Income Support Medical Appeal Tribunal: Deputy Chair and Member: Appointment of

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A decision made 18 May 2012:

Decision Reference: MD-S-2012-0038
Decision Summary Title :	Income Support Medical Appeal Tribunal Appointments		Date of Decision Summary:	15 May 2012
Decision Summary Author:	Head of Governance		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:
Written Report Title :	Income Support Medical Appeal Tribunal Appointments		Date of Written Report:	14 May 2012
Written Report Author:	Head of Governance		Written Report : Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Subject: States Proposition – Appointments to Income Support Medical Appeal Tribunal
Decision(s): The Minister approved a proposition seeking the agreement of the States to the appointment of Advocate Elaine Millar to the position of Deputy Chair, Medical Practitioners’ Panel, and Dr. Michael Richardson as a member of that Panel to be available for the Income Support Medical Appeal Tribunal. It is proposed that both appointments are made on an initial term of five years from the date of debate subject to States approval.
Reason(s) for Decision: Under the Income Support (Jersey) Law 2007, the Medical Appeal Tribunal hears any appeals on matters regarding the award of the Impairment component of the Income Support scheme. Article 15 of the Income Support (General Provisions) (Jersey) Order 2008; requires that members are appointed by the States on the recommendation of the Social Security Minster, following consultation with the Jersey Appointments Commission. Open recruitment was undertaken in respect of both positions, overseen by the Jersey Appointments Commission. The Minister for Social Security is satisfied that the individuals proposed for the respective positions have the appropriate qualifications.
Resource Implications: There are no financial or manpower implications regarding the appointment of the Tribunal Members.
Action required: The Greffier of the States to be requested to arrange to arrange for the Proposition to be lodged ‘au Greffe’ for consideration by the States at the earliest opportunity.
Signature:		Position: Minister
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Income Support Medical Appeal Tribunal: Deputy Chair and Member: Appointment of

PROPOSITION

THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion 

to appoint, in accordance with Article 15 of the Income Support (General Provisions) (Jersey) Order 2008, further to a process overseen by the Jersey Appointments Commission, the following persons as members of the Income Support Medical Appeal Tribunal for a period of 5 years –

Advocate Elaine Millar Deputy Chair

Dr Michael Richardson Medical Practitioner

MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SECURITY

REPORT

The Income Support (General Provisions) (Jersey) Order 2008 provides for the composition of the Income Support Medical Appeal Tribunal and the terms of appointment of its members.

The Medical Appeal Tribunal hears appeals on the award of the Impairment Component under the Income Support system. Appeals on all other aspects of Income Support are heard by the Social Security Tribunal.

The Impairment Component has three elements of subsidy: personal care, mobility and clinical cost. The clinical cost provides financial support towards the cost of general practitioner fees in Jersey. The Tribunal will review all facts placed before it by the Appellant and the Minister for Social Security (or his representative) and make a determination within the appropriate aspects of the Law.

Tribunal Panels

The Tribunal Chair must be legally qualified to ensure legislation is correctly interpreted. Should the Chair decide to convene a Tribunal, the Chair is joined by a member from each of two panels.

The first panel consists of Medical Practitioners. The Medical Practitioners must be currently registered to practice medicine with the UK’s General Medical Council. The role of the medical practitioner is to help the Tribunal interpret and understand specific clinical information and its relevance or not in the determination.

The second panel consists of Members with an experience in disability. Members of this Panel have experience either through their work, from having cared for someone, or because of their own situation, of the needs of someone with a disability. Panel members use this experience to interpret the information provided and consider whether a reasonable assessment of abilities had been made.

Following a period of open recruitment and structured interviews which involved a representative of the Jersey Appointments Commission, who also sat on the recruitment panel, the Minister for Social Security is satisfied that the individuals proposed for the respective positions have the appropriate qualifications.

Recruitment

The Deputy Chair position became vacant due to the previous appointee leaving the island. The legislation allows for a panel of up to five medical practitioners to ensure a sufficient number of people are available to sit on a Tribunal: currently there is only one practitioner available.

Terms of appointment

The Income Support (General Provisions) (Jersey) Order 2008 provides that members of the Tribunal will be allowed to hold office for two terms, each not exceeding five years. The terms also allow a member to resign at any time and provide for the other circumstances in which he or she will cease to hold office, such as bankruptcy or misconduct.

It is proposed that each of the following new members is offered an initial term of five years, to begin from the date of States approval.

Further details of the proposed new members are provided below:

Advocate Elaine Millar

Advocate Millar qualified as a solicitor in Scotland in 1987 and spent six years working with two of Scotland's biggest commercial law firms before joining The Royal Bank of Scotland Group in 1993. She moved to RBS International in Jersey in 1996, where she was latterly Director, Legal and Regulatory Services, having responsibility for the RBS International Group's legal, compliance and company secretarial functions across four jurisdictions. She joined Mourant du Feu & Jeune in 2002 and became a partner of the firm in January 2007, specialising in mergers and acquisitions, data protection, competition law and financial services law and regulation. Advocate Millar qualified as a solicitor in Jersey in 2005 and became an Advocate in 2007.

She left Mourant du Feu & Jeune in July 2009 and has since then worked as a consultant with Mourant Limited and Standard Bank.

Dr Michael Richardson

Dr Michael Richardson trained in Edinburgh and graduated in 1982. After completing training in various parts of England, he was appointed a consultant in the North-East of England in 1991, moving to Jersey to take up his current position in 1993. His special areas of interest are General Internal Medicine, Care of the Elderly, Rehabilitation, Rheumatology and Osteoporosis. He is currently Clinical Director of Medicine for the General Hospital and a Royal College Tutor. He supports The Parkinson's Disease Society and is the President of the Jersey Branch.

Resource Implications

There are no financial or manpower implications regarding the appointment of the Tribunal Members.