16 May 2014
The States of Jersey Financial Report and Accounts 2013 have been released today by the Treasury and Resources Minister, Senator Philip Ozouf.
An operating surplus of £0.5m was recorded as States income exceeded departmental spending.
In addition, Special Funds saw strong returns on their investments:
- the Strategic Reserve increasing by £92m from £651m to £743m
- the Social Security (Reserve) Fund increasing by £196m from £962m to £1,158m
Social Security Funds consolidated
The Social Security Funds have been consolidated into the States Accounts for the first time in 2013, as recommended by the Comptroller and Auditor General in her report to the States Assembly on the 2012 Accounts. This inclusion gives a more comprehensive picture of the overall position of the States’ finances, and should help the reader to gain a fuller understanding of the States performance as a whole. The use of these funds has not been affected – they continue to be ring-fenced only for the provision of pensions and other benefits under the remit of the Social Security Minister.
Senator Ozouf said “The States of Jersey finances remain in a healthy state. Underspends achieved by a number of departments mean that we have finished the year with a small operating surplus. I am particularly pleased with the performance of our Common Investment Fund. This means that our funding strategy for the new hospital is working. Our planning assumption was for a 5% return (£33m), and we have achieved £92m in 2013.
“Economically, 2013 continued to be a difficult year for the global economy and therefore for Jersey. However, we were able to support the local economy last year by delivering £43m of capital expenditure in important areas such as housing, infrastructure, health and education. As the global and UK economies continue to show signs of improvement this year we plan to continue to this support by ensuring that the increase in business confidence seen in Jersey translates into real economic improvements across the whole economy.”
Income
States income for 2013 was £636.7m, compared with £627.7m in 2012. This consisted of revenues gained from:
- taxation such as personal income tax and goods and services tax (£529.3m)
- duties on alcohol, cigarettes and fuel, stamp duty and the island rate (£83.3m)
- other income (£24.1m)
Total income was less than anticipated in the Budget statement, with stamp duty down by £7.2m in the year. Income from taxation continued to be in line with the Medium Term Finance Plan at £529m compared to £535m.
Expenditure
Departments’ net revenue expenditure during 2013 was £636.2m. Departments ended the year with a total underspend of £22.8m against budgets. £19.9m of these approvals have been carried forward into 2014 so that departments can fund projects spanning multiple years and other spending pressures.
In addition, £20.7m of the contingency amounts, allocated by the States to deal with unforeseen pressures, were not needed in 2013 and will be carried forward to manage spending pressures in 2014 and beyond.
Investment performance
The majority of the States’ investments are managed through the Common Investment Fund (CIF), which enables States funds to pool resources and benefit from greater investment opportunities, economies of scale and improve risk management.
The strong performance of the States’ investments in the CIF in 2013 resulted in an increase of £251m. This is a rate of return of 15.9%, 1.3% above benchmark.
Equity returns for the year were exceptionally high at 26.5%, 3.6% above benchmark. The total value of investments held in the CIF stands at £2.4 billion, £2 billion of which relates to funds in the States accounts.
The return on investments in the Strategic Reserves was £92m, increasing the balance of investments from £651m to £743m. The balance in the Social Security (Reserve) Fund increased from £962m to £1,158m due to returns of £196m.
Balance sheet management
During the year, States departments spent £43.2m on capital projects to develop the fixed assets base, including improvements to social housing and the Island’s infrastructure. The value of States fixed assets is now £3.3bn.
The Treasury has also operated as an active shareholder for Jersey Post, Jersey Telecoms, Jersey Water, Jersey Electricity and the States of Jersey Development Company. Together, the four utilities contributed £11m in dividends to the States in 2013, reducing the need for that funding to be raised by taxes.
gov.je