Independent Prison Monitoring Board: Appointment of Chairman and Members

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A decision made 11 April 2017:

MINISTERIAL DECISION REFERENCE: MD-HA-2017-0033
DECISION SUMMARY TITLE: Independent Prison Monitoring Board – Appointment of Chairman and Members
DECISION SUMMARY AUTHOR:	Policy Officer, Community and Constitutional Affairs	IS THE DECISION SUMMARY PUBLIC OR EXEMPT? (if exempt state the relevant article/paragraph of the Freedom of Information Law/Regulations)		Public
REPORT TITLE: Independent Prison Monitoring Board – Appointment of Chairman and Members
REPORT AUTHOR OR NAME OF PERSON GIVING REPORT: (if different from Decision Summary Author)	Policy Officer, Community and Constitutional Affairs	IS THE REPORT PUBLIC OR EXEMPT (if exempt state the relevant article/paragraph of the Freedom of Information Law/Regulations)		Public
DECISION AND REASON FOR THE DECISION: The Minister for Home Affairs appointed Andrew Baudains as Chairman of the Independent Prison Monitoring Board and Lesley Toms as Deputy Chair. The Minister also appointed the following individuals as members of the Independent Prison Monitoring Board: - Gillian Martindale Parsons - Laura Cardinal - Sheila Ponomarenko - Vivien Vibert - Lynnette Blade - Jessica Mulholland - Alexandra Reid The States Assembly approved the Prison (Independent Prison Monitoring Board) (Jersey) Regulations 2017 on 18th January 2017. Articles 3 and 4 set out the eligibility criteria and appointment process for Monitoring Board members. Article 11 states that the Regulations shall come into force 3 months after they are made. Accordingly, these appointments are effective from 18th April 2017 and are for an initial period of four years.
RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS: None as a consequence of this Ministerial Decision.
ACTION REQUIRED: The Policy Officer will notify the Secretary of the Independent Prison Monitoring Board of these appointments.
SIGNATURE:			POSITION: Deputy Kristina Moore Home Affairs Minister
DATE SIGNED:			EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE DECISION:

Independent Prison Monitoring Board: Appointment of Chairman and Members

Independent Prison Monitoring Board – Appointment of Members

Report for the Home Affairs Minister

Background

The States Assembly approved the Prison (Amendment No.7) (Jersey) Law 2016 on 11th October 2016. The amendment provided for the establishment of an Independent Prison Monitoring Board.

The Prison (Independent Prison Monitoring Board) (Jersey) Regulations 2017 were approved on 18th January 2017 and provided for the establishment, functioning and administration of the new Board. This included setting out the process for the appointment of Monitoring Board members.

The Regulations state that the Monitoring Board shall consist of seven or more persons, including a Chairman and a Deputy Chairman. All members are appointed for a term of four years, unless a shorter period is stipulated by the Minister for Home Affairs.

Recruitment process

An advert was placed in the Jersey Evening Post in November 2016 for a Chair, Deputy Chair and Members of the Independent Prison Monitoring Board. The advert closed on 30 November 2016. Interviews took place over 3 dates during January and February 2017.

The interview Panel recommended that Andrew Baudains be appointed as Chairman of the Independent Prison Monitoring Board and Lesley Toms as Deputy Chair.

In addition, the following individuals are recommended for appointment as members of the Independent Prison Monitoring Board:

- Gillian Martindale Parsons

- Laura Cardinal

- Sheila Ponomarenko

- Vivien Vibert

- Lynnette Blade

- Jessica Mulholland

- Alexandra Reid

All appointments would be for an initial period of 4 years. Short biographies of the proposed appointees are included below.

Andrew Baudains (Chair)

Andrew has been the Managing Director of Baudains Executive Services (his own recruitment and consultancy business) since 2006, working with a diverse range of private and public sector client organisations.

Lesley Toms (Deputy Chair)

Lesley was the Head Teacher at Hautlieu School from 1996 to 2014. For the last two years her role was also extended to cover Executive Principle at Highlands College. Prior to this she was the Vice Principal at Jersey College for Girls.

Gillian Martindale Parsons

Gillian is the Senior Executive Manager at the Jersey Chamber of Commerce heading up the Chamber on a day-to-day basis, acting as the conduit between commerce and government. She previously spent 6 years as a broadcast journalist.

Laura Cardinal

Laura has worked within Children’s Services (HSSD) since February 2013, as a children’s social worker until July 2015, and more recently as a supervising social worker within the fostering and adoption team. Prior to working for HSSD, Laura was a Social Worker for the London Borough of Camden.

Sheila Ponomarenko

Sheila is a retired Head Teacher (St Clement’s Primary School 2006 - 2016).

Vivien Vibert

Vivien has a legal background and retired from her role as an attorney in South Africa in 2011 where she was a sole practitioner doing litigation, conveyancing, matrimonial, wills and land claims including court appearances where necessary. She currently runs a small publishing business with her husband.

Since 2012, Vivien has been an Independent Custody Visitor (ICV) and was joint chair of the ICV scheme for 2014-2015.

Lynnette Blade

Lynn retired from her role as Senior Social Worker/Practitioner for Mental Health and Special Needs in 2010.

Jessica Mulholland

Jessica has worked in Compliance for R&H Fund Services since 2010 initially as a Compliance Administrator and, since January 2016, as Assistant Compliance Manager.

Alexandra Reid

Alexandra has been a Housing Control Administration Officer at the Population Office since 2012.

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