Deputy Kirsten Morel’s amended proposition was passed by a standing vote in the Assembly without any Members speaking against it.
Chief Minister John Le Fondré will now be required to present, by 1 December, a first report on any consultants on contracts of £20,000 or more whose employment is funded by taxpayers’ money.
The six-monthly reports will include the following details:
- The total number of consultants employed or engaged on contracts worth £20,000 or more.
- Which projects they are working on and details of why they were employed.
- The estimated total/final cost of their engagement, as well as daily/monthly employment rates.
- Details of their selection process including whether a tender and quote-selection process took place, or if needs assessments were carried out.
- Details of termination dates, contract extensions and the accounting officer responsible for the engagement.
Outlining his proposals, Deputy Morel said that they would help restore faith in the government’s frequent appointment of consultants, which he admitted was necessary for their work.
‘Justified or not, and whether the Government of Jersey likes it or not, the public is concerned that consultants are being appointed without a regulated process,’ he said.
‘And without fair comparison to civilian contractors and Island-based businesses, and without the government having true understanding of how to get best value for taxpayers.
‘By asking the government to report on its use of consultants, we are giving it the opportunity to allay Islanders’ concerns.’
