Department for Infrastructure
Ministerial Decision Report
Transfer of concessionary bus pass and road safety funding from Jersey Car ParkING to the dfi revenue and Road Safety Improvements capital head of expenditure
- Purpose of Report
To enable the Minister to approve the budget transfers of up to £600,000 in 2017, up to £1,200,000 2018, and up to £1,672,000 in 2019 from the DfI revenue head of expenditure to the DfI Road Safety Improvements Capital Head of Expenditure (Q00MF15037) being the remaining balance from the redirection of part of the Jersey Car Parking financial return to the States, after the funding of concessionary bus passes, and to reduce the capital allocations previously agreed in MD-T-2017-0016 from JCP to DfI Sustainable Transport in 2018 to £300,000 and to nil in 2019.
Background
Jersey Car Parking (JCP) was set up as a standalone Trading Operation under the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2005 to administer, manage and maintain the Island’s car parks. Since the inception of JCP an annual financial return has been made, in the initial years this was to the former Public Services Committee, in later years this was to general States Revenues. In the current MTFP2 (2016 – 2019) the minimum Financial Return is set at £1.672m with a 2.5% per annum increase from 2020 onwards.
Disabled Person’s Travel scheme
In the MTFP debate the States agreed to pass an increasing proportion of the Financial Return from the Jersey Car Parking trading operation to the revenue budget of the Department for Infrastructure. This would fund the proposed Disabled Person’s travel scheme, and also the impact of non-staff inflation on contracts like the bus service and Sustainable Transport Initiatives. It is envisaged that in the first year of operation of the new scheme, up to £600,000 will be transferred in this way.
This will mean that the £1.672m financial return to the States would reduce to £1.072k in 2017, £472k in 2018 and zero in 2019. The balance of the return would be used by DfI to fund the concessionary bus pass scheme, offset non staff inflation on contracts like the bus service and Sustainable Transport initiatives.
Transport related initiatives which benefit Jersey residents with a disability
The Sustainable Transport Policy (STP) provides a number of targets and goals for making safety improvements for pedestrians, cyclists and the travelling public. These targets and goals translate into STP initiates which end up as projects on the ground. These projects can range from a small pedestrian safety improvement to a full village improvement scheme (St Aubin, St Mary) or new shared space facilities such as the St Peter’s valley path or the Eastern Cycle route. All of these schemes are designed for multi users and ensure that disabled access is considered and encouraged.
Reduction of Capital Budget Allocations
In the Medium Term Financial Plan 2016-19 (P.72-2015), the States Assembly approved the JCP proposed programme of capital budget allocations for Sustainable Transport and Road Safety Schemes of £1,000,000 in 2016, £1,250,000 in 2017, £1,500,000 in 2018 and £1,500,000 in 2019. Ministerial Decision (MD-T-2017-0016) approved these transfers to the DfI Road Safety Improvements Capital Head of Expenditure (Q00MF15037) and the budget transfer for 2017 has already been actioned.
As the MTFP debate allowed the redirection of the financial return to DfI to fund Sustainable Transport Initiatives, it has been decided that capital allocations in 2018 should be reduced to £300,000 and those in 2019 to nil. This will make the total funding for Sustainable Transport Initiatives £1,500,000 in 2018 and £1,672,000 in 2019.
- Recommendation
The Minister approves
- the budget transfers of up to £600,000 in 2017, up to £1,200,000 2018, and up to £1,672,000 in 2019 from the DfI revenue head of expenditure to the DfI Road Safety Improvements Capital Head of Expenditure (Q00MF15037) being a redirection of the balance of the Jersey Car Parking financial return to the States, after the funding of concessionary bus passes.
- the reduction of capital allocations previously agreed in MD-T-2017-0016 from JCP to DfI Sustainable Transport in 2018 to £300,000 and to nil in 2019.
- Reason for Decision
Under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) expenditure that meets the definition of capital expenditure must be capitalised. This budget transfer is the movement in budget between capital and revenue required to align the budgeting treatment of expenditure with the accounting treatment, in order to comply with IFRS.
Article 19 (1) (a) of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2005 states that if, during a financial year, the Minister is satisfied that the income of a States funded body which has a revenue head of expenditure for the year is likely to exceed its estimated income taken into account in approving that head of expenditure –
(a) the Minister may authorize the body to withdraw from the consolidated fund during that year an amount not exceeding the likely excess of income
Article 18 (1) (c) of the Public Finances (Jersey) 2005 states that all or any part of the amount appropriated by a head of expenditure may, with the approval of the Minister for Treasury and Resources, be used for the purposes of another head of expenditure.
- Resource Implications
After the Jersey Car Parking financial return to the States and the funding concessionary bus passes from the DfI Revenue Head of Expenditure, the remaining budget from the JCP Financial Return will be transferred to the DfI Road Safety Improvements capital head of expenditure (Q00MF15037) increasing it by up to £600,000 in 2017, up to £1,200,000 2018, and up to £1,672,000 in 2019.
A previous Ministerial Decision (MD-T-2017-0016) agreed the use of additional income by DfI previously approved for the Jersey Car Parking Sustainable Transport & Road Safety capital head of expenditure of £1,250,000 in 2017; £1,500,000 in 2018 and £1,500,000 in 2019. As a result of the current decision that approval reduces to £300,000 in 2018 and nil in 2019.
Report author : Finance Manager | Document date : 9th October 2017 |
Quality Assurance / Review : Head of Decision Support | |
|