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STATES OF JERSEY
GOVERNMENT PLAN 2023-2026: SCRUTINY REVIEW BY THE ECONOMIC AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS SCRUTINY PANEL (S.R.22/2022) – RESPONSE OF THE MINISTER FOR EXTERNAL RELATIONS AND FINANCIAL SERVICES
Presented to the States on 2nd February 2023
by the Minister for External Relations and Financial Services
STATES GREFFE
2022 S.R.22 Res. (2).
GOVERNMENT PLAN 2023-2026: SCRUTINY REVIEW BY THE ECONOMIC AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS SCRUTINY PANEL (S.R.22/2022) – RESPONSE OF THE MINISTER FOR EXTERNAL RELATIONS AND FINANCIAL SERVICES
Ministerial Response to: S.R.22/2022 Ministerial Response required 31st January 2023
by:
Review title: Government Plan 2023-2026: Scrutiny
Review by the Economic and International Affairs Scrutiny Panel
Scrutiny Panel: Economic and International Affairs Scrutiny Panel
FINDINGS
| Findings | Comments |
1 | The confidentiality of Departmental Business Cases gave rise to reporting difficulties as, although the Panel had access to this information, it was unable to share this information as part of its report. | Noted. |
2 | The Government Plan shows that funding for Financial Services sits with the Department of the Economy for the life of the Government Plan. However, the CoM has brought an amendment breaking this funding down between the Department of the Economy and Financial Services of which the Panel is supportive. | Correct. The funding is broken down within the Department for the Economy between Financial Services and Economic Development, Tourism, Sport & Culture. |
3 | N/A – relative to MEDTSC |
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4 | N/A – relative to MEDTSC |
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5 | N/A – relative to MEDTSC |
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6 | N/A – relative to MEDTSC |
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7 | N/A – relative to MEDTSC |
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8 | N/A – relative to MEDTSC |
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9 | N/A – relative to MEDTSC |
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| Findings | Comments |
10 | N/A – relative to MEDTSC |
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11 | N/A – relative to MEDTSC |
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12 | The £200,000 shown in the Government Plan for the Jersey London Office is not a growth but a reversal of a cut in funding made by the last Council of Ministers in anticipation of sharing costs with Guernsey to combine a dual Island office. | Correct. |
13 | Grants and subsidies payment of £1,134,000 is used to cover External Relations overseas offices in London and Brussels. | The figure includes the grant funding for External Relations' overseas offices in London, Brussels and Caen (the latter two joint with Guernsey). It also includes a small grant to the Alliance Francaise Jersey. |
14 | An additional Sanctions Officer is required for Jersey as a result of the increased workload due to the upcoming MONEYVAL assessment in September 2023 and, the increased implementation of sanctions due to the conflict in Ukraine. The funding for this post will cover the period of 2023 and 2024. | Correct. However, due to ongoing pressures – highlighted by the Panel in its report - an ongoing review of resourcing requirements in the Financial Sanctions implementation Unit (FSIU) will be needed during 2023 and 2024. |
15 | N/A – relative to MID |
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16 | N/A – relative to MID |
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17 | N/A – relative to MEDTSC |
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18 | N/A – relative to MEDTSC. |
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19 | N/A – relative to MEDTSC |
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20 | N/A – relative to MEDTSC |
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21 | N/A – relative to MEDTSC |
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RECOMMENDATIONS
| Recommendations | To | Accept/ Reject | Comments | Target date of action/ completion |
1 | The Council of Ministers should review the | ME DT |
| Business cases provided to the panel included commercially sensitive |
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| Recommendations | To | Accept/ Reject | Comments | Target date of action/ completion |
| confidentiality of Business Cases and consider whether it is in the public's interest to keep Government Plan business justification cases and cost breakdowns confidential. This should be carried out within the next six months and implemented in time for the future Government Plan. | SC/ ME RFS /CO M | Reject | information, distributing these to a wider audience would seriously undermine the government's ability to negotiate with suppliers and contractors and therefore cost the public money. |
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2 | The Chief Minister should ensure due clarity and accountability by transferring the responsibility for Financial Services to the Minister for Treasury and Exchequer without delay. | ME RFS/ CM |
| Ministerial responsibility for financial services has been confirmed and clarified through both R.9/2023 and R.10/2023. |
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3 | N/A – relative to MEDTSC |
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4 | N/A – relative to MEDTSC |
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5 | N/A – relative to MEDTSC |
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6 | N/A – relative to MEDTSC |
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7 | The Minister for External Relations and Financial Services should explore the prospect of a dual office to help reduce costs. This should be undertaken in 2024 with a briefing provided to the Panel on its negative and/or positive impact to the Island. | ME RFS |
| The feasibility of a joint London office has previously been considered and discounted on the basis of operational and funding implications for both Jersey and Guernsey. Given the critical importance of the London office's role in managing Jersey's UK relations, and wider work engaging with key EU and international stakeholders, there are no plans to undertake a further assessment of a joint office at this time. |
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| Recommendations | To | Accept/ Reject | Comments | Target date of action/ completion |
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8 | N/A – relative to MEDTSC |
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9 | N/A – relative to MEDTSC |
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