Government Plan 2022 Review - Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel
Launch date: 04/10/2021
Review status: Report published
What is the review about?
The Government Plan seeks to bring together public income and spending against the context of the stated strategic priorities of Government. It is a rolling four-year plan but is brought back and updated each year to take account of changes in the Island’s economic outlook. The Government Plan 2022 – 2025 is the second which has been published since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the changes made to financial forecasts to fund Government’s response to it.
Details of the plan include:
Estimated income and expenditure of the Consolidated Fund
Amounts to be internally transferred between States Funds
Any other proposed financing
Major projects and their proposed costs
Estimated income and expenditure from States trading operations to be paid into the States Trading Operations Fund
Amounts to be appropriated from the Consolidated and States Trading Operations Funds for the next financial year
Estimated amounts in States Funds at the start and finish of each financial year
Borrowing and Debt Management Frameworks
Key Issues:
Will the Government Plan meet the requirements of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019?
Will the Government Plan meet the Common Strategic Priorities?
How have the projects been prioritised in line with the 'halt, defer, reduce' policy of the Government, and is expenditure appropriately apportioned to projects and departments?
Does income balance with expenditure?
Is the Government Plan fiscally sound and economically sustainable?
Does the Government Plan follow the advice of the Fiscal Policy Panel and Income Forecasting Group?
Review progress
The Panel presented its report on Friday 10th December. The report can be accessed here.
Terms of reference
To undertake a review of the sections/projects of the Government Plan 2022- 2025 which are most relevant to the remit
of the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel, using the following criteria as a guide:
Where funding over £500,000 has been allocated
Where funding has been withdrawn or decreased significantly from the previous year
Where funding has been increased significantly from the previous year
Projects which the Panels consider are of most concern (as a result of, for instance, delays, deferrals, overspends or because they are not in keeping with Common Strategic Priorities)
Projects which have been identified as of concern by stakeholders
Projects which are contentious and/or in the public eye
Projects where insufficient information has been provided and more information is sought
Concern is held on the project’s alignment with Common Strategic Priorities, social impact and impact upon children.
To determine whether those projects align with Ongoing Initiatives,
Common Themes and, ultimately, Common Strategic Priorities.
To consider whether the resources allocated to the projects is sufficient or excessive.
To review of the success or otherwise of projects agreed in the previous Government Plan for 2021.
To assess the expected impact on the ongoing delivery of public services, by Minister, through rebalancing of Government finances.
Budget
To examine income raising, borrowing and debt management proposals
To explore how spending will be funded
To clarify how States expenditure has materially evolved
To ascertain individual departmental budgets and their feasibility based on future spending
To examine the deliverability of capital projects
To consider rebalancing and borrowing plans being sufficient or excessive to meet stated aims
Financial, Economic and Growth Forecasts
To examine the levels of income against expenditure
To examine the assumptions made for the economic forecasts
To explore the impact of the financial and economic forecasts in Government Plan 2022 on the Stabilisation Fund
To explore the continued impact of Covid-19 on the ‘financial envelope’
Design and Implementation of the Government Plan
To assess reserves; their use, and how they are allocated
To consider how the treatment of contingencies/reserves, or any other areas of non-routine proposals have evolved in respect of the Government Plan
To consider the overall fiscal soundness of the Government Plan
Submissions
Transcripts
Research
