Transfer from Treasury and Exchequer to General Reserve following cancellation of payment to Social Security Fund in 2020

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A decision made 2 April 2020:

Decision Reference: MD-TR-2020-0035
Decision Summary Title:	Transfer from Treasury and Exchequer to General Reserve following cancellation of payment to Social Security Fund in 2020		Date of Decision Summary:	2nd April 2020
Decision Summary Author:	Head of Financial Governance		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title:	Transfer from Treasury and Exchequer to General Reserve following cancellation of payment to Social Security Fund in 2020		Date of Written Report:	2nd April 2020
Written Report Author:	Head of Financial Governance		Written Report : Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: Transfer of £65.3 million from the Treasury and Exchequer (T&E) Head of Expenditure to the General Reserve Head of Expenditure in 2020 following cancellation of the payment to the Social Security Fund in 2020.
Decision(s): The Minister approved the transfer of £65.3 million from the Treasury and Exchequer (T&E) Head of Expenditure to the General Reserve Head of Expenditure in 2020 following cancellation of the payment to the Social Security Fund in 2020.
Reason(s) for Decision: Article 18(1)(a) of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019 states that a specified amount appropriated for one head of expenditure may, with the approval of the Minister for Treasury and Resources, be used for the purposes of another head of expenditure that is set out in the government plan. P.28/2020 Draft Public Finances (Amendment of Law) (Jersey) Regulations 202-, approved by the States Assembly on 24th March 2020, temporarily removed the requirement for the Minister to give the States at least 4 weeks’ notice of the day on which the Minister proposes to give a direction under Article 18. P.31/2020 Draft Social Security (Amendment of Law No. 12) (Jersey) Regulations 202- , approved (as amended) by the States Assembly on 2nd April 2020, authorised cancellation of the supplementation payment from Treasury and Exchequer to the Social Security Fund in 2020. The Minister is now transferring the sum allocated for that payment to the General Reserve to meet funding pressure arising due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Resource Implications: The Treasury and Exchequer head of expenditure will decrease by £65.3 million in 2020 and the General Reserve head of expenditure will increase by the same amount. This decision does not change the total amount of expenditure approved by the States in the Government Plan for 2020-23.
Action required: The Head of Financial Governance to notify the Head of Finance Business Partnering for Treasury and Exchequer once the decision has been signed.
Signature:		Position: Deputy S J Pinel, Minister for Treasury and Resources
Date Signed:		Date of Decision:

Transfer from Treasury and Exchequer to General Reserve following cancellation of payment to Social Security Fund in 2020

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GoJ logo red English Treasury and Exchequer

Ministerial Decision Report

Transfer from Treasury and Exchequer to General Reserve following cancellation of payment to Social Security Fund in 2020

Purpose of Report

To enable the Minister to approve the transfer of £65.3 million from the Treasury and Exchequer (T&E) Head of Expenditure to the General Reserve Head of Expenditure in 2020 following cancellation of the payment to the Social Security Fund in 2020.

Background

The Social Security Law includes a requirement to make a payment, commonly known as supplementation, from “taxpayer-funded” expenditure to the Social Security Fund. The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic means that the Minister has had to identify all available funds, particularly liquid funds, to meet the resulting costs. Further to the States Assembly agreement of P31/2020, as amended, the cancellation of the payment for 2020 frees £65.3 million within the Consolidated Fund in 2020 that can be transferred from the Treasury and Exchequer head of expenditure (where the spending approval currently exists) to the General Reserve, to be available for the Minister to reallocate to initiatives and funding pressures in departments in response to the impacts of the Covid 19 pandemic.

The Minister is grateful to the Minister for Social Security and the States Assembly for agreeing this approach.

3. Recommendation

The Minister is recommended to approve the transfer of £65.3 million from the Treasury and Exchequer (T&E) Head of Expenditure to the General Reserve Head of Expenditure in 2020 following cancellation of the payment to the Social Security Fund in 2020.

4. Reason for Decision

Article 18(1)(a) of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019 states that a specified amount appropriated for one head of expenditure may, with the approval of the Minister for Treasury and Resources, be used for the purposes of another head of expenditure that is set out in the government plan.

P.28/2020 Draft Public Finances (Amendment of Law) (Jersey) Regulations 202-, approved by the States Assembly on 24th March 2020, temporarily removed the requirement for the Minister to give the States at least 4 weeks’ notice of the day on which the Minister proposes to give a direction under Article 18.

P.31/2020 Draft Social Security (Amendment of Law No. 12) (Jersey) Regulations 202- , approved (as amended) by the States Assembly on 2nd April 2020, authorised cancellation of the supplementation payment from Treasury and Exchequer to the Social Security Fund in 2020. The Minister is now transferring the sum allocated for that payment to the General Reserve to meet funding pressure arising due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

5. Resource Implications

The Treasury and Exchequer head of expenditure will decrease by £65.3 million in 2020 and the General Reserve head of expenditure will increase by the same amount.

This decision does not change the total amount of expenditure approved by the States in the Government Plan for 2020-23.

Report author : Head of Financial Governance	Document date 2nd April 2020
Quality Assurance / Review :Treasurer of the States	File name and path: L:\Treasury\Sections\Corporate Finance\Ministerial Decisions\DS, WR and SD\2020-0035 - Transfer from T&E to General Reserve £65m
MD Sponsor: Treasurer of the States