States Assembly | Government Plan Review: Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel

Committee/Panel: Corporate Services Panel
Launch Date: 11 September 2019	Close Date: To be advised
Submissions Deadline: To be advised	Ministerial Response Date: To be advised
Review Status: Report published

About

The Government Plan replaces the previous Medium Term Financial Plan process, and brings States income and expenditure together for the first time. We reviewed the overall financial strategy and direction of the Plan, as well as specific projects which fell within our remit.

We also used focus groups to gather public opinion, and appointed an independent expert advisor to assess the soundness of the Government Plan's finances.

The full list of specific projects that we are reviewing can be accessed here.

We have published our report alongside reports from all of the other scrutiny panels, in order to provide a single, comprehensive assessment of all parts of the Government Plan. You can read Scrutiny's full report of the Government Plan here.

Evidence Accumulated

We invited members of the public, businesses and other stakeholders to send us their views on how the Government Plan will affect them. You can read our Call for Evidence here. This included a list of questions on key aspects of the Government Plan, which you can read below:

The Government Plan shows the actions and new projects that the Government is planning in 2020.

Will these actions and projects help the Government to meet its five strategic priorities of Putting Children First, Improving Wellbeing, Creating a Vibrant Economy, Reducing Inequality and Protecting the Environment?

See Part 2 of the Government Plan for more detail on the Government’s planned actions

See Government report on planned projects for 2020-2023 (R.91/2019).

The Government’s budget for this year is £735 million. In 2020, this will increase to £824 million, and by 2023 it will be £924 million. What are your views on this?

See Part 3 of Government Plan for more detail on the Government’s spending plans

The Government is planning to spend £81 million on new projects in 2020. What are your views on this?

The Government plans to spend £90 million on major infrastructure projects in 2020, such as refurbishing/extending schools, sewage treatments works, new IT systems, etc. This compares to £33 million due to be spent in 2019. What are your views on this?

The Government is planning to save £40 million in 2020 by finding ways to work more efficiently and effectively. What do you think about this?

Petrol prices will increase by 6p per litre in 2020, of which 4p will go to a new Climate Emergency Fund. Do you agree with this and how will it affect you?

Read the Budget proposals in detail

Alcohol taxes will go up by 1p on a standard pint of beer and 6p on a standard bottle of wine (in line with inflation).

Taxes on high strength alcohol will go up by more, for example 8p per pint on high strength beer and £2.08 on a litre of spirits.

What are your views on this, and do you agree with the Government’s strategy of increasing tax to help reduce alcohol-related harm?

The GST exemption for online shopping and bringing goods into the Island will reduce from £240 to £135 from 1 July 2020. What do you think about this and how will it affect you?

The Long Term Care charge will increase from 1% to 2% from January 2020. The Government says that this is needed to make sure that the Long Term Care Fund has enough money in it for the next 25 years. Do you agree with this increase?

If you are an employer, or self-employed person, the employer’s social security rate will increase from 2% to 2.5%. How will this affect your business?

Thinking about the Government Plan as a whole, does the Government do a good enough job of explaining how your taxes are being spent?

Have you been given enough information to understand what the Government is planning?

Which of the above areas do you think are particularly important, and why?

Are there any other issues that we should consider as part of our review?

The full list of specific projects that we reviewed can be accessed here.

Terms of reference

Note that sections/projects of the Government Plan will be allocated to Panels by the Government Plan Review Panel (GPRP) on a 'best fit' basis [1].
Undertake an in-depth review of the allocated sections/projects of the Government Plan 2020, considering:

Whether funded projects meet the Ongoing Initiatives, Common Themes and, ultimately, Common Strategic Priorities.
Ensuring that the projects and amendments to be lodged are consistent with the requirements of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019.
The level of resourcing, of all forms, allocated to projects and whether this is sufficient or excessive to enable the project meet its stated aims.
If project resource allocation is appropriate in relation to overall departmental budgets?
Whether funded projects align with Departmental objectives? [NB: if and where they exist]
Whether or not there are clear lines of accountability for each project?
The ongoing sustainability of projects.

Provide the GPRP with a report and any amendments by the date agreed.
Budget:

To examine income raising proposals
To look at how spending will be funded
To clarify how States expenditure has materially evolved
To look at individual departmental budgets and their feasibility based on future spending
To look at the deliverability of capital projects

Financial, economic and growth forecasts:

To examine the levels of income against expenditure
To examine the assumptions made for the economic forecasts
To look at the impact of the financial and economic forecasts in Government Plan 2020 on the Stabilisation Fund and more widely
To consider the economic sustainability of Government Plan 2020

Design and implementation of the Government Plan 2020:

To consider what allowance is made for the possible structural deficit in 2020 and beyond the period of the Government Plan
To look at reserves; their use, and how they are allocated
To consider, in the light of the 2016-2019 MTFP and Transition Report, how the treatment of contingencies/reserves, or any other areas of non-routine proposals have evolved in respect of the Government Plan 2020
To identify the variances from budget of the MTFP 2016-2019/Transition Report, and any lessons learnt and to consider any effect upon the Government Plan 2020
To consider the overall fiscal soundness of the Government Plan 2020

[1] Projects will not directly align with Scrutiny Panels and most will involve multiple ministerial portfolios. Rather than split out projects into elements amongst various Panels, each project will be scrutinised in its entirety by a single Panel.

Review: Government Plan Review: Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel

About

Evidence Accumulated

Terms of reference