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Lodged au Greffe on 19th November 2002 by the Connétable of St. Helier
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STATES OF JERSEY
STATES GREFFE
150 2002 P.212 Amd. (re-issue)
Price code: A
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After the words “free school milk” insert the words -
“b y r e d ucing the estimate for marketing support from £ 1,424,700 to £1,240,700”
CONNÉTABLE OF ST. HELIER
Report
Whilst I support many of Deputy Southern ’s arguments in support of the provision of school milk, and the Health and Social Services Committee’s decision to prioritise its expenditure in other areas, I do not believe that it is acceptable to simply add the cost of school milk to the total cash limit of the States.
Deputy Southern states ‘..the prospect of finding this sum of money will not appeal to the Finance and Economics Committee’. I do not think that the prospect should appeal to the States either, especially in view of the importance of maintaining the States net revenue expenditure as set out in paragraph 3 of the Budget Book (pages vi and vii).
Marketing support appears to me to be the most appropriate area of Agriculture and Fisheries budget from which to find the funds necessary to provide school milk. The Committee’s explanatory note (page 31) says that ‘funding of projects’ will be limited to the existing budget’ and briefly sets out the proposed budget of some £1.4 million. It continues‘Applications for support could include proposals such as marketing campaigns, market research and the hire of skilled marketing expertise’.
I would submit that such an explanation for an expenditure of £1.4m does suggest a degree of elasticity which can easily accommodate the £184,000 necessary for free school milk. Furthermore, the continued provision of school milk can only be viewed as positive marketing of our dairy industry.
This amendment has no additional financial or manpower implications for the States.