Treasury and Resources
Ministerial Decision Report
Restructuring Provision allocation to Community and Constitutional Affairs Department (CCA) revenue head of expenditure for implementation of the Criminal Procedure (Jersey) Law 201_ and Criminal Justice Information and Communication Technology streamlining
- Purpose of Report
To enable the Minister for Treasury and Resources to approve the allocation of up to £175,800 in 2017 and up to £245,800 per year in 2018 and 2019 from the Restructuring Provision to the Community and Constitutional Affairs revenue head of expenditure to fund the implementation of the Criminal Procedure (Jersey) Law 201_ and Criminal Justice Information and Communication Technology streamlining.
- Background
At its meeting on 26 April 2017 the Council of Ministers approved the CCA bid of up to £737,400 from the Restructuring Provision for the years 2017 – 2019 for the implementation of the Criminal Procedure (Jersey) Law 201_ and Criminal Justice Information and Communication Technology streamlining. The Law Officers Department has requested a carry forward of £70,000 from 2016 to assist with the funding of the project therefore the funding requirement from the Restructuring Provision will be reduced to £667,400.
It is acknowledged that the laws upon which the Jersey Criminal Justice system is based are outdated and in need of urgent revision and modernisation. The main area of concern is the Loi (1864) Réglant la Procedure Criminelle. Written in French, this is still the principle source of authority for criminal procedure. This law was written for a different era of criminal justice. A new law, written in English, is required to ensure that criminal procedure and evidence in Jersey support a justice system that is to be expected in modern society.
The Public Sector Reform agenda in Jersey is well placed to support an incremental change in the area of criminal justice. There is a need for cross-departmental LEAN thinking to apply the principles of ‘ground up’ methodology to develop efficiencies and streamlined ways of working.
Integrated functions and services will reduce transaction costs by changing to digital online processes and capitalising on existing IT platforms which can be extended across existing partnership arrangements. The implementation of business process re-engineering using LEAN methodology will lead to a culture of continuous improvement.
- Recommendation
The Treasury and Resources Minister is recommended to approve the allocation of up to £175,800 in 2017 and up to £245,800 per year in 2018 and 2019 from the Restructuring Provision to the Community and Constitutional Affairs revenue head of expenditure to fund the implementation of the Criminal Procedure (Jersey) Law 201_ and Criminal Justice Information and Communication Technology streamlining.
- Reason for Decision
Article 17(2) of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2005 states that the Minister for Treasury and Resources is authorised to approve the transfer from contingency expenditure or the insurance fund of amounts not exceeding, in total, the amount available for contingency expenditure in a financial year.
The Contingency Allocation Policy published by the Minister for Treasury and Resources (R.10/2012) states that all requests for Allocation from Contingency will be considered by the Council of Ministers and this restructuring provision bid was approved at their meeting on 26th April 2017.
MD-HA-2017-0051 was signed by the Minister for Home Affairs on 29th June 2017.
- Resource Implications
The CCA revenue head of expenditure to increase by up to £667,400 during 2017 to 2019, with the proposal to draw down up to £175,800 in 2017 and up to £245,800 in 2018 and 2019. The amount in each year may be varied without exceeding the total amount for the three years. The restructuring Provision to decrease by an identical amount.
This decision does not change the total amount of expenditure approved by the States for 2017-2019 in the Medium Term Financial Plan.
Report author : Head of Decision Support | Document date : 16th June 2017 |
Quality Assurance / Review : Director – Financial Planning and Performance | File name and path: L:\Treasury\Sections\Corporate Finance\Ministerial Decisions\DS, WR and SD\2017-0093 - PSR funding for CCA (Criminal Justice) £667,400 |
MD sponsor : Director – Financial Planning and Performance |