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WQ.336/2021
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR INFRASTRUCTURE BY DEPUTY R.J. WARD OF ST. HELIER
QUESTION SUBMITTED ON MONDAY 5th JULY 2021 ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 12th JULY 2021
Question
With reference to the response to Written Question 294/2021, in which the Minister stated that financial returns made by LibertyBus to its parent company HCT Group are available to view via their Annual Reports and published accounts webpage under the LibertyBus registered name CT Plus Jersey Limited', will the Minister advise –
- whether CT Plus Jersey Limited's financial statements for 2019 and 2020 can be accessed and, if so, how; and
- whether financial returns to the parent company are tracked by his Department and if so, how, and how any such tracking informs decisions regarding funding for this service from the Government Plan (or any other Government funding sources)?
Answer
- The HCT Group annual report and financial statements for the 2018 to 2019 accounting period, which includes a sectoral analysis, can be viewed on the website of the Charity Commission for England and Wales. The equivalent document for the 2019 to 2020 accounting period is expected to be submitted to the Charity Commission for England Wales in September 2021.
- As outlined in the answers I have provided to previous questions, financial returns to HCT Group from CT Plus Jersey Limited are governed by the mechanisms provided within the bus operator contract, which is administered by my Department on an open-book basis with the contractor, and let under competitive tender in accordance with the government's financial codes. The successful bid from HCT Group made provision for contributions towards the costs of group overheads and shared services, in the same manner as other operational costs such as staff, fuel, maintenance and so on are allowed for. This ensures that the local company, CT Plus Jersey, has access to and benefits from the expertise and systems available within the group that would not otherwise be present, and which is vital to the continuing successful operation of the Jersey bus service.
As is required by the Contract, the government is provided with HCT Group accounts and CT Plus Jersey's financial operating statement. Government monitors payments for services, delivery of services, and income and expenditure as it relates to the contractual profit-sharing mechanism. This process establishes the CT Plus Jersey contractual return to HCT Group, who are entitled to a return as a commercial business.
The funding for the bus service contract is set by the Government Plan and has historically been fixed, with expansion of the network being funded by the operator at their commercial risk. On the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, this situation has changed to a degree in that it has been necessary to make additional funding available. This has ensured that the bus service has been kept operational throughout the period where significantly lower passenger demand and fare income has been experienced, leading to considerable operating losses being incurred. This additional Government support funding has been made available from the Covid- 19 head of expenditure as set out in the Government Plan 2021, and further payments are likely to be required while passenger demand continues to run at a significantly reduced level compared with that recorded in 2019.