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1240/5(7191)
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR TREASURY AND RESOURCES BY DEPUTY J.A. MARTIN OF ST. HELIER
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 6th NOVEMBER 2012
Question
With regard to the answers provided to question 7159 (on 23rd October) will the Minister provide the following additional information –
- The proposed locations, site and building floor areas of the offsite archive and garage' referred to as a cost of £30,000 in the latest cost estimate', together with the proposed locations, site and building areas of any other off site facilities required to support the proposed new Police Administration Headquarters and Operational Police Station at Green Street.
- A detailed breakdown of the migration' costs referred to as a cost of £25,000 in the latest cost estimate' and a comparison with the historical costs of moving other departments from one building to another (with related details of the number of personnel / equipment involved).
- The cost for the project of the land upon which it is proposed that the new Police HQ is to be constructed, bearing in mind this land is not currently in the ownership / administration of the Police Service.
Will the Minister provide details of the Financial Directions relating to the procedure for transferring assets from one department to another which permit the exclusion of the costs of the site from the project?
Answer
- In 2009, it was identified that archive and specialist equipment storage should be located off- site, rather than be included within an expensive re-build. The option currently under consideration is to locate archive and equipment storage, a garage and command vehicles at a States-owned warehouse unit at La Collette. The total internal area of this warehouse as currently configured is 750 sq m, however the States of Jersey Police is currently working to significantly reduce its archive storage requirement. It could therefore be the case that not all this area is required and could be made available for alternative secure use. The budget of £30,000 has been identified to provide security arrangements and facilities for the storage of Police archive material.
- The migration cost of £25,000 is a pre-estimate of the costs of relocating police files, equipment and any remaining furniture from their existing buildings to the new facility. This is a provisional sum which is based on recent experience on capital projects and the nature of the required move. This figure also takes into consideration the fact that much of the furniture at the new building will be new and therefore delivered to site and the fact that, because of the nature of files and equipment, some of this will have to be moved by the Police.
In comparison with the total costs of the scheme, the migration costs are de minimus and actual cost will be established nearer the time of the move once the exact details of the move have been established.
- The procedures for the transfer of Fixed Assets are set out in the Jersey Financial Reporting Manual (JFReM), and accompanying guidance such as the Capital Accounting Manual. The JFReM is issued by Ministerial Order, and departments are required to comply with its requirements under Financial Directions.
Transfers can be accounted for either as a transfer between balance sheets (the default approach) or a sale by one department and purchase by another. For the Police Station, it has been agreed between the relevant departments and the Treasury that the former method will be used. Whilst the land was not previously in the ownership of the Jersey Property Holdings (JPH), it was in the ownership of the States of Jersey, and so no cash is exchanged for the transaction, and the asset will not be "purchased" by JPH. As such there is no cost for the land included in the project.
This is consistent with other projects across the States, for example where existing land in a department is developed – the capital project would not include the cost of the land already in ownership by the States as it is not a cost to the taxpayer.