Senator calls separation of Bailiff's powers a "side show"

Saturday 16 September 2017

A senator has called the debate over the separation of the Bailiff's powers, which was one of the eight recommendations made in the Care Inquiry report, a "side show" compared to the care of children.

Senator Sarah Ferguson made the comment during a scrutiny hearing with the Chief Minister, adding that the States should focus on other recommendations such as the inspection of children's services or the implementation of a Children's Commission.

The Care Inquiry was a hot subject during the scrutiny hearing with the Corporate Services Panel, chaired by Deputy John Le Fondré. Senator Ferguson first asked about the specific actions taken to date to implement the recommendations. The Chief Minister was then asked about the advisory panel he has been trying to establish and the difficulties he has encountered in setting it up after three deputies turned down an offer to join it. 

The Chief Minister confirmed the panel hadn't fallen apart and that he took heart from States members who decided not to take part in the panel so they could work within the current scrutiny model. He then added that a different panel, which is looking into the issue of the separation of powers, was running into a difficult issue as some of the members are not convinced that the separation of powers is necessary. The Chief Minister said that the panel might have to be dissolved if that issue can't be resolved or that they might have to ask Deputy Tadier to defer his proposition. 

Pictured: Senator Sarah Ferguson said that priority should be given to children's care. 

Senator Ferguson then stated: "Given the terms of reference of the Care Inquiry, surely the separation of powers is actually a side show when the care of children is concerned. We should be concentrating on a care commission, recruiting a commissioner, the independent inspection of children's facilities and looking at the way children with problems are dealt with to this day."

The Chief Minister said that he understood the report was primarily about historical abuse and "how our institutions allowed that abuse to take place, how we dealt with it, how, after that abuse happened, we didn’t listen to children, how we did not protect them in the first place and how we couldn’t help them get out of those situations."

However, he continued: "On the one hand, it is absolutely right that the priority should be finding a commissioner and inspecting children's services and this is why I took the actions that I did. But we are kidding ourselves and we haven't fully read the report, if we don’t see that it says something pretty pointedly about how we organised ourselves and how the service, that is Education, Health and the Civil Service, operates. The report says underneath that the primary focus is that we need to make some changes to both of these areas and how we do our government."

Pictured: "A culture change is needed," said the Chief Minister to the Corporate Services Panel.

The Chief Minister then said that having been "privileged" to meet people who have left care or have been abused, he understands the mistrust they feel towards the institution of the States and the judiciary system. He said that a culture change was needed and that he fully supported the separation of the Bailiff's powers and the creation of the role of an elected speaker.

He told the Panel: "We sometimes sit in our ivory tower and don’t understand how they feel about the States of Jersey. We allowed them to be abused and they feel we are conflicted, that we are party to what happened to them. They look at our institutions and think that we are not modern and that we didn't protect them. They should all be our priority" 

The States were meant to debate the separation of powers during their first seating after the Summer recess but it was delayed at the last minute for another five weeks. Deputy Montfort Tadier who submitted the proposition, explained that it would allow politicians the time to fully consider the findings of a special panel – himself, Senator Philip Ozouf and Deputy Simon Bree – who have been considering how the idea would work in practice.