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(9540) Departmental underspends

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1240/5(9540)

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR TREASURY AND RESOURCES BY DEPUTY J.M. MAON OF ST. SAVIOUR

ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 12TH JULY 2016

Question

Will the Minister provide the figures for underspends for each department for each of the past 5 years?

Answer

The Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2005 holds Accounting Officers, usually Chief Officers of Departments, personally accountable for the proper financial management of the resources allocated to them by the Assembly. Most notably in this context, the expenditure of the Department or body must not exceed the amount appropriated to it by a head of expenditure.

It is important to understand that fact when considering the way in which Departments manage their expenditure through the year to ensure spend is being focused in the areas required to meet their objectives but within the allocated funding. Departments must also manage the financial risks of any projected or unforeseen pressures.

Whilst the majority of departmental spend goes on operational expenditure to maintain services throughout the year, cash limits also provide funding for projects and elements of non-recurring expenditure in each year to meet the needs of the department. This can include strategic planning, organisational change, one- off grants and minor equipment replacement.

This diversity of spending means that the timing of spend is not entirely aligned with the calendar year in which the funding allocation is provided. Consequently, departments will underspend against the allocations available to them in any given year and seek approval to carry forward unspent balances to continue spending on priority areas.

Ministerial Departments and Non-Ministerial States funded bodies have underspent by between 3.5% and 4.4% over the past 5 years, including elements of Central Contingencies allocations and Court and Case Costs funding. Details for each of the years 2011 – 2015 by Department can be found in the table in Appendix 1.

Further details can be found in the Annex to Financial Report and Accounts and in the Carry Forward Reports for each of the years.

The "budgets" for each year used to assess the level of underspends include each department's carry forwards from the previous year, Contingency funding and any other sums for one-off projects which may well straddle more than one year.

Appendix 1 – Department Underspend Against Final Approved Budget by Year – 2011 - 2015

Note: This analysis is based on the Departmental structure prior to P.46/2015 Draft States of Jersey (Transfer of Functions No. 8) (Miscellaneous Transfers)(Jersey) Regulations 201-' which came into effect in 2016.

 

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

 

Underspend

Underspend

Underspend

Underspend

Underspend

 

£

£

£

£

£

Chief Minister

1,074,933

2,294,015

2,155,279

1,382,353

1,786,516

Grant to Overseas Aid Commission

4,202

7,692

151,330

147,363

6,190

Economic Development

1,049,227

913,866

1,136,722

332,749

381,584

Education, Sport and Culture

3,353,661

3,633,017

3,958,677

4,484,691

1,712,493

Department of the Environment

280,608

631,339

396,895

500,934

352,938

Health and Social Services

1,318,492

1,218,626

2,281,013

3,831,401

617,522

Home Affairs

1,536,535

1,980,815

1,462,861

1,105,076

511,329

Housing

1,400,906

1,039,897

1,087,486

Incorporated in 2014

Social Security

10,482,953

6,916,482

2,790,694

8,033,145

12,988,910

Transport and Technical Services

1,849,917

1,832,415

1,510,415

2,038,970

3,161,018

Treasury and Resources

1,341,134

4,393,178

3,598,853

1,974,769

1,356,846

Non Ministerial States Funded Bodies

 

 

 

 

 

- Bailiff 's Chambers

84,391

53,521

59,722

95,961

49,850

- Law Officers' Department

2,742,563

876,786

239,266

777,978

554,882

- Judicial Greffe

0

17,407

102,229

294,319

396,392

- Viscount's Department

509,246

529,910

318,334

247,398

168,837

- Official Analyst

32,812

10,446

83,275

63,832

55,934

- Office of the Lieutenant Governor

49,361

60,703

118,667

109,696

142,425

- Office of the Dean of Jersey

849

847

2,288

405

0

- Data Protection Commission

1,476

59,788

128,039

57,497

41,865

- Probation Department

160,269

175,781

372,924

40,068

56,146

- Comptroller and Auditor General

255,713

450,173

560,656

511,831

245,714

States Assembly

303,226

499,270

307,050

1

354,882

Departmental Underspend

27,832,474

27,595,974

22,822,675

26,030,437 24,942,273

 

 

 

 

 

 

% of Final Approved Budget

4.4%

4.4%

3.5%

3.7%

3.5%