Chief Minister’s Department
Chief Minister’s Report
TRANSFER OF ADDITIONAL BBC INCOME FROM THE TREASURY AND RESOURCES DEPARTMENT TO THE FINANCIAL SERVICES, DIGITAL, innovation AND COMPeTITION DIVISION OF THE cHIEF MINISTER’S DEPARTMENT
- Purpose of Report
The purpose of this report is to enable the Chief Minister to request that one-off windfall income of £261,240 be added to the Chief Minister’s Department Revenue Head of Expenditure and recognised as income in 2016.
- Background
The Chief Minister’s Department has received £261,240 from the BBC in respect of the underspend from the Digital Switchover Help Scheme, which was funded through TV Licence fees.
This income was not certain as no Digital Switchover Help Scheme refund has been issued by the BBC since 2012. In the past the BBC declined to confirm if any further monies were owed or would be forthcoming. Given this uncertainty, the sum was not included in the Medium Term Financial Plan.
Over the last year the Department has built stronger relationships with the BBC (and the UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)) and has pursued the issue of the outstanding Digital Switchover Help Scheme refund. As a result, the BBC reinvestigated the issue and recognised that three years’ worth of monies were owed to Jersey.
The breakdown of the income received from the BBC is set out below:
The funding would be used to support the development of a new Telecoms Policy and enable Digital Jersey to deliver high priority projects in support of the digital sector.
Telecoms Policy
The telecommunications infrastructure is the foundation of the Island’s digital economy and a key component for the delivery of the Council of Ministers’ economic priorities. In order to enable optimal development of the telecoms sector, a holistic Telecoms Policy should be developed to establish the States’ strategic vision for the sector and find the appropriate balance between potentially conflicting priorities.
Developing this strategy requires significant evidence gathering and analysis. A number of workstreams will be required to deliver this. Examples include the following:
- conduct a thorough analysis of the existing telecoms market and the current and future requirements of business and domestic consumers;
- develop meaningful benchmarks against comparable jurisdictions based on international case studies;
- identify options and recommendations for strategic development including approaches to spectrum allocation;
- evaluate potential strategies to encourage the development and adoption of new technologies such as 5G;
- approaches to investigate approaches to ensure affordability for consumers and businesses whilst also incentivising investment;
- recommend the correct balance between the need for a competitive, efficient telecoms market and the States’ interests as a shareholder in Jersey Telecom.
In order to fully capitalise on the opportunities presented by the telecoms sector the Telecoms Policy must be informed by research and sector expertise. No budget is currently available to support the development of a telecoms policy within the Chief Minister’s Department and the Department does not have the capacity or depth of expertise required to conduct this level of research and analysis in-house.
It proposed that funding of £111,240 is allocated to developing a Telecoms Policy. The money would be used to commission research and/or consultancy to inform the Telecoms Policy (£70,000) and recruit temporary resources to coordinate policy development (£41,240).
Digital Jersey
The Chief Minister’s Department proposes that £150,000 be allocated to increase 2016 funding for Digital Jersey to allow it to better deliver the ambitions set out in its Business Plan by delivering projects related to financial technology (Fintech), medical technology (Medtech) and establishing Jersey as a testbed for internet connected devices (the Internet of things). The Department is currently seeking additional resources from the Economic and Productivity Growth Drawdown Provision (EPGDP) to fund these projects so the allocation of £150,000 from the Digital Switchover Help Scheme would reduce EPGDP request by the same amount.
Fintech projects
Industry engagement has identified 3 areas of business development which Digital Jersey should prioritise within financial technology. These are:
- Financial Services Passport:
A “know your customer” database for financial services firms in Jersey. This globally unprecedented database would be owned by the jurisdiction and would reduce the cost and time taken to on-board new clients.
Jersey businesses and government must keep up with new and innovative technology. This work will look at the practical ways to improve the efficiency of both business and the expenditure of public money.
- Wealth management technology:
A workstream bringing together firms interested in developing innovative approaches to wealth management software.
Medtech projects
Within MedTech, Digital Jersey wish to connect local and international MedTech firms with the Health and Social Services Department. Industry engagement has identified several project areas Digital Jersey should look to develop. These include:
To work with the Health and Social Services Department to enhance the understanding of the ability of Internet of Things (IoT) technology to provide ambient assisted living (AAL) benefits to the residents of Jersey, whilst supporting the long term goals of the Department regarding residents enjoying independence in the home and reducing the central impact on future hospital bed allocation.
To establish a mechanism by which Jersey can implement electronic delivery of Pathology requests and results between Primary and Secondary Care using standard mechanisms with the objectives of reducing cost and improving the patient experience.
- Data Sharing within health services:
To establish a mechanism for the provision of secure electronic patient record sharing agreement in Jersey.
To develop a system which allows real-time access (by all primary/secondary care organisations) to the number of beds utilised in the hospital at any one time. The result will allow the process of admissions to be more efficient and improve the patient experience.
Facilitate the development of hardware and software which could allow carers in the community to monitor, log, track and update patient progress to allow more effective use of time and give access to primary care whilst improving patient comfort.
Development of single pathway for diabetes with emphasis on risk stratification and standardisation of care with the objectives of reducing prescribing errors, improving patient outcomes, reducing length of stay, increasing day case rates and reducing the number of hospital admissions.
Establish Jersey as a Testbed for internet connected devices (Internet of things)
Digital Jersey would like to focus on bringing businesses within key target areas (Fintech and Medtech) to Jersey to test new products and services.
Funding would be set aside for investing in internet connected devices/sensors, which would be allocated to businesses (both international and local) who wish to use the devices to test new products. The live data from these sensors would then be published on an Open Data platform, with the infrastructure freely available for other innovative businesses to utilise.
This approach has been effective in locations such as Glasgow and the city of Oulu (Finland), where a successful testbed environment has drawn together a consortium between business, academia, and local government under a single umbrella organisation boasting several testbed facilities. In Oulu, the presence of these testbed facilities has become a significant draw to inward investors with over 2,000 users involved in over 100 public and private projects since 2009; these users varying from idea generation to testing products and services.
The £150,000 funding would be spent as follows:
- £60,000 - short term consultancy to scope the detail of
- a Financial Services Passport;
- blockchain technology standards for the jurisdiction;
- process for allocating funding sensors and utilising an Open Data platform;
- an advanced approach to data sharing within health services;
- an advanced approach to hospital occupancy management.
- £40,000 events - to raise the awareness and the profile of Jersey as a jurisdiction in which to establish, grow and build Fintech and Medtech businesses;
- £30,000 – for a temporary FTE to operate as a Testbed officer, facilitating and promoting Jersey as a testbed, on and off island;
- £20,000 – allocated for purchasing sensors to facilitate Testbed Jersey.
3. Recommendation
It is recommended that the Chief Minister requests that the unbudgeted income of £261,240 be added to the Chief Minister’s Department revenue Head of Expenditure for 2016.
4. Reason for Decision
The income was not budgeted for in the Medium Term Financial Plan as it was not known how much – if any – Digital Switchover underspend would be refunded to the States of Jersey.
This decision would enable the development of a Telecoms Policy and provide funding for Digital Jersey to allow it to better deliver the ambitions set out in its Business Plan by delivering projects related to financial technology (Fintech), medical technology (Medtech) and establishing Jersey as a testbed for internet connected devices (the Internet of things).
Article 19(1) of the Public Finances (Jersey) 2005 states that If, during a financial year, the Minister is satisfied that the income of a States funded body which has a revenue head of expenditure for the year is likely to exceed its estimated income taken into account in approving that head of expenditure
(a) the Minister may authorize the body to withdraw from the consolidated fund during that year an amount not exceeding the likely excess of income;
5. Resource Implications
Recognition of £261,240 income in 2016 added to the approved income budget and £261,240 to the approved revenue expenditure for 2016.The income is to be added to the approved budget for 2016.
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