Finance Low Delegation Report for the six month period July December 2022

WQ.99/2023

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR TREASURY AND RESOURCES

BY DEPUTY R.S. KOVACS OF ST. SAVIOUR

QUESTION SUBMITTED ON MONDAY 6th MARCH 2023

ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 13th MARCH 2023

Question

“Will the Minister provide further explanation in relation to the following funding highlighted in the report R.30/2023 “Finance Law Delegation Report for the six-month period July-December 2022” –

1. £500,000 has been transferred from Infrastructure, Housing, and Environment to Strategic Policy, Planning, and Performance (page 3, table 2.1) with the intention that:

“The funding will be used to create a dedicated function within SPPP to lead on the development and implementation of policy options for Housing, and co-ordinate the activities of delivery agencies. The recurring transfer is included in the Government Plan 2023-2026. (MD-TR-2022-720)”,

will the Minister provide additional detail on what this function is, who will undertake it and provide a breakdown of how this funding will be used; and

2. £245,000 has been allocated to the “Legal Advisors Reward Scheme” (page 8), will the Minister explain what this scheme intends to achieve, and how many individuals have received a reward from this scheme, with detail on how much each individual received?”

Answer

The Finance Law Delegation Report is published twice yearly by the Minister for Treasury and Resources, as is required under the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019. The report lists decisions taken by the Minister under certain Articles of that Law. The vast majority of those decisions have previously been published in full at https://www.gov.je/government/planningperformance/pages/ministerialdecisions.aspx.

1. As part of the previous Government’s Common Strategic Policy (CSP) priority to ‘Reduce Inequality’, £500,000 was allocated within IHE (Infrastructure, Housing, and Environment) to fund the strategic co- ordination of the Housing Policy Development Board and longer-term planning. This work was subsequently taken forward by SPPP (Strategic Policy, Planning, and Performance – now part of the Cabinet Office).

The funding provides resources to support the work of the dedicated Housing & Regeneration Unit within the Cabinet Office, leading on the development and implementation of policy options and co-ordinating the activities of other departments and delivery agencies, to support the relentless focus on housing. The resources are being used for 3 full time posts (one already in post, one under recruitment and 1 under review) and £250,000 is earmarked to help address the issue of vacant homes. Further recruitment is underway to strengthen the core team with an additional 2 full time equivalents. Key activities include the implementation of policy development and interventions as outlined in the Minister for Housing’s Delivery Plan, for example, updating the Dwelling-houses (Rent Control) Law 1946 and developing the Island’s first long-term, sustainable strategy for the future of Jersey’s housing market.

The relevant Heads of Finance Business Partnering, Group Directors, Accountable Officers, and affected Ministers agreed that the budget be transferred.

2. The allocation of up to £245,000 from the General Reserve in MD-TR-2022-814 was to cover a forecast potential overspend in the Law Officers’ Department. The Department’s final outturn for 2022 was an underspend of £93,000, so this allocation from the General Reserve was not needed and was not drawn down.

The Government Plan 2023-206 includes a Growth allocation in each of the years of the plan to fund the Legal Adviser Reward Scheme. The approved allocation for 2023 is £469,000.

The 2023 funding covers up to 72 staff members in the Legal Adviser pay group. The business case from the Law Officers’ Department includes the following:

“At the time that a Legal Adviser pay group was established in 2013 it was agreed by SEB that the new pay scale would be realigned to the market every ‘3-5 years’, however it was not until 2021 when a market review was carried out and an updated scheme was proposed. The updated scheme was implemented in 2022, having received SEB and Treasury Minister approval and following a consultation process with staff and trade union representatives in line with the Organisational Change Policy.

The updated Legal Adviser Reward Scheme realigns the pay group to the market and includes Assistant Legal Advisers and the new role of Paralegal in order to encompass the full legal job family in one pay group.

The objective of tracking the market rate is to be able to retain and recruit legal job family staff in order to achieve an ROI (Return on Investment) in staff costs by maintaining the level of expertise and experience within the Department, ensuring effectiveness against the private practice sector and achieving Value for Money. If the resources are not available in-house, it is less efficient and far more costly to outsource the work to external counsel.”