PPC Sub-Committee: Diversity Forum - 20 November 2025

Privileges and Procedures Committee Diversity Forum

(3rd Meeting)

20th November 2025

Part A (Non-Exempt)

All members were present, with the exception of Deputies H.L. Jeune of St. John , St. Lawrence and Trinity , Vice Chair, L.M.C. Doublet of St. Saviour , Vice Chair, and P.F.C. Ozouf of St. Saviour , from whom apologies had been received.

Deputy L.K.F. Stephenson of St. Mary , St. Ouen and St. Peter , Chair Connétable M.O'D Troy of St. Clement

Deputy M.R. Ferey of St. Saviour (for a time)

Deputy R.L Kovacs of St. Saviour (for a time)

Deputy H.M. Miles of St. Brelade

Deputy I. Gardiner of St. Helier North

In attendance -

E. Patterson, Secretariat Officer, Specialist Secretariat, States Greffe

C. Tucker, Secretariat Officer, Specialist Secretariat, States Greffe

  Note:  The Minutes of this meeting comprise Part A only.

Minutes.  A1. The Minutes of the meeting held on 16th October 2025, having previously been

circulated, were taken as read and were confirmed, subject to a minor amendment.

Common- A2. The Sub-Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A4 of 16th October 2025, wealth  welcomed the Greffier of the States, in connexion with the recommendations arising Parliament- from  the  Commonwealth  Parliamentary  Association  (CPA)  Gender  Sensitive ary  Parliament Self-Assessment Jersey report (the CPA report).

Association

Report.  It  was  recalled  that  the  Sub-Committee  had  previously  considered  the

recommendations arising from the CPA report, which had followed an internal Gender Audit  undertaken  in  2019.  Due  to  the  number  and  complexity  of  certain recommendations, the Sub-Committee had focussed on selected recommendations. Those recommendations which had not been progressed by the Sub-Committee had been appropriately delegated (Minute Nos. A4 of 13th February and A5 of 13th March 2025 refer) and the Greffier provided the following updates -

Recommendation No. 9 – Designated Family Room

It was recalled that this related to the establishment of a designated family room, equipped to meet caregiving needs, within the States Building.

A number of interim suggestions were made with a view to providing care for the dependents of elected Members, including the possibility of sharing a facility provided by Jersey Domestic Abuse Support, which was located in close proximity to the States Building. The Greffier advised that either meeting room No. one or 3 in the States Building could be used as a designated family room. However, concerns were raised in connexion with the location of these rooms in terms of accessing toilet facilities without a staff security pass. The Sub-Committee supported a suggestion that the Mary Newcombe room, currently used by the Digital and Public Engagement (DPE) Team for media related activities, be re-purposed for use as a designated family room. This would afford access to toilet facilities. The point was made that, whilst Members could leave children unattended in the family room, they would be solely responsible for the care, safety and welfare of their dependents.

The Greffier agreed to request the DPE team to relocate activities currently undertaken in the Mary Newcombe room to meeting rooms No. one or 3. Arrangements would be made for the room to be furnished appropriately for use as a family room. It was suggested that when the room was ready for occupation all States Members be informed of the new use.

Recommendation No. 14 – review of the security provisions within the States Building.

It was recalled that this recommendation proposed a review of security provisions within the States Building by the Building Users Steering Group (BUSG).

The Greffier advised that, following a recent meeting of the BUSG, funding had been secured to undertake a review of the security provisions in the States Building in early 2026. It was acknowledged that current security levels and access controls within the parliamentary estate were unlikely to meet accepted standards and that airport-style security access arrangements would be recommended.

On a related matter, it was noted that the creation of a designated family room for Members' dependents within the States Building could also be identified as a potential security risk and might give rise to safeguarding concerns, with particular reference to unaccompanied minors.

Recommendation No. 25 – provision of coaching and counselling services for Members

It was recalled that this recommendation related to the continued provision of coaching and counselling for States Members and States Greffe staff, with a committed budget to ensure the sustainability of these services. Concerns had been raised in connexion with the role of the States Greffe in terms of accessing support services and the perception of gate-keeping'.

The Greffier advised that whilst support services were funded from the States Assembly budget, the States Greffe was not privy to any information in relation to the services accessed by Members. It was noted that a budget of up to £3,000 per member had been allocated. In spite of assurances, concerns remained, with some Members suggesting that the States Greffe's role in process might deter Members from accessing services. Whilst this was not borne out by statistics in relation to uptake, Deputy M.R. Ferey of St. Saviour agreed to discuss the matter with the Chief People Officer, Government of Jersey, with a view to arranging service provision in a manner which preserved anonymity whilst maintaining a financial reporting mechanism.

The Sub-Committee thanked the Greffier for the update and she withdrew from the

3rd Meeting 20.11.2025

meeting.

Government  A3. The Sub-Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A2 of 16th October 2025, diversity,  received an oral update from Deputy M.R. Ferey of St. Saviour regarding the ongoing equity and  work of the Government of Jersey (GoJ), in connexion with diversity, equity and inclusion  inclusion (DEI).

work:

update.  The following outcomes were noted –

- in response to a query from Deputy L.M.C Doublet of St. Saviour regarding the ongoing GoJ Attendance Matters' initiative, Deputy Ferey advised of measures to ensure that absences viewed through a gender sensitive lens. It was noted that absence notices now made reference to women's health and menopause related symptoms. It was acknowledged that, should a series of absences be recorded in connexion  with  these  issues,  further  engagement  would  be  initiated  with individuals to ensure that appropriate reasonable adjustments were considered for the benefit of the employee;

- work was ongoing in relation to the collection of data to inform employee experience  improvements  and  the  monitoring  of  individual  needs  in  the workplace;

- a mandatory training module for all GoJ employees in connexion with sexual harassment was now live on the internal Connect People platform. Further efforts had also been made to ensure that the reporting of any sexual  harassment incidents were addressed in a confidential and safe manner;

- DEI performance objectives and targets were now included as part of Managerial appraisals; and

- further DEI events such as the celebration of International Day of Persons with Disabilities' on 3rd December 2025, and an employee talk on Breaking the Stigma of Menopause' on 11th December 2025 were scheduled to take place. It was  envisaged  that  both  events  would  enable  employees  to  share  their experiences, resulting in workplace adjustments.

The Sub-Committee thanked Deputy Ferey for the update.

Women's  A4. The Sub-Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A3 of 16th October 2025, Parliament- received an oral update from Deputy L.K.F. Stephenson of St. Mary , St. Ouen and St. ary Caucus.  Peter, Chair, in connexion with the proposed Women's Parliamentary Caucus (WPC),

as recommended by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA).

It was recalled that the Sub-Committee had produced a draft Terms of Reference for the WPC, which had been approved by the Privileges and Procedures Committee (PPC) at its meeting on 10th November 2025. An application for funding from the Commonwealth  Women  Parliamentarians'  Gender  Strengthening  Fund  had  been made to assist with costs associated with the inaugural meeting of the WPC.

Deputy Stephenson advised that she was due to discuss other arrangements related to the WPC with the Greffier of the States such as the creation of a dedicated webpage on the States Assembly website for WPC matters. States Members would be advised of the WPC initiative and the ability to complete the online CPA course in this connexion. An invitation would also be extended to States Members to attend an informal meeting during the lunchtime adjournment of a meeting of the States in February 2026, to consider plans for the inaugural meeting of the WPC.

Accessibility  A5. The Sub-Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A6 of 16th October 2025, of the States  received and noted documents which had been prepared by the Property Maintenance Assembly  Project Officer, Jersey Property Holdings (JPH), in connexion with the accessibility Building.  of the States Assembly Building.

It was recalled that, following a meeting with the Sub-Committee on 13th February 2025,  JPH  had  been  asked  to  produce  a  report  which  responded  to  the recommendations from the 2018 Access Audit and the 2020 Accessibility Audit, undertaken by Liberate Jersey in connexion with the States Building. The Property Maintenance  Project  Officer  had  subsequently  attended  a  meeting  of  the  Sub- Committee on 18th September 2025 (Minute No. A5 refers) to provide an update on actions. Following the meeting, documents which detailed ownership, feasibility and possible resource implications associated with each action had been circulated to the Sub-Committee.

The Sub-Committee  considered the  most recent documentation which  had  been received from JPH but was unclear as to the status of projects in the States Building and requested further information in this regard.

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Actions List.  A6. The Sub-Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A6 of 16th October 2025,

noted the live actions list, which was regularly reviewed and updated.

It was confirmed that work on the production of a legacy report would commence in quarter one of 2026.

The Sub-Committee noted the position.

2026  A7. The Sub-Committee, with reference to Minute No. A9 of 21st November 2024, meeting  of the Sub-Committee as previously constituted, approved the following proposed dates.  meeting dates for 2026 –

- 15th January 2026;

- 12th February 2026; and

- 19th March 2026.

It was noted that electronic calendar invitations would be extended in due course.

Accessibility  A8. The Sub-Committee welcomed Ms. S. Day, Support Services Manager, Enable of the States  Jersey, in connexion with accessibility issues in the States Assembly Building and Building –  arrangements for prospective election candidates in the lead up to the public election. Enable

Jersey.  The Sub-Committee was advised that Enable Jersey met regularly with the Outreach

Manager, Digital and Public Engagement Team, States Greffe, in connexion with the accessibility matters. Concerns had been raised with regard to accessibility for election candidates with a disability and Ms. Day had been advised to approach the Sub- Committee  to  better  understand  ongoing  workstreams  aimed  at  enhancing accessibility.

The details of ongoing work with Jersey Property Holdings in response to a series of accessibility audits was shared (Minute No. A5 of the meeting refers). Attention was drawn to the challenges associated with accessing the public gallery of the States Chamber and the impact this had on inclusive public engagement. The Sub-Committee requested that officers contact JPH to ascertain whether Members of Enable Jersey could be invited to attend the States Building to illustrate the difficulties associated with accessing the building.

The Sub-Committee thanked Ms. Day for attending and she withdrew from the meeting.

Date of next A9. The Sub-Committee noted that, due to scheduling conflicts the December meeting meeting. would be cancelled. Thereafter, Sub-Committee would meet on 15th January 2025

from 10.00 am – 12.00 pm in the Blampied Room.