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Proposed Government Plan 2023 - 2026 A summary of the work undertaken by ScrutIny Panels

We are the:

It’s our role to scrutinise Jersey’s government on matters of public importance, policy and legislation that fall within the remits of each Panel.

What is the Government Plan?

The Government Plan and the Annex to the Government Plan seeks to bring together public income and spending against the context of the stated strategic priorities of Government. It is a rolling four-year plan but is brought back and updated each year to take account of changes in the Island’s economic outlook.

The Government Plan includes:

  • Estimated income and expenditure of the Consolidated Fund
  • Amounts to be internally transferred between States funds
  • Efficiencies and re-balancing (value for money) proposals
  • Any other proposed financing
  • Additional revenue programmes and capital projects and their proposed costs
  • Estimated income and expenditure from States trading operations to be paid into the States trading operations Fund
  • Amounts to be appropriated from the Consolidated and States trading operations funds for the next financial year
  • Estimated amounts in States funds at the start and finish of each financial year

The Government Plan 2023-2026 Review

Each scrutiny panel launched individual reviews of the Proposed Government Plan 2023-2026 at staggered intervals in late October and early November 2022.

Each Panel agreed their own Terms of Reference for their reviews and had a number of additional revenue programmes and capital projects specific to their remits to scrutinise.

Key Issues

Panels investigated a number of key issues during their reviews as follows:

  • What is the impact of the Government Plan proposals on departmental budgets and staffing levels?
  • Does the Government Plan align with the objectives of the Common Strategic Policy and aims of the Ministerial Plans?
  • Are the proposed additional revenue programmes and capital projects appropriate and deliverable within the specified timeframe?
  • Are the resources allocated to revenue programmes and capital projects sufficient and the best use of public funds?

The next section provides further information about each Panel's review and their key findings and recommendations.

Panel Work

Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel

The Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel (the Panel) began its review of the Government Plan 2023-26 and Financial Annex on 21st October 2021. The review specifically monitored the policy initiatives led by the Chief Minister and the Minister for Treasury and Resources, whilst also reviewing the financial actions being proposed by the Government. In scoping its review, the Panel was conscious of the strict timeline due to the shortened lodging period as a result of 2022 being an election year. The Panel engaged economist Warwick Lightfoot to provide expert advice on the financial and economic modelling of the Government Plan. The Panel has presented a Scrutiny Report, S.R.20/2022, as a result of its review. The Panel's full Terms of Reference can be found below.

On 26th October 2022, the Panel wrote to key stakeholders requesting their views and published a call for evidence via social media channels. The Panel also held pop-up stands to reach out to members of the public. As a result, the Panel received 23 submissions from stakeholders and the general public. The published submissions can be found below.

The Panel held two public hearings as part of its review, one with the Chief Minister on 8th November 2022, and one with the Minister for Treasury and Resources on 11th November 2022. The transcripts for both hearings can be found below.

During the course of the review, the Panel wrote a number of letters to both the Chief Minister and the Minister for Treasury and Resources. These letters questioned the Ministers on important findings that were uncovered during the course of the review. The Panel also wrote to the Ministers following the hearings with follow-up questions. All correspondence between Ministers and the Panel can be found below.

The Panel’s review resulted in 31 key findings, of which 13 are overarching findings, and 24 recommendations. The Panel's Scrutiny Report S.R.20/2022 was published on the on 7th December 2022. To read the report in full please click below.

Economic and International Affairs Scrutiny Panel

The Economic and International Affairs Scrutiny Panel (the Panel) began its review of the Government Plan 2023-2026 on 26th October 2022. The review specifically focused on projects and programmes within the portfolios of the Minister for Economic Development, Tourism, Sport and Culture, the Minister for External Relations and Financial Services and the Minister for International Development. The Panel wanted to consider the impact of proposals on economic productivity and value for money for IslandersThe Panel presented its Report, S.R.22/2022 based on its Terms of Reference which can be found below.

The Panel sent letters to targeted stakeholders in November 2022 and asked them to provide their views on the Government Plan programmes and projects. The published submissions can be found below.

The Panel held four public hearings as part of its review. The transcripts for the hearings can be found below.

Due to the delay in lodging the Annex to the Government Plan 2023-2026 (Annex), the Panel was unable to obtain as much detailed information as it would have liked. Information to help identify revenue programmes and capital projects was available, albeit limited, and following receipt of the draft Annex, the Panel was able to look at each of the allocated projects in more detail. The Panel made 21 findings and 9 recommendations and whilst the Panel is satisfied in the circumstances with its review, it is its intention to follow up in certain areas in which it did not have time to ask questions, or lacked detail on, such as:

  • Costings for Refurbishment of the Opera House
  • Jersey Aircraft Registry
  • Rural Initiative Scheme Grants
  • Value for Money review of Arms Length Organisations

Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel

The Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel (the Panel) began its review of the Government Plan 2023-2026 on 1st November 2022. The review specifically focused on projects and programmes within the portfolios of the Minister for Children and Education and the Minister for Home Affairs. The CEHA Panel wanted to consider the impact of proposals on budgets and how additional revenue programmes aligned with Ministerial Plans and the Common Strategic Policy. The Panel has presented a Scrutiny Report, S.R.21/2022 which was based on its Terms of Reference which can be found below.

The Panel sent letters to targeted stakeholders in November 2022 and asked them to provide their views on the Government Plan programmes and projects. The published submissions can be found below.

The Panel held two public hearings as part of its review, one with the Minister for Children and Education on 9th November 2022, and one with the Minister for Home Affairs on 11th November 2022. The transcripts for both hearings can be found below.

During the course of the review, the Panel wrote a number of letters to both the Minister for Children and Education and Minister for Home Affairs. These letters questioned the Ministers on important findings that were uncovered during the course of the review. The Panel also wrote to the Ministers following the hearings with follow-up questions. All correspondence between Ministers and the Panel can be found below.

The CEHA Panel’s review has resulted in 37 findings and 18 recommendations. The Panel's Scrutiny Report S.R.21/2022 was published on the on 8th December 2022. To read the report in full please click below.

Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel

The Panel's review assessed the various proposed funds, additional revenue programmes and capital projects specific to the Environment, Housing, and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel.

To inform its review, the Panel issued a call for evidence between 2nd November and 21st November 2022, seeking the views of targeted key stakeholders and the general public. A total of 11 submissions were received.

Public hearings were held with the Minister for Housing and Communities on 26th October 2022, the Minister for the Environment on 9th November 2022 and the Minister for Infrastructure on 16th November 2022, where the Panel asked various questions on the Proposed Government Plan 2023-26.

The Panel also wrote to the Minister for Infrastructure and the Minister for the Environment with additional written questions following the public hearings.

The review has resulted in four key recommendations to Government and the Panel also fully supports the overarching recommendations made by the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel. Included below is a summary of our key findings and recommendations:

The Panel found that inflationary pressures were already impacting on key Government services and projects and will make finding any value for money savings difficult.

Staffing and recruitment within the public sector were also raised as a key concern in relation to delivering Government services and initiatives.

The Panel has recommended that a detailed risk analysis is considered and reported on in the Delivery Plans when published in early 2023. The purpose and aim of providing such analysis is to identify risk areas as well as controllable factors that should be monitored throughout delivery; and to reassure States Members and the public that the Delivery Plans are achievable and due consideration has been given to any such factors (including staffing and recruitment) which may compromise their successful and timely delivery. The analysis should also include what steps will be taken to mitigate any such risks.

The Panel found that the Climate Emergency Fund will be approximately £1m down in 2023 due to the 2p per litre above RPI increase that was due to go into the Fund in 2023 being lost. A longer-term financing strategy for the Fund will be required to finance Jersey’s transition to net-zero.

The Panel has recommended that the Minister for the Environment update the States Assembly before the end of June 2023 on steps taken to progress the delivery of a long-term financing strategy for the Climate Emergency Fund including: the options being explored and whether progress is still on track to deliver this by lodging of the next Government Plan 2024-27.

The Panel has further recommended that future Government Plans should provide a more detailed breakdown of proposed expenditure on initiatives to be drawn from the Climate Emergency Fund for the following year. The aim of doing so is to provide greater transparency of what the money will be spent on, as well as assurance to the States Assembly, and the public, that the Fund is being utilised in line with its agreed Terms of Reference.

The Panel makes the observation that the Government Plan does not make it sufficiently clear how housing-related priorities will be funded in 2023. Given that housing is an important issue for Islanders, as acknowledged by the commitment made under the Common Strategic Policy to address ‘Housing and the Cost of Living’, the Panel considers that it would have been helpful for the Plan to provide a detailed breakdown of how the various initiatives outlined in the Minister for Housing and Communities’ Ministerial Plan will be funded.

The Panel has recommended that there should be greater transparency in future Government Plans on what money is proposed to be spent on housing-related services and initiatives, as well as more detail on how funding will be targeted at initiatives and interventions that aim to deliver the most positive impact in addressing housing-related issues and priorities for Islanders and for economic growth.

Health and Social Security Scrutiny Panel

The Health and Social Security Panel (the Panel) launched its review of the Government Plan 2023-26 on 26th October 2022. The Panel’s review aimed to assess the proposed funding for additional revenue expenditure programmes and capital projects that fell under the remit of the Minister for Health and Social Services and the Minister for Social Security. The Panel’s review resulted in an Amendment being lodged, a Comments Paper being presented to the States Assembly and 4 recommendations.

Throughout its review, the Panel contacted stakeholders, asking for their views on the proposed funding and projects. Stakeholders responded to the Panel through written submissions. Moreover, a member of the Panel participated in a public stand to gather the views of Islanders and fulfil meaningful face-face conversations. In addition, a call for evidence was launched on multiple social media websites, including Facebook and Twitter with the aim of reaching a wider audience.

The Panel held a Public Hearing with each of the relevant Ministers; the Minister for Health and Social Services and the Minister for Social Security. Transcriptions and recordings were uploaded to the States Assembly website. Key question plans were generated for each of the Public Hearings to enable the Panel to consider, gather evidence and discuss the proposed funding and projects before committing to its next steps.

The Panel also requested further information from both Ministers following the Public Hearings via written correspondence.

On 21st November the Panel lodged an Amendment to the Government Plan 2023-2026 which proposed to stop any money being transferred from the Health Insurance Fund in 2023 and 2024 for the purposes of funding the Jersey Care Model and associated digital strategies.

In addition, the Panel presented a Comments Paper to the States Assembly which provided a background to its review, an explanation of the approach undertaken, and a summary of the evidence gathered. The Paper also highlighted the main findings of the Panel’s review and the resulting Recommendations. The Panel’s Recommendations are as follows:

Recommendation 1: The Minister for Health and Social Services and the Minister for Social Security must work collaboratively to identify funding in Q1 in 2023 for the provision of free medical dressings to all patients.

Recommendation 2: The Minister for Health and Social Services should review the ‘Health Service Improvements’ capital project at the earliest opportunity to determine whether the level of funding is adequate to ensure patient and staff safety and to address the estate safety issues identified in the recent review of the hospital. The outcome of the review must be presented to the States Assembly and made publicly available. It is imperative that additional funding is requested from the Treasury and Exchequer Department if the review deems it necessary.

Recommendation 3: The Minister for Social Security should undertake a review ahead of the Government Plan 2024-2027 to determine the level of demand for incontinence products and maternity pads and whether it would be appropriate to put forward a growth bid to enable these products to be provided to Islanders in need for free.

Recommendation 4: The Minister for Health and Social Services should review the funding for the programme ‘Placements and Off-Island Medical Care’ ahead of the Government Plan 2024-2027 to determine whether the amount is sufficient and to ensure patient care has not been negatively affected due to the reduction in the original growth bid.

Overarching Recommendations: Overarching recommendations have been formulated by the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel during its review process.

What happens next?

The Proposed Government Plan 2023 -2026 is scheduled for debate by the States Assembly on 13th December 2022.

You can read about the Proposed Government Plan 2023-2026 and the review work undertaken by each Panel in more detail by clicking on the following links:

Panel Chairs

Top left to bottom right: Deputy Sam Mézec, Chair, Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel Deputy Steve Luce, Chair, Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel Deputy Catherine Curtis, Chair, Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel Deputy Geoff Southern, Chair, Health and Social Security Scrutiny Panel Deputy Moz Scott, Chair, Economic and International Affairs Scrutiny Panel