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WQ.356/2019
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE CHIEF MINISTER
BY DEPUTY G.P. SOUTHERN OF ST. HELIER ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 10th SEPTEMBER 2019
Question
Further to the answer to Written Question 5550, tabled on 19th July 2010, which provided a breakdown of a 2% reduction in budgets between efficiency savings' and service reductions' and indicated the number of staff due to be lost, will the Chief Minister –
- produce for members a similar breakdown of the measures proposed in the Government Plan comprising the first £20 million in efficiency savings identified for 2020;
- provide an analysis of whether there is any overlap or repetition between the proposals from 2010 and those in respect of 2020; and
- undertake to provide a similar breakdown of the proposals for the second tranche of £20 million of efficiency savings for 2020 in time for the debate on the Government Plan?
Answer
- As set out in the proposed Government Plan (p111), an Efficiencies Plan is being developed to support the debate and will be published in October 2019. This plan will describe in detail how £40m of efficiencies will be delivered in 2020 and will set out both the activities and the departmental impact.
The plan will also describe the approach to delivery of efficiencies over the remainder of the Government Plan. This Plan will be presented to the Council of Ministers for final approval on 16th October (please also see supplementary information, as below).
The precise format of the plan is being finalised and is likely to set out categories of efficiency including:
• Spend reduction
• Cost recovery
• Increase in income
It will make a distinction between specific departmental efficiencies and cross-cutting efficiencies which will be delivered across the Government of Jersey.
Where delivery of efficiencies may result in a reduction in FTE this will be noted and will follow prevailing governance processes.
It is anticipated we will be providing a similar level of detail to that already outlined in R.91/2019 in relation to expenditure.
- There is no intention to undertake a reconciliation between proposals set out in 2010 and those proposed in 2020. The content of previous efficiency programmes, or similar, have been reviewed by Director Generals as part of the development of the current programme and are not necessarily relevant to the present strategy.
- Please see response to (a)
Supplementary information
We have committed to providing Scrutiny with as much information as possible. Initial information will be sent to Scrutiny shortly after 18th September when the next tranche of savings is being considered by Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers will accept the Proposition of Deputy Morel (P.90/2019), which is consistent with the intentions of the Government for the publication of efficiency details as described.
It should be apparent to any Member who has seen any of the previous savings drives, that the process (as explained from page 110 of the Government Plan) is very much focused on properly delivering efficiencies rather than on spending cuts.
It is not unreasonable that efficiency targets have been set in a Government Plan, where the exact actions are not yet fully detailed but the principles have been established. By lodging the Plan some 18 weeks before the debate (rather than, for example, 12 in 2015) a natural consequence is that not all of the detail will be available at the time of lodging (but it will be available significantly in advance of the debate). The Council of Minister has set a target for efficiencies and will be assessing the details over the next few weeks.