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7
WQ.218/2020
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR TREASURY AND RESOURCES
BY DEPUTY R.J. WARD OF ST. HELIER
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 16th JUNE 2020
Question
In light of the Assembly's adoption of States' expenditure: classification in accordance with international best practice' (P.94/2019), will the Minister provide an update on the actions taken in Quarters 1 and 2 of this year to implement this decision, given the need to classify expenditure from 2021 in accordance with the proposition?
Answer
Further to the response to the Deputy 's oral question on 21st January, the Minister can confirm that the States of Jersey Annual Report and Accounts 2019 were signed off on 17th March 2020 (1 month earlier than 2018) and subsequently published on 1st April 2020 (over 3 weeks earlier than 2018).
The Deputy will note the slight delay between signing the Accounts and publishing them which was primarily the result of resources being re-focussed on to preparing for and responding to the impacts of the emerging COVID-19 pandemic (the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic on 11 March 2020).
Since this time, Treasury officers have been working with colleagues across the organisation to manage the impacts of COVID-19 on Government finances. This work is ongoing and significant in scale with unprecedented impacts on Government finances, the local and global economies. The impacts of this global pandemic on Government finances will continue to be a Treasury priority in the short term and are likely to continue to occupy a considerable amount of officer resource for the remainder of 2020.
In light of this, the Minister is sure the Deputy appreciates that the work to determine the resources and actions required to implement UN expenditure classifications has not been prioritised and it is therefore possible the classification from 2021 will have to be delayed.
Should the opportunity arise to allocate officer time to this work, it will of course be progressed and the Minister remains happy for the Deputy to contact her to discuss a practical way forward in light of the circumstances and commitments made in the Proposition.