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The Government's Interim CEO may be staying in post for longer after a decision was taken to suspend the recruitment process for a permanent one – but it's not clear for how long, and how his performance will be assessed.
Responding to a written question, Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham revealed this week that, following the vote of no confidence in his predecessor Kristina Moore in January, the process opened in November 2023 to find a permanent successor for Dr Andrew McLaughlin was stopped.
The closing date for applications was in mid-January, with shortlisting and panel interviews taking place the following month. It was then anticipated that the successful recruit would start in June.
Pictured: Dr Andrew McLaughlin is Interim CEO on secondment from NatWest bank, where he co-leads its ‘Commercial and Institutional’ division.
However, Deputy Farnham said this week: "Discussions are taking place with the Interim Chief Executive Officer to establish if there are opportunities for the arrangements to continue either short or longer term.
"This will provide a period of stability and continuity, supporting a focus on performance and delivery for islanders."
It comes just as a new report on performance management within government revealed that there is still no formal appraisal process for the leading role.
When Dr McLaughlin was recruited, the only targets set by the then-Chief Minister Kristina Moore – including being “energetic” and sharing five ideas to “simplify” Government and save money – were criticised for being vague and overly "broad".
As part of his objectives, Dr McLaughlin was to provide two key papers "which provide a strategic view and set the strategic vision for the Government of Jersey and inform the 2024 planning cycle" by December 2023.
After initially saying these papers wouldn’t be made public, former Chief Minister Kristina Moore then said that she was "committed to publishing [the CEO papers] when they are ready" in an apparent U-turn.
But despite repeated queries from Express dating back almost two months, the government is yet to confirm if new Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham will be honouring this commitment to make Dr McLaughlin's papers public.
Authored by the panel of politicians responsible for assessing whether public funds have been used effectively, the new report noted that work undertaken to develop appraisal and objective-setting for the island's top civil servant was stalled last year by the abrupt departure of Dr McLaughlin's predecessor, Suzanne Wylie.
However, both Mrs Wylie and former Government CEO Charlie Parker did not have any specific targets since during their own times in the £250,000-a-year role.
The Public Accounts Committee is now recommending that "a consistent format and process for the appraisal and objective setting of the Chief Executive Officer is clearly established and put in place prior to the appointment of a new permanent chief executive".
Pictured: "My departure will open the opportunity to assess if it should be changed and to what degree," said former CEO Suzanne Wylie.
The Committee is also calling for an urgent review and update of the terms of reference for the government's senior management team, the executive leadership team comprising Interim CEO Dr McLaughlin and departmental chief officers.
The PAC said "there does not appear to be a clear consensus across the chief officers as to the overall purpose of the executive leadership team" although it acknowledges that changes in the way it works have been introduced by the Interim CEO.
The Committee also recommended that improvements to the appraisals of the government's chief officers, which were introduced under Mrs Wylie, should be maintained and formalised in time for the arrival of the new permanent Government CEO which is expected in June.
Addressing the impact of some of the structural changes introduced under the previous government, the PAC said clarification on lines of responsibility for implementing both Committee and Comptroller and Auditor General recommendations are required following the transfer from the now defunct role of chief of staff to the head office of the chief executive.
It also said that it has not received information to show how the restructured Cabinet Office delivers specific government workstreams.
Pictured: The PAC raised concerns that it had not received information to show how the restructured Cabinet Office delivers specific government workstreams.
The PAC's latest report is the product of work undertaken by the former Committee prior to the formation of a new government earlier this year, and does not address the subjection of complaints processes which the new Committee says it will follow-up on in the second half of this year.
The PAC's Chair, Deputy Inna Gardiner said: “I am pleased to introduce this report, representing the culmination of efforts by the former PAC prior to the Council of Ministers' change in January 2024.
"This report delves into the implementation of recommendations, the appraisal and performance management processes within the Government of Jersey, and the monitoring of Ministerial and Departmental delivery plans.”
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