PUBLIC PROTECTION ARRANGEMENTS

IN NORTHERN IRELAND (PPANI):

APPOINTMENT OF LAY ADVISER

APPLICANT INFORMATION PACK
1. Outline of Public Protection Arrangements in Northern Ireland

1.1 Police, probation, prisons, health & social services and certain other agencies and pubic bodies have a statutory duty to cooperate to jointly assess and manage the risks posed to the public by certain sexual and violent offenders in the community. The process which coordinates this activity is known as the Public Protection Arrangements in Northern Ireland (PPANI).

1.2 Applicants can obtain more detailed information on the PPANI arrangements on the website The ‘Publications’ header of the website contains PPANI Annual Reports (which contain a dedicated section about the work of Lay Advisers each year) with additional contributions from the existing Lay Advisers about their role available to view under the ‘Public’ header.

1.3 The oversight of the PPANI arrangements is the responsibility of a Strategic Management Board (“the Board”) which includes representative of all the relevant agencies and bodies. The Minister of Justice appoints two lay advisers to assist the Board in fulfilling its oversight function and their role, as full Board members, is to provide an objective lay perspective on the operation of the PPANI arrangements. This competition relates to one lay adviser post which will shortly become vacant.

2. Ineligibility for Role of Lay Adviser

2.1 To protect the “lay” status of those appointed certain people are ineligible to apply due to their current or previous or employment or engagement in designated activities. These comprise:

  • Members of Parliament or the NI Legislative Assembly;
  • Members of the House of Lords;
  • Members of the European Parliament;
  • Local Councillors;
  • Civil servants at the Department of Justice;
  • Civil servants at the Northern Ireland Office;
  • Members of staff from any criminal justice agency (and within seven years of leaving such employment);
  • Current members of the Probation Board for Northern Ireland;
  • Current members of the Northern Ireland Policing Board;
  • Current members of Policing and Community Safety Partnerships;
  • Current members of prison independent monitoring boards;
  • Anyone who is conducting research on subjects that fall within the remit ofPPANI (and within eight years of completing such research);
  • Anyone whose paid employment involves working with offenders that fall within the remit of PPANI. A similar exclusion may apply to voluntary work where the primary focus is with sexual and violent offenders within the PPANI arrangements; and
  • Anyone who through personal or family circumstances may not be able to provide an unbiased view ofPPANI.

3. Role of PPANI Strategic Management Board Members

3.1 Article 51 of the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 establishes the statutory duty for agencies, in consultation with the lay advisers, to keep the arrangements under review and make any adjustments which may be required in order to maintain their effectiveness.

3.2 Published guidance issued to agencies by the Department of Justice explains the core responsibilities of both the Board and the lay advisers.

3.3 The cores responsibilities of the Board are to:

  • Monitor and evaluate the overall operation of the arrangements;
  • Plan the longer-term strategic operational development of the arrangements in the light of regular (at least every three years) reviews of the arrangements, having regard to legislative and wider criminal justice changes;
  • Produce and implement an annual business plan and the formation of sub-groups to achieve that plan.
  • Produce and implement a media strategy and annual communication plan which promotes understanding of the public protection arrangements;
  • Prepare and publish an annual report; and
  • Identify and plan how to meet common training and developmental needs of agency staff involved in the public protection arrangements.

4.Lay AdviserRole & Person Specifications:

Role Specification

4.1 The role of the lay adviser is to:

  • Contribute, as an informed observer, to the work of the agencies in reviewing how the arrangements operate in practice. Their lay status allows them to look at PPANI practice and bring a challengefunction to the professionals when the Board exercises its function of monitoring the effectiveness of the arrangements;
  • Assist agencies in the review and reporting functions but does not involve taking part in the assessment and risk management process for individual offenders. The lay advisershould, in cooperation with the PPANI coordinator, produce an annual programme of activities/business they plan to undertake, and this should be agreed by the Board;
  • Regularly attend Local Area Public Protection Panel (LAPPP) meetings, as an observer, to inform their ongoing effective contribution to the strategic responsibility to monitor and evaluate the arrangements;
  • Participate on a regular basis in strategic sub-groups of the Board; lay advisers should use this opportunity to comment on, question and contribute to the agencies decision making on strategic issues;
  • Contribute to business plans and the communications strategy; lay advisers cantake the opportunity to comment on all draft business plans both at the sub groups and when they are presented to the Boardfor adoption;
  • Provide formal reports to the Board which will be tabled for discussion at every meeting. These reports should outline activities undertaken since the previous meeting and highlight issues the lay advisers wish to raise;
  • Contribute to the strategic review of statistics on PPANI performance providing a lay input to the interpretation of management informationand to be familiar with, understand and be able to question the extent and effectiveness of the resources used by the agencies (number of LAPPPS, cases dealt with every month, number of cases of reoffending/breach etc);
  • Contribute to the preparation of the annual report (lay advisers are consulted on drafts and provide a dedicated section in the report);
  • Attend relevant conferences and training events with the agreement of the Board; and
  • Develop links with lay advisers in other parts of the UK sharing best practice and experience to maximise effectiveness of role.

Person specification:

4.2 The Lay Adviser person specification requires:

  • No formal qualifications but you must have anability to understand complex facts in written and numerical form;
  • An interest in community and social issues, preferably with a track record of involvement in them;
  • The ability to make judgements based on and supported by the available information;
  • The ability to challenge, constructively, the views and assumptions of senior professionals;
  • Good social and communication skills and the ability to workconstructively with people in groups and in formal meetings;
  • A capability for emotional resilience, retaining sensitivity whilst dealing with sometimes tragic and painful human situations. In particular, this includes an ability to understand the needs and feelings of victims;
  • The capacity to acceptthe complexity of human behaviour;
  • A commitment to equality and diversity; and
  • An ability to maintain confidentiality.

5. Short-listingSelection Process

5.1 Should it be necessary, applicants will be shortlisted on the basis of information provided in the application form on the extent to which they have demonstrated the following:

  • A track record of involvement in community or social issues; and/or
  • Experience of utilising social and communication skills within a group or formal meeting structure.

5.2 Although the post is not one regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland (CPANI) the appointment process reflects the principles and practices of the CPANI Code. Two members of the interview panel will be from agencies represented on the PPANI Strategic Management Board and the third will be an independent assessordrawn from a pool of trained persons retained by the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Northern Ireland (CPANI).

5.3 Applicants called to interview will participate in an interview of approximately 45 minutes duration before a panel whose role it will be to explore the extent to which applicants satisfy the person specification and assess their suitability to fulfil the role description for a lay adviser.

5.4 The interview will also include questions on a relevant PPANI related case study. Applicants will be given 15 minutes to consider the case study immediately prior to the commencement of the interview.

5.5 Interviews are expected to be conducted on 30 or 31 March 2015 but this will be confirmed when invitations to interview are issued.

6. Appointment & Termination of Appointment

6.1 Following selection on merit the lay adviser will, on the advice of the Board, be formally appointed by the Minister of Justice for a term of three years. Lay advisersare eligible to reapply for a second term but cannot complete more than two terms.

6.2 A reserve list of candidates found suitable for appointment will be retained in the event that the appointed candidate does not take up the offer of the post or another lay adviser vacancy arises within 12 months from the original appointment decision by the Minister of Justice. Candidates will be advised if their name has been included on the reserve list.

6.3 The Department of Justice retains the right to terminate the appointment of any lay adviser whose conduct or performance is considered not to be of the required standard. Misconduct will include a lack of commitment, the unauthorised disclosure of information, abusing their position as a lay adviser or conviction for a criminal offence. Recommendation for the termination of an appointment will require the agreement of the Board.

7. Time Commitment and Remuneration

7.1 Lay advisers must be able to provide between eight and 16 hours every month. Lay advisers must attend and contribute to the majority of Board meetings(which are conducted on a quarterly basis), regularly attend meetings of sub-groups of the Board, and familiarise themselves with the work of the multi-agency Local Area Public Protection Panels whose role it is to consider the continued risk assessment of individual PPANI cases.

7.2 Following appointment the Board will commission the PPANI Coordinator to put in place an induction and training plan for the lay adviser. With the agreement of the Board the lay adviser may avail ofother relevant training and conference opportunities that become available.

7.3 The lay adviser role is remunerated at the rate of £2,500 per annum (paid quarterly). In addition reasonable travel expenses incurred within Northern Irelandwill be recompensed by the Board.

8. Conflict of Interest Probity Issues

8.1 Section 2 of the information pack identifies those areas of current employment, specific interests or personal circumstances which are considered as conflicting with the ‘lay’ status of the appointment and would render individuals ineligible for appointment.

8.2 The application form also asks candidates to identify if there are issues affecting their personal, immediate family, business or other interests which might be construed as constituting a conflict of interest with their appointment as a lay adviser or any other probity issue which might conceivably give rise to public concern. If you are in any doubt about the applicability of any issue this should be declared. Such issues may not bar an applicant for appointment but must be declared so that their significance can be considered during the selection process.

8.3 The successful candidate will also be expected to sign a declaration which confirms they will report any subsequent change in these circumstances post-appointment. Lay advisers must inform the Chair of the Board of any change in personal, family or employment circumstances that could potentially affect their suitability to carry out their role. This would certainly involve being charged or summonsed for any criminal offence or a change in employment, voluntary activity or active interest that could be perceived as a potential conflict of interest with their role as lay adviser. It would include any circumstances which a member of the public could reasonably regard as being so significant as to compromise the lay adviser’s ability to discharge his or her duties effectively and objectively.

9. AccessNI Check and Personal References

9.1 The successful candidate will need to comply with the requirement to obtain an AccessNIenhanced disclosure certificate before they can be appointed as a Lay Adviser. This is a check which commissions a search of police records in relation to any criminal history which may be a pertinent consideration to the position sought.

9.2 Details of two persons prepared to act as referees should be provided. These should be persons who are familiar with relevant activities in your professional, voluntary and/or personal life but who are not personally related to you.

10. Data Protection and Equality Responsibilities

10.1 Lay advisersmust adhere to data protection principles and are prohibited from disclosing to others information to which they become privy in their role, without the consent of a person authorised to give it, or unless required to do so by law.

10.2 Lay advisers must recognise and value diversity by ensuring inclusiveness, equality and fairness in theirdealings with people and carrying out their lay adviser duties. They must not discriminate against individuals because of their gender, race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, age, disability or sexual orientation. They must treat others with respect.