Officials push back on States Chief's contract release

Friday 14 September 2018

The outcome of a review scrutinising whether it was appropriate to shield the new States Chief's contract from public scrutiny is imminent, after officials pushed the original deadline back by nearly two weeks.

If successful, the review, which was originally due to conclude on 7 September, could lead to Charlie Parker’s contract – or parts of it – being released into the public domain on Monday.

Officials made the original decision to keep the government’s most senior employee’s contract behind closed doors last month following a request by Express to release it under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Law made in April. They declined to release it on the grounds that the £250,000 worker's employment terms were 'personal information'.

The FOI request was submitted amid concerns over what ‘perks’ Mr Parker may have been handed in return for his service after a Ministerial Decision revealed that a former Minister took the extraordinary step of handing him full residential rights, allowing him to purchase any property without hurdles and enjoy the tax benefits of moving his UK pension to Jersey. 

Pictured: Mr Parker was afforded 'Entitled' status as part of his States of Jersey contract.

The first of its kind, States officials said that the FOI request would set a precedent over the level of transparency afforded to senior ranking employee contracts in future.

Express asked for an internal review after the request was denied.

The review’s scope involves a reassessment of whether to release the contract, and an explanation as to why States officials had breached rules set out under a law designed to enhance transparency by replying months after the usual 20-day response deadline. 

Conclusions to that review had been due to be published on Friday 7 September, but it wasn’t until 16:34 that day that States officials said that they would be delaying their reply by a further 10 days.

The response emphasised that they weren’t bound by a “legal time frame”, instead suggesting that the 20-day limit for responding was simply an “internal service target.”

If the review does not lead to any aspect of the contract being published, Express will launch an appeal to the Information Commissioner.

The latest update comes after Express revealed that Mr Parker, who earns in excess of a quarter of a million yearly and has been tasked with spearheading the largest ever shake-up to Jersey's public sector, has been working since autumn last year without an agreed job criteria.

A States spokesperson said that measurable performance targets for Mr Parker would be set by an independent assessor, who has not yet been appointed.