Submission - Proposed Government Plan 2024 - 2027 Review - Comptroller and Auditor General

Recommendation

Evaluation

Review the Managing Risk section in future Government Plans to ensure that it reflects high level risks of delivering the priorities in the Government Plan rather than a small sample of risks taken from the Corporate Register.

Reference to risk is contained throughout the Government Plan. There are clearer links between risks, priorities and the corresponding response of the Government Plan, especially in the overarching sustainable wellbeing' section.

Government Plan objectives

Relevant open' C&AG recommendations

Panel focus

Investing now

Supporting Islanders through Cost-of-

Living crisis: • Keeping money in Islanders' pockets through increased support and allowances

• Balancing alcohol duty

Economic, Social and Health-related Recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic (September 2023)

Whether the revenue expenditure growth, capital and other

• [ ] increase road fuel duties with inflation supporting Carbon Neutral objectives

• Continuing to subsidise GP fees through funding from the Health Insurance Fund

Review the lessons learnt from the implementation of all COVID-19 support schemes when considering the design of future benefits and other schemes established by Government to support businesses and individuals.

projects are appropriate and likely to have a positive impact on

Government Plan objectives

Relevant open' C&AG recommendations

Panel focus

Improving access to housing:  

• Renovating Assisted Purchase Home Ownership scheme

Enhance procedures to ensure that the existence of potential conflicts of interest and the mitigation actions taken are recorded in minutes of all oversight and decision making groups.

Islanders and Island life.  

• Recognising the housing needs identified

in the Bridging Island Plan [ ] investing in

the Island's surface water and foul sewage

drainage network

• Proposing to increase the first-time buyer

stamp duty threshold to £700k

• Improving standards of rental properties

through the new landlord licensing

scheme.  

Providing good quality healthcare for

SEB follow up (October 2022)

The impact of the

the future: • Significant additional investment in the Island's healthcare system (HCS budget from £249m to £287m)

Government Plan proposals on departmental

Produce a consolidated report on progress against the People Strategy for consideration by the SEB on a regular basis.

• In addition to inflation, a £8m pa provided to maintain health & community care standards.

budgets, savings and staffing levels.

How the proposed

Ensure that establishment data held by Treasury and Exchequer and by People and Corporate Services is reconciled on a regular basis.

• As part of turnaround of HCS a financial recovery plan has been developed and will deliver £25m in efficiencies per year by 2025.

• Financial recovery plan has developed over 50 schemes [ ] including improved recruitment and retention of frontline staff in health.

Update the protocol for the operation of the People Hub and monitor performance against the agreed protocol.

revenue expenditure growth, capital and other projects align with the Common Strategic Policy to deliver on the priorities, and with the objectives of the Ministerial Plans.

Deployment of staff resources in HCS: (January 2023)

Enhance the engagement at specialty level in the development of the HCS Workforce Strategy. In doing so, ensure that there is an agreed way forward for future clinical operating models and medical staffing models at specialty level.

• Recovery plan identified £15m structural

deficit in financing of HCS. Government

Plan has provided for legacy underfunding

Government Plan objectives

Relevant open' C&AG recommendations

Panel focus

plus £6m in 2024 while the financial turnaround is delivered.

• Covid-19 has shown need for greater resilience and support for public health function [so ] plan provides £3m (ongoing)

Clarify the planning assumptions that should underpin the HCS Workforce Strategy in respect of the future care model and the Our Hospital programme. Continue to review these planning assumptions as decisions are made with respect to the future care model and the Our Hospital programme.

Ensure that the wider HR service, which is currently spread across three teams, is co-ordinated and that there is sufficient specialist HR and finance support within the team developing the HCS Workforce Strategy.

Implement a specific Organisational Development programme to improve the current variable levels of medical staff engagement. In doing so, consider whether the programme would benefit from external facilitation and ensure that the programme includes senior clinicians as well as senior managers.

Delivering public services:

• This Government Plan funds the provision of affordable public services, supporting the sustainable wellbeing of Islanders whilst protecting services from the worst impacts of inflation.  

• This includes [ ] education, healthcare and ensuring public safety through our blue light services and the justice system.

• [ ] continue to invest in public services for islanders, by providing an additional £24m per year.

• [ ] £113m capital programme in 2024 including infrastructure and public estate developments.

Handling and Learning from Complaints – Follow Up (August 2023)

The impact of the Government Plan proposals on departmental budgets, savings and staffing levels.

Whether the resources allocated to revenue expenditure growth and capital and other projects are sufficient, ensure value for money and demonstrate best use of public funds.

Whether the revenue expenditure growth, capital and other

Develop an overarching, coherent, prioritised and resourced action plan to deliver on the stated duty to ensure all customers can easily provide feedback on publicly funded services.

Long Term Care Fund (February 2022):

Re-evaluate the basis for the grant contribution from the States to the LTCF

Carry out a full review of the management charge to the LTCF and ensure that the charge is an accurate representation of the costs of managing the fund.

Government Plan objective

s

Relevant open' C&AG recommendations

Panel focus

Undertake a formal analysis of care costs to inform the 2022 review of the following variables within the LTCS:  

• standard care cost at each level

projects are appropriate and likely to have a positive impact on

• standard co-payment

• standard personal allowance; and

Islanders and Island life

• standard care cost cap – single and couple.

Review and update existing framework agreements with all care providers.

Ensure that the update includes a clear articulation of the data and quality

standards required from care providers

Efficiency Savings (March 2023)

Review the current efficiency savings plans and develop a clearly

articulated strategic approach to delivering efficiency, innovation and

improvement, that:

(i) is closely linked to the States' wider strategic objectives for service

improvement and organisational development

(ii) analyses service performance in terms of resource input, service

output and service outcome to identify the greatest opportunities for

efficiency savings; and

(iii) focusses on long term sustainability gains and service improvement,

alongside shorter-term savings.

Assess the impact of the reductions in budgets on service performance

and the sustainability of the reductions in relation to service objectives

both in the short and the long term.

Ensure that benefits realisation strategies are documented at the outset

of all major and strategic projects.

Ensure that benefits realisation strategies are implemented, monitored

and reported on all major and strategic projects.

Government Plan objective

s

Relevant open' C&AG recommendations

Panel focus

Estate Management follow up (2021)

The Corporate Asset Management Board should, as a matter of urgency,

develop a 5-year asset management plan, which would describe the tactical

elements, that is, the intent for any property, drawing from the Common

Strategic Policy and/or the Government Plan and other initiatives such as

Putting Children First' and the Wellbeing programme, where progress

against the Estate Strategy would be monitored on an annual basis.

implementation plan including completion of all Asset Management Plans for

all States-owned properties.

Any future asset management system should be fully utilised, to ensure value

for money and aid a co-ordinated approach to property management and

maintenance.

A detailed plan to ensure all States owned properties comply with disability

legislation should be put in place and shared with stakeholders and property

users clarifying needs and priorities along with associated implementation

plans and anticipated costs and timing

The designated responsible' team should produce an up-to-date, coherent

and cohesive Property Management and Maintenance programme to include

a programme/schedule of works on all buildings in the States Estate, linked to

the Estate Management Strategy with regard to short-term/medium term and

long-term plans for each property.

Government Plan objectives

Relevant open' C&AG recommendations

Panel focus

Investing in our future

Helping children & families:

Handling and Learning from Complaints – Follow Up (August 2023)

The impact of the

• Raising childcare allowances

• Increasing investment in facilities, including [ ] secondary school and [ ] youth club. Investing £1.7m in specialist children's homes [and] £2.6m in frontline services to support pandemic recovery (children / young people).

• [ ] creating an innovative and inclusive education system

• Investment in Education Reform and Inclusion Programme, Early Years and Children's Social Care  

• Expanding free primary school meals

Government Plan proposals on departmental budgets, savings and staffing levels.

Whether the revenue expenditure growth, capital and other projects are appropriate and likely to have a positive impact on Islanders and Island life

Develop an overarching, coherent, prioritised and resourced action plan to deliver on the stated duty to ensure all customers can easily provide feedback on publicly funded services.

Require schools to provide information to CYPES on numbers, themes and outcomes of complaints they receive which:

• are resolved at Stage 1; and

• are managed by the Head Teacher or the school's Board of Governors at Stage 2 and Stage 3.

Work planned that should be prioritised: Establish a process and timeframe for periodic review of decisions about:

• what data about those who provide feedback is captured; and

project.  

• how captured data is evaluated and reported in support of wider

Government of Jersey objectives.

CAMHS (September 2022)

Strengthen:

• the use of Jersey specific risk data and wider determinants of health in

forecasting demand for children's mental health services (both capacity

and services needed); and

• cross-departmental measures of the impact of interventions, including as

part of the Jersey Performance Framework.

Ensure improvements to on-Island inpatient care for children and young

people are implemented, including by setting and monitoring Key

Performance Indicators (KPIs) to demonstrate improved service user

experience.

Government Plan objectives

Relevant open' C&AG recommendations

Panel focus

Also:

Recommendations as above for Efficiency Savings and Estates Management

Delivering new healthcare facilities:

Learning from Previous Hospital Projects – Follow Up (May 2023)

Whether the

• [ ] a phased approach to delivering New Healthcare Facilities [through] multiple projects over a longer period

• [ ] flexibility to proceed with these projects once confident they are affordable

• £52m in 2024 for the development of design and planning work [providing] a proposition for States Assembly to debate summer 2024  

• [ ] estimates that the total additional funding to deliver an acute facility at Overdale to be a maximum of £675m and a further £35m to make meaningful progress on development of the plans for future phases over this Government plan period

resources allocated to revenue expenditure growth and capital and other projects are sufficient, ensure value for money and demonstrate best use of public funds.

Whether the revenue expenditure growth, capital and other projects are appropriate and likely to have a positive impact on Islanders and Island life

 Ensure that effective mechanisms are put in place to review and, where appropriate, update the Functional Brief for key strategies which should inform capacity requirements as they are finalised

Establish clear and robust criteria to underpin decision making for the New Healthcare Facilities Programme. Document targets and tolerances and any weighting against the criteria

Clearly set out reasons for any deviation from the agreed criteria, the thresholds or the weighting and what has been done to mitigate the risks of the changes made

While recognising that risks and opportunities in health care constantly evolve, ensure that criteria for evaluation at any point in time fairly and reasonably represent a sustainable value for money position.

Developing our economy and skills:

Economic, Social and Health-related Recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic

Whether the

• Supporting our farmers and fishers with £1.2m investment in rural and marine sectors.  

• Investing in innovation and enterprise technology through the Impact Jersey scheme.  

• £450,000 in tax incentives to grow Jersey's economy including:

(September 2023)

resources allocated to revenue expenditure growth and capital and other projects are sufficient, ensure value for money and demonstrate best use of public funds.

Review the lessons learnt from the implementation of all COVID-19 support schemes when considering the design of future benefits and other schemes established by Government to support businesses and individuals.

Enhance procedures to ensure that the existence of potential conflicts of interest and the mitigation actions taken are recorded in minutes of all oversight and decision making groups.

Government Plan objectives

Relevant open' C&AG recommendations

Panel focus

• 150% tax super-deduction for RegTech investment.  

Integrated Technology Solution – Follow Up (April 2023)

Whether the revenue expenditure growth,

• 60-day tax exemption period for short term business visitors.

• Credit-based relief for foreign tax on employment income

-

Finalise and publish the Technology Strategy.

capital and other projects are appropriate and likely to have a positive impact on

Prepare and publish six-monthly update reports on progress in implementing the Technology Strategy.

Produce annual reports on benefits realisation from closed programmes to allow transparent reporting on long-term benefit realisation.

Islanders and Island life

Ensure that the key strategic risks associated with programmes are identified,

recorded and managed

Ensure business readiness checklists for future releases include a service-related

dimension which provides evidence that each significant service area across the

States of Jersey is satisfied that the functionality has been tested and signed off as

meeting business needs.

Also:

Recommendations as above for Efficiency Savings and Estates Management

Creating a more inclusive and vibrant

Grants and subsidies (December 2017)

The impact of the

community:

• Partnering with charities and community groups to deliver activities that improve Islanders' wellbeing through the community compass scheme.

• Maintaining 1% of government spending

Government Plan proposals on departmental budgets, savings and staffing levels.

Undertake a corporate review of grants and other support to identify the total level of support to individual bodies and whether that is in line with organisational objectives.

Review the range of existing governance arrangements for individual grants and grant schemes and justify differences by reference to business need.

to Arts, Heritage, and Culture.

• Continuing to progress the

Develop an overall States-wide framework for grants.

redevelopment of Fort Regent.

At Corporate Management Board level, develop a corporate action plan to

• Investing a total of £11.7m for renovating the Jersey Opera House.

address the recurring weaknesses in the management of grants and monitor its implementation.

Government Plan objective

s

Relevant open' C&AG recommendations

Panel focus

Handling and Learning from Complaints – Follow Up (August 2023)

Develop an overarching, coherent, prioritised and resourced action plan to

deliver on the stated duty to ensure all customers can easily provide feedback on

publicly funded services.

Work planned that should be prioritised: Develop and implement a checklist' to

support departments in ensuring contractor arrangements on managing

complaints dovetail with the requirements of the Government's Customer

Feedback Policy.

Work planned that should be prioritised: Establish a process and timeframe for

periodic review of decisions about:

• what data about those who provide feedback is captured; and

• how captured data is evaluated and reported in support of wider Government

of Jersey objectives.

Economic, Social and Health-related Recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic

(September 2023)

Review the lessons learnt from the implementation of all COVID-19 support

schemes when considering the design of future benefits and other schemes

established by Government to support businesses and individuals.