Friday 24 November 2017
The Policy & Resources Committee has been asked for its views following the resignation of Deputy Peter Ferbrache as President of the Committee for Economic Development.
The Policy & Resources Committee received a briefing on Tuesday 21 November from the four members of the Committee for Economic Development and the Chief Secretary to that Committee in relation to a case taken on by the Public Trustee, the oversight of whom is undertaken by the Committee for Economic Development.
As part of this case, Ferbrache & Farrell, a local law firm, has to date been paid some £300,000 from the public purse as a result of work carried out for the Office of the Public Trustee.
While the Public Trustee alone makes decisions about whether to take on a case, they are required to seek approval from the Committee for Economic Development if any case is likely to accrue costs in excess of £20,000.
In such cases, and should funding be approved, the intention is to recover any public expenditure from the trust's assets. That is still a possibility with the case in question. The Public Trustee has tendered her resignation.
Regular financial monitoring picked up the increased spending. This information was then acted upon by staff working in the Office ofthe Committee for Economic Development, and the Committee was informed.
Having received a briefing from the members of the Committee forEconomic Development and the Committee's Chief Secretary, the unanimous view of the Policy & Resources Committee was that the circumstances could give rise to the perception of a potential conflict of interest for Deputy Ferbrache.
The Policy & Resources Committee advised the members of the Committee for Economic Development that it was important that they acted swiftly when considering their response to any potential or perceived conflict of interest. We understand the Vice-President of the Committee and the Chief Secretary met with Deputy Ferbrache on the evening of 21 November, following which conversation Deputy Ferbrache resigned his position.
The Policy & Resources Committee supports the Committee for Economic Development's decision to ask the Internal Audit team to carry out an independent and expeditious review into all circumstances surrounding the case taken on by the Public Trustee. We have been advised that the Committee for Economic Development expects to receive the Internal Audit report in early December.
