Good Afternoon.
It’s a pleasure to be able to address the members of the Institute of Directors again, ahead of the Christmas period, to reflect on the challenges and successes of the last year, and to outline plans for the Government’s work in 2020.
My sincere thanks to Lisa for inviting me to speak and for her kind welcome. And many congratulations on her appointment as the new Chair of the Institute of Directors (IoD) Jersey Branch.
Having been a local politician for many years, I know that a Ministerial speech can produce the worst kind of indigestion.
So, I promise not to take too much of your time, and to give you the opportunity to ask the questions that I’m certain Lisa and the Committee have requested you prepare.
But first, I want to take a few minutes to highlight what I consider to be the meaningful changes we have seen across Government in 2019, and my objectives as we enter the next year.
When I spoke to IoD members last December, in this very room, the Common Strategic Policy had just passed the States Assembly by unanimous vote.
I said then that 2019 would be one of the most challenging years that this Island has faced in recent memory.
It would be difficult for me to deny the accuracy of that prediction.
2019 saw challenges that manifested in many ways:
For example, in the way we are continuing to modernise our public service – our efforts to resolve ongoing pay disputes, embedding the Team Jersey culture change, and accepting the need to identify and implement long-overdue efficiencies.
In the way we work as a Council of Ministers – requiring politicians who had come together from diverse political positions to create the Common Strategic Policy to then agree on a concrete plan for implementing their priorities in a practical, costed, way.
In facing legacy issues - including a multi-million pound damages suit, and substantial underinvestment in our infrastructure.
And in our external relationships – navigating the potential impacts of a No Deal Brexit, managing threats to our established constitutional relationship with the UK, and increasing our focus on the Island’s distinct international identity.
But 2019 has shown that we can and will continue to meet those challenges.
We have presented an ambitious and funded programme of initiatives in the Government Plan.
A plan that puts, front-and-centre, the commitments we made in our CSP last year to make Islanders’ lives better, backed by a modern, efficient and value-for money public service.
We have created departments that are working together, as One Government, to plan and deliver services against a shared vision and the outcomes defined in the Common Strategic Policy.
We have reached settlement with all bar one of the public sector’s pay groups, and are now on the front foot to begin negotiations on the 2021 pay awards.
We have put in place the new Damages Law, which has already reduced our exposure by £45 million in existing claims, while continuing to safeguard the needs of people who have suffered injury.
And we have met and mitigated the risks presented by Brexit and the changing global landscape, strengthening our relationship with the UK, and building our global markets initiative.
I admit that it has not all been plain sailing.
And I accept that not every decision we have made as a Council of Ministers has been immediately welcomed by Islanders or the media.
But we have a responsibility to take decisions for the long-term.
To do what is right not just for today, but for the future sustainable wellbeing of Islanders.
I do not and will not apologise for taking the difficult decisions to establish the structure, the financial stability and the skills we need across the public sector to provide Islanders with the services they expect now, and in the future.
Next week the States Assembly will debate the Government Plan, and its 23 proposed Amendments.
I’m confident that the Plan will find support from States Members, and I hope to receive that same support from your members when we begin the real work of implementing its actions and efficiencies in 2020 and beyond.
I really believe the creation and passage of the Government Plan is one the most important pieces of work that Jersey’s Government has undertaken in all the time I have been a States Member.
It provides, in black and white, a tangible and measurable promise to meet the commitments we have made to all Islanders.
One of the most significant enduring legacies of this Government will be in meeting our commitment to Put Children First.
It is the first overarching priority within the Common Strategic Policy and remains the most profound responsibility of Government – to never allow a repetition of the failings that led to children in our care suffering unacceptable abuse.
And we must meet that responsibility not just through words, but tangible actions. Although we must recognise that we are starting from a very poor position.
Last month our ‘Let’s be Honest’ Social Worker recruitment campaign was recognised at a national level, winning the Recruitment Effectiveness award for 2019 and resulting in the recruitment of 22 new social workers.
Our fostering and adoption campaign has seen a doubling in the number of applicants in the last year.
Over a year ago we launched an eight-point pledge to Put Children First, in which Ministers, States Members, and public service leaders committed to being accountable for improving the care and upholding the rights of every child in the Island.
This campaign has ensured that vulnerable children in our Island are cared for to the very highest standards.
It is a start. But there is so much more we can and must do.
Yesterday, on World Children’s Day, we launched a campaign to encourage all public servants and Islanders to support that pledge.
Because we ALL have a duty to our Island’s children – it’s not just about Government.
I hope that all of you here today will give your commitment to supporting the Pledge and help to build a child-friendly Jersey that puts the interests of children at its heart.
It will ensure that as a public sector, and a wider community, our polices and our actions put Children at the centre of what we do.
Another enduring legacy will be our management of the impact of Brexit on the Island.
Once again, we find ourselves in a Brexit hiatus, with the UK having secured an extension of the deadline for leaving the EU until 31 January 2020.
We also find ourselves facing what has been dubbed ‘the Brexit election’, with increasing speculation that we’ll see a final resolution of the Brexit question early in the New Year.
But I want to be clear that the risk of a no deal Brexit has not disappeared. It remains the legal default and we must continue our preparations on that basis.
We will continue work to protect vulnerable Islanders who would be most disproportionately affected by a No Deal Brexit.
We will continue to ensure the continuity of our essential supply chains, of food, medicines and fuel.
And we will continue working with Jersey Business, with the Chamber of Commerce and with the IoD to ensure business readiness across all industries.
But it is equally important that we look not only to the immediate impacts of Brexit, but to the opportunities of increased trade and access for Jersey to international markets in a post-Brexit world.
Once the UK leaves the EU, Jersey’s approach to external trade will need to adapt.
‘No change’ will not be an option and the Island may have difficult choices to make as the negotiations progress.
Our future approach will build upon the Government’s existing efforts to position the Island as a more influential partner internationally, with maturing commercial and political relationships.
We recently secured extension of the UK’s membership of the WTO to the Island in the event of Brexit.
This has the potential to make trade easier with a large number of countries, enable access to WTO dispute resolution mechanisms and give Jersey a greater presence on the world stage.
And as discussions on the future partnership between the UK and the EU progress, the UK has entered into negotiations to establish continuity Free Trade Agreements with existing EU partners.
We will need to ensure that we are prepared to carefully consider the balance of risk and advantage of participating in those FTAs.
I hope that many of you will have already contributed to our Let’s Talk Trade consultation.
This critical piece of work will form the basis of our future trade policy – and I encourage you to engage now with the team if you have not yet done so.
As Chief Minister, I’m acutely aware that we need the financial stability and proper funding in place to ensure that we can withstand potential threats to our Island, including any adverse impacts relating to Brexit.
The Government Plan includes a series of prudent measures to ensure a robust financial position in the event of negative impacts on Jersey.
We’ve proposed to invest an additional £28 million into the Stabilisation Fund in 2020, and a total of £55 million over the four-year period covered by the Government Plan.
What has become clear as a result of the due diligence work we have undertaken over the last 18 months, is that our infrastructure, both physical and virtual, has suffered from woeful underfunding for some time.
This has impeded our ability to look after our employees, hindered our ability to communicate effectively with the public and most importantly frustrated our ability to deliver the good quality public services that Islanders deserve.
Which is why delivering the Government Plan priorities also requires substantial funding and investment over the next four years.
In order to achieve this without significant increases in taxes, the Government must transform the way in which it delivers public services – in short, to do more with less.
As has been widely reported, we are committed to securing £100 million of efficiencies out of the public service cost base over the next four years.
This will help to close the £30 to £40 million budget deficit that had been forecast from 2020.
But I want to be clear: efficiency shouldn’t mean short-term cost-cutting and workforce targets, salami-slicing of departmental budgets, or cuts to frontline services.
More efficient services means services that are joined up, that can be accessed conveniently and online, avoid duplication, and that respond to the needs of citizens and businesses more quickly.
We have set out to deliver this organisational and transformational change, ensuring a fit-for-purpose and cost-effective public service.
And I hope that the Efficiencies included in the Government Plan are approved by the States Assembly next week – delivering the real savings that we have so long promised to the public, but have not properly delivered.
Underpinning our financial stability, we must commit to promoting and protecting our economy for the long-term, as the key driver of prosperity and our standard of living in Jersey.
The Government Plan will see industries like those that you represent given the attention and investment that many would agree is long overdue.
The Future Economy Programme, which has been established to develop and deliver the first phase of the Economic Framework, will benefit from additional expenditure in 2020 of £4.7 million.
We will provide funding and support for Digital Jersey and their Digital Jersey Academy, providing a welcome growth in the digital sector, and a further diversification of our economy.
We have earmarked on average £800,000 a year to promote our hospitality industry – building on the fantastic work done by Visit Jersey, hoteliers, and service providers that has seen a promising increase in visitors.
We’re adding an extra £1.5 to £2 million a year to strengthen financial services, which provides the bedrock of our economy and tax revenues.
Finally, we’re enhancing our international profile and promoting our Island identity with an additional expenditure in 2020 of £5.5 million.
That means a total of £80 million will be invested to enhance Jersey’s economy and international image across the coming four years.
Our international identity is the cornerstone of global investment in Jersey, and will increase in importance and scrutiny as the Island’s exposure grows.
That identity is built on a positive reputation for political and financial stability. And it is one that we must strive to nurture and protect.
In 2017 the Ministry of External Relations produced the first Global markets strategy for Jersey. And I am committed to the continued delivery of that strategy, including through new bilateral agreements to support trade, and inward investment with high-growth target economies.
We’ll also deliver the European Relations Strategy between 2020 and 2023, to enhance our relationships with EU Member States with influence over EU policy developments, particularly in respect of financial services and tax.
We’re already seeing the fruits of this work beginning to appear.
Jersey Finance’s New York Office was opened in October. And I have long been a strong supporter of this move.
Launching an office in the world’s largest institutional investment market enables Jersey to enhance its visibility in the US and demonstrates how well Jersey is placed as a gateway to Europe for US alternative fund managers.
I undertook an official visit to Singapore, Hong Kong and China earlier this month, meeting regional policy makers, representatives from the financial services industry, and digital entrepreneurs to raise awareness of the expertise and high-quality services that Jersey has to offer.
And on Monday I was delighted to collect an award on behalf of the Government for ‘Delivering Economic Transformation by Embracing New Global Opportunities’ at this year’s Indo-European Business Forum’s Excellence Awards, hosted at the House of Lords.
It is a testament to the hard work of our External Relations and Financial Services officials that we are being recognised for our commitment to building our global presence so early in their work.
Just as the IoD’s focus is not only to deliver better business but to do so for a better community, so the Government must underpin economic stability with the community services that Islanders need.
Services that will ensure we have a healthy population, both physically and mentally, that will support our aim to reduce income inequality, and that will protect and nurture our environment.
This month we began consultation on the new Jersey Care Model, built on a patient-centred model of health.
This will start with better self-care and preventative care, supported by a range of community health services, and a hospital that will still provide critical services that are needed to protect life and limb.
As regards the latter, the ‘Our Hospital Citizen’s Panel’ is being formed – and more than 100 Islanders have already applied to be considered for selection.
That panel will ensure that the views of Islanders are taken into account by the project on the criteria that should be used to assess where the new hospital might be built.
By January 2020, we will appoint a delivery partner, to prepare the design for Our Hospital, carrying out detailed assessment of potential sites in the spring, with a preferred site announced thereafter.
By 2023, heritage, arts and culture will be receiving an extra £5 million each year.
The Minister for International Development has begun her work on the Island Identity programme – ensuring that we capture, understand and implement Islanders’ views in the development of policy.
And our new carbon neutral strategy will be lodged in the States Assembly this month, as the first step in Jersey’s efforts to tackle the climate emergency.
Finally, 2020 presents us with the opportunity to continue the critical work of modernising the public sector, and ensuring that the services and facilities we provide are fit for purpose.
This started with the move to Broad Street, and introduction of the One Front Door, creating a central hub for the services we provide to Islanders, so they don’t have to go from place to place to deal with us.
But too many of our staff still work in a poor-quality environment in offices that are old, with poor wellbeing facilities, poor energy efficiency and limited disability access.
In short, the buildings are no longer fit for purpose and they are expensive to run.
This morning, I announced plans for an office modernisation programme.
We’re proposing an ambitious plan to vacate 14 offices and move 1,600 public servants into a new, permanent building – providing them with the modern facilities they need and deserve.
As well as meeting our responsibilities to our staff, it will create sites for affordable housing and potentially save up to £7 million a year in running costs – as well as potentially £30 million in capital costs over the next 30 years; notwithstanding the productivity benefits which, as many of you know first-hand, come with the centralising of offices.
I believe that 2020 will be a watershed year for Jersey and the Island’s public sector.
It will be the year that we move beyond the planning and debating stage to see the Government Plan in action – bringing improved services and greater efficiencies.
It will be the year that we move beyond the divisions and uncertainties of Brexit, and begin exploring improved opportunities for the Island to trade with global partners.
And it will be a very important year for the Island, as we celebrate 75 years of Liberation and, at the same time, recognise our unique Island identity.
I do not underestimate the effort or the time necessary to implement this vision. But it is one I am absolutely committed to seeing come to fruition.
Although this IoD lunch is slightly earlier than in previous years, I want to close by expressing my thanks to all employees across Government for their continued service and dedication to their work.
I particularly want to pay tribute to the front-line staff who will be working across the Christmas period, in the health service, fire, police, ambulance and in the prison and infrastructure services.
They keep our Island running on the days that many of us could never imagine doing so.
I hope you will join with me in giving them our thanks.
I look forward to returning to speak to you again, next year, and to receive your feedback and questions on the work I’ve outlined for the Government in 2020.
And lastly, before taking your questions, I would like to wish you the very best for the forthcoming Christmas period, and a happy and prosperous New Year.
Thank you.
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