Proposed Government Plan 2022-2025 (P.90/2021): Adopted as amended

STATES OF JERSEY

PROPOSED GOVERNMENT PLAN 2022-

2025

AS AMENDED

Debated: 14th – 17th December 2021

STATES GREFFE

2021  P.90 Rpt.

PROPOSITION

THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion

to receive the Government Plan 2022 – 2025 specified in Article 9(1) of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019 ("the Law") and specifically –

1. to approve the estimate of total States income to be paid into the Consolidated Fund in 2022 as set out in Appendix 2 – Summary Table 1 to  the  Report, which  is inclusive  of  the  proposed  taxation and impôts duties changes outlined in the Government Plan, in line with Article 9(2)(a) of the Law, except that –

1. the 2022 Estimate for Impôt Duties Total shall be decreased by £231,000 by increasing the Impôt Duties for Spirits, Wine, Cider and Beer at 1% under RPI, with the relevant figures for 2022 in Appendix 2 – Summary Table 1 updated in line with the  following  table,  and  subsequent  figures  updated accordingly –

2. in Summary Table 1 the Return from Andium Homes and Housing Trusts shall be reduced by £2,750,000 in 2022 to allow for a social housing rents policy whereby rents are frozen for 2022, and capped at 80% of the market rate from 2022 onwards, and that Government shall continue to work with Andium to finalise a solution to minimise the impact on both Andium and the Consolidated Fund; and
3. with the proposed taxation and impôts duties changes to include the  introduction,  following  a  review  by  the  Minister  for Treasury and Resources and no later than 31st December 2022, of  a  higher  Stamp  Duty  rate  for  Buy  to  Let'  investment properties, second homes and holiday homes

2. to approve the Changes to Approval for financing/borrowing for 2022, as shown in Appendix 2 – Summary Table 3 to the Report, which may be obtained by the Minister for Treasury and Resources, as and when required, in line with Article 9 (2)(c) of the Law, of up to those revised

approvals except that, in Summary Table 3, for the row entitled "Fiscal Stimulus, including Refinancing", in the column headed "Change to Approval" there shall be inserted the figure "-20,359" and, in each of the columns headed 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, the figure "50,000" shall be replaced with "29,641";

c. to approve the transfers from one States fund to another for 2022 of up to and including the amounts set in Appendix 2 – Summary table 2 to the Report, noting that the transfer from the Consolidated Fund to the Technology Fund is subject to the Assembly's approval of a proposition to create such a Fund in 2022, in line with Article 9(2)(b) of the Law, except that the proposition to create such a fund shall explicitly seek the Assembly's approval of the purpose and terms of that fund;

d. to approve each major project that is to be started or continued in 2022 and the total cost of each such project and any amendments to the proposed total cost of a major project under a previously approved Government Plan, in line with Article 9(2)(d), (e) and (f) of the Law and as set out in Appendix 2 - Summary Table 4 to the Report;

e. to  endorse  the  efficiencies  and  other  re-balancing  measures for 2022 contained  in  the Government  Plan  as set out  in  Appendix 2 Summary Table 6, with amendments made as appropriate to reflect the establishment of the Ministry of External Relations as provided for in (f), and reflected within each gross head of expenditure in Appendix 2

– Summary Table 5(i):

f. to  approve  the  proposed  amount  to  be  appropriated from the Consolidated Fund for 2022, for each head of expenditure, being gross expenditure less estimated income (if any), in line with Articles 9(2)(g), 10(1) and 10(2) of the Law, and set out in Appendix 2 – Summary Tables 5(i) and (ii) of the Report, except that –

1. the Head of Expenditure for the General Reserve shall be reduced by £231,000 to accommodate a drop in States income caused by increasing the Impôt Duties for Spirits, Wine, Cider and Beer by 1% under RPI, and that, in Summary Table 5(i) – 2022 Revenue Heads of Expenditure;
2. in Summary Table 5(i) – 2022 Revenue Heads of Expenditure, the Head of Expenditure for Customer and Local Services shall be  decreased  by  £1,849,000  to  allow  for  a  reduction  in expenditure arising from a social housing rents policy whereby rents are frozen for 2022 and capped at 80% of the market rate from 2022 onwards , and that the Head of Expenditure for Covid-19 Response be reduced by £901,000 to meet the net impact of the rent freeze;
3. in Summary Table 5(i), £772,650 should be transferred from the General Reserve Head of Expenditure to the Infrastructure, Housing and Environment Head of Expenditure to reinstate the original  business  case  funding  request  for  Regulatory Sustainability;
4. in Summary Table 5 (i) –

1. the head of expenditure for Children, Young People,  Education  and  Skills  should  be increased  by  £53,266  to  allow  the  Youth Service to ensure the retention of a full-time assistant youth worker to support the Inclusion Project; and
2. the head of expenditure for Children, Young People, Education and Skills for 2022 should be increased by £27,000 to allow the Youth Service  to  employ  an  additional  part-time assistant youth worker to support a 2-year pilot Transition  Programme  within  the  Inclusion Project;

5. in Summary Table 5(i), the Head of Expenditure for Children, Young People, Education and Skills shall be increased by £30,000 to allow for additional resources to reinstate the Jersey Child Care Trust's full grant for 2022;
6. in  Summary  Table  5(i),  the  General  Reserve  Head  of Expenditure shall be decreased by £500,000 with the Head of Expenditure for Health and Community Services increased by the same amount in order to increase the 2022 allocation for Mental Health;
7. in Summary Table 5(i) £200,000 should be transferred from the General  Reserve  Head  of  Expenditure  to  the  Head  of Expenditure for Strategic Policy, Planning and Performance, to facilitate and support the creation of a task force in relation to improving women's safety, such body to collect views from Islanders and to develop and propose direct and achievable action points, to achieve that objective, to the new government for inclusion in the next government plan.

(viii)  in summary table 5(i), an additional row should be inserted

under  Departments'  with  the  name  Ministry  of  External Relations',  and  with  145'  inserted  under  the  column  for Income', 2,918' inserted under the column for Expenditure Allocation' and 2,918' inserted in the column for Head of Expenditure',  with  the figures for  the Office  of  the  Chief Executive, within which External Relations is currently based, being  adjusted  down  accordingly  so  that  the  formal establishment of the Ministry of External Relations in this Government Plan is cost neutral;

9. in Summary Table 5(i), the Head of Expenditure for Children, Young People, Education and Skills shall be increased by £330,000  and  the  Head  of  Expenditure  for  the  Covid-19 Response shall be reduced by £330,000 in order for funding identified to support Early Years within the Covid Health and Social  Recovery  Project  to  be  placed  within  the  base departmental budget for Children, Young People, Education and Skills;

10. in Summary Table 5(ii), the Head of Expenditure for Central Planning  Reserves  shall  include,  as  part  of  the  existing allocation,  £100,000  to  allow  for  a  feasibility  study  of appropriate sites including Piquet House for States Members office space;
11. in Summary Table 5(ii), the Head of Expenditure for Central Planning Reserve shall include £150,000, as part of the existing allocation, for First Tower playing field;
12. in Summary Table 5(i), £500,000 should be transferred from the  General  Reserve  Head  of  Expenditure  to  fund  the undertaking of an independent review of the Island's response to the Covid-19 pandemic, deliverable by 29th July 2022, the Council of Ministers being requested, in conjunction with the Privileges and Procedures Committee, to take such steps as are necessary to initiate a review that will deliver an objective and independent analysis of the actions undertaken in response to the  Covid-19  pandemic  and  provide  recommendations  and guidelines  for the management  of  any  future  pandemic or similarly disruptive event; and

(xiii)  with funding to be allocated from the Covid-19 response head

of expenditure in Summary Table 5(i), and made available for use  by  the  Minister  for  Infrastructure,  to  provide  for  the establishment from 1st January 2022, or as soon as possible thereafter in 1st quarter of 2022, of a bus pass scheme (for which a charge of £20 per annum should be levied on the individual) for all people eligible to pay fares aged 18 years or under;  with  the  overall  cost  of,  take-up  of,  and  customer satisfaction with the scheme, to be subsequently reviewed by the Minister and the outcome of the review to be published by the end of the third quarter of 2022;

7. to approve up to £480 million to be appropriated from the Consolidated Fund for  the  Past  Service  Pension  Liabilities  Refinancing  head  of  expenditure, subject to the availability of funding, which may include, in full or in part, use of the borrowing/financing referred in paragraph (b);
8. to  approve  the  estimated  income,  being  estimated  gross  income  less expenditure, that each States trading operation will pay into its trading fund in 2022 in line with Article 9(2)(h) of the Law and set out in Appendix 2 – Summary Table 7 to the Report;
9. to approve the proposed amount to be appropriated from each States trading operation's trading fund for 2022 for each head of expenditure in line with Article 9(2)(i) of the Law and set out in Appendix 2 – Summary Table 8 to the Report;
10. to approve the estimated income and expenditure proposals for the Climate Emergency Fund for 2022 as set out in Appendix 2 – Summary Table 9 to the Report, except that the proposed expenditure within the Climate Emergency Fund shall include an amount of up to £250,000 to fund and implement an air quality monitoring policy to include provision of all necessary equipment;

11. to approve an amendment to the policy of the Strategic Reserve Fund to enable that Fund to be used as a holding Fund for any or all monies related to the repayment of debt raised through external financing, with the monies used to offset the repayment of debt, as and when required; and
12. to  agree  that  borrowing  relating  to  COVID-19  and  Fiscal  Stimulus  Fund requirements should be of a short-term nature only, for no more than 5 years (and, for example, funded from the revolving credit facility) and, accordingly, that:

1. the Council of Ministers be requested to bring forward proposals in future Government Plans to reduce this borrowing to zero by 31st December 2026; and
2. that the Minister for Treasury and Resources be requested to prioritise the application of any unspent funds at the end of 2021 and 2022, be these  in  respect  of  spending  related  to  COVID-19,  departmental revenue  expenditure  or  capital  expenditure,  to  be  returned  to  the Consolidated Fund and that these funds, along with receipts relating to the move of all taxpayers to current year basis, be used to minimise the borrowing requirements for COVID-19 and the Fiscal Stimulus Fund and support the repayment of debt;

13. to approve, in accordance with Article 9(1) of the Law, the Government Plan 2022-2025, as set out at Appendix 3 to the Report except that –

1. on page 139 of Appendix 3, after the words "A freeze in the rent levels" there should be inserted the words "(based on a policy that social housing rents should be capped at 80% of the market rate)" in addition to any further changes to Appendix 3 identified as required by the Council of Ministers to reflect the implementation of such a policy";
2. on page 155 of Appendix 3, after the words "this review will conclude in 2022." there shall be inserted the words "The Minister for Treasury and Resources will introduce a higher Stamp Duty rate for Buy to Let' investment properties, second homes and holiday homes no later than 31 December 2022.", in addition to any further changes to Appendix 3 identified as required by the Council of Ministers to reflect the implementation of such a policy".
3. on page 168 under "Health Insurance Fund" the following words should be inserted –

"The following safeguards and transparency measures will be put in place in relation to the establishment of the Jersey Care Model:

• The independent non-executive board (establishment of which was approved in P.114/2020) will be supported to publish a review of the Tranche 1 and the use of 2021 funding by the end of March 2022 at the very latest; and

• The  digital  health  team  within  Modernisation  and  Digital establishes a protected, separately resourced sub-team (that includes a Manager grade role), to focus solely on the delivery of the Jersey Care Model digital systems, and the Digital Care Strategy.  Regular  updates  on  these  workstreams  should  be

regularly  reported  on  to  the  JCM  Programme  board;  the Independent  Oversight  Board  and  the  Health  and  Social Security Scrutiny Panel'.

The following safeguards and transparency measures will be put in place in relation to the operation of, and any transfers made out of, the Health Insurance Fund:

• The Minister for Health and Social Services will annually publish a report, which will also be presented in advance to the Health and Social Security Scrutiny Panel, to detail the information provided to the Minister for Social Security relating to the costs incurred on the Jersey Care Model that require a transfer of funds from the HIF;

• The Minister for Social Security will publish a report, within 2 weeks of any transfer, to detail how any funds transferred out of the HIF for the purposes of the JCM or its related digital strategies costs have been verified;

• An  actuarial  review  of  the  Health  Insurance  Fund  (HIF)  is prioritised in 2022 and will include:

specific analysis of the use of the HIF for the purposes of the Jersey Care Model and its related digital strategies;

Consideration of the impact of all withdrawals on the fund since 2020; and

The future of the HIF, should withdrawals take place as per envisaged by P.130/2020.

• As part of the wider review of sustainable healthcare funding to be undertaken  in  2022,  there  will  be  a  specific  consideration  to repaying  the  HIF  (from  the  Consolidated  Fund)  for  funding withdrawn for the establishment of the Jersey Care Model and its related digital strategies if no sustainable healthcare funding is operational by 2025.";

4. on page 169 of Appendix 3, after the words "sustainable model for health funding" there shall be inserted the words ", but the role of the Health Insurance Fund in meeting the requirement to subsidise the cost of G.P. consultations and the cost of prescriptions and other primary care services shall be maintained during the review", in addition to any further changes to Appendix 3 identified as required by the Council of Ministers"; and
5. with amendments made as appropriate, including in R.150/2021, to reflect  the  establishment  of  the  Ministry  of  External  Relations  as provided for in (f).