Records Advisory Panel: Appointment of Members

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A decision made on 7 December 2015:

Decision Reference: MD-ESC-2015-0025
Decision Summary Title):	Records Advisory Panel Appointment		Date of Decision Summary:	4 December 2015
Decision Summary Author:	Culture Officer, DfESC		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title:	Appointment of the Records Advisory Panel		Date of Written Report:	4 December 2015
Written Report Author:	Culture Officer, DfESC		Written Report : Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: Appointment of Members of the Records Advisory Panel
Decision(s): Pursuant to Article 14 (2) of the Public Records (Jersey) Law, the Minister confirmed the appointment of the five members of the Records Advisory Panel following a formal appointments process. The members of the panel will serve for a term of six years following their swearing-in before the Royal Court. The members are: Mrs M-L. Backhurst Miss M.M Billot (existing member) Mrs A.H. Harris Mr J.M.E. Harris Mr M.C. Sunier (existing member) Under Article 14 (4), the Minister appointed Mr J.M.E. Harris as Panel chairman.
Reason(s) for Decision: The terms of office of the current panel expire on 11 December 2015 and the Minister is required to appoint a new panel to succeed it.
Resource Implications: There are no resource implications.
Action required: The Minister directed that the successful applications should be informed of their appointment, arrangements made for their swearing-in before the Royal Court as soon as practical, and the States informed of the decisions by publication of a Report as prescribed by Article 14(5) of the Law.
Signature:		Position: Minister for Education, Sport and Culture
Date Signed:		Date of Decision:

Records Advisory Panel: Appointment of Members

Education, Sport and Culture Department Report
Subject:	Appointment of the Records Advisory Panel
Exempt Clause:		Date:	4 December 2015

Author:	Rod McLoughlin, Cultural Development Officer

Introduction

This report conveys the conclusions of the appointments panel established to recommend prospective members of the Records Advisory Panel to the Minister for appointment, the terms of office of the current panel expiring this month.

Background

The Records Advisory Panel is established under Article 14(2) of the Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002 to review the functioning of bodies under the Law and to advise the Minister, Jersey Heritage, public institutions and the Archivist, as required. There are five members who sit for a renewable term of six years, normally meeting three or four times a year.

Jersey Heritage has advertised for panel members, the terms of office of the current panel expiring on 11 December. Two members of the existing panel re-applied to serve for a further term, while applications were received from three prospective new members.

All five were interviewed by a panel chaired by a member of the Jersey Heritage Board, Advocate Claire Follain-Metcalfe and also including retiring panel member Mr Henry Coutanche and the DfESC’s Cultural Development Officer. The panel recommends that all five applicants are appointed by the Minister pursuant to the Law. The members are:

Mrs M-L. Backhurst

Miss M.M Billot (existing member)

Mrs A.H. Harris

Mr J.M.E. Harris

Mr M.C. Sunier (existing member)

The interview panel further recommended that the Minister appoint Mr J.M.E. Harris as Panel chairman under article 14(4) of the Law.

Next steps

Once the appointments are confirmed, panel members will take their oath of office before the Royal Court before formally serving on the panel. Under Article 14(5) of the Law the States is to be formally notified of the appointments and a States Report will be sent to the States Greffe accordingly.

Recommendation

The Minister is recommended to confirm the appointments to the Records Advisory Panel in order that the new panel can be formally convened for its first meeting in 2016.