Letter - Minister for Home Affairs to CEHA Scrutiny Panel re follow up quarterly hearing questions - 11th May 2023

19-21 Broad Street | St Helier Jersey | JE2 3RR

Deputy Catherine Curtis

Chair, Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel

Via Email 11 May 2023

Dear Chair

Follow up matters from Public Hearing on 27 April 2023

I write in response to your request for information following the hearing on the 27 April.

• A clear breakdown of how the Full Time Equivalent (FTE) are impacted for the service areas within the States of Jersey Ambulance Service (SoJAS), to include: what is the current FTE count for SoJAS / how does this compare to what is approved by Government Plan funding / how does that compare to what is recommended by the Demand and Capacity Review?  

The FTE shown above accounts for management and support team, emergency ambulance service, intermediary ambulance provision and patient transport service.

Recruitment for the new posts within the Government Plan 2023 have started, initially with the clinical positions to prioritise patient care. We currently have 4 new Ambulance Technician and 2 new Paramedic posts in recruitment with interviews taking place next week. Other new roles are nearing the stage of Job Evaluation prior to advert.

The Demand and Capacity Review has recommended some further changes to this model. This would require 4 additional FTE and some internal changes to fully implement their proposed model, officers are meeting with Unions to discuss the proposals, we have invited staff feedback on the proposals and will be meeting with staff to obtain their input prior to moving forward within the GoJ organisational change policy which requires formal consultation.

The Service does not currently have the funds to make the necessary changes proposed within the Demand and Capacity Review and therefore an initial business case request has been submitted to the GP 2024 process, changes will not be able to be made until consultation is complete and funding agreed for 2024 by the States Assembly. The Council of Ministers are commencing early discussion about the 2024 Government Plan and the requirements of the Ambulance Service are being highlighted as part of those discussions.

• Confirmation of turnover of staff at the SoJAS.

Turnover of staff in the last 12 months within SoJAS was 4 staff in total across all areas (Management, Patient Transport Service, Intermediary and Emergency Service).

• Details of what consideration was included in the Demand and Capacity Review relating to staff overtime at SoJAS. In relation to this please could you also provide us with some data to about how much the SoJAS is using overtime to cover shifts.

The demand and capacity review looks at demand and capacity without the need for overtime, as overtime should be used to assist with additional operational pressures, not an increase in demand. This has been the case for many years, whilst the Service may on occasions put on additional recourses due to known events that may impact operations, it does not put on additional resource on overtime to help cope with regular changes in demand. Instead, we use trained managers and support staff during times of increased demand. The reason for this would be the pressure placed on staff.

The demand and capacity review did highlight the need for additional FTE to manage the Service's staff abstractions to meet current KPI's and planned resourcing levels, therefore new posts will be used to cover current abstractions and the proposed model suggests changes within the service and some additional new posts in addition to the 2023 FTE provided through the GP2023 to fulfil the current and near future demands placed on the Service.

Overtime currently used to cover staffing shortages due to abstractions in 2023 amounts to approximately 115 full shifts since the start of 2023 and includes additional cover for a trial of a 4th crew. This amounts to approximately 3 shifts per person on average.

• More details about Power BI (the Police database / dashboard) for data and details about whether the States of Jersey Police have an audit of data, to assess the suitability and fitness for purpose of what is collected?

Power BI (Powerbase) is the States of Jersey Police data reporting tool, which is used to analyse data through visualisation and data linkage. The data is collected through a variety of recording and then fed into Powerbase.

Once the data is in the system the Police Analysis Unit, as well as IT Developers are able to build dashboards' using Powerbase allowing officers and staff to access a variety of data and analysis. This forms a section of the 2023 States of Jersey Police Analytics Strategy: Democratising Analytics. The information governance and data protection principles are applied to dashboards and access is granted to specific users depending on the content of reports and an assessment of proportionality.

Using the system has allowed the development of dashboards covering a variety of areas and levels of complexity, which assist with the strategic understanding of crime, demand and performance. One example is the Chiefs Dashboard' which holds and displays approximately 50 metrics. This dashboard is used by the Chief Officer and Senior Management to monitor key areas of demand and performance and is also displayed across the organisation.

The quality of the data fed into PowerBi and associated analysis is fundamental in forming an effective strategic tool. The States of Jersey Police have now formed a data quality improvement group, which meets monthly and aims to identify and improve poor data quality. The content of PowerBi dashboards is regularly audited and improved whilst still maintaining parity with previous versions to allow for longitudinal comparisons.

• Written details about the Criminal Offences Confiscation Fund funding flow.

The discrepancy noted by the Panel is a result of the transfers from the COCF and the project budgets themselves being accounted for differently.

The amounts for the projects included in the Government Plan for 2023 are the monies required to complete the projects on a cash flow basis. As the projects have developed, they have been subject to reprofiling across the years to better reflect the pattern of planned spend.

Monies have been transferred in previous years, according to the previous profiling.

The transfers from the COCF which is detailed on page 74 is required to provide additional monies as a result of the reprofiling.

It remains the intention that these projects will be funded from the COCF in their entirety. A breakdown of the table on page 74 is below.

Firearms Range – detailed example

To complete this project, £1.2m was originally requested and allocated in GP21. Further funding was requested in both GP22 and GP23, £264k and £775k respectively (total budget £2.239m). The funding was transferred out of the COCF in these years and for those amounts. The 2023 amount can be verified in the table above.

Due to delays in the project, the cashflow profile has been very different to this. £178k was spent in 2021 and, at the time of drafting GP23, £286k was forecast to be spent, leaving £1,775k to be allocated in GP23 on a cashflow basis. This is shown in the tables below.

COCF allocation

Cashflow profile

Reconciliation

£

Total Requested   2,239,000 Total Spent  - 4  64,000 Balance Available 1,775,000 Required GP23 1,775,000

Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) and Prison

The same principles apply to these projects, as explained above for the Firearms Range.

Enclosed with the letter are four documents which contain tables explaining the COCF allocation, cashflow profile and reconciliation for all three projects.

States of Jersey Prison Service

1. The Independent Prison Monitoring Board made a number of recommendations in relation to Young Offenders. Minister, please could you advise whether there are any priorities for you to address from those recommendations?  

The placement of a child (under 18) at the prison is exceptional and is at the discretion of a placement panel, if considered to be in the best interest of the child (and other children).

I have given direction to the Placement Panel that children should not be detained at La Moye Prison under the circumstances are truly exceptional and all other options have been fully explored and exhausted.

The Government strategy is to divert children from custody at every opportunity to ensure this situation continues to be exceptional.

Young offenders generally refers to 18–21year-olds, but based on emerging evidence around the development of a young person's brain, a definition of 18-25 is being adopted at La Moye.

 A group of staff have recently attended a specialist off island conference focused on young offenders and the evidence base in terms of how to work with them most effectively.

Part of the recent restructure of the senior management team achieved a position in the senior team of head of safe custody and equality' who is focusing on better meeting the specific needs of young adults and ensuring this is an evidence based in the approach.

I am confident that, under the leadership of the Prison Governor, the recommendations made will be given proper consideration but also more broadly, that the prison is moving in the right direction in this area.

a)  One of the recommendations was around increasing educational provision. Is there any joint working with the Minister for Children and Education / CYPES on this matter with regards to their further education and skills work?

Prison education continues to be delivered in house, under new leadership, supported by a number of teachers and volunteers with skills from outside, progress is being made in securing expertise around learning difficulties and neurodiversity.

To date, there has not been any engagement with CYPES, or the Minister for Children and Education, as officers are still in the early stages of developing the department.

However, it is intended to establish the relationship and invite CYPES colleagues to advise on how to move forward regarding the project with the prisoners under 25, and the Education Manager is working on this.

The IPMB is also conducting a thematic review of education provision for prisoners which will provide valuable information to improve the department.

2. The Panel has previously asked about whether solar panels can be installed on the building roofs at the prison. Has this been explored?

Officers from the Prison have explored this with the Jersey Property Holdings project team working with them on the Prison redevelopment. Their conclusion is that, once the next phase of the development is commenced, solar panels will be included. As that is being done, there may also be a chance to retrofit them onto existing buildings.

Visa Vignette

• It was stated that the provision of a visa vignette would be "prohibitively expensive". Please could you confirm the cost of providing a visa vignette per person / per issue?

The Jersey Customs and Immigration Service (JCIS) endorse on average 700 foreign passports per year to indicate an extension or variation of an individual's immigration permissions granted in Jersey. JCIS have received notification from a very small number of individuals, approximately 0.5%, who have had difficulties in returning to the Common Travel Area.

It is not possible to provide a precise cost per person per issue. However, it is estimated that the cost for JCIS to issue vignettes or biometric resident permits would be somewhere between £120,000 and £200,000 to set up initially. The printing equipment required is very specialised and must significantly mitigate the chance of forgery by having the requisite security features.

However, this estimate does not take into account Officer time, printing and annual costs such as software and maintenance provision. Software costs in particular are likely to be significant. The true cost is therefore likely to be some way in excess of the above figures.

The possibility of sharing costs with the other Crown Dependencies has not been explored but given the expense and very low incidence of issues caused by not printing our own vignettes, both Guernsey and the Isle of Man have indicated that they (like Jersey) wish to eventually align with the UK by granting digital permissions. It is anticipated that digital permissions will start to be introduced in quarter 4 of 2024.

I am sure the Panel can appreciate that the introduction of a system to support this would be a very significant project. Given the imminent move away from visa vignettes in general, in favour of digital permissions, I would not support this level of expenditure at a time of significant cost pressures, to address an issue which affects a relatively small number of the population.

Yours sincerely

Deputy Helen Miles Minister or Home Affairs

Firearms Range

Original Profile  2021 2022 2023 Total Amount requested GP21 1,200,000 1,200,000 Requested GP22 264,000 25,000 289,000 Requested GP23 750,000 750,000 Transfers   1,200,000 264,000 775,000 2,239,000

2021 2022 2023

Cashflow per GP23 Spend Forecast Budget Total Cashflow profile 178,370 285,630 1,775,000 2,239,000

2021 2022 2023

Reconciliation Spend Forecast Budget Total B/fwd Balance  - 1,021,630 1,000,000 -

New COCF GP Allocation   1,200,000 264,000 775,000 2,239,000 Spend / Forecast (178,370) (285,630) (464,000) C/fwd / Unspent balance   1,021,630 1,000,000 1,775,000 1,775,000

£

Total Requested   2,239,000 Total Spent  - 464,000 Balance Available 1,775,000 Required GP23 1,775,000

Prison Phase 6 and 8

Original Profile 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 TOTAL

Prison Phase 6 6,500,000 1,714,000 89,762 8,303,762 Prison Phase 6   230,000 230,000 Phase 8a 6 66,000 1,609,000 133,000 2,408,000 Transfers   6,500,000 - 1,714,000 755,762 1,839,000 133,000 10,941,762

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

Cashflow per GP23 Spend  Spend  Spend  Spend Forecast Budget Total Cashflow profile Prison Phase 6 4,555,000 2,798,762 1,180,000 8,533,762 Cashflow profile Prison Phase 8 2,800 600,200 1,805,000 2,408,000

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

Reconciliation - Phase 6 Pre GP Spend  Spend  Spend  Spend Forecast Budget Total B/fwd Balance   6,500,000 6,500,000 6,500,000 1,945,000

New COCF GP Allocation    6,500,000 - - - - 6,500,000 Spend / Forecast - - - (4,555,000) (1,945,000) (6,500,000) C/fwd / Unspent balance   6,500,000 6,500,000 6,500,000 1,945,000 -

Reconciliation - Phase 6 GP

B/fwd Balance   1,714,000 1,803,762 1  ,180,000

New COCF GP Allocation    1,714,000 89,762 230,000 2,033,762 Spend / Forecast (853,762) (853,762) C/fwd / Unspent balance   1 ,714,000 1  ,803,762 1,180,000 1  ,180,000 1,180,000

2021 2022 2023

Reconciliation - Phase 8 Spend Forecast Budget Total B/fwd Balance   663,200 1,672,000

New COCF GP Allocation    6  66,000 1,609,000 133,000 2,408,000 Spend / Forecast (2,800) (600,200) (603,000) C/fwd / Unspent balance   6 63,200 1  ,672,000 1  ,805,000 1,805,000

£

Total Requested - Phase 6 8,533,762 Total Spent  - 7,353,762 Balance Available 1,180,000 Required GP23 1,180,000

Total Requested - Phase 8 2,408,000 Total Spent  - 603,000 Balance Available 1,805,000 Required GP23 1,805,000

Prison Phase 6 Pre GP (not COCF) (From States Accounts)

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 Funded Consolidation Fund 1,953,000 1,630,000 1,255,000 201,000 -

Spent - 323,000 - 375,000 - 1  ,054,000 - 201,000 -

Balance from Consolidated Funding 1,630,000 1,255,000 201,000 - -

Funded from COCF pre GP

Available budget 6,500,000 6,500,000 6,500,000 6,500,000 1,945,000 Spent   - - - - 4,555,000- 1,945,000 Balance from COCF Pre GP 6,500,000 6,500,000 6,500,000 1,945,000 -

Funded from COCF Phase 6 GP

6B   1,714,000 1,803,762 2,033,762 1,486,762 Spent - - - 5  47,000

Balance from COCF Per GP 1,714,000 1,803,762 1,486,762

Allocated in GP23 1,180,000

SARC

2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 TOTAL

Amount requested GP21 1,000,000 1,550,000 2,550,000 Requested GP22 382,000 591,000 317,000 1,290,000 Requested GP23 460,000 460,000 Transfers   1,000,000 1,550,000 382,000 591,000 777,000 4,300,000 Total Spent

Balance available

Total Required in GP23

2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

Cashflow per GP23 Spend Spend Forecast Budget Budget

Cashflow profile 12,000 299,599 133,401 2,851,000 1,004,000 4,300,000

2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

Reconciliation Spend  Spend Forecast Budget Budget

B/fwd Balance   988,000 2,238,401 2,260,000 227,000

Released from Reserve - New COCF GP Allocation   1,000,000 1,550,000 382,000 591,000 777,000 4,300,000 Spend / Forecast - 12,000 - 299,599 - 133,401 - 445,000 C/fwd / Unspent balance   988,000 2,238,401 2,487,000 2,851,000 1,004,000 3,855,000

£

Total Requested   4,300,000 Total Spent  - 445,000 Balance Available 3,855,000 Required GP23 3,855,000

Summary Position

Required from COCF Pg 74 GP23  £ £

2023 2024 Firearms 750,000

Firearms 25,000

SARC 591,000

SARC 317,000 SARC 460,000 Prison Phase 8 133,000

Magistrates Court (new in GP23) 312,000

GP23 Balance 1,811,000 777,000 Difference   - -

Firearms

Total Requested from COCF Total Spent / Forecast Balance Available

Required GP23

SARC

Total Requested from COCF Total Spent / Forecast Balance available

Required GP23

Prison Phase 6

Total Requested from COCF Total Spent / Forecast

Total Available

Required GP23

Prison Phase 8

Total Requested from COCF Total Spent / Forecast

Total Available

Required GP23

£

2,239,000

- 464,000

1,775,000

1,775,000

£

4,300,000

- 445,000 3,855,000 3,855,000

£

8,533,762

- 7,353,762 1,180,000 1,180,000

£

2,408,000

- 603,000 1,805,000 1,805,000