Government Plan

Published:

Feb 1, 2023

Updated:

August 3, 2024

Author:

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Introduction

On 19 September 2023 the then Council of Ministers published the Proposed Government Plan 2024-2027. This was approved, with a few amendments, by the States Assembly on 12 December 2023. The final Government Plan 2024 - 2027 was published on 8 March 2024. The Plan remains in place notwithstanding the election of a new Chief Minister in January 2024. Ministerial Plans for 2024 were also published on 19 September 2023. Their status is unclear given the establishment of the new Council of Ministers, but at the least give an indication of some of the current issues. The Common Strategic Policy of the new Council of Ministers was agreed by the States Assembly on 21 May 2024. On 2 August 2024 the Government published Proposed Budget (Government Plan) 2025-2028. The decision has been taken to rename the Government Plan “Budget”, although for the purposes of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019 it is the Government Plan. The name change reflects the reality of the position is that the document is a budget rather than a plan.

Legal requirements

Article 18(2)(e) of The States of Jersey Law 2005 requires as one of the functions of the Council of Ministers –

agreeing and lodging for referral to one or more Scrutiny Panels established under standing orders and approval by the States, a statement of their common strategic policy.

Article 18 (2A) of the Law requires that –

The Council of Ministers must lodge the statement of their common strategic policy under paragraph (2)(e) –

(a) no later than the day on which the first government plan is lodged; and

(b) within 4 months of their appointment under Article 19(7).

Article 9 (1) of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019 requires that -

Each financial year, the Council of Ministers must prepare a government plan and lodge it in sufficient time for the States to debate and approve it before the start of the next financial year.

The remainder of Article 9 sets out in detail what must be included in the plan in respect of financial information.

Common Strategic Policy

On 26 January 2024 Deputy Lyndon Farnham was elected Chief Minister.

On 9 April 2024 his Council of Ministers published its Proposed Common Strategic Policy 2024 - 2026. This set out 12 priorities for delivery in the next two years. A 13^th priority, implementation of the Carbon Neutral Roadmap, was added by the States Assembly when it approved the Common Strategic Policy 2024-2026 on 21 May 2024.

Extend nursery and childcare provision.
Provide a nutritious school meal for every child in all States primary schools.
Increase the provision of lifelong learning and skills development.
Start building a new hospital at Overdale.
Reduce GP fees.
Implement the recommendations from the Violence Against Women and Girls Taskforce report.
Transition to a living wage.
Provide more affordable homes for Islanders and more confidence for the rented sector.
Keep government fees, duties and charges as low as possible to help Islanders with the cost of living in 2025.
Reduce red tape, enhance opportunities for business and strengthen Jersey’s international reputation.
Deliver a plan to revitalise Town.
Reform the planning service to get Jersey building.
Meet the Island’s commitments to address the climate emergency through the implementation of the Carbon Neutral Roadmap.

Government Plan 2024-2027

General revenue income - £1.2bn
Government spending on delivering services to Islanders - £1.16bn
Spending on buildings and infrastructure - £113m
New healthcare facilities - £52m
Increased single person allowance in 2024 - £20,000
Balance in the Strategic Reserve - £1.1bn.

The Plan then has a section “delivering on our priorities” under seven headings –

Housing and cost of living

Tax allowances increased by 7.7%.
Increasing the rate of homeownership with £10m of government support.
Improving standards of rental properties through the new landlord licensing scheme.

Economy and skills

Implementing a new economic strategy which will help ensure Islanders enjoy a better standard of living in 2040 than they do today.
Supporting technological innovation through the Impact Jersey Scheme.
£4.2 million new investment in rural and marine sectors.

Children and families

£2.6 million new funding for frontline services to support children and young people.
Expanding the free primary school meals project to all States schools.
Continuing investment in facilities, including Mont a L’Abbe secondary school and Le Squez youth club.

Ageing population

Continuing to develop the older persons living forum to make sure that the older community are included in government decision making.
Developing the Jersey Pension Saver to improve financial well-being in old age.
Reinstating £77m government funding to the Social Security Fund to support the state pension.

Health and well-being

Continued funding for reduced GP fees funded from the Health Insurance Fund.
Focus on recruitment and retention of frontline staff in health and education.
£24m new funding for health service pressures and public health.

Environment

Responding to the Climate Emergency through initiatives such as the ebike scheme and low carbon heating incentive.
Delivering the first phase of the Carbon Neutral roadmap to deliver our overall objective of being a net zero Island by 2050.
Speeding up Jersey’s transition to electric vehicles through the Electric Vehicle Purchase Scheme.

Community

Partnering with charities and community groups to deliver activities that improve Islanders’ well-being through the community compass scheme.
Dedicating 1% of government spending to Arts, Heritage and Culture.
Spending a total of £11.7m on renovating the Jersey Opera House.

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Spending by department is as follows –

£286m Health and Community Services

£206m Children, Young People, Education and Skills

£160m Treasury and Exchequer*

£107m Customer and Local Services

£77m Cabinet Office

£57m Infrastructure

£40m Justice and Home Affairs

£37m Economic Development, Tourism, Sport and Culture

£27m States of Jersey Police

£20m Overseas Aid

£11m Environment

£11m Financial Services

£3m Ministry of External relations

£43m Non-Ministerial and other States Bodies

*Includes £94.9m grants to the Social Security Fund and Long Term Care Fund.

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Capital expenditure of £113m includes –

£45.7m Estates

£30m Infrastructure

£20m IT

£10.6m Replacement assets

£6.7m Feasibility and contingency

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Expenditure from Social Security Funds of £452 million includes –

£320m Pensions and other benefits

£80m Long Term Care benefits

£52m Health benefits

Proposed Budget (Government Plan) 2025-2028

On 2 August 2024 the Government published Proposed Budget (Government Plan) 2025-2028. A summary document Budget in Brief has also been published. The decision has been taken to rename the Government Plan “Budget”, although for the purposes of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019 it is the Government Plan. The name change reflects the reality of the position is that the document is a budget rather than a plan. Another change from previous practice is that the proposed Budget is published much earlier than in previous years.

The proposed Budget sets out the following 2025 highlights –

General revenue income £1.3bn.
Government spending in delivering services to Islanders £1.2bn.
2025 balance in the Strategic Reserve £1.2bn.
Investment in new healthcare facilities £710m.
Investment in buildings, infrastructure and IT £93m.
Purchase of new government HQ £91m.
Investment in health £31m.
Support for businesses and charities through transition to the living wage £20m.

The proposed Budget measures for 2025 include –

Increases in personal tax allowances by 3.6%, for example the single person’s allowance increases from £20,000 to £20,700.
No increase in alcohol or fuel duty.
83p increase in the duty on a packet of cigarettes.
20% increase in vehicle emissions duty for the highest emitting vehicles.

Proposed spending by department is as follows –

£322m Health and Community Services

£226m Children, Families, Education and Lifelong Learning

£109m Customer and Local Services

£75m Infrastructure and Environment

£73m Justice, Home Affairs and States of Jersey Police

£51m Economy, Financial Services and External Relations

£48m Non-Ministerial and other States Bodies

£47m Treasury and Exchequer

£40m Technology and Digital Services

£26m Cabinet Office

£22m Jersey Overseas Aid

£14m People services

It should be noted that the definitions of departments are different from those in the previous plan. Also, some of the listed departments are not departments but functions, for example “people services” in the previous plan was included in the Cabinet Office figure. However, more detailed figures are published in the main report.

Proposed capital expenditure of £93m comprises –

£28m Estates

£30m Infrastructure

£21m IT

£13m Replacement assets

£1m Feasibility

Proposed expenditure from Social Security Funds of £481 million includes –

£335m Pensions and other benefits (Social Security Fund)

£84m Long Term Care benefits (Long Term Care Fund)

£62m Health benefits (Health Insurance Fund)

The proposed Budget will need to be agreed by the States Assembly.

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