Four months on and crucial Parker discussions remain secret

Friday 26 March 2021

Key questions that led to the exit of the island’s top civil servant remain unanswered more than four months after his departure was announced, with the Government still declining to release minutes of a crunch meeting over his second job.

Express requested the minutes of the meeting between CEO Charlie Parker and the States Employment Board under the Freedom of Information Law last year, but was told in December that they could not be made public because they were not yet complete.

Now, more than four months later, they remain unavailable for release.

A spokesperson for SEB Vice-Chair Constable Richard Buchanan said that officials were working to get the minutes prepared and that they would be published “as soon as they are ready”. 

It comes amid increasing calls for transparency over how the CEO’s second job at New River and his subsequent departure were handled. 

Questions also remain about what pay-out, if any, Mr Parker will be entitled to, given his apparent breach of contract in taking up a second role without receiving the appropriate permission. 

As Express previously revealed, Mr Parker was handed a second contract to cover January to March 2021 rather than working out his six-month notice period. No explanation has ever been provided, with a spokesperson simply saying that the SEB had acted on “advice”. 

The Public Accounts Committee, which examines public spending and to which the Chief Executive is directly accountable, is planning to focus on any financial agreement struck with Mr Parker as part of its upcoming review of the States Annual Report and Accounts 2020, which are yet to be released. 

Its Chair, Deputy Inna Gardiner, also wants to get to the bottom of his second contract and why Mr Parker’s notice period wasn’t followed. 

This week, Chief Scrutineer Senator Kristina Moore added to those calls for clarity. 

In her capacity as Chair of the Corporate Service Panel, she wrote to the Chief Minister requesting unreacted copies of Mr Parker’s fixed-term contract, and his original one, by today.

Pictured: Senator Moore has asked for unredacted versions of Mr Parker's contracts.

"It's very simple, it's a matter of public interest," she told Express, adding that the creation of a second contract raised questions as many employers would have "taken different steps".

In the wake of the Parker row, the Government’s spending watchdog - the Comptroller and Auditor General, Lynn Pamment - has brought forward a review of the SEB’s operations.

The terms of that review were published last week, and will include a focus on senior staff remuneration, transparency and compromise agreements. A previous review had suggested that there should be independent oversight for the termination of employment.

Mr Parker’s role officially comes to an end on 31 March, but Express understands he has taken his final two weeks off as annual leave. 

Interim CEO Paul Martin will be officially taking up his post on 1 April, while the Government launched its recruitment campaign for a new permanent CEO this week.