Gov U-turns on releasing crucial Parker meeting minutes

Tuesday 25 May 2021

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The Government is refusing to release the minutes of crucial meetings in which its former CEO’s second job and £500,000 departure payout were discussed – despite having previously pledged to publish them “as soon as they are ready.”

A spokesperson confirmed yesterday that the Government would not be making the requested documents publicly available because some of the information contained in them is “legally privileged.”

Express has repeatedly requested the documents relating to Charlie Parker’s Non-Executive Directorship at UK real estate firm New River and his abrupt exit since last year.

A request was first made to the States Employment Board (SEB) – a panel of politicians acting as Mr Parker’s official employer – under the Freedom of Information Law in November.

Express had asked for minutes of meetings between 26 October – when news of Mr Parker’s second job broke – and 11 November, after Mr Parker’s departure had been confirmed and the Chief Minister survived a vote of no confidence triggered by the saga.  

In December, the SEB said these could not be made public because they had not been completed.

When Express followed up three months later, a spokesperson for SEB Vice-Chair Constable Richard Buchanan said on 26 March that his panel was “working to get the minutes prepared and will publish them as soon as they are ready.”

But it’s now emerged that minutes of all 10 meetings relating to Mr Parker’s secondary employment and departure between October and December were ready by the point this reply was received - eight had been officially approved in January, with the remaining two on 22 and 25 March.

Asked for the minutes again, an SEB spokesperson replied yesterday: “Once the minutes were approved they were reviewed with a view to potential publication. The latest advice has found that the minutes contain legally privileged information and therefore will not be published.” 

Express has since asked whether the minutes could be released in redacted form to the public and is awaiting a reply.

Charlie Parker’s half-a-million ‘golden handshake’ to avert legal action – the nature of which has not been confirmed –was revealed in the Government’s accounts last week.

For what’s believed to be the first time, the accounts’ auditors signed them off with a ‘qualified opinion on regularity’ from auditors – an official statement raising concerns that, in their view, proper processes governing spending were not been followed in relation to the CEO’s exit.

It came on the same day that the Government’s spending watchdog, Comptroller and Auditor General Lynn Pamment, released a report confirming that the payment broke rules covering how public money should be handled and was more than what was laid out in his employment contract. This was despite a previous pledge from the Chief Minister that Mr Parker would receive no more than his contractual entitlement.

She also expressed concerns that recommendations from her predecessor for improving contract terminations with senior Government employees, which came following the £500,000 departure of former CEO Bill Ogley, had not been acted on.

Ms Pamment did, however, describe the sum paid to Mr Parker as “not unreasonable” in “light of the potential claims that the employer might have faced and the costs of defending them.”

Her report also revealed:

• there is no specific disciplinary process for the CEO of the Government of Jersey.
• There was a provision in Mr Parker’s original contract of employment for his pension to be ‘topped up’ by Jersey’s Government if he were to retire before reaching normal pension age.
• In the course of the SEB’s deliberations over how to handle the CEO’s departure, “concerns” emerged about the original process to hire Mr Parker. It was determined that an Independent HR advisor should review it, but this review has still not taken place.
• Mr Parker acted as an “unpaid advisor” to the Council of Ministers in the seven days between his original contract ending and the beginning of his second fixed-term contract– the existence of which was only uncovered due to request under the Freedom of Information Law by Express. During this time, he retained access to Government buildings and IT systems, and attended a Competent Authorities meeting on 6 January. The unpaid role was not documented or communicated to staff.
• There was “potential for confusion” in March, as the written contracts of Mr Parker and his interim successor Paul Martin, gave them the statutory responsibilities of being CEO at the same time.
• The C&AG considered it a “conflict of interest” that Mr Parker signed off a media statement claiming that his Non-Executive Directorship at New River was approved by the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister. It later emerged that the latter did not support the second role.

While the Comptroller’s report went some way to illuminating the circumstances surrounding his abrupt exit from the top role in Jersey’s civil service, several questions remain unanswered, such as why the SEB initially gave Mr Parker approval to continue with his second job before withdrawing it later, and why Mr Parker was given a second, fixed-term contract, as revealed by Express.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) - a panel of politicians responsible for scrutinising how taxpayers' money is spent - has confirmed that it will be launching a formal review into what happened.

CLICK HERE to share your views with PAC.

When the minutes were approved...

(From the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General)