Reimbursement from Treasury and Resources to Judicial Greffe for 2010 additional court and case costs

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A decision made 24 January 2011 regarding: Reimbursement from Treasury and Resources to Judicial Greffe for 2010 additional court and case costs.

Decision Reference: MD-TR-2011-0008
Decision Summary Title:	Request for Additional Funding under Article 11(8) (P64/2010) for 2010 Court and Case Costs for the Judicial Greffe Department		Date of Decision Summary:	20th January 2011
Decision Summary Author:	Head of Decision Support		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title:	Request for Additional Funding under Article 11(8) (P64/2010) for 2010 Court and Case Costs for the Judicial Greffe Department		Date of Written Report:	20th January 2011
Written Report Author:	Senior Finance Manager – Corporate Group		Written Report : Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: The reimbursement of £455,082 from the appropriate Treasury and Resources (T&R) contingency fund to the Judicial Greffe Department, for additional Court and Case Costs incurred during 2010.
Decision(s): The Minister for Treasury and Resources approved a budget transfer of £455,082 from the T&R contingency set up under P64/2010 to the Judicial Greffe to ensure that total Court and Case Costs are met for 2010.
Reason(s) for Decision: Article 15(1)(a) of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 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: The appropriate T&R contingency fund balance to decrease by £455,082 and the Judicial Greffe Department revenue head of expenditure to increase by an identical amount. This decision does not change the total amount of expenditure approved by the States for 2010.
Action required: Head of Decision Support to inform the Head of Financial Performance Reporting and the Senior Finance Manager – Corporate Group that the budget transfer has been approved.
Signature:		Position: Senator P F C Ozouf, Minister for Treasury and Resources
Date Signed:		Date of Decision:

Reimbursement from Treasury and Resources to Judicial Greffe for 2010 court and case costs

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Treasury and Resources

Ministerial Decision Report

Request for Additional Funding under Article 11(8) (P64/2010) for 2010 Court and Case Costs for the Judicial Greffe Department

Purpose of Report

To enable the Minister for Treasury and Resources to approve a budget transfer of £455,082 from the appropriate Treasury and Resources (T&R) contingency fund to the Judicial Greffe Department, for additional Court and Case Costs incurred during 2010.

Background

Under the terms of P64/2010, approved by the States on 7th July 2010, the States Assembly approved additional funding for Court and Case Costs for 2010 amounting to £8.5m, including £3,013,300 for the Judicial Greffe and £764,540 set aside as a contingency to be released by the Minister for Treasury and Resources in the event that further funding was required.

The additional budget amounts were determined following forecasts made as at the end of April 2010 by each relevant department, in relation to total Court and Case Costs expected to be incurred in 2010. The contingency was held in the event that the additional budget allocations were found to be insufficient to meet costs actually incurred in 2010.

Release of Funds from Contingency

Total Court and Case Costs incurred by the Judicial Greffe in 2010 amounted to £5,273,890 against a total budget (including the additional sum approved in July 2010) of £4,769,400, resulting in a budget shortfall of £504,490.

Other costs incurred by the Department were less than budget, and in accordance with the terms of P64/2010, this saving against budget amounting to £49,408 should be set off against the Court and Case Costs budget shortfall before recourse to the contingency fund.

The resultant net budget shortfall, amounting to £455,082, is required to be transferred from the contingency.

Additional Costs incurred in 2010

The estimate of total Court and Case Costs made upon lodging of P64/2010, has proved to be understated due mainly to the following factors:

Unanticipated additional costs to bring two high profile criminal cases to a conclusion.
Increased costs associated with Public Law children cases (higher than anticipated number and level of complexity).

In 2010, the Department achieved full GAAP compliance. Consequently, a year end project was undertaken to ensure accruals were made for all goods and services received within the accounting year. This exercise was not fully carried out at the end of 2009.

As required under P64/2010, the Accounting Officer for the Judicial Greffe has confirmed that:

Costs incurred were unavoidable;
Excess costs cannot be absorbed within existing cash limits;
Costs are additional to usual expenses;
Reimbursement of funds (from contingency) will be used for purposes intended, i.e. applied to Court and Case Costs;
There are appropriate controls in place to ensure that funds are being spent appropriately and value for money is being achieved; and
Financial Directions have been complied with in respect of this expenditure.

Recommendation

The Minister for Treasury and Resources is recommended to approve a budget transfer of £455,082 from the appropriate T&R contingency fund, set up under P64/2010, to the Judicial Greffe to ensure that total Court and Case Costs are met for 2010.

Reason for Decision

Article 15(1)(a) of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 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

The appropriate T&R contingency fund balance to decrease by £455,082 and the Judicial Greffe Department revenue head of expenditure to increase by an identical amount. This decision does not change the total amount of expenditure approved by the States for 2010.

Report author : Senior Finance Manager – Corporate Group	Document date : 20th January 2011
Quality Assurance / Review : Head of Decision Support	File name and path: L:\Treasury\Sections\Corporate Finance\Ministerial Decisions\DSs, WRs and SDs\2011-0008 - 11(8) Funding (C&CC) Judicial Greffe - KH\WR - 11(8) Funding (C&CC) Judicial Greffe - DOK.doc
MD sponsor : Treasurer of the States