Draft Social Security (Health and Christmas Bonus) (Jersey) Amendment Regulations 202- (P.2/2026): comments
This content has been automatically generated from the original PDF and some formatting may have been lost, therefore it should not be relied upon to extract citations or propose amendments. Please see the PDF for the official version of the document.
STATES OF JERSEY
DRAFT SOCIAL SECURITY (HEALTH AND CHRISTMAS BONUS) (JERSEY) AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 202- (P.2/2026): COMMENTS
Presented to the States on 30th January 2026 by the Health and Social Security Scrutiny Panel
STATES GREFFE
2026 P.2 Com.
COMMENTS
Background
Following the States Assembly's approval of the Budget 2026-2029, the Minister for Social Security has lodged P.2/2026 Draft Social Security (Health and Christmas Bonus) (Jersey) Amendment Regulations 202- as part of Government's commitment to expand the healthcare support that is available to the Island's pensioners.
The proposition, if adopted, will see up to 1,300 pensioners benefit from the expansion in this healthcare support in two ways:
- The Pension Plus Scheme or PPS1 is being changed so that pensioners who pay up to £1,000 in Income Tax can qualify for it – currently, pensioners can only qualify if they pay no tax at all.
- Those pensioners who – because of this change – qualify for the PPS will also join the Health Access Scheme (HAS) – this scheme allows for discounted visits to General Practitioners (GPs).
If approved, these changes will support the Community and Economic wellbeing pillars of the Council of Minister's Common Strategic Policy (Health and Wellbeing and Affordable Living), as they will enable lower income pensioners with a small tax liability to access a scheme which supports health costs and also grants access to reduced GP fees.
Scrutiny of the Regulations
The Panel has sought to accommodate the Minister's request to reduce the lodging period, whilst nevertheless ensuring that it has fulfilled its responsibilities in respect of legislation within its remit.
The Panel has therefore conducted a high-level assessment of the proposals. Having discussed the Proposition as lodged during its meeting of 13th January 2026, in lieu of a formal briefing the Panel subsequently requested from the Minister's Department provision of any additional information that it should be aware of to inform its consideration of the changes. The Panel accepts the advice it received that any such material would largely replicate the report accompanying the proposition and concluded its information gathering accordingly.
The Panel welcomes the intentions behind the proposed changes, as outlined above and as set out in more detail in the Minister's report. Within the time available it has not identified any additional information or substantive concerns to bring to the attention of Members, or that require more detailed scrutiny to be undertaken.
Conclusion
The Panel welcomes the changes that the Ministers seeking to achieve and, within the timeframe available for its work, has identified no substantive concerns.
Comment under Standing Order 37A
These Comments were submitted after the noon deadline due to the proposed reduced lodging period for P.2/2026, in conjunction with ongoing priorities and workload.
Page - 2
P.2/2026 Com.