Statistics Council: appointment of Members

REPORT

The Chief Minister is presenting this Report to the States Assembly, giving 2 weeks' notice of his proposed intention to appoint Dr Edward Sallis OBE and Mr Vijay Khakhria as members of the Statistics Council.

This  follows  the appointment  of Dr Kathryn  (Kate)  Chamberlain as  Chair  of  the Statistics Council in May 2025 (R.54/2025) and eight members of the Statistics Council in June 2025 (R.90/2025).

The Statistics Council is established under Article 7C and Schedule 2 of the Statistics and Census (Jersey) Law2018 (the "2018 Law"), as amended by the Statistics and Census  (Jersey)  Amendment  Law  2025 which  came  into  force  on  21  February 2025. Article 7C states –

"7CEstablishment and meetings of Statistics Council

1. There is established a body known as the Statistics Council, consisting of a Chair and no fewer than 6 and no more than 10 other individuals appointed by the Minister.
2. The individuals must, as far as reasonably practicable, reflect a range of users of statistics in Jersey, including the public, the media, researchers, students, businesses, public authorities and non-governmental organisations.
3. The Chair presides over all meetings of the Statistics Council but in the absence of the Chair another member may preside.
4. The Chief Statistician must attend each meeting of the Statistics Council at which it takes decisions in relation to any of its statutory functions (a "formal meeting"), but in an advisory capacity only.
5. The Statistics Council must hold formal meetings at least 3 times each calendar year.
6. Subject to this Article, Article7D and the Rules of Conduct issued under it, the Statistics  Council  may determine its  own  procedure,  including  when  and how frequently it meets.
7. The Statistics Council may meet informally without the Chief Statistician being present, but it must not make any decisions that are required to be made at a formal meeting.
8. The Statistics Council must publish in a manner agreed by the Council the minutes of its formal meetings, including a record of decisions taken in relation to its statutory functions, as soon as reasonably practicable after the meeting in question has taken place.
9. Schedule2  makes  further  provision  with  respect  to  the  membership  of  the Statistics Council and may be amended by Regulations made by the States to make different provision in that respect."

Paragraph 2 of Schedule 2 to the 2018 Law provides that –

2Appointment and dismissal

1. Members of the Statistics Council–

1. hold office for a term of 3years, and on expiry of their term are eligible for re- appointment, subject to serving a maximum of 3terms;
2. hold  and  vacate  office in  accordance  with the  terms  and  conditions  of  their appointment as determined by the Minister.

2. Before making an appointment the Minister must consult the Jersey Appointments Commission.
3. Article2 of the Appointment Procedures Law applies to the appointment of Statistics Council members.

Background to the Statistics Council

Amendments  to  the  2018  Law,  which  were  adopted  by  the  States  Assembly  in September 2024, created the new Statistics Council, in line with international guidance, to replace the Statistics Users' Group.

Article 7E(1) provides that the Statistics Council is independent of the Chief Minister and that it "has the primary function of overseeing the Jersey Statistical System by:

1. advising  public  authorities  on  the  production,  use,  quality, relevance and integrity of the statistics they produce that describe, on a representative basis, the economic, demographic, social and environmental situation in Jersey; and
2. advising generally in relation to tier 1 statistics."

The  Statistics  Council has  further specific  responsibilities  under  the 2018 Law, including:

• advising the Chief Minister on the appointment of the Chief Statistician and being informed  of their suspension or dismissal as soon  as is appropriate (Schedule 1);

• advising the Chief Statistician on their annual report, the plan for Statistics Jersey and the strategy for the JSS (Article 7(4));

• presenting recommendations to the Chief Statistician, the Chief Minister and the States Assembly on statistics produced by the JSS as the Council sees fit (Article 7E(2)(a));

• raising  concerns  and  issuing  public  comment  on  any  statistics  which  are produced by public authorities and which describe on a representative basis the economic,  demographic,  social  and  environmental  phenomena  of  Jersey (Article 7E(2)(a));

• advising  the  States  Assembly  where  it  has  concerns  in  relation  to  the funding, resources or independence of the Office of the Chief Statistician or the JSS (Article 7F(3)(a));

• advising the Chief Statistician on the contents of and any revisions to the Code of Practice (Article 7I(2));

• advising the Chief Statistician and Chief Minister when the Council believes that independent expert reviews of tier 1 statistics are required (Article 7I(8) and (9));

• nominating statistics to be tier 1 statistics and advising the Chief Statistician on the contents of the list of tier 1 statistics (Article 7J(1) and (2));

• advising the Chief Statistician on the process for suspending statistical reports from the list of tier 1 statistics (Article 7J(6));

• advising the Chief Statistician on the programme of and criteria for reviews of tier 1 statistics (Article 7J(9)); and

• advising the Chief Minister on whether statistical reports should be removed from the list of tier 1 statistics (Article 7K(2)).

Matters relating to the appointment

In  accordance  with the  requirements  of  the  2018 Law, the Jersey  Appointments Commission were also consulted on the recruitment process for Council members.

Financial and resource implications

Members  of  the  Statistics  Council are paid  an  annual fee  of  £500. Both  new members will serve an initial three-year term. Time spent travelling to and from Jersey is also able to be claimed by those members who live off-Island. However, those members will participate in most Council meetings remotely.

Biographies of proposed new members Dr Edward Sallis, OBE

Ed Sallis is a retired educationalist, who after working in senior leadership roles in further and higher education in the UK, came to Jersey as Principal and Chief Executive of Highlands College in 1997. He has a background in educational research and has a PhD in quality improvement strategies from the University of the West of England. The University  of  Plymouth  made  him  a  Visiting Professor and  he  has  carried  out consultancy in Canada and for the British-Irish Council. Since retiring he has been a Governor of Mid-Kent College and has worked for the Department of Education in London where he chaired the review of vocational maths and English qualifications for the then Skills Minister, Nick Boles MP, and chaired their expert panel that designed the new T level qualification in Education and Childcare.

In Jersey he has chaired Jersey Heritage and been a Commissioner of the Jersey Appointments Commission. He is currently an external member of the Treasury's Income Forecasting Group and a member of the Management Board of the Jersey Teachers' Superannuation Fund. In 2010 he was appointed OBE for his services to Education.

Mr Vijay Khakhria

Vijay Khakhria BSc FCA has led a career spanning early-stage businesses, governance, financial advisory, and infrastructure development across the UK and Europe. He served as Chairman of  fabric,  London  from  2000  to  2010, establishing a  governance framework recognised as best practice in the live music industry by the Mayor of London  and  the  Corporation  of  London.  His  extensive  work  within  music  and hospitality has led to multiple international and global awards. He is Managing Director of Vijay Khakhria Consulting and an investor and strategic advisor to academic spin- outs with a focus on economically rational renewable energy through TAB Jersey LLC.

In Jersey, Vijay currently serves as Non-Executive Director of Andium Homes and Jersey Opera House and served as a Lay Member of the Public Accounts Committee from 2024 to 2026. He holds a BSc (Honours) in Mathematics and Physics from University College London.