We are the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel. It’s our role to scrutinise draft policies, legislation or matters of public importance relating to the work of the Chief Minister and Minister for Treasury and Resources.
THE KEY ISSUE
COVID-19 has caused Jersey's Government to make substantial decisions which impact public finances in the short, medium and long term. We have been carrying out concurrent scrutiny of the Government of Jersey's response to the pandemic since March 2020 and have heard the views of Islanders, business owners, economists, business leaders and sector specific associations on the challenges they have faced and are facing as they look to the future.
One key area of the Government’s support package and COVID-19 expenditure has been that of the Co-Funded Payroll Scheme, established to provide support to supplement the earnings of individuals who were adversely impacted by the Pandemic, largely due to restrictions imposed to preserve public health. The Panel has received worrying evidence from members of the public outlining issues in the decision making, administration and customer service of the Co-Funded Payroll Scheme application and auditing process.
Upon examination the Panel has found that despite efforts made by the Government of Jersey to ensure clarity, guidelines to the criteria and the application process of various phases of the Co-Funded Payroll Scheme were misunderstood and at times potentially miscommunicated.
This has led to cases in which those the Scheme aimed to support are now suffering debt, after providing information in good faith. Although the Minister for Treasury and Resources has acknowledged the good character of Islanders, there has been no acknowledgement that the Government of Jersey guidance may have instigated the issues in some cases.
The Panel has further found that delays in auditing Co-Funded Payroll Scheme payments has led to erroneous but honest claims continuing for extended periods. The Panel has also noted that the communication of repayment demands has caused individuals to feel persecuted and unduly accused, with delays in correspondence further adding to stress of the situation.
Appeals
The Minster for Treasury and Recourses has highlighted that as a non-statutory scheme, decisions regarding payments through the Co-Funded Payroll Scheme, or repayment following auditing, are not entitled to a right of appeal. However, the Panel has established that reviews of cases have been undertaken and it has been highlighted that individuals affected can write to the Minister for Treasury and Resources to request a review of decisions if required.
The Panel has recommended that an appeals process be established for all cases of Co-Funded Payroll Scheme repayment, and any future business support schemes.
GUIDANCE AND CRITERIA
The Co-Funded Payroll Scheme only supported businesses within qualifying industries that the Government judged were most affected during the relevant time period.
The Panel has found that criteria and associated guidance for application was refined throughout the pandemic. The Government of Jersey made efforts to make the guidelines to criteria and application to the Co-Funded Payroll Scheme understandable, however, this was not achieved in all cases.
The Minister for Treasury and Resources has refused to acknowledge any confusion caused by the guidelines to criteria and application to the Co-Funded Payroll Scheme issued by the Government of Jersey.
The Panel has recommended that guidelines to criteria and application to any future business support schemes are tested with a greater selection of users to ensure full understanding of the application process and in order to identify any issues such as those seen in definition of “Gross Income” during the Co-Funded Payroll Scheme.
AUDITING AND COMMUNICATION
The Panel has further found that Communications in relation to the Co-Funded Payroll Scheme repayment demands undertaken by Customer and Local Services have left some individuals feeling persecuted and unduly accused. Delays in correspondence and auditing have also added to confusion and stress.
The Panel has also identified that the Government of Jersey did not widely communicating extensions to payment plan timetables to those affected by Co-Funded Payroll Scheme repayment demands.
The Panel has recommended that in future auditing is carried out within three months for any support schemes, to avoid unexpected claims being brought against applicants at a much later date.
The Panel has also recommended extension of payment terms of live debts for business support schemes are directly communicated to those individuals or businesses involved as well as to the wider Accounting or Business Support community and the Assembly.
Panel Membership
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