15 April 2021
Organisations including Jersey Heritage, the Citizen’s Advice Bureau and Jersey Cheshire Homes have successfully bid for a total of £22.8 million through phase one of the Fiscal Stimulus Fund.
The Fund - which was approved by the States Assembly in November 2020 - was launched to support the Island’s recovery from the impact of COVID-19 by funding projects which will stimulate the economy.
Applications were invited from Government departments, arms-length organisations, and not-for profit organisations for projects worth up to £5 million, which are expected to be completed by the end of 2021.
The projects supported by phase one of the Fund include:
- £1.3 million to Hamptonne for an agricultural museum
- A total of £5.1 million to refurbish both the Jersey Opera House (£2.2 million) and Jersey Arts Centre (£2.9 million)
- £1.2 million to Customer and Local Services to provide financial incentives to employers when they recruit someone who is unemployed
- £50,000 to Jersey Citizens Advice Bureau to redesign their website to better support Islanders
- The full list of projects receiving funding, and the detailed eligibility criteria, is on gov.je/fiscalfund.
In total, the Fund received 93 Expressions of Interest with a total funding value of £102.4m. Of these, 47 applications which met the fund’s criteria of providing temporary, targeted, and timely support to the economy, were asked to submit a business case.
A Fiscal Stimulus Oversight Group (FSOG) was set up to oversee the programme. While the Minister for Treasury and Resources, Deputy Susie Pinel, took the final decision on applications, she received recommendations and comments from FSOG, the Economic Recovery Political Oversight Group (ERPOG) and the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel (CSSP).
Minister for Treasury and Resources, Deputy Susie Pinel, said: “The number of applications to the Fiscal Stimulus Fund demonstrate that there is a wealth of potential on the Island, with many organisations who have ambitious plans to help the Island’s recovery.
“I’d like to thank all those who applied for funding for their thoughtful applications. I’d also like to thank both ERPOG and CSSP for their comments and recommendations, which we have listened to and taken into account when deciding on the projects to receive funding both in this and the second tranche of the Fund.”
gov.je