Budget Transfer to the Chief Minister's Department of £10,000 for the Social Statistics Unit.

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A decision made (18/05/2007) regarding: Budget Transfer to the Chief Minister's Department of £10,000 for the Social Statistics Unit.

Subject:	Budget Transfer to the Chief Ministers Department of £10,000 for the Social Statistics Unit
Decision Reference:	MD-T-2007-0044	Exempt clause(s):		N/A
Type of Report (oral or written):	Written	Person Giving Report (if oral):		N/A
Telephone or e-mail Meeting?	N/A	Report File ref:		I:Minister:2007:Ministerial Decisions:0044 Transfer of Funds – Social Statistics Unit
Written Report Title:	Budget Transfer To The Chief Minister’s Department For The Social Statistics Unit And The Customer Access Centre	Written report – Author:		Honey Whiteman, Senior Management Accountant
Decision(s): The Minister decided to approve the following non-contentious transfer:  from 2007, a recurring transfer of £10,000 from the Transport and Technical Services Department to the Chief Minister’s Department to contribute towards the funding of the Statistics Unit.
Reason(s) for decision: To ensure the Statistics Unit is able to continue to provide social statistics data to support and assist the Transport and Technical Services Department with specific project work and general planning.
Action required: The Finance Director: · to notify the Minister for the Chief Minister’s Department of the Minister’s approval to transfer a recurring sum of £10,000 from the Transport and Technical Department to the Chief Minister’s Department to contribute towards the funding of the Statistics Unit. · to notify the Treasurer of the States of the above decision to approve the transfer from the Transport and Technical Services Department to the Chief Minister’s Department for the purpose outlined in the attached report.
Signature: (Minister/ Assistant Minister)			Date of Decision: 18 May 2007

Budget Transfer to the Chief Minister's Department of £10,000 for the Social Statistics Unit.

TRANSPORT AND TECHNICAL SERVICES

BUDGET TRANSFER TO THE CHIEF MINISTER’S DEPARTMENT

FOR THE SOCIAL STATISTICS UNIT

Purpose of the Report

The purpose of this report is to seek the Minister’s approval of the recurring transfer to the Chief Minister’s Department of £10,000 to contribute towards the funding of the Statistics Unit.

Background

JASS provides the means to collect and analyse detailed information on a wide range of social issues on an annual basis. It provides official social statistics about Jersey, allowing everyone in the Island to have a better understanding of social issues and for policy to be made from a more informed standpoint. The information provided is an appropriate tool to assist the Transport and Technical Services Department with specific project work and general planning.

Discussion

The Corporate Management Board considered a report dated 7 June 2006 from Duncan Millard, Head of Statistics, regarding the funding of social statistics.

“The Board noted that over the last two years the Statistics Unit had worked to develop new sources of social data. By undertaking this work on an in-house basis, the Unit had been able to make considerable savings, but there was still a requirement for additional funding to ensure the continuation of the service. The minimum cost of providing this service was £40,000/year, and it was proposed that this should be funded by budget transfers from other departments. The transfer sums for each department would be calculated by referring to the costs applied to these departments during the first two years of the Jersey Annual Social Survey.” For the Transport and Technical Services Department this equated to £10,000. The Corporate Management Board agreed with the proposed method of funding.

The Transport and Technical Services Senior management Team discussed the above and agreed to the transfer.

Recommendations

It is recommended that the Minister:

(i) approves the non-contentious recurring transfer of £10,000 from the Transport and Technical Services Department to the Chief Minister’s Department to contribute towards the funding of the Statistics Unit;

(ii) notifies the Minister of the Chief Minister’s Department of his approval of the recurring transfer of £10,000 for the purpose of contributing towards the funding of the Statistics Unit; and

(iii) notifies the Treasurer of the States of the transfer.

Reason (s) for Decision

To ensure the Statistics Unit is able to continue to provide social statistics data to support and assist the Transport and Technical Services Department with specific project work and general planning.

Action Required

The Finance Director:

 to notify the Minister for the Chief Minister’s Department of the Minister’s approval to transfer a recurring sum of £10,000 from the Transport and Technical Department to the Chief Minister’s Department to contribute towards the funding of the Statistics Unit; and

 to notify the Treasurer of the States of the above decision to approve the transfer from the Transport and Technical Services Department to the Chief Minister’s Department for the purpose outlined in the attached report.

Written by:	Honey Whiteman, Senior Management Accountant

Approved by:	Ellen Littlechild, Finance Director

HJW

20.02.07