Budget Transfers: Target Operating Model

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A decision made 17 April 2020:

Decision Reference: MD-TR-2020-0045
Decision Summary Title:	Inter-departmental budget transfers associated with the Target Operating Model		Date of Decision Summary:	17th April 2020
Decision Summary Author:	Specialist – Business Cases		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title:	Inter-departmental budget transfers associated with the Target Operating Model		Date of Written Report:	17th April 2020
Written Report Author:	Specialist – Business Cases		Written Report: Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: Inter-departmental budget transfers between heads of expenditure associated with the Target Operating Model.
Decision(s): The Minister approved a recurring net nil transfer between heads of expenditure as detailed below.
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. Article 18(4) of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019 states that the Minister shall give the States Assembly at least 4 weeks’ notice before an amount is transferred under paragraph (1)(a). P.28/2020 Draft Public Finances (Amendment of Law) (Jersey) Regulations 202-, approved by the States Assembly on 24th March 2020, agreed a number of temporary modifications to the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019 one of which stated; to remove the requirement in Article 18 that if the Minister proposes to give a direction to re-allocate a head of expenditure, the Minister gives the States at least 4 weeks’ notice. Article 18(5) of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019 states that if a direction under this Article would affect a head of expenditure that relates to the responsibilities of any Minister, that Minister must be consulted before the direction is made. The relevant Accountable Officers have approved the transfers and Ministers have been consulted. Article 22(1) of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019 states that in relation to limitations on powers – non-Ministerial States bodies, the Minister may give a direction under any of Articles 18 to 21 with respect to a head of expenditure that relates to the operations of a non-Ministerial States body only with the approval of:- (b) the Chair of the States’ Privileges and Procedures Committee, in the case of the States Greffe; or (c) the accountable officer of the non-Ministerial States body, in any other case. The Chair of PPC and relevant Accountable Officers for non-Ministerial States bodies have approved these transfers.
Resource Implications: The heads of expenditure will change as described below on a recurring basis. This decision does not change the total amount of expenditure approved by the States in the Government Plan 2020-2023.
Action required: The Head of Financial Governance to advise the Specialist – Business Cases and the Heads of Finance Business Partnering of the departments that this decision is approved.
Signature:		Position: Deputy Susie Pinel Minister for Treasury and Resources
Date Signed:		Date of Decision:

Target Operating Model: Budget Transfers

Treasury and Exchequer

Ministerial Decision Report

Inter-Departmental Budget Transfers Associated with the Target Operating Model

Purpose of Report

To enable the Minister to approve the necessary recurring budget movements to merge the economy team within OCE and to make further inter-departmental budget transfers associated with the Target Operating Model.

Background

The 2019 Transition Report was presented to the States of Jersey on 17th December 2018. This set out the cash limits for each department’s head of expenditure in the new organisational structure resulting from the Target Operating Model.

Further to the decision to move the economy teams together and, as a result of further work, additional budget movements are required between heads of expenditure to correctly reflect departmental responsibilities and where costs will be incurred. These include, but are not limited to:

Economy teams

The teams responsible for supporting Jersey's economy are being merged into a single structure, initially within the Office of the Chief Executive (OCE), ahead of a consultation about forming a new economy department. This will see the separate Economy and Partnerships directorate – responsible for SME business support, partnerships, tourism strategy, sports, culture and the rural economy – moving from the Growth, Housing and Environment (GHE) department.

Note: any Ministerial Decisions signed in 2020 which allocated funding to Economy and Partnerships currently within GHE, even though not included in the totals above, should now be read so that the transfer can be allocated to OCE without further decisions being signed.

Information technology

As part of the Transition Report, departmental IT budgets were centralised in the Chief Operating Office, in line with the OneGov vision. It was quickly identified that additional funding was required to properly resource and develop the teams that would be responsible for integrating these systems and managing them going forwards. The Government Plan 2020-23 secured funding to enable this, however it will take time to develop these teams. As such these department specific IT budgets are being returned temporarily.

Mixed teams

As part of the Transition Report, whole teams were moved between departments to best align with the Target Operating Model. Further refinement of individual roles and responsibilities has meant that budget transfers are now required to follow where the costs will be incurred.

The table below shows the income and expenditure revenue budgets which will be transferred between departments as a result of this decision.

Recommendation

The Minister is recommended to approve the recurring inter-departmental budget transfers as described above.

Reasons 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.

Article 18(4) of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019 states that the Minister shall give the States Assembly at least 4 weeks’ notice before an amount is transferred under paragraph (1)(a). P.28/2020 Draft Public Finances (Amendment of Law) (Jersey) Regulations 202-, approved by the States Assembly on 24th March 2020, agreed a number of temporary modifications to the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019 one of which stated; to remove the requirement in Article 18 that if the Minister proposes to give a direction to re-allocate a head of expenditure, the Minister gives the States at least 4 weeks’ notice.

Article 18(5) of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019 states that if a direction under this Article would affect a head of expenditure that relates to the responsibilities of any Minister, that Minister must be consulted before the direction is made.

The relevant Accountable Officers have approved the transfers and Ministers have been consulted.

Article 22(1) of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019 states that in relation to limitations on powers – non-Ministerial States bodies, the Minister may give a direction under any of Articles 18 to 21 with respect to a head of expenditure that relates to the operations of a non-Ministerial States body only with the approval of:-

(b) the Chair of the States’ Privileges and Procedures Committee, in the case of the States Greffe; or

The Chair of PPC and Accountable Officers for non-Ministerial States body have approved these transfers.

5. Resource Implications

The heads of expenditure will change as described above on a recurring basis. This decision does not change the total amount of expenditure approved by the States in the Government Plan 2020-2023.

Report author: Specialist – Business Cases	Document date : 17th April 2020
Quality Assurance / Review: Group Director, Strategic Finance	File name and path: L:\Treasury\Sections\Corporate Finance\Ministerial Decisions\DS, WR and SD\2020-0045 - Transition II
MD sponsor: Treasurer of the States