Over 50 civil servant settlements in just over two years

Thursday 20 August 2020

Civil servants have been offered cash in return for settling claims against government on more than 50 occasions over the past two-and-a-half years.

So far this year, 13 ‘compromise agreements’ have been signed, while 14 were signed last year and 27 in 2018.

The figures were made public yesterday morning in a letter from Chief Minister Senator John Le Fondré to Scrutiny Liaison Committee Chair Senator Kristina Moore.

Pictured: The number of 'compromise agreements' made between January 2018 and the present date.

She had asked for details of the number of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) - sometimes referred to as 'gagging orders' - issued since January 2018.

In response, the Chief Minister said the government was unable to provide the requested statistics because there is no "central register" of those signed. 

However, he did confirm the number of 'compromise agreements' signed in recent years.

While compromise agreements often contain a confidentiality clause, they are not the same as NDAs, whose sole purpose is to prevent individuals from sharing certain bits of information.

The Chief Minister said the latter are predominantly used by government "to protect commerciality, risk or prevent conflicts of interest" with contractors, volunteers and employees.

Express has asked government the overall value of the 54 compromise agreements signed since 2018 and is awaiting a reply.

The use of both types of agreement within government has long been a contentious issue, but was raised again recently following the sudden resignation of Prison Governor Nick Cameron after Express revealed a fall-out with the Justice and Home Affairs Department over its alleged "lack of support" for HMP La Moye inmates and staff throughout the pandemic.

When his resignation was confirmed hours after the release of Express's story last week, neither Mr Cameron, the government or the Home Affairs Minister would comment on the circumstances surrounding his departure, leading to strong concerns from politicians tasked with scrutinising the government that an NDA had been put in place.

This, they argued, would inhibit their ability to find out what, if anything, had gone wrong, and subsequently make recommendations for improvement.

Senator Kristina Moore raised concerns that the saga had exposed wider unspoken cultural issues within government, while Deputy Kevin Pamplin commented: “...I throw the gauntlet down to all concerned to reassure us of what has happened here, that the States of Jersey Code of Practice will be updated, that we know the actual number of NDAs signed in the last five years. 

“And we won’t rest until they can bring that transparency or in the interests of the island.” 

In his letter to Senator Moore, the Chief Minister confirmed that the Code of Conduct - which was published in the early 2000s - would be updated by the end of the year.

"I am advised that it will be simplified and less specific than the current one, given the number of other people management policies that have superseded the current Code of Conduct. The new Code of Conduct will focus on values, behaviours and standards in public service," Senator Le Fondré wrote.