PPC Minutes (Part A) - 14th September 2026

Privileges and Procedures Committee (6th Meeting)

14th September 2026

Part A (Non-Exempt)

All members were present, with the exception of Deputy K.F. Morel of St. John , St. Lawrence and Trinity , from whom apologies had been received.

Deputy C.S. Alves of St. Helier Central, Chair

Deputy L.M.C Doublet of St. Saviour , Vice Chair

Senator S.M. Kersten

Connétable A.N. Jehan of St. John

Deputy T.A. Coles of St. Helier South

Deputy K.M. Wilson of St. Clement (present for Part A only)

In attendance -

W. Millow , Deputy Greffier of the States

Y. Fillieul , Assistant Greffier of the States, Chamber and Members Support K.M Larbalestier, Principal Secretariat Officer, Specialist Secretariat, States Greffe

H. Esnouf, Assistant Secretariat Officer, Specialist Secretariat, States Greffe

Note:  The Minutes of this meeting comprise Parts A and B.

Minutes.  A1. The Minutes of the meetings of 16th and 22nd July and 5th and 13th August

2026, having previously been circulated, were taken as read and were confirmed.

Privileges and  A2. The Committee, with reference to Minute No. A4 of 16 July 2026, deferred Procedures  consideration of the appointment of the Chairs of the various Sub-Committees. Committee  Nevertheless, it agreed that the Pensions Sub-Committee should be reconstituted Sub- with Deputy C.S. Alves of St. Helier Central, Chair, serving as a Member on a trial Committees:  basis in order to assess the longer term necessity and role of the Sub-Committee. It appointment of  was noted that Deputy B. Ward of St. Clement had expressed an interest in joining Chairs.  the Sub-Committee, and it was recognised that expressions of interest would be

invited from all States Members before any appointments were made.

Wellbeing,  A3. The Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A7 of 16th July 2026, received coaching and  a report, prepared by the Assistant Greffier of the States, Chamber and Members' counselling  Support in connexion with wellbeing, coaching and counselling services for States services for  Members.

States

Members.  It was recalled that confidential coaching and counselling support had been available to States Members since 2023, following feedback which had identified a need for

additional  wellbeing  support.  Members  were  also  able  to  access  the  wider organisational Employee Assistance Programme, a free and confidential service provided by AXA Heal th. Pastoral support was available through the Greffier of the States and the Dean of Jersey. Attention was also drawn to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association's mental health toolkit and other public services available within the Island. In addition, the Members' Handbook contained guidance on the policies and arrangements in place to assist Members with parental responsibilities.

The Committee received and noted information regarding the wellbeing services available to elected representatives in other jurisdictions, including Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Canada, Scotland and the United Kingdom, and considered how these compared with the current provision in Jersey.

The Committee discussed the provision of coaching and counselling support for Members and noted that up to £3,000 was available to each Member during a political term. Deputy L.M.C. Doublet , Vice Chair queried the overall budget for counselling services and suggested that any unspent allocations could be used to provide additional support where required. The Committee was advised that the budget had been based on the assumption that not all Members would access the available support. It was further noted that, in exceptional circumstances, additional counselling support could be authorised by the Greffier of the States, subject to appropriate consideration of both individual wellbeing needs and the responsible use of public funds.

The Committee endorsed a proposal from Deputy K. Wilson of St. Clement for the development of a formal wellbeing policy for Members.

On a related matter, Connétable A. N. Jehan of St. John highlighted the impact of online abuse on elected representatives, particularly during the election period, and noted a lack of available guidance and support. It was recognised that abusive or hostile comments could have a significant effect not only on Members but also on their families. The view was expressed that online abuse may discourage capable individuals from seeking or remaining in public office. Reference was also made to personal experiences of online criticism and harassment, including instances where attempts had been made to engage constructively with individuals offline, but this had not prevented further adverse commentary on social media. The Committee agreed that a report on the matter should be prepared for its consideration at a future meeting, noting that the issue had also been considered by the Committee as previously constituted. Deputy K. Wilson of St. Clement suggested that the report should consider the availability and cost of public indemnity insurance, including whether such arrangements could provide Members with access to legal advice and support where they were subjected to online abuse or harassment.

States  A4. The Committee, with reference to Minute No. A6 of 9th February 2026, of the Members'  Committee as previously constituted, received a report which had been prepared by Survey.  the Assistant Greffier of the States, Chamber and Members' Support, in connexion

with the 2026 States Members' Annual Survey, which collected feedback on the services provided by the States Greffe with a view to ensuring that these remained relevant and accessible.

It was recalled that the anonymous, voluntary Survey had opened in February 2026 and had remained open for responses until the end of April 2026. The Survey was designed  to  gather  information  on  awareness  and  uptake  of  services,  training provision, Members' Resources and the recently introduced Constituency Support Service.

The Committee noted that 26 responses had been received, representing the lowest response rate since the Survey's introduction in 2021. Having discussed the findings, it was observed that feedback had been broadly positive. Areas identified for improvement included workplace facilities, IT and social media training, the search functionality of the States Assembly website, and document management within Microsoft Teams.

The Committee also considered feedback regarding use of the Constituency Support Service. It was noted that a number of respondents had not used the service and had

11 6th Meeting 14.09.2026

questioned the value of officer attendance at parish constituency drop-in sessions. It was intended to seek feedback from Members following future drop-in sessions in order to assess the value of officer attendance. Connétable A.N. Jehan of St. John suggested that resources currently allocated to Constituency Support might be deployed more effectively in other areas. It was noted that parish staff were often able to assist Members with constituency matters at drop-in sessions. In response, it was  clarified  that  attendance  by  constituency  officers  at  parish  halls  was  not automatic and occurred only at the request of Members. The Deputy Greffier of the States  advised  that  the  States  Greffe  was  aware  of  concerns  regarding  the Constituency Support Service and was committed to ensuring that it operated effectively. He advised that a report outlining the work of the team, including current service  provision  and  management  arrangements,  would  be  prepared  for consideration by the Committee at its next scheduled meeting.

The   Connétable  of  St.  John  also  raised  concerns  regarding  the  number  of Constituency  Support  Officers  in  attendance  at  Senatorial  roadshows  held  in connexion  with  former   Deputy ,  now  Senator  E.M.   Millar 's  proposition  to reintroduce the Island wide mandate (P.2/2026). The importance of ensuring that appropriate support was available at public engagement events was noted. Deputy T.A. Coles of St. Helier South suggested that the views expressed should be communicated to the team so that they could be taken into account for future events.

Finally, the Chair enquired whether a previously agreed increase to the allowance for the purchase of devices, in line with RPI, had been implemented. The Deputy Greffier of the States undertook to investigate the matter and report back to the Committee.

States  A5.  The Committee, with reference to Minute No. A3 of 1st December 2025, of Members' data  the Committee as previously constituted, received a report from the Deputy Greffier protection  of the States in connexion with the support available to States Members in fulfilling obligations.  data protection obligations.

The Committee noted that former Deputy M.R. Scott of St. Brelade had addressed the previous Committee on a number of matters, including States Members' data protection obligations. Ms. Scott had expressed dissatisfaction with the information provided during the States Members' induction programme and had suggested that a standard data protection notice be developed for use by elected Members. The Committee as previously constituted had been advised that the States Greffe was already undertaking work to support elected Members in this area and that a report would be presented in due course.

The Committee recalled that elected Members were required to register in their own right as data controllers with the Office of the Information Commissioner, with the States Greffe being able to do this on their behalf if required. It was noted that a generic privacy statement, an electronic mail disclaimer and a data processing agreement had been produced for use by elected Members. The Committee noted that the States Greffe also supported Members with their responsibilities in relation to subject access requests.

The Committee noted the position and requested that the aforementioned resources be circulated to all Members.

Amendment to  A6. The Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A1 of 22nd July 2026, received Standing  a report from the Deputy Greffier of the States in connexion with a proposed Orders –  amendment to the proposition entitled Amendment to Standing Orders – change change from  from Government Plan to Budget (P.65/2026)', which had been lodged au Greffe'

Government  by the Committee on 30th July 2026.

Plan to Budget

(P.65/2026):  The Committee recalled that, if adopted, P.65/2026 would amend existing references proposed  to the Government Plan and the Consolidated Fund to align with the terminology amendment.  used in the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019. In preparation for the adoption of

the amendments, an administrative oversight had been identified whereby Standing Order  79(2)(d)  would  remain  unchanged  and  would  continue  to  refer  to  the Government Plan. Consequently, a draft amendment to P.65 had been prepared for the Committee's approval in order to rectify this.

Having considered the proposed amendment, the Committee approved the same and requested that the necessary arrangements be made for presentation to the States.