Clement

Deputy H.M. Miles of St. Brelade (for a time)

Deputy M.R. Ferey of St. Saviour

Deputy I. Gardiner of St. Helier North (for a time)

Deputy R.L. Kovacs of St. Saviour (for a time)

In attendance -

T. Oldham , Assistant Greffier, Committees and Panels, States Greffe

J. Hales , Research and Project Officer, States Greffe

C. Fearn, Secretariat Officer, Specialist Secretariat, States Greffe

C. Tucker, Assistant Secretariat Officer, Specialist Secretariat, States Greffe

  Note:  The Minutes of this meeting comprise Part A only.

Minutes.  A1.  The  Minutes  of the  meetings  held  on  3rd  and  13th  February  2025,  having previously been circulated, were taken as read and were confirmed.

Thank you  A2. The Sub-Committee heard from Deputy L.K.F. Stephenson of St. Mary , St. Ouen from the  and St. Peter , Chair, who extended her thanks to Deputy H.L. Jeune of St. John , St. Chair.  Lawrence and Trinity , Vice Chair and Deputy L.M.C. Doublet of St. Saviour , Vice

Chair for leading the Sub-Committee during her absence on Parental leave.

Actions list  A3. The Sub-Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A6 of 13th February 2025, and work  noted the ongoing work programme and actions list.

programme.

The Sub-Committee noted the ongoing action related to the diversity of recruitment within States-owned bodies and Arm's Length Organisations (ALOs) (Minute No. A7 of 13th February 2025 refers).

It was recalled that the Sub-Committee had agreed to request a formal update from Government regarding the action taken to implement the proposals outlined in the report entitled Diversity of Public Sector Appointment – Research by the Diversity

Forum' (R.25/2022 refers). The Sub-Committee was informed that Deputy C.S. Alves of St. Helier Central , Assistant Chief Minister, would attend its next scheduled meeting to  provide  an  update  on  this  matter,  as  a  representative  of  Government  with responsibility for diversity, equity and inclusion.

Women for  A4. The Sub-Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A7 of 13th February 2025, Politics.  welcomed Mesdames K. Wright, Chair of FREEDA (Free from Domestic Abuse) and

founder of the Diversity Network, and L. Cleary, Chair of Women for Politics (WFP), in  connexion  with  the  upcoming  work  of  WFP  with  regard  to  the  diversity  of recruitment within States-owned bodies and Arm's Length Organisations (ALOs).

It was recalled that WFP had been re-established by Ms. Wright from the extant Women in Politics Group (WIP), which had been co-founded by Deputy L.M.C. Doublet of St. Saviour , Vice Chair. WIP had played an integral role in achieving diversification in the States Assembly, as well as within States-owned bodies and ALOs. The benefits of such campaign groups were outlined, particularly in relation to encouraging female Islanders  to  exercise  their  democratic  rights  or  to  stand  for  election.  The  Sub- Committee was informed that, following a brief hiatus, the work of WFP was due to resume under the leadership of Ms. Cleary as the appointed Chair. Ms. Cleary, as a Board Member of the Ports of Jersey, Chair of the Treasury Advisory Panel and Director of various private funds, expressed interest in ensuring a diverse representation within the States Assembly and increasing voter engagement across all demographics to enhance diversity, equity and inclusion.

It was noted that WFP's position as an apolitical support system had facilitated the collaboration between female  Islanders and politicians, providing mentorship and insight into the roles and responsibilities that female Deputies held in the Assembly. WFP's mentorship approach fostered an open and accessible dialogue to provide support on perceived issues and, subsequently, aimed to enhance the diversity of the States Assembly and amplify the voices of women from diverse backgrounds. The issue of intersectionality was highlighted, and it was noted that WFP aimed to address the imbalance in political engagement in underrepresented groups such as ethnic minorities and those identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning (LGBTQ+). Several barriers which had previously deterred women from standing for election were acknowledged, namely a lack of confidence, fear of failure and a lack of experience in public speaking. Concerns were  also raised regarding misogynistic comments on social media platforms and the need for additional support and protection to be provided to ensure the safety and security of candidates.

Ongoing campaign discussions had been held with the States Greffe Digital and Public Engagement Team and Vote.je in order to mitigate these barriers, including a proposed campaign to encourage women to stand for Connétable in each Parish. Further potential areas of work to encourage greater diverse representation within the Parishes were also highlighted, such as the Roads Committees, which often comprised entirely male memberships. The importance of this work was commended and potential collaboration opportunities to ensure the diversification of Jersey's political sphere were noted.

The Sub-Committee thanked Ms. Wright and Ms. Cleary for the update, and they withdrew from the meeting.

Common- A5. The Sub-Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A4 of 13th February 2025, wealth  welcomed Ms. L.-M. Hart , Greffier of the States, and Ms. J. O'Brien, Head of Digital Parliament- and Public Engagement, States Greffe, to the meeting and considered a report entitled ary  Diversity  Forum  Proposed  Actions  Plan  –  Implementation  of  Commonwealth

27 16th Meeting 13.03.2025

Association Parliamentary Association Gender Audit Report (2024)'. Report.

It was recalled that the Sub-Committee had previously considered recommendations outlined in the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association's (CPA) Gender Sensitive Parliament Self-Assessment report, which had been completed following an internal Gender Audit undertaken by the Sub-Committee, as previously constituted, in 2019. These recommendations had been discussed in detail and further comments from the Sub-Committee had been communicated to the Greffier of the Sates on 6th March 2025.

Having considered the recommendations, the following updates were provided by the Greffier of the States –

Recommendation No. 13 – Accessibility Audits of the States Assembly Building

It was recalled that this recommendation had suggested that an accessibility audit of the parliamentary estate be conducted, to be led by the Diversity Forum. It was noted that in succession of the States Building Access Audit' completed in 2018 and the Accessibility Audit of the States Building', which had been undertaken by Liberate in 2020, minor alterations had been made to the States Building to improve accessibility. However, concerns were raised regarding the practicality of a number of the recommended adaptations which would require major refurbishments to the Grade One Listed building. The Sub-Committee acknowledged the building's constraints and subsequently emphasised that it was vital to ensure that transparency with prospective candidates with disabilities was prioritised. It was proposed that future candidates would be informed of the limitations of the building via Plan to Stand' campaign materials, outlining the accommodations that could be made for those who were less physically abled.

The Sub-Committee noted further issues in relation to the safety and security of the States building, including the following matters –

- the requirement to test chair lift equipment during fire drills;

- the shared nature of building with the Courts;

- the presence of cars in the Royal Square;

- the security protocols present at the public entrance, such as the lack of airport style security checks and panic alarms;

- the lack of appropriate lighting in corridors; and

- the open nature of the public gallery as a security threat to Members.

Whilst it was acknowledged that internal doors would be upgraded with pin coded access, in order to mitigate some security concerns, the Sub-Committee would correspond with Mr. S. Cartwright, Chief Officer, Bailiff 's Chambers to reiterate the importance of these concerns. Following this, the Sub-Committee noted that it would correspond with the Building Users Steering Group (BUSG) once clarity had been sought. The opportunity for Members to attend a future meeting of the BUSG was also noted.

Turning to the outstanding recommendations, the Greffier of the States provided the following updates –

- the Privileges and Procedures Committee (PPC) was due to discuss the development of a women's caucus for all female States Members;

- discussions would be held with the PPC regarding the formalisation of a family- friendly room and associated signage for dependents visiting States Members in

the building, although security and safeguarding concerns were raised in this connexion;

- quarterly meetings for States Greffe staff had facilitated the discussion of wellbeing issues and a further review of Life at the Greffe' would be conducted to ensure that wellbeing matters were considered by the Senior Leadership Team;

- the  option  to  include  training  undertaken  by  States  Members  on  the  States Assembly  website  was  available  and  further  discussions  regarding  its implementation were ongoing;

- work was being undertaken by the PPC to define bullying and harassment and would be included in the revised Code of Conduct for Elected Members and accompanying guidance notes, which were being finalised, and further training on bullying and harassment would be provided to all States Members;

- a separate survey would be undertaken, in addition to the candidate nomination form, to allow data on diversity to be gathered from prospective 2026 Election candidates;

- amendments to the Elections (Jersey) Law 2002, to ensure that the home addresses of States Members were not widely available to the public, would be brought forward by the PPC;

- work was being undertaken to ensure gender-neutral language was present on all pages of the States Assembly website;

- a video highlighting the expected behaviour of States Members and candidates was in progress with the Campaign Manager of Vote.je; and,

- the  Machinery  of  Government  PPC  Sub-Committee  was  in  discussion  with Ministerial Officers to define Ministerial roles.

Having considered the recommendations, it was agreed that further updates in this connexion would be considered as a standing item on future Sub-Committee meeting agendas.

The Sub-Committee thanked the Greffier of the States and Ms. O'Brien for the update and they withdrew from the meeting.

Actions:

Access- A6. The Sub-Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A5 of 13th February 2025, ibility of the  noted the response of Connétable A.N. Jehan of St. John , Minister for Infrastructure, to States  an oral question posed by Deputy H.M. Miles of St. Brelade in the States Assembly Building:  sitting  of  25th  February  2025,  in  connexion  with  the  accessibility  of  the  States oral  Assembly Building (OQ.37/2025 refers).

question.

The Sub-Committee recalled that Deputy Miles had enquired whether the necessary

16th Meeting 13.03.2025

work was being carried out in the States building to ensure compliance with disability legislation  and  whether  such  work  was  being  prioritised.  The  Minister  had acknowledged the requirement for the States building to be accessible, particularly to mitigate the risk of deterring less physically abled candidates from participating in the upcoming 2026 Election. Whilst the Minister concurred that accessibility was of the utmost  importance, the financial and logistical  challenges in achieving this were highlighted.

It was recalled that officers from Jersey Property Holdings (JPH) had met with the Sub- Committee on 13th February 2025 to discuss this matter further and had undertaken to produce  a  report  which  would  prioritise  key  recommendations  to  improve  the compliance  of  the  building.  The  report  would  also  clarify  the  remit  of recommendations, as to whether they were the responsibility of the landlord or the tenant,  and  highlight  additional  barriers  to  certain  recommendations,  such  as  a requirement for planning permission. It was noted that the report had not yet been received  from  JPH  and  that  the  agreed  4-week  timeline  had  elapsed.  The  Sub- Committee requested that the matter be followed up with JPH.

Actions

Govern-  A7. The Sub-Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A3 of 13th February 2025, ment  received an oral update from Deputy M.R. Ferey of St. Saviour, Assistant Chief Diversity,  Minister, in connexion with the ongoing work of Government regarding diversity, Equity and  equity and inclusion (DEI).

Inclusion:

update.  The Sub-Committee recalled that Deputy Ferey would provide an update on behalf of

Government in relation to ongoing DEI matters at each meeting.

It was noted that the 2025 People Services Business Plan (the Plan) sought to create a supportive work environment by prioritising strong leadership and trust across the Government of Jersey. In particular, the Plan aimed to build a culture of trust to facilitate staff in speaking up against injustices and DEI matters. It was envisaged that this would be achieved via the implementation of Human Resources policies which fostered a culture of trust and aligned with the Codes of Practice and organisational values. Regular reviews and the implementation of feedback was also proposed to ensure that the Plan adapted to the changing needs of Government employees. Further mandatory training modules and performance objectives to promote DEI initiatives were outlined. The modules aimed to ensure behaviours across each Department would reflect the overarching DEI aims of the Government of Jersey.

The  Sub-Committee  was  advised  that  the  Inspiring  Women  into  Leadership  and Learning (IWILL) Government of Jersey network sought to establish a third cohort to participate in the Board Apprentice Scheme. The scheme, which was open to female candidates across the Government of Jersey, provided women within the organisation with  experience  and  training  in  relation  to  Board  Member  activities.  The  Sub- Committee noted the importance of this scheme in increasing female representation on Boards, particularly in connexion with the role of Chair. It was proposed that any interested female States Members would contact Deputy Ferey to register their interest.

The Sub-Committee thanked Deputy Ferey for the update.

Date of next A8. The Sub-Committee noted that its next scheduled meeting was due to be held on meeting. 15th May 2025, from 10.00 am to 12.00 pm, in the Blampied Room.