'Quallies' decisions to be taken out of Ministers' hands

Wednesday 12 September 2018

Ministers will no longer be able to grant full residency rights after politicians yesterday voted in favour of moves to prevent anyone from securing the controversial contractual ‘perk’ in the same way as States Chief Charlie Parker.

Mr Parker was offered full ‘Entitled’ status when he became the most island’s senior civil servant, meaning that he will face no barriers in buying a home and may also be able to benefit from the tax benefits of moving his UK pension to Jersey.

The decision was signed off by the then Assistant Chief Minister, Senator Paul Routier, but Deputy Jess Perchard yesterday brought a successful vote in the States Assembly to stop the same situation from arising again.

39 States Members voted in favour of taking such decisions out of the hands of Ministers and placing them in the hands of the independent Housing and Work Advisory Group (HAWAG). Only five voted against, including the current Assistant Chief Minister Chris Taylor.

Delighted that most of my proposition about measuring the economic and social value of high net worth residents was passed by the assembly today. #firstproposition https://t.co/WpvHqmJVJp

— JessPerchard (@JessePerchard) September 11, 2018

HAWAG were already involved in the process, but had no say in the final decision, which is taken solely by the Assistant Chief Minister. The vote means that the decision to grant the status will no longer be made by one individual but rather "a committee whose meetings are minuted, as used to be the case."  

During the debate prior to the vote, Deputy Perchard argued that the regulations in place governing the granting of residency were never intended for use in the public sector. She subsequently tried to convince them to amend the law in this respect, to stop “our public sector to be governed by rules that we refuse to apply to the private sphere.”

“Giving an Executive a package-deal that includes Entitled status in the public sector, sets an undeniable precedent for the private sector. We cannot have different rules for ourselves and private business. Entitled status under Regulation 2(1)(e) should not be used in job offer packages in either sphere,” she wrote in a report presented to the Assembly.

Pictured: Deputy Jess Perchard making her case before the States Assembly yesterday.

It continued: "Teachers, nurses, social workers, emergency service providers, prison officers, and anyone else who provides a public service, contribute immeasurably to the well-being of our society and, whether directly or indirectly, to the economic health of the Island. We cannot compare the social benefit of the work of a nurse to the economic benefit of the Chief Executive. To do so is divisive, and division in the public sector is very much not in the “best interests of the community.

"If we allow Entitled status to be granted as an exception to some, but not others, we will simply divide our community, rid our public services of the goodwill that currently fuels many of them, and devalue vital professions.”

However, the move divided politicians: 23 States members voted against it, while 21 supported it.

But they unanimously agreed that the guidance accompanying the law should include "defined and measurable criteria" when considering whether to grant an individual Entitled status.

In a report presented to the Assembly, Deputy Perchard wrote: "In short, the terms are defined by the terms themselves, rendering this tautological definition completely open to subjectivity. Allowing government to be flexible when it comes to decision-making is, in many contexts, important.

"However, it is exactly at these times when we should be ensuring that there is a clear, transparent and objective process in place to ensure that decisions are approached with consistency, with fairness and following clear procedures."

A final part of the vote to be approved set out that the changes should be in place by March next year.

Meanwhile, Express’ request to release the government’s most senior employee's contract under the Freedom of Information Law has been turned down. An internal review is underway.