Jersey Charity Commissioner: re-appointment

REPORT

Background

The Minister for External Relations is presenting this Report to the States Assembly in accordance with the Charities (Jersey) Law 2014 ("the 2014 Law") to give notice of his proposed intention to reappoint Mr John Frederick Mills CBE as the Jersey Charity Commissioner ("the Commissioner").

The Commissioner is established under Article 3 of the 2014 Law. Schedule 1, paragraph 1 of the 2014 Law requires that –

1 Appointment of Commissioner

1. The Minister must appoint a person appearing to the Minister to be suitable to hold the office of the Commissioner.
2. Before appointing a person as the Commissioner, the Minister must seek the views of  the  Jersey  Appointments  Commission,  established  by  Article  17  of  the Employment of States of Jersey Employees (Jersey) Law 2005, on the appointment (without  prejudice  to  the  powers  of  the  States  or  the  Jersey  Appointments Commission under Article 15 of that Law).
3. The  Minister  must,  at  least  2  weeks  before  appointing  a  person  as  the Commissioner, present to the States a notice of his or her intention to make the appointment.
4. A person appointed as the Commissioner holds and vacates that office in accordance with the terms of his or her appointment, subject to this Law.
5. When appointing a person as the Commissioner the Minister must determine the period of the appointment, being not more than 6 years.
6. The Minister may re-appoint a person serving as the Commissioner (and references in this paragraph to appointment include re-appointment).
7. The Minister must take all reasonable steps to ensure that at all times the office of the Commissioner is filled.
8. Nothing in sub-paragraph (7) is to be construed as preventing the terms of a person's appointment from requiring the person to work under the appointment for only a limited number of days in a year or hours in a day.

Schedule 1, paragraph 3 (4) of the 2014 Law provides for the expiration of office as Commissioner.

3 Termination of office as Commissioner

(4) A person's appointment as the Commissioner expires if –

1. the period for which the person was appointed expires without re appointment;
2. the person becomes a member of the States; or
3. the person completes 12 years (whether consecutive or in aggregate) of service as Commissioner.

3

Matters relating to appointment

In accordance with Schedule 1, paragraph 1 (1), and as set out in R.74/2017 in 2017 the Minister appointed Mr Mills as Commissioner, for a period of three years. In both 2020 and  2023  Mr Mills'  appointment  was  extended  for  a  period  of  three  years.  The Commissioner may serve up to a maximum of 12 years.

After seeking the views of the Jersey Appointments Commission, the Minister will reappoint Mr Mills for a further period of three months commencing on 12 June 2026 and ending on 11 September 2026 (inclusive). This will allow for continuity for the office during the election period and prior to the formation of a new government.

Finance and staffing implications

Schedule 1, Part 4 of the Law provides for staff, resourcing and reporting - (7) Subject to Article 20(1) of the Dormant Bank Accounts (Jersey) Law 2017, the cost of providing staff, accommodation and equipment under this paragraph must be met out of the annual income of the States. There are no new financial or manpower implications for the States.

Biography

John Mills had a lengthy public service career in the UK, Hong Kong and Jersey, holding a range of senior positions including as a member of the Prime Minister's Policy Unit and as a Director at the then Office of Fair Trading. In the 1990s he forsook Whitehall for local government, becoming chief executive of Cornwall County Council. From there he was recruited to the role of Chief e=Executive (Policy and Resources) in Jersey, the then senior post in the States administration. He ended his full-time career in the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in London, as Director of Rural Policy.

Since 2009, Mr Mills has held a variety of non-executive roles in Jersey. He was a Commissioner of the Financial Services Commission from 2009-14. From 2015-2019 he was senior independent director of Ports of Jersey Ltd (having been a member of the shadow board since 2010, prior to the company's incorporation), and the Jersey-based director on the board of the Channel Islands Financial Ombudsman from 2015-2023. Honorary  roles  in  Jersey  have  included  membership  of  the  States  Members Remuneration Review Body from 2011-17, Tax Commissioner of Appeal (2009 – 2017) and serving on the board of the Public Employees' Pension Fund, where he chaired the Investment Committee for some eight years to 2022.

As a governor of a large educational charity in London from 1993-2017 (chairman of the trustees 1999-2017) Mr Mills gained extensive experience of charity governance and public benefit delivery in a regulated environment akin to that now in place in Jersey. His various roles, in Cornwall and at Defra especially, brought him into close contact with a wide range of charities and voluntary organisations, small and large, including  those  delivering  public  sector  contracts.   Since  becoming  Charity Commissioner in 2017 he has, naturally, had a very particular opportunity to get to know the entirety of Jersey's charity sector and all its successes, problems and challenges.

R.98/2026

Mr Mills was educated at Highgate School and The Queen's College, Oxford, where in 1971 he took first-class honours in the School of Modern History. Subsequently, he read for a research degree in medieval English history. He is a sometime Senior Scholar of Merton College, Oxford.

In 2007 he was awarded the CBE for services to public service in the United Kingdom.