Transfers Between Heads of Expenditure under the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019: Article 18 – 7th March 2025

STATES OF JERSEY

TRANSFERS BETWEEN HEADS OF EXPENDITURE UNDER THE

PUBLIC FINANCES (JERSEY) LAW 2019: ARTICLE 18 –

7TH MARCH 2025

Presented to the States on 7th March 2025 by the Minister for Treasury and Resources

STATES GREFFE

2025  R.32

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REPORT

Decision(s): Under Article 18(4) of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019 (the Law), the Minister for Treasury and Resources hereby notifies the States, and having consulted with any relevant Minister under Article 18(5) of the Law; that she has agreed to the following –

Transfers between Heads of Expenditure under Article 18 of the Law

After the expiry of 4 weeks following the presentation to the States of these transfers, the Minister hereby authorises the Treasurer of the States to action the transfers outlined in the table above.

Purpose of Report

To enable the Minister to approve a recurring transfer of £543,000 and 6.7 FTE from the  Environment  head  of  expenditure  to  the  Infrastructure  head  of  expenditure, representing the budget and staff support of the Office of the Chief Officer (ODG) team.

Background

In 2023, funding within the Government Plan for the Office of the Chief Officer (ODG) was arbitrarily split 50:50 into two clear heads of expenditure under two Ministers, the Minister for Infrastructure (MINF) and the Minister for the Environment (MENV). This split did not reflect the true nature of the operational budget and has resulted in creating an opaque internal recharging method between Infrastructure and Environment that makes budget management extremely difficult.

The Chief Officer of I&E has agreed that the management of this budget should sit under one of the Heads of expenditure and not be split between the two. The Head office budget will, for financial accounting purposes, sit beneath Infrastructure, this reflects a return of funding back to Infrastructure.

This change in budgeting arrangements does not impact on the service delivery and support provided, this will remain the same with the Head office team working with all the teams across I&E.

Recommendation

The Minister is recommended to approve the recurring transfer up to £543,000 and 6.7 FTE from the Environment head of expenditure to the Infrastructure head of expenditure Reasons for Decision

R.32/2025

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Article 18(1)(a) of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019 states that a specified amount appropriated for one head of expenditure may, with the approval of the Minister for Treasury and Resources, be used for the purposes of another head of expenditure that is set out in the government plan.

Article 18(4) of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019 states that the Minister shall give the States Assembly at least 4 weeks' 3notice before an amount is transferred under paragraph (1)(a).

Article 18(5) of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019 states that if a direction under this Article would affect a head of expenditure that relates to the responsibilities of any Minister, that Minister must be consulted before the direction is made. Both Ministers have been consulted.

To comply with P.67/1999 which charges the Minister for Treasury and Resources to regulate the number of persons that may be employed by the States.

Resource Implications

The  Environment  head  of  expenditure  to  decrease  by  up  to  £543,000  and  the Infrastructure head of expenditure to increase by an identical amount. The approved FTE of Infrastructure to increase by 6.7 FTE and the approved FTE of Environment to decrease by an identical amount.

This decision does not change the total amount of expenditure approved by the States in the Government Plan 2025-2028 and the transfer will be reflected in the next Government Plan 2026-2029 cash limits.

This decision can be found on www.gov.je under the following Ministerial Decision references –

 MD-TR-2025-170

which was signed on 7th March 2025..

R.32/2025