Government Plan Debate Summary 14 - 17 December
14th December 2020
To begin the Meeting, the Chief Minister, Senator John Le Fondré, made a statement about the Government Plan.
Listen to the Chief Minister's statement by skipping to 10 minutes into the meeting.
Public business: Government Plan
Proposed Government Plan 2021-24
On behalf of the Council of Ministers, the Minister for Treasury and Resources, Deputy Susie Pinel, asked States Members to accept the proposed Government Plan.
Listen to the beginning of the debate by skipping to 1 hour 17 minutes into Monday's Meeting.
READ THE FULL PROPOSAL HERE.
The following Amendments were ADOPTED on a Standing Vote (as amended by the Council of Ministers) and, therefore, were not debated:
- 1 - Establish Public Sector Ombudsman - see the Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel's original Amendment here and the APPROVED Amendment to the Amendment here.
- 2 - Increase funding for Jersey Premium - see the Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel's original Amendment here and the APPROVED Amendment to the Amendment here.
- 3 - Increase funding for Care Leavers Budget - see the Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel's original Amendment here and the APPROVED Amendment to the Amendment here.
- 7 - Increase Stamp Duty for properties over 2 million - see the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel's original Amendment here and their Amendment to the Amendment here.
- 11 - Increase funding for Beresford Street Kitchen - see Deputy Robert Ward's original Amendment here and the APPROVED Amendment here.
- 17 - Poverty Commission to research poverty levels - see Deputy Kevin Pamplin's original Amendment here and the APPROVED Amendment here.
- 21 - Fund tree preservation initatives - see Constable Mike Jackson's APPROVED Amendment here.
READ THE FULL PROPOSAL HERE.
Amendment 6 - Child Care Tax Relief
Senator Kristina Moore proposed Amendment 6 to the Government Plan, on behalf of the Corporate Services Panel. The Panel asked to reduce the estimate for personal income tax by £240,000 by increasing Child Care Tax Relief by £123; and Enhanced Child Care Tax Relief by £320 in 2021.
The States Assembly voted to APPROVE the Amendment – click here to find out how States Members voted.
READ THE FULL AMENDMENT HERE.
Listen to the debate by skipping to 2 hours and 2 minutes into Monday morning's Meeting.
Amendment 8 - Child Tax Allowances
Senator Kristina Moore proposed Amendment 8 to the Government Plan, on behalf of the Corporate Services Panel. The Panel asked to reduce the estimate for personal income tax by £260,000 in 2021 by increasing Child Tax Allowance by £60 & Additional Tax Allowance by £90.
The States Assembly voted to APPROVE the Amendment – click here to find out how States Members voted.
READ THE FULL AMENDMENT HERE.
Listen to the debate by skipping to 2 hours 30 minutes into Monday morning's Meeting.
Amendment 5 - Reduce the cost of biodiesel
Deputy Robert Ward proposed Amendment 5 to the Government Plan. He asked for the rates of duty on renewable biodiesel to be reduced so it would be comparable in cost to traditional diesel, rather than 50p more expensive.
The States Assembly voted to REJECT the Amendment – click here to find out how States Members voted.
READ THE FULL AMENDMENT HERE.
Listen to the debate by skipping to 2 hours and 44 minutes into Monday morning's Meeting.
Amendment 16 - Reduce the level of borrowing
On behalf of the Government Review Panel, Senator Kristina Moore WITHDREW Amendment 16 to the Government Plan. This Amendment was asked in the context of the borrowing strategy created to fund the cost of COVID-19. It requested to
a) reduce the level of borrowing by a third;
b) facilitate a community bonds programme; and
c) sell states-owned assets to offset borrowing
READ THE FULL AMENDMENT HERE.
Listen to the debate by skipping to 49 minutes into Monday afternoon's Meeting.
Amendment 12 - Repair and maintenance of Elizabeth Castle
Deputy Montfort Tadier proposed Amendment 12 to the Government Plan, as amended by the Council of Ministers.
The Deputy’s original proposal asked for £2.6 million of funding to go towards the repair and maintenance of Elizabeth Castle in 2021, and funding in 2022 & 2023 for the competition of the project.
The Council of Ministers’ Amendment, which was accepted by Deputy Tadier, substituted £2.6 million with £750,000 for the repair and maintenance of Elizabeth Castle.
The States Assembly voted to APPROVE the Amendment, as amended – click here to find out how States Members voted.
READ THE FULL AMENDMENT HERE and THE AMENDMENT TO THE AMENDMENT HERE.
Listen to the debate by skipping to 1 hour and 8 minutes into Monday afternoon's Meeting.
Amendment 19 - Grant to the Institute of Law
Deputy Mike Higgins proposed Amendment 19 to the Government Plan. He asked to cut States of Jersey Police Firearms Funding by £200,000, and to provide a grant to the Institute of Law to provide legal advice for those unable to afford it.
The States Assembly voted to REJECT the Amendment – click here to find out how States Members voted.
READ THE FULL AMENDMENT HERE.
Listen to the debate by skipping to 1 hour and 19 minutes into Monday afternoon's Meeting.
Before resuming the debate on the proposed Government Plan, Tuesday’s Meeting started with States Members asking Ministers oral questions without notice (QWN), on COVID-19 related matters, for one hour.
Catch up on QWN by skipping to 5 minutes into Tuesday morning's Meeting.
Amendment 20 - Jersey Sea Cadets headquarters
Following QWON, Deputy Mike Higgins proposed the Amendment 20 to the Government Plan. He asked to cut funding to the States of Jersey Police Firearms Range by £1,000,000 and instead provide a grant to the Sea Cadets Jersey so they would be able to acquire new headquarters.
The States Assembly voted to REJECT the Amendment – click here to find out how States Members voted.
READ THE FULL AMENDMENT HERE.
Listen to the debate by skipping to 1 hour and 11 minutes into Tuesday morning's Meeting.
Amendment 9 - Under-21 bus pass scheme
Deputy Robert Ward proposed the Amendment 9 to the Government Plan. He asked to make the remainder of the 2021 Climate Emergency Fund available to fund a bus pass scheme for all Islanders under the age of 21, from April 2021.
The States Assembly voted to REJECT the Amendment – click here to find out how States Members voted.
READ THE FULL AMENDMENT HERE.
Listen to the debate by skipping to 2 hours and 17 minutes into Tuesday morning's Meeting.
Amendment 15 - GST refunds for eco-friendly purchases
Senator Kristina Moore proposed the Amendment 15 to the Government Plan. She requested to make GST refunds are made available for selected eco-friendly purchases, such as cost-efficient heating and electric transport.
The States Assembly voted to REJECT the Amendment – click here to find out how States Members voted.
READ THE FULL AMENDMENT HERE.
Listen to the debate by skipping to 45 minutes into Tuesday afternoon's Meeting.
Amendment 18 - Extension of school meals pilot
Deputy Robert Ward proposed the Amendment 18 to the Government Plan. He asked for £573,717 of the expenditure for the COVID-19 response to be reallocated to the school meal pilot so it can be used to cover all state-funded primary schools.
The States Assembly voted to REJECT the Amendment - click here to find out how States Members voted.
READ THE FULL AMENDMENT HERE.
Listen to the debate by skipping to 1 hour and 51 minutes into Tuesday afternoon's Meeting.
Amendment 14 - Use of unspent funds & development of estates strategy
Senator Ian Gorst proposed the Amendment 14 to the Government Plan. He asked
a) to prioritise the application of unspent funds in 2020 & 2021;
b) for unspent funds be returned to the Consolidated Fund; and
c) that the Council of Ministers agree an estates strategy before the next Government Plan
The States Assembly voted to APPROVE the Amendment – click here to find out how States Members voted.
READ THE FULL AMENDMENT HERE.
Listen to the debate by skipping to 7 minutes into Wednesday morning's Meeting.
Amendment 10 - Funding of public services by parishes
Constable Simon Crowcroft proposed Amendment 10 to the Government Plan. He requested that a review be conducted into how parishes fund public services, e.g. parks, to ensure the taxpayers of certain parishes to not have to pay higher maintenance costs than others.
The Council of Ministers’ proposed an Amendment to Constable Simon Crowcroft’s Amendment to the Government Plan. They proposed that £50,000 of funding be put toward the review into how parishes fund public services.
The States Assembly voted to APPROVE the Amendment to the Amendment.
The States Assembly then returned to vote on the original Amendment, as amended.
States Members voted to APPROVE Constable Simon Crowcroft’s Amendment to the Government Plan, as amended – click here to find out how States Members voted on the Amendment and the Amendment to the Amendment.
READ THE FULL AMENDMENT HERE and THE AMENDMENT TO THE AMENDMENT HERE.
Listen to the debate by skipping to 2 hours 17 minutes into Wednesday morning's Meeting.
Amendment 13 – Government expenditure for Arts, Heritage & Culture
Deputy Montford Tadier proposed Amendment 13 to the Government Plan. He asked that funding for the Arts, Heritage & Culture continue to encompass 1% of the government's overall expenditure from 2024 onwards, as it did in previous years.
The States Assembly voted to APPROVE the Amendment – click here to find out how States Members voted.
READ THE FULL AMENDMENT HERE.
Listen to the debate from the beginning of Wednesday afternoon's Meeting.
Amendment 4 – Change standard rate of income tax
Senator Sam Mézec proposed the Amendment 4 to the Government Plan. He asked to, from 2022, remove 20% personal income tax rate and put all ordinary taxpayers on marginal relief calculation, at a reduced rate of 25%, and with access to marginal relief allowances.
The States Assembly voted to REJECT the Amendment – click here to find out how States Members voted.
READ THE FULL AMENDMENT HERE.
Listen to the debate by skipping to 15 minutes into Wednesday afternoon's Meeting.
Proposed Government Plan 2021-24
States Members returned to debate the proposed Government Plan, as amended by the following Amendments: 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17 and 21.
The States Assembly voted to APPROVE the Government Plan, as amended - click here to find out how States Members voted.
Listen to the debate by skipping to 1 hour 55 minutes into Wednesday afternoon's Meeting.
Further Public business
Draft Finance Law
Following the Government Plan debate, the Minister for Treasury & Resources, Deputy Susie Pinel, proposed to set the standard rate of income tax for 2021 at 20% and to change a series of finance-related laws in order to implement parts of the Government Plan. She put forward the Proposition, as amended by her own Amendment and the Amendments to the Government Plan 2021-24.
The States Assembly voted to APPROVE the Proposition, as Amended.
Following this, States Members voted to APPROVE the Addendum, meaning that Deputy Susie Pinel's amended Proposition will be brought into immediate effect – click here to find out how States Members voted.
READ THE FULL PROPOSAL HERE and THE AMENDMENT HERE.
Draft Social Security Law
The Minister for Social Security, Deputy Judy Martin, proposed to change the law to remove the requirement for the States to contribute to the Social Security Fund in 2021.
The States Assembly voted to APPROVE the Proposition – click here to find out how States Members voted.
READ THE FULL PROPOSAL HERE.
Draft Health Insurance Fund
The Minister for Social Security, Deputy Judy Martin, proposed to change the law to allow £11.3 million to be transferred from the Health Insurance Fund to the Consolidated Fund in 2021.
The States Assembly voted to APPROVE the Proposition – click here to find out how States Members voted.
READ THE FULL PROPOSAL HERE.
Following public business, the States Assembly held a 1-minute silence for the passing of the late former Senator, Leslie White.
Oral questions
Urgent oral questions
Deputy Louise Doublet asked the Minister for Health and Social Services, Deputy Richard Renouf, an urgent oral question regarding the new policy which prevents pregnant women having a support partner accompany them to ante-natal scans. This was followed by 15 minutes of supplementary questions from States Members.
Listen to Deputy Louise Doublet’s question by skipping to 4 hours 7 minutes into Thursday morning's Meeting OR read the Deputy's question here.
Questions without notice
The States Assembly was requisitioned to hold 1 hour of questions without notice (QWN) to all Ministers on matters relating to COVID-19, by the following States Members:
- Senator Kristina Moore
- Senator Steve Pallett
- Constable Karen Shenton-Stone
- Deputy Steve Luce
- Deputy Louise Doublet
- Deputy Carina Alves
- Deputy Inna Gardiner
Following QWN, Senator Ian Gorst shared a Christmas message on behalf of the Senators; Constable Simon Crowcroft on behalf of the Constables; and Deputy Judy Martin on behalf of the Deputies. To end the final States Meeting of 2020, the Bailiff, Timothy Le Cocq, made a final speech addressing the States Assembly.
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