Budget Transfer: Central Contingency to Department of the Environment

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A decision made on 7 December 2015:

Decision Reference: MD-PE-2015-0077
Decision Summary Title:	Allocation of funds from Central Contingency to the Department of the Environment re Planning Appeal Tribunal funding, and subsequent transfer to the Judicial Greffe		Date of Decision Summary:	04 December 2015
Decision Summary Author:	Finance Manager		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title:	Allocation of funds from Central Contingency to the Department of the Environment re Planning Appeal Tribunal funding, and subsequent transfer to the Judicial Greffe		Date of Written Report:	04 December 2015
Written Report Author:	Finance Manager		Written Report : Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: Budget transfer of up to £192,200 from Central Contingency to the Department of the Environment (DOE), and subsequently to the Judicial Greffe (JG), in relation to funding the Planning Appeals Tribunal (PAT).
Decision(s): The Minister approved the Written Report and requested the transfer of up to £192,200 from Central Contingency to the DOE Revenue head of expenditure, and the subsequent transfer to the JG head of expenditure.
Reason(s) for Decision: Article 18 of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2005 (the Law) and Finance Direction No.3.6 ‘Variations to Heads of Expenditure’ (the FD) set out the procedures for transfers between heads of expenditure. Paragraph 5.1 of the FD and Article 18(2)(c) of the Law require departments wanting to transfer funds between heads of expenditure to obtain the approval of the Minister responsible for their administration. Article 18(1)(c) of the Law requires the approval of the Minister for Treasury and Resources for any budget transfers between heads of expenditure. Paragraph 5.2 of the FD delegates non-contentious transfers between heads of expenditure up to £1,000,000 to the Treasurer of the States. Paragraph 5.3 of the FD states that, in all other instances, the approval of the Minister for Treasury and Resources must be obtained. The allocation of funding from Central Contingency was previously confirmed in the States Assembly during the debate on proposition P.87/2013 on 11 September 2013.
Resource Implications: The revenue head of expenditure for the Judicial Greffe will increase by up to £192,200 and Central Contingency will decrease by up to £192,200. This decision has no manpower implications.
Action required: The Finance Director to request the approval of the Minister for Treasury and Resources Department for these budget transfers. The Finance Director will also ask the accounting officer for the Judicial Greffe to confirm their acceptance of these budget transfers.
Signature: Deputy S Luce		Position: Minister
Date Signed:		Date of Decision:

Budget Transfer: Central Contingency to Department of the Environment

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Department of the Environment

Ministerial Decision Report

Allocation of funds from Central Contingency to the Department of the Environment re Planning Appeal Tribunal funding, and subsequent transfer to the Judicial Greffe

Purpose of Report

To enable the Minister to request a budget transfer of up to £192,200 from Central Contingency to the Department of the Environment (DOE), and subsequently to the Judicial Greffe (JG), in relation to funding the Planning Appeals Tribunal (PAT).

Background

The amendments of the Planning and Building (Jersey) Law came into force on 10 March 2015, establishing the PAT. Since that time the income and expenses associated with the PAT have been incurred by the JG.

Propositions P.87/2013, P.94/2014 and P.3/2015 agreed that funding for the PAT for 2014 and 2015 would be allocated from Central Contingency, and this was envisaged as being payable to DOE. In practice the income and expenses have been incurred by the JG, and this decision will seek to allocate the funding to the correct head of expenditure.

The original propositions addressed the possible ongoing administration and direct costs of running the appeals process, and did not consider any of the costs associated with the initial set up of the tribunal, including accommodation costs and initial interview costs relating to the appointment of the independent appeals inspectors. These costs are deemed to be an integral part of establishing the PAT and have been included in the request for funding.

Contingency funding request and transfer to Judicial Greffe

The most recent estimate of the costs for 2015 is around £125,000, and includes one-off set up costs, ongoing administration costs, and Inspectors costs relating to the actual appeals. The actual amount required in 2015 is likely to be less than the maximum of £192,200, though this will depend on the number of appeals heard before the end of the year.

The requested funding of up to £192,200 will be transferred to the Judicial Greffe to help fund the first year of the PAT.

Recommendation

That the Minister requests the transfer of up to £192,200 from Central Contingency to the DOE revenue head of expenditure, and the subsequent transfer of the same amount to the JG revenue head of expenditure.

Reason for Decision

Article 18 of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2005 (the Law) and Finance Direction No.3.6 ‘Variations to Heads of Expenditure’ (the FD) set out the procedures for transfers between heads of expenditure. Paragraph 5.1 of the FD and Article 18(2)(c) of the Law require departments wanting to transfer funds between heads of expenditure to obtain the approval of the Minister responsible for their administration. Article 18(1)(c) of the Law requires the approval of the Minister for Treasury and Resources for any budget transfers between heads of expenditure. Paragraph 5.2 of the FD delegates non-contentious transfers between heads of expenditure up to £1,000,000 to the Treasurer of the States. Paragraph 5.3 of the FD states that, in all other instances, the approval of the Minister for Treasury and Resources must be obtained.

The allocation of funding from Central Contingency was previously confirmed in the States Assembly during the debate on proposition P.87/2013 on 11 September 2013.

Resource Implications

The revenue head of expenditure for the Judicial Greffe will increase by up to £192,200 and Central Contingency will decrease by up to £192,200. This decision has no manpower implications.

Report author : Finance Manager	Document date : 24/11/2015
Quality Assurance / Review : Decision support	File name and path: i:\finance\ministerial decisions\doe\2015\2015-01 allocation of contingency re planning appeals tribunal funding, and transfer to the judicial greffe\mr - allocation of contingency re planning appeals tribunal v1.docx
MD sponsor : Finance Director