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STATES OF JERSEY
STATES OF JERSEY LAW 2005: DELEGATION OF FUNCTIONS – MINISTER FOR TREASURY AND RESOURCES – DELEGATED AUTHORITY
Presented to the States on 28th March 2024 by the the Minister for Treasury and Resources
STATES GREFFE
2024 R.52
REPORT
On 27 March 2024, the the Minister for Treasury and Resources made a Ministerial Decision delegating certain of her functions under Articles 28, 30 and 30A of the States of Jersey Law 2005 (see Decision reference MD-TR-2024-250, available at www.gov.je).
Article 28 of the States of Jersey Law 2005 permits a Minister to delegate, wholly or partly, functions to an Assistant Minister or an officer.
The Law states, inter alia –
"28 Power of Minister to delegate functions
- A Minister may delegate, wholly or partly, functions conferred upon or vested in the Minister by or under this Law or any other enactment or any enactment of the United Kingdom having effect in Jersey, to –
- one of his or her Assistant Ministers;
- an officer.
- A Minister shall not delegate –
- any power to make an enactment;
- any power to decide an appeal under an enactment;
- any function the delegation of which is prohibited by an enactment.
- The delegation of functions by a Minister under this Article shall not prevent the Minister exercising those functions personally.
- Where any licence, permit or authorization is granted in purported exercise of functions delegated under paragraph (1), no criminal proceedings shall lie against any person for any act done, or omitted to be done, in good faith and in accordance with the terms of the licence, permit or authorization, by reason that the functions had not been delegated, or that any requirement attached to the delegation of the functions had not been complied with.
- In this Article –
"Minister" includes the Chief Minister;
"officer" means a States' employee within the meaning of the Employment of States of Jersey Employees (Jersey) Law 2005 and includes a member of the States of Jersey Police Force and an officer appointed under paragraph 1(1) of Part 1 of Schedule 2 to the Immigration Act 1971 as extended to Jersey by the Immigration (Jersey) Order 1993.
- The States may by Regulations amend the definition "officer" in paragraph (5)."
Unless otherwise stated, any reference to an Article in this section is a reference to the Article so numbered in the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019.
In addition to the specific delegations to officers below the Minister has delegated certain powers to her Assistant Ministers.
1 Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019 delegations to officers
- Retention of Income
Legislation: | Article 21 – Power to allocate excess income
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Delegate: | Treasurer of the States, or in their absence, another person as nominated by the Treasurer (excluding the PAO), 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 £100,000 for all 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: | The Minister agreed that States funded bodies be allowed to retain and use additional income in instances where -
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| with any approval above these levels delegated to the Treasurer of the States as detailed above. |
- Financing
Legislation: | Article 26 - the Minister may arrange for: • a bank overdraft or bank overdraft facility; and • other minor financing. |
Delegate: | Treasurer of the States to agree short-term bank overdrafts /overdraft facilities up to £50 million. The Government Plan 2024-2027 included a provision which allowed use of the Revolving Credit Facility (RCF) to minimise costs relating to short-term borrowing. Treasurer of the States to agree short-term drawdowns from the Revolving Credit Facility up to £25 million to that end. 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. All borrowing must be reported in the half yearly financial update presented to the States by the Minister. |
Function delegated and scope of delegation: | This Article of the Law empowers the Minister to arrange for a bank overdraft (or bank overdraft facility) and to approve other minor borrowing up to specific total and annual limits set in the Law. |
- Lending
Legislation: | Article 27 - the Minister may lend in the name of the States from the Consolidated Fund. |
Delegate: | (a) Treasurer of the States to agree short-term lending. Authority is delegated to the Treasurer of the States to agree minor lending up to £100,000 in any one financial year (up to a maximum of £500,000), with no loan to exceed £10,000 and with a maximum loan repayment period of 5 years. All loans must be reported in the half yearly financial update presented to the States by the Minister. |
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Function delegated and scope of delegation: | This paragraph of the Law empowers the Minister to grant loans up to specific total and annual limits set in the Law. |
- Power to transfer major projects amounts to the following year
Legislation: | Article 20– the Minister has the authority to transfer unspent amounts allocated for major project to the following year. |
Delegate: | The Treasurer of the States or in their absence another officer nominated by the Treasurer of the States (excluding the PAO) to agree all non- contentious requests to transfer unspent funds allocated to a head of expenditure for a major project to the same major project in the following financial year. |
Function delegated and scope of delegation: | This paragraph allows the Minister to direct that an unspent amount appropriated to a head of expenditure for a major project in one financial year is available to spend on the same major project in the following financial year. |
- Public Finances Manual
Legislation: | Article 31 – Public Finances Manual. |
Delegate: | Treasurer of the States to issue minor amendments to the Public Finances Manual as he considers necessary. (This authority shall not extend to those sections of the Manual which propose the delegation of responsibility from the Minister to an officer without the Minister having already agreed those delegations). Amendments delegated will include those necessary to clarify requirements; those to ensure that the Manual is consistent with other published legislation, policies and procedures; and those which are required as part of an emergency situation as defined in Article 24 of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019. Any significant changes to financial management and control policy must be approved directly by the Minister. The Manual and all amendments must be issued to the States' Public Accounts Committee and made publicly available. |
Function delegated and scope of delegation: | The Minister has responsibility for the issuance and amendment of the Public Finances Manual. (The Law enables the Minister to delegate the above functions to the Treasurer). |
- Insurance Fund
Legislation: | Article 60 – allows the continuation of the Insurance Fund. |
Delegate: | Treasurer of the States, or in their absence, another officer nominated by the Treasurer (other than the PAO) to permit persons or bodies that appear to be connected with the States to participate in the States' mutual insurance arrangement 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. |
2 Other delegations to officers
- States Charges
States decision: | Anti-Inflation Strategy (P125/2000). |
Delegate: | Treasurer of the States, or in their absence, another person as nominated by the Treasurer (excluding the PAO) 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 per cent 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). |
- Coin designs
Legislation: | Decimal Currency (Jersey) Law 1971 – Article 3 – Coinage of the new currency. |
Delegate: | The Minister delegated approval of the annual programme of commemorative currency designs and the issue of individual coins within this programme to the Treasurer of the States. |
Function delegated and scope of delegation: | This delegation enables the Treasurer of the States to approve the annual programme of commemorative currency designs and to approve individual commemorative currency designs as and when they are produced. |
- Non-Contentious States Staffing increases
States decision: | Regulation of Public Sector Employees (P67/1999). |
Delegate: | Treasurer of the States, or in their absence, another person as nominated by the Treasurer of the States (excluding the PAO) for agreeing non-contentious increases to States staff levels. |
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 Regulation of Undertakings legislation 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. |
- Housing Deposit Loans
Legislation: | 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 (excluding the PAO) 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 the property). |
Function delegated and scope of delegation: | 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. |
- Administering Jersey's international taxation agreements
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 Revenue and to any person authorised by the Comptroller under Article 3(5) of the Revenue Administration Law to act for and on behalf of the Treasury and Resources Minister 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. |
- Expenditure of Treasury and Exchequer department
Legislation | States of Jersey Law 2005: Article 26(1)(c) |
Delegate: | The Minister delegates authority to the Treasurer of the States to enter into agreements up to the amounts approved by the States Assembly for the Treasury and Exchequer Department. |
Functions delegated: | The power to –
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Limit on scope of delegation: | Unlimited, but subject in all instances to the specific obligations held as Accountable Officer; as well as the general responsibilities of the postholder as a senior official, including ensuring the Minister is duly informed, sufficiently in advance to provide |
| direction, on contentious matters, with reference to the size of any contract (this should include contracts over £1 million) and/or the extent of its direct impact on Islanders. The delegation includes the ability of the Treasurer of the States to schedule to their subordinate managers approval powers within their own delegation limits. To note, in all instances Accountable Officers retain statutory responsibilities by virtue of their role, including ensuring financial propriety and regularity, and that resources are used economically, efficiently and effectively. |
- Data Protection and Freedom of Information
Legislation | States of Jersey Law 2005: Article 26(1)(c)(iii) and (vi) |
Delegate: | The Minister delegates all powers in relation to the management of data collected or held by Government under the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018, Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2015 and Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002, in the areas for which the Minister is responsible, to the Treasurer of the States. |
Functions delegated: | All powers in relation to the management of data collected or held by Government under the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018, Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2015 and Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002 , in the areas for which the Minister is responsible. |
Limit on scope of delegation: | Unlimited, but subject in all instances to the general responsibilities of the postholder as a senior official, including ensuring the Minister is kept generally informed, with specific reference to the perceived public interest and/or the extent of direct impact on Islanders. The delegation includes the ability of the Treasurer of the States to schedule to their subordinate managers tasks in relation to the management of data. |
- Insurance
Legislation | Insurance Fund Purpose, Terms and Circumstances (R.111/2019) |
Delegate: | The Minister delegates authority to permit payments to be made from the Insurance Fund to the Treasurer of the States or another person as nominated by the Treasurer of the States. |
Functions delegated: | All use of the Insurance Fund to settle claims against the States. |
Limit on scope of delegation: | Unlimited. The Treasurer may set out further delegations to other officers as appropriate. |