Earlier this month, Deputy Jonathan Renouf pressed the Chief Minister to confirm whether Dr McLaughlin would be continuing in the £250,000-a-year role next year amid ongoing concerns about lack of stability at the top tiers of the civil service in recent years.
At the time, Deputy Lyndon Farnham said there was “nothing further to report at this stage”.
Pictured: Andrew McLaughlin was appointed as the substantive Government CEO from 1 July 2024 on a fixed-term six-month contract.
Deputy Renouf had also asked whether any changes to Dr McLaughlin’s contract or terms and conditions were anticipated, but Deputy Farnham did not respond to this point.
Today, the States Employment Board announced that Dr McLaughlin’s contract had been extended to December 2026.
Express has asked the Government for confirmation as to whether the terms of the contract and renumeration remains the same.
Dr McLaughlin said: “It remains a privilege to be in this role. I am committed to serving the Jersey community and supporting the Chief Minister and Government, as we continue to provide essential frontline services and deliver on our priorities.”
The Chief Minister added: “This contract extension brings stability and continuity across the public sector up to and after the next election.
“Andrew has demonstrated clear and collaborative leadership across Jersey’s public service, as well as good governance and sound financial control, and we look forward to working with him further.”
Dr McLaughlin was appointed Interim Government CEO in September last year on secondment from NatWest bank, where he co-led its ‘Commercial and Institutional’ division.
His initial nine-month contract came to end in May 2024.
Express later revealed that over £60,000 was spent on the recruitment process for a permanent Government CEO which was abandoned after just two months.
That process was never restarted, and Dr McLaughlin was appointed as the substantive Government CEO from 1 July 2024.
His initial contract was fixed-term for six months, with an option to extend if both the Government and the CEO agree.
When concerns were raised about the stability of such a short-term contract at the time, the Chief Minister said he hoped Dr McLaughlin would remain in post “as long as possible” and at least until the next election in mid-2026.
Dr McLaughlin was also given the green light to take on a second job – as Chair of the Board of the Bank of Gibraltar – while in post, despite this being the unravelling of a previous CEO. The Government did not confirm why the arrangement was approved or how it would be managed alongside his role leading the civil service.
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