States of Jersey Law 2005: delegation of functions – Minister for Treasury and Resources – revised delegations July 2018

Legislation:

Article 24A – Estimates to be provided for States funded bodies; and Article 24B – Estimates for the States Assembly.

Delegate:

Treasurer of the States or, in their absence, another person as nominated by the Treasurer.

Function delegated and scope of delegation:

To enable the preparation or monitoring of the Medium Term Financial Plan and Budget, the Law enables the Minister to request that estimates and such other information be provided by  States  funded  bodies  (including  ministerial  and  non- ministerial bodies and the States Assembly) for one or more financial years or for any other period.

The Minister may specify the format and timescale within which the aforementioned estimates should be provided.

Legislation:

Article 18 – Permitted variations of heads of expenditure; sub-paragraphs (1)(a) and (b) refer.

Delegate:

Treasurer of the States or, in their absence, another person as nominated by the Treasurer, to agree any non-contentious transfers between revenue and capital heads of expenditure (and vice versa) with no financial limit where the transfer is solely  to  ensure  that  financial  transactions  are  accurately reflected  in  the  States'  Accounts  in  accordance  with accounting standards issued under Article 32(2) of the Law.

Treasurer of the States or, in their absence, another person nominated  by  the  Treasurer,  to  agree  that  funds  can  be transferred,  without  further  approval  by  the  Minister,  in instances  where  there  is  a  transfer  from  one  head  of expenditure to another head of expenditure consequentially upon  a  transfer  of  functions  by  Regulations  made  under Article 29 of the States of Jersey Law 2005.

All such decisions must be included in the 6 monthly report presented to the States.

Function delegated and scope of delegation:

These paragraphs of the Law enable the Minister to approve the transfer of funds from one head of expenditure to another to comply with accounting standards, or where there has been an approved transfer of functions or services.

Legislation:

Article 19 – Adjustments for variations in income; paragraph (1) refers.

Delegate:

Treasurer of the States or, in their absence, another person as nominated by the Treasurer, to approve –

 additional  income  in  excess  of  increased  expenditure (i.e. additional surplus income) required to generate that income, but the excess income is more than 10% (up to a maximum of £500,000 for a States trading operation and £100,000  for  all  other  States  funded  bodies)  of  the estimated income notified to the States for that particular service area – this additional income should not be used to fund recurring expenditure for which no future funding is secured.

Function delegated and scope of delegation:

This  paragraph  of  Article 19  of  the  Law  empowers  the Minister  to  authorise  a  States  funded  body  to  use  any additional income it may generate over and above the estimate approved by the States in the Medium Term Financial Plan.

The Minister agreed that States funded bodies be allowed to retain and use additional income in instances where –

(a)  any such income and associated additional expenditure match; and

(b) the  additional  income  is  in  excess  of  increased expenditure (i.e. additional surplus income) required to generate that income, but the excess income is not more than 10% (up to a maximum of £500,000 for a States trading operation and £100,000 for all other States funded bodies) of the estimated income notified to the States for that  particular  service  area –  this  additional  income should not be used to fund recurring expenditure for which no future funding is secured.

With  any  approval  above  these  levels  delegated  to  the Treasurer of the States as detailed above.

Legislation:

Article 18 – Permitted variations of heads of expenditure; paragraph (5) refers.

Delegate:

Treasurer of the States or, in their absence, another officer nominated  by  the  Treasurer  of  the  States,  to  agree  non- contentious requests for the use of sale proceeds where the net balance over the residual value of the asset sold is equal to or less than £100,000.

Accounting Officers to make use of up to £5,000 of income from the sale of an asset where the net balance over the residual value of the asset sold is £5,000 or less.

Function delegated and scope of delegation:

This  paragraph  of  Article 18  of  the  Law  empowers  the Minister to authorise a States funded body to make use of income from the sale of an asset for revenue expenditure or a specified capital project.

Legislation:

Article 22 – Minister and Treasurer may be authorized to borrow; and

Regulation 9 –  authorizes  the  Minister  to  make  certain borrowings in the name of, and on behalf of the States; and Regulation 10 – allows the Minister to delegate their power to borrow on behalf of the States to the Treasurer.

Delegate:

Treasurer of the States to agree short-term bank overdrafts/ overdraft facilities and temporary loans within the parameters set in the Law up to £10 million.

Authority is delegated to the Treasurer of the States to agree minor borrowing up to £100,000 in any one financial year (up to a maximum of £500,000), with no transaction to exceed £10,000, and repayment periods of 5 years or less. (Treasurer is not able to delegate their borrowing responsibilities to any other officers.)

Function delegated and scope of delegation:

Both the Law and Regulations allow the Minister to delegate (where  they  so  wish)  to  the  Treasurer  minor  borrowing transactions which, in summary, include –

• short-term  bank  overdrafts/  overdraft  facilities  and temporary loans (these must not exceed more than 25% of the previous year's income from taxation);

• other minor borrowing – up to £1 million in any one transaction in a financial year, so long as the total amount borrowed does not exceed £3 million in that year, the total amount  outstanding  in  this  way  does  not  exceed £20 million,  and  with  all  such  borrowing  having  a maximum repayment period of 10 years;

• borrowing for a States trading operation where additional income or tangible savings arising from the underlying expenditure meet the costs of the borrowing;

• other parameters specifically agreed by the States.

Legislation:

Article 27 – Returns of the States' trading operations to be agreed; paragraphs (1) and (2)(a)–(d) refer.

Delegate:

Treasurer of the States or, in their absence, another person as nominated  by  the  Treasurer  of  the  States,  to  request  the necessary estimates from the States' trading operations.

Function delegated and scope of delegation:

These paragraphs empower the Minister to request the States' trading  operations  to  enter  into  discussions  and  provide estimates in respect of the business activities for one or more financial years or any other period. The estimates should include income and expenditure, estimated contribution to the income of the States, estimate of any surplus of income over expenditure or estimated deficit, to be debited to the trading fund, and shall take into account capital expenditure details.

Legislation:

Article 33 – Treasurer to open bank accounts; paragraphs (1) and (4) refer.

Delegate:

Treasurer of the States to carry out this function without recourse to the Minister, and provided that any bank selected is  licensed  for  banking  services  in  Jersey  by  the  Jersey Financial Services Commission.

Function delegated and scope of delegation:

These paragraphs allow the Treasurer to open, operate and maintain bank accounts with a bank or banks approved by the Minister for the operation of the Consolidated Fund and for the proper administration of this or any other Law.

Legislation:

Article 33 – Treasurer to open bank accounts; paragraph (3) refers.

Delegate:

Treasurer of the States, or in their absence another officer as nominated  by the  Treasurer of the  States, to approve  all rechargeable and stock accounts.

Function delegated and scope of delegation:

This paragraph empowers the Minister to agree that money in the Consolidated Fund may be used to incur expenditure that will subsequently be recharged – for example, the approval of stock accounts and other rechargeable accounts.

Legislation:

Article 34 – Financial Directions.

Delegate:

Treasurer of the States or, in their absence, another person as nominated by the Treasurer, to issue Financial Directions that the Treasurer deems to be required. (This authority shall not extend  to  those  Financial  Directions  which  propose  the delegation of responsibility from the Minister to an officer without  the  Minister  having  already  agreed  those delegations.)

Function delegated and scope of delegation:

This  Article  enables  the  Treasurer  of  the  States  to  issue Financial Directions with the approval of the Minister.

Legislation:

Schedule 2 – Article 2 – participation of persons or bodies with connections to the States in the States' mutual insurance arrangements.

Delegate:

Treasurer of the States to permit persons or bodies that appear to be connected with the States to participate in the States' mutual insurance arrangements on such terms and conditions as agreed.

Function delegated and scope of delegation:

This Article enables the Minister to determine which persons or bodies, with States connections,  can participate in the States' mutual insurance arrangements and what terms and conditions should apply to them.

Legislation:

Regulation 18 – prescribes the bank accounts that may be used for trust money.

Delegate:

Treasurer of the States to carry out this function without recourse to the Minister, and provided that any bank selected is  licensed  for  banking  services  in  Jersey  by  the  Jersey Financial Services Commission.

Function delegated and scope of delegation:

This Regulation states that Trust money should be held in a bank account with a bank or banks approved by the Minister (unless a Trust document specifies a certain bank).

Legislation:

Regulation 22.

Delegate:

Treasurer of the States or, in their absence, another person as nominated by the Treasurer of the States for any further approvals  under  Article 22(2)  of  the  Public  Finances (Transitional Provisions) (No. 2) (Jersey) Regulations 2005 where the amount concerned is £100,000 or less.

Function delegated and scope of delegation:

Money standing to the credit of the trading fund of a States trading operation may also be used, with the approval of the Minister, for a capital project of the trading operation if –

1. the amount approved by the States for the project as part of the Budget has proved to be insufficient; or

2. the project arises from a contingency that could not have been reasonably foreseen at the time the estimates of the States' trading operation were submitted to the Minister in  accordance  with  Article 24A  of  the  2005  Law  for inclusion as part of a Budget.

Legislation:

Article 17 – permitted contingency expenditure; sub- paragraph (2).

Delegate:

Treasurer of the States or, in their absence, another person as nominated by the Treasurer, to approve the transfer from contingency  expenditure  to  heads  of  expenditure  or  the Insurance  Fund,  of  amounts  not  exceeding,  in  total,  the amount available for contingency expenditure in a financial year in accordance with Article 17(1).

Authority is delegated to the Treasurer of the States or, in their absence, another person as nominated by the Treasurer, to agree any transfers between contingency expenditure or the Insurance Fund and heads of expenditure up to £500,000.

All such decisions must be included in the 6 monthly report presented to the States.

Function delegated and scope of delegation:

This paragraph of Article 17 of the Law enables the Minister to approve the transfer from contingency expenditure to heads of expenditure or the Insurance Fund, of amounts approved by the States in the Medium Term Financial Plan.

States' decision:

Starter Home Deposit Loan Scheme (P.131/2012) and associated Scheme Rules.

Delegate:

Treasurer of the States or, in their absence, another person as nominated  by  the  Treasurer  of  the  States,  to  consent  to property  sales,  approve  investment  returns  (subsidies  at market rates) on property sales, and approve the waiving or deferral  of  part  or all  of  an  investment  return  in  certain circumstances (e.g. separation of a couple, deferred sale of property).

Function delegated and scope of delegation:

Paragraph 2.1 – As a result of loans being made at a 0% interest rate, a subsidy is recoverable if the property is sold at a profit before the term of the mortgage.

Authority is delegated to the Treasurer of the States to agree the level of investment return (subsidy at market rates) in accordance  with  pre-determined  calculation  criteria  as detailed in the Scheme Rules.

Authority is delegated to the Treasurer of the States to agree to waiving or deferring the investment return in part or in full in exceptional circumstances, e.g. prolonged ill-health, death or divorce.

States' decision:

Anti-Inflation Strategy (P.125/2000).

Delegate:

Treasurer of the States or, in their absence, another person as nominated by the Treasurer to agree non-contentious fee/ charge  increases  which  do  not  require  subsequent  States approval; or in instances where fees are being increased in line with the "User Pays" principle.

The Treasurer of the States will be able to give "blanket" approval to groups of charges in a particular year, or a single charge over a period of a number of years.

The Minister agreed that approval for increases which are in line with statute or with a formula which has already received States or their approval do not require further approval.

Function delegated and scope of delegation:

The States, in adopting the Anti-Inflation Strategy, agreed that increases in States charges should be limited to a maximum of 2.5% a year, with any exceptions, in extremely compelling cases only, to be subject to prior approval by the Finance and Economics Committee (now the Minister for Treasury and Resources).

Legislation:

Decimal Currency (Jersey) Law 1971 – Article 3 – Coinage of the new currency.

Delegate:

The Minister delegated approvals of the annual programme of commemorative  currency  designs  to  the  Treasurer  of  the States and the issue of individual coins within this programme to the Head of Treasury and Investment Management.

Function delegated and scope of delegation:

This delegation enables the Treasurer of the States to approve the annual programme of commemorative currency designs and the Director of Treasury and Investment Management to approve individual commemorative currency designs, as and when they are produced.

States' decision:

Regulation of Public Sector Employees (P.67/1999).

Delegate:

Treasurer of the States or, in their absence, another person as nominated by the Treasurer of the States for agreeing non- contentious increases to States manpower.

Function delegated and scope of delegation:

This  proposition  charges  the  Minister  for  Treasury  and Resources to regulate the number of persons that may be employed by the States of Jersey in any area of the States' administration,  excluding  those  States  Departments  that report to the States trading operations, in accordance with the principles  contained  within  the  legislation  relating  to  the regulation of undertakings and the policy statement issued by the then Finance and Economics Committee in respect of the application of the regulation of undertakings to the private sector, effective from 10th November 1998.

Delegate:

Responsibility  for  all  matters  relating  to  Ministerial shareholder functions is delegated to the Assistant Minister for Treasury and Resources.

Signature of corporate contracts:

Signing of corporate contracts on behalf of the Minister for Treasury and Resources.

Delegate:

The Minister delegates the signing of all corporate contracts negotiated by Strategic Procurement for and on behalf of the States, to the Treasurer of the States, with no financial limit.

Administering Jersey's International Taxation Agreements:

Administering  Jersey's  international  taxation  agreements, such  as  Jersey's  Double  Taxation  Agreements,  Tax Information Exchange Agreements, the European Union (EU) Savings  Directive,  and  all  of  Jersey's  other  International Taxation Agreements that provide for a mutual agreement procedure and/or the exchange of information on behalf of the Minister for Treasury and Resources.

Delegate:

The  Minister  delegates  authority  to  any  officer  acting  as Comptroller  of  Taxes,  any  officer  acting  as   Deputy Comptroller  of  Taxes,  any  officer  acting  as  Director – International Tax and the Adviser – International Affairs, to act  for  and  on  behalf  of  the  Minister  for  Treasury  and Resources  as  Competent  Authority  for  the  purposes  of Jersey's  Double  Taxation  Agreements,  Tax  Information Exchange Agreements, the EU Savings Directive, and all of Jersey's other International Taxation Agreements that provide for a mutual agreement procedure and/or the exchange of information. The Minister also authorises the Tax Information Exchange  Officer  to  process  matters  relating  to  tax information exchange.

Expenditure of the Treasury and Resources Department:

Expenditure of all amounts approval by the States Assembly for the Treasury and Resources Department.

Delegate:

The Minister delegates authority to the Treasurer of the States to spend up to the amounts approved by the States Assembly for the Treasury and Resources Department.

Legislation:

Powers under the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2005.

Delegate:

The  Minister  delegated,  in  the  event  of  their  absence  or incapacity, all the functions conferred on or vested in the Minister by or under the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2005, including those in Regulations made under that Law, and Financial Directions, to the Assistant Minister for Treasury and Resources.

Function delegated and scope of delegation:

Functions conferred on or vested in the Minister by or under the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2005.

Legislation:

Standing Orders of the States of Jersey – Standing Orders 17, 19 and 35.

Delegate:

The Minister delegates to the Assistant Minister for Treasury and Resources all powers and responsibilities arising under Standing Orders 17, 19 and 35.

Function delegated and scope of delegation:

These Standing Orders apply to the following actions –

• Standing  Order 17 –  Notice  of  intention  to  make statement on a matter of official responsibility

• Standing Order 19 – Who can lodge a proposition

• Standing  Order 35 –  Who  may  present  report  or comments.