PPC Sub-Committee: Diversity Forum - 15 May 2025

Privileges and Procedures Committee Diversity Forum

(17th Meeting)

15th May 2025

Part A (Non-Exempt)

All members were present, with the exception of Deputies M.R. Ferey and R.L Kovacs of St. Saviour , from whom apologies had been received.

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 (for a time)

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

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

In attendance -

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

J. Hales , Research and Project Officer, States Greffe

E. Patterson, Secretariat Officer, Specialist Secretariat, States Greffe

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

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

Minutes.  A1. The Minutes of the meeting held on 13th March 2025, having previously been

circulated, were taken as read and were confirmed.

Privileges  A2. The Sub-Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A2 of 13th February 2025, and  received  and  noted  an  extract  of  the  Minutes  of  the  Privileges  and  Procedures Procedures  Committee  (PPC)  meeting,  held  on  17th  March  2025,  in  connexion  with  the Committee  establishment of the Women's Parliamentary Caucus (Minute No. A3 of the current Minutes.  meeting refers).

It was recalled that officers had been requested to compile a list of those Minutes of PPC which were relevant to the Sub-Committee for its consideration at each meeting.

Women's  A3. The Sub-Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A5 of 13th March 2025, Parliament- received and noted a briefing paper in connexion with the establishment of a Women's ary Caucus  Parliamentary Caucus (WPC) in Jersey. – update.

It was recalled that the Sub-Committee had extended an invitation to all female members to participate in the WPC training course delivered by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA). Interested members had convened on 8th January 2025, with a view to undertaking the training collectively. However, due to technical difficulties on the day, those who attended in person were unable to complete the course. It was further recalled that all female Members had subsequently been provided with the opportunity to complete the course independently.

It was noted that the establishment of a WPC been raised with the Privileges and Procedures Committee (PPC) at its meeting on 17th March 2025. PPC had suggested that the Sub-Committee draft terms of reference and scoping document for the WPC, which would establish key objectives, operating procedures and outcomes. PPC had further proposed to conduct a survey of Members to ascertain the level of interest in establishing a WPC and to ensure the approach proposed by the CPA was appropriate within Jersey's  parliamentary context.  The  Sub-Committee  noted that,  whilst the principle of establishing a WPC was supported by PPC, concerns had been raised regarding the potential for the WPC to become politicised.

The Sub-Committee highlighted the importance of implementing a WPC in Jersey with a view to breaking down political barriers for women. Deputy L.M.C. Doublet of St. Saviour ,  Vice  Chair,  suggested  that  the  WPC  leadership  structure  comprise  the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians representatives, alongside 2 senior' female Members of the States Assembly to ensure strong leadership. It was agreed that the Sub-Committee's next meeting would be dedicated to the discussion and formulation of terms of reference and key objectives for the WPC, which would ultimately be submitted to PPC for approval.

Public  A4. The Sub-Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A5 of 21st November 2024, Sector  welcomed Deputy C.S. Alves of St. Helier Central , Assistant Chief Minister, and Ms. Equality  L. Ferguson, Administration and Research Officer, Cabinet Office, in connexion with Duty and  Public  Sector  Equality  Duty  and  associated  Government  Diversity,  Equity  and Government  Inclusion (DEI) updates.

Diversity,

Equity and  It was recalled that, in correspondence to the Sub-Committee dated 21st October 2024, Inclusion –   Deputy Alves had noted ongoing workstreams in connexion with gender pay gap update.  reporting and income ratio, which the debate on the proposition entitled Gender Pay

and Income Ratio Consultation' (P.64.2024 referred) had highlighted. It was envisaged that the Government would provide support in the development of a usable and relevant method  of  reporting  on  these  matters.   Deputy   Alves  had  also  advised  that  the engagement of under-represented groups had been a key focus in developing DEI policy, which would see the re-establishment of the International Culture Centre (ICC) and other related projects.

Deputy Alves noted that the primary components of DEI which were currently being prioritised by the Government were: Violence Against Women and Girls, gender pay gap reporting and the re-establishment of the ICC. A framework and guidance was being  developed  to  aid  businesses  in  reporting  gender  pay  statistics  and  it  was envisaged that this would be in place by the end of 2025. An explicit sexual harassment policy was also being formulated to encourage individuals to feel confident in speaking up and reporting sexual harassment in the workplace. On a related matter, the Sub- Committee requested that online sexual harassment training for civil servants, also be made available to States Members through the Connect People platform.

Deputy Alves informed the Sub-Committee that the Project Luso (PL) initiative was progressing well. This initiative aimed to celebrate and promote Portuguese culture in Jersey and raised awareness of the challenges faced by the Portuguese community. The PL was organised by the Jersey Community Relations Trust, and it was noted that the initial phase of public research had concluded in April 2025, with 230 islanders being involved.

The Sub-Committee agreed that Deputy Alves should be kept abreast of its work and requested that officers send updated iterations of the Sub-Committee's actions list and approved Minutes to Deputy Alves on a regular basis.

The Sub-Committee thanked Deputy Alves and Ms. Ferguson for the update, and they withdrew from the meeting.

Actions:

Common- A5. The Sub-Committee received an oral update from Deputies L.M.C. Doublet of St. wealth  Saviour, Vice Chair, and H.L. Jeune of St. John , St. Lawrence and Trinity , Vice Chair, Women  in connexion with the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians British Islands and Parliament- Mediterranean Regional Conference 2025 (the Conference).

ary

Association:  It was noted that the Conference had been held at the Scott ish Parliament in Edinburgh British  from 16th – 19th March 2025, with a focus on achieving gender equality within Islands and  parliaments and retaining female participation in the political sphere. A number of Mediterr- plenary sessions had been held across the 3-day Conference, to include promoting anean  inclusiveness in Parliament, retaining women in politics and overcoming barriers to Regional  women standing for election through the lens of maintaining a work-life balance. The Conference  importance of remote participation in achieving this balance and encouraging potential 2025. candidates with families to stand for election was acknowledged. Further detail was

also  provided  regarding  a  presentation  delivered  by  Mr.  B.  Mason,  Information Security Analyst, Scott ish Parliament, in connexion with the level of online abuse politicians received and the approach adopted by the Scott ish Parliament in respect of online safety. The benefits of fostering open discussions at conferences around themes of social media abuse and tolerance was highlighted.

It was agreed that a summary of the topics considered at the conference would be provided to the Privileges and Procedures Committee (PPC) by Deputies Doublet and L.K.F Stephenson of St. Mary , St. Ouen and St. Peter , Chair, at its next meeting.

Actions:

States  A6. The Sub-Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A5 of 13th March 2025, Building:  received  and  noted  correspondence  dated  8th  April  2025,  addressed  to  Mr.  S. accessib-  Cartwright, Chief Officer, Bailiff 's Chambers, from Deputy L.K.F. Stephenson of St. ility.  Mary, St. Ouen and St. Peter , Chair, in connexion with the accessibility of the States

Building.

It was recalled that Mr. Cartwright had previously attended a meeting of the Sub- Committee to discuss accessibility issues within the States Building (Minute No. A8 of 21st November 2024 refers). Whilst acknowledging the challenges associated with access, Mr. Cartwright had advised that such matters fell within the remit of the building's landlord, Jersey Property Holdings (JPH). Although discussions regarding accessibility with JPH were ongoing, several security-related concerns had remained, and the Sub-Committee had agreed that these issues should be set out in correspondence to Mr. Cartwright (Minute No. A5 of 13th February 2025 refers). Mr. Cartwright had been requested to attend a future Sub-Committee meeting to discuss the following security concerns –

- fire drill procedures;

- procedures for exits during an emergency;

- restrictions of exit and entry points; and

- training offered for security personnel.

The Sub-Committee acknowledged that whilst some works had taken place in the interim, such as a fire drill practice and entry/exit restrictions, a formal response was still awaited from Mr. Cartwright. It was agreed that a further informal reminder would be  sent  to  Mr.  Cartwright  seeking  a  written  update  on  the  remaining  items  for consideration, noting that Mr. Cartwright's attendance at the next Sub-Committee meeting would not be viable due to the volume of business.

On a related matter, it was recalled that, following a meeting with the Sub-Committee, JPH had been requested to produce a report outlining the recommendations from the 2018 Access Audit and the 2020 Accessibility Audit undertaken by Liberate (Minute No. A5 of 13th February 2025 refers). The Sub-Committee was informed that an informal response had now been received from Mr. T. Daniels, Director, JPH, which outlined ongoing issues raised from the Audits and noted the lack of funds available for immediate amendments to the Grade One Listed building.

Having considered this correspondence, it was agreed that further correspondence be drafted to Mr. Daniels, reiterating the need for a comprehensive report that clarified tenant and landlord responsibilities with reference to the Audit recommendations.

Actions:

Arrange- A7. The Sub-Committee received an oral report from Deputy L.M.C. Doublet of St. ments for  Saviour, Vice Chair, in connexion with arrangements for the dependents of States States  Members at official events and, in particular, those which were held outside of term Members'  time.

dependents

at official  It was noted that concerns had been raised by some States Members regarding the events.  arrangements which had been made at the recent meeting of the States on Liberation

Day and the absence of appropriate seating in Liberation Square for the dependents of Members. It was suggested that any records held by the Bailiff 's Chambers be updated to include details of dependent children of States Members to ensure that they were appropriately accommodated.

Having discussed the matter, it was agreed that correspondence in connexion with the above should be drafted and shared with the Sub-Committee for review.

Actions:

Date of next  A8. The Sub-Committee noted that its next scheduled meeting was due to be held on meeting. 12th June 2025, from 10.00 am to 12.00 pm, in the Blampied Room.