Budget Transfer: Contingency Funding for Annual Refreshment and Refurbishment Fund for Jersey Heritage Trust

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A decision made on 26 June 2014:

Decision Reference: MD-TR-2014-0057
Decision Summary Title:	Central Contingency (one-off) Funding allocation to cover the shortfall in Annual Refreshment and Refurbishment Fund for Jersey Heritage Trust (JHT)		Date of Decision Summary:	17 June 2014
Decision Summary Author:	Treasurer of the States		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title:	Central Contingency (one-off) Funding allocation to cover the shortfall in Annual Refreshment and Refurbishment Fund for Jersey Heritage Trust (JHT)		Date of Written Report:	17 June 2014
Written Report Author:	Treasurer of the States		Written Report : Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: Central Contingency (one-off) funding allocation to Education, Sport and Culture (ESC) to cover the shortfall in Annual Refreshment and Refurbishment Fund for Jersey Heritage Trust (JHT) in 2014 and 2015.
Decision(s): The Minister approved a non-recurring budget transfer of £315,000 in 2014 and 2015 from Central Contingency (one-off) to Education Sports and Culture (ESC) for JHT’s annual capital requirements in line with the Refreshment and Refurbishment Fund. Further more, the Treasury and Resources Minister agrees to this transfer, on the basis that if JHT’s financial position improves, for example as a consequence of agreement being reached over intellectual property rights, that this substantial advance from States’ Contingency Funding will be re-paid in full or in part to the States. This recognises the pressure on these funds for other purposes.
Reason(s) for Decision: Article 17(2) of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2005 states that the Minister for Treasury and Resources is authorised to approve the transfer from contingency expenditure to heads of expenditure of amounts not exceeding, in total, the amount available for contingency expenditure in a financial year.
Resource Implications: Central Contingency (one-off) will decrease by £315,000 in 2014 and 2015 with the ESC revenue head of expenditure for JHT increasing by an identical amount in the corresponding years. This decision does not change the total amount of expenditure approved by the States in the Medium Term Financial Plan 2013 to 2015.
Action required: Business Manager to inform the Financial Performance Reporting Manager and the Finance Manager for ESC that this decision has been approved.
Signature:		Position: Senator P F C Ozouf, Minister for Treasury and Resources
Date Signed:		Date of Decision:

Budget Transfer: Contingency Funding for Annual Refreshment and Refurbishment Fund for Jersey Heritage Trust

Treasury and Resources

Ministerial Decision Report

Central Contingency (one-off) Funding allocation to cover the shortfall in Annual Refreshment and Refurbishment Fund for Jersey Heritage Trust (JHT)

Purpose of Report

To enable the Minister for Treasury and Resources (T&R) to approve a budget transfer of £315,000 in 2014 and 2015 from Central Contingency (one-off) to the Education Sport and Culture Department (ESC) revenue head of expenditure to cover the shortfall in Annual Refreshment and Refurbishment Fund for Jersey Heritage Trust’s (JHT).

Background

The need for additional funding for Jersey Heritage Trust was identified in a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General and also by consultants engaged by the Economic Development Department (EDD). Funding of £465,000 per year is required for the Annual Refreshment and Refurbishment Fund, of which ESC only has funds of £150,000 representing an annual shortfall of £315,000.

In the Medium Term Financial Plan 2013-2015 new bids for growth, bid 39 stated that the Channel Islands Lottery was unlikely to meet its targets and therefore in 2012 the £315,000 was added to the ESC budget as a “one off” pending lottery funding. Indications that this fund could be supported by the Summer Lottery proceeds have not been fulfilled and whilst JHT is exploring an alternative source with the Treasury, no additional funding is currently available. EDD have stated that they did not guarantee these funds to JHT as the mere nature of a lottery is speculative and uncertain. The current funding to the Association of Jersey Charities (AJC) from the lottery profits will be maintained and if the lottery grows beyond that, as was anticipated but not realised at present, a percentage (to be agreed) of that additional growth could be allocated or made available to JHT by application to AJC.

JHT is required to set out a rolling programme of improvements to sites or projects to encourage access to those sites, the purpose of which is to ensure they continue to attract the public, whether residents or visitors, in order to sustain the business of the Trust. The specific uses to which the Annual Refreshment and Refurbishment Fund is put each year is set out in an annual application to the ESC Minister and included in the JHT Business Plan.

In their meeting of the 7th May 2014 the Council of Ministers approved this funding allocation from Central Contingency (one-off).

Recommendation

The Minister is recommended to approve a non-recurring budget transfer of £315,000 in 2014 and 2015 from Central Contingency (one-off) to Education Sports and Culture (ESC) for JHT’s annual capital requirements in line with the Refreshment and Refurbishment Fund.

Reasons for Decision

Article 17(2) of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2005 states that the Minister for Treasury and Resources is authorised to approve the transfer from contingency expenditure to heads of expenditure of amounts not exceeding, in total, the amount available for contingency expenditure in a financial year.

Resource Implications

Central Contingency (one-off) will decrease by £315,000 in 2014 and 2015 with the ESC revenue head of expenditure for JHT increasing by an identical amount in the corresponding years. This decision does not change the total amount of expenditure approved by the States in the Medium Term Financial Plan 2013 to 2015.

Report author : Treasurer of the States	Document date : 17th June 2014
Quality Assurance / Review : Business Manager	File name and path: L:\Treasury\Sections\Corporate Finance\Ministerial Decisions\DSs, WRs and SDs\2014-0057 - JHT Central Contingency funding of £315k for 2014 & 2015 capital\WR - JHT Central Contingency funding of £315k for 2014 & 2015 capital.docx