Review: States Annual Report and Accounts 2024

About

Part of PAC’s role is to assess whether public funds have been applied for the purpose intended by the States and whether sound financial practices have been maintained. Therefore, the Committee intends to review the processes for the preparation of, and the performance reported in, the States Annual Report and Accounts 2024.

The Annual Report and Accounts contains a breakdown of the activities and initiatives carried out by the different elements of the States of Jersey, including Government Departments, Non-Ministerial Departments, funds and some subsidiary companies.

The Annual Report provides information on how the Government of Jersey has performed over the course of the year in the context of its objectives (‘the Performance Report’) and on how the States is governed (‘the Accountability Report’). It also provides information on the financial performance of the States of Jersey covering both assets and liabilities and income and expenditure.

The States Annual Report and Accounts is effectively the culmination of a Government Plan year and, therefore, reports on the successes or otherwise of the projects and programmes agreed within the financial envelope by the States Assembly for that year. As other Scrutiny Panels conduct reviews of proposals by Ministers within the Government Plan, the PAC ensures that this is retrospectively examined to identify whether or not priorities have been delivered and outcomes achieved. Furthermore, it is important to assess the following matters:

• Whether the performance reporting presents clearly the Government’s aims, activities, functions and performance.
• Whether the reported risks and mitigations have been clearly articulated.
• The transparency and timeliness of the overall report.
• Whether consideration has been given by the States of Jersey to the recommendations of the External Auditors (Mazars), previous recommendations from the Comptroller and Auditor General and previous recommendations of the PAC.
• Consideration of changes to the Annual Report and Accounts and rationale for doing so.
• References and linkages within the report.

1. The accuracy, transparency and timeliness of the States Annual Report and Accounts 2024, including whether the Performance Report contained therein presents clearly the Government’s performance. This also includes what changes will be made in the presentation of the 2024 accounts as a result of the change of Government in 2024 and how government will approach this.
2. Follow-up on previous recommendations made by the External Auditors of the States of Jersey, the Comptroller and Auditor General, and the PAC in respect of the Annual Report and Accounts, with particular focus on improvements to internal IT controls and plans for full incorporation of States-Owned Entities.
3. To assess the reporting of risk and mitigations contained within the Accountability Report.
4. Evaluating the clarity, scope and timeliness of remuneration reporting, including exit payments and redundancies.
5. Examining the reasons behind overspend in Health and Care Jersey (HCJ), including the role of any 'turnaround' or change-management teams, overall financial controls, and procurement practices, including consideration of the financial recovery programme and sustainable spending for the future.
6. Examining amendments made to the Government Plan (e.g., R.134/2024 and R.15/2025), including any reprioritisation of services, releases from central reserves, and transfers between Heads of Expenditure.
7. Scrutiny a sample of grants and grants schemes to be identified by the Committee from the Accounts.
8. Examination of capital spending allocations compared to actual spend, with a focus on key areas including:

• IT investment and outcomes;
• Cabinet Office restructure expenditure and value for money.

Terms of reference

1. To examine the content, reported performance, transparency, accessibility and timeliness of the States of Jersey Annual Report and Accounts 2024.
2. To consider whether the Performance Report contained within the Annual Report and Accounts 2024 presents clearly the States of Jersey’s aims, activities, functions and performance during that period (including service performance measurements).
3. To examine the contents of the Accountability Report contained within the Annual Report and Accounts 2024 including reported risks and mitigations as well as remuneration reporting (including exit and redundancies payments).
4. To examine the amendments made to the Government Plan, including any financial re-prioritisations, allocations, or transfers between departments and the central reserve, and to assess the extent to which approved funding aligns with actual expenditure in order to determine the final financial position.
5. To determine whether the States Annual Reports and Accounts 2024 incorporates the recommendations of the previous PAC Reports and recommendations of the External Auditors of the States of Jersey and Comptroller and Auditor General, with special focus on:

• Improved overall awareness and presentation of the report for ease of use and understanding
• Plans for Incorporation of States Owned Entities to the Group Report and Accounts
• Consistent definition such as Value for Money applied across departments
• Health and Care Jersey related spend and performance.
• Capital projects expenditure and reporting;
• Outcomes and impact of a sample of grants and grant schemes;
• IT expenditure, project delivery, and reporting;
• Cabinet Office Restructure, expenditure and reporting.