Le Catillon II Coin Hoard: Reserve Funding for Purchase

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A decision made 17 December 2021:

Decision Reference: MD-TR-2021-0145
Decision Summary Title:	Reserve Funding for purchase of Le Câtillon II Hoard		Date of Decision Summary:	10th December 2021
Decision Summary Author:	Head of Financial Governance		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	n/a
Written Report Title:	Reserve Funding for purchase of Le Câtillon II Hoard		Date of Written Report:	10th December 2021
Written Report Author:	Head of Financial Governance		Written Report: Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: The allocation of up to £3,512,192 in 2021 from the General Reserve to the Financial Services, Digital Economy and Economy (FSDEE) head of expenditure with: £3,262,192 being used to finalise the purchase the Le Câtillon II Hoard; and £250,000 being used to establish a trust to finance scientific and research opportunities presented by the Hoard and which in the longer term could contribute to the cost of research and offer educational grants to study heritage related matters, including further research on the Hoard itself.
Decision(s): The Minister approved the allocation up to £3,512,192 in 2021 from the General Reserve to the Financial Services, Digital Economy and Economy (FSDEE) head of expenditure with: £3,262,192 being used to finalise the purchase the Le Câtillon II Hoard; and £250,000 being used to establish a trust to finance scientific and research opportunities presented by the Hoard and which in the longer term could contribute to the cost of research and offer educational grants to study heritage related matters, including further research on the Hoard itself.
Reason(s) for Decision: Article 15(3) of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019 states that the approval by the States of a Government Plan authorises the Minister to direct how an approved appropriation for a reserve head of expenditure in the plan may be spent (including on another head of expenditure) in the first financial year covered by the plan. The current Policy for Allocations from the Reserve, presented to the States Assembly as R.60/2021, sets the requirement that all allocations from the General Reserve are recommended for approval by the Treasurer of the States, taking into account comments from the Principal Accountable Officer (PAO), prior to submission to the Minister for approval. In this instance, after considering the following: review with other Treasury Officials of the documentation relating to the Coin Hoard; the comments of the PAO and the Accountable Officer; unanimous agreement of the Council of Ministers at its meeting of 15th June 2021 to complete the purchase as outlined above; that the purchase has been negotiated between Government representatives and HM Receiver General; and that the Accountable Officer concerned has sought a letter of instruction from Ministers as he cannot recommend the purchase at the cost agreed by the Council of Ministers and thereby is unable to provide a Business Case that supports the purchase at the cost already agreed by the Council of Ministers the Treasurer agrees with the position of the AO and PAO and is thereby unable to recommend to the Minister the purchase at the price proposed but does confirm the General Reserve as the appropriate funding source, given the decision of the Council of Ministers, noting that it is expected that at the year-end funding in the Civil Asset Recovery Fund would be available to replenish the Consolidated Fund for this expenditure. The Minister has already considered the matter as part of the Council of Ministers’ decision (see above) and has indicated that she wishes to proceed with the purchase and allocation of funding from the General Reserve. In doing so the Minister acknowledges that she is departing from her own procedures as set out in R.60/2021, insofar as the Treasurer is unable to make a positive recommendation, at the price proposed.
Resource Implications: The FSDEE Head of Expenditure to increase in 2021 by up to £3,512,192 and the General Reserve to decrease by an identical amount. Any unspent balances in the General Reserve in 2021 may be requested to carry forward in to 2022 as part of the End of Year Report. At the end of 2021 the balance on the Civil Asset Recovery Fund (CARF) will be transferred to the Consolidated Fund. That balance is currently estimated at £4.2 million so will effectively fund this purchase. This decision does not change the total amount of expenditure approved by the States in the Government Plan 2021-24.
Action required: The Head of Financial Governance to advise the Specialist – Business Cases and the Head of Finance Business Partnering for FSDEE that this decision is approved.
Signature:		Position: Deputy S J Pinel, Minister for Treasury and Resources
Date Signed: 17 December 2021		Date of Decision: 17 December 2021

Le Catillon II Coin Hoard: Reserve Funding for Purchase

Treasury and Exchequer

Ministerial Decision Report

Reserve Funding for purchase of Le Câtillon II Hoard

Purpose of Report

To enable the Minister to approve the allocation up to £3,512,192 in 2021 from the General Reserve to the Financial Services, Digital Economy and Economy (FSDEE) head of expenditure with:

£3,262,192 being used to finalise the purchase the Le Câtillon II Hoard and
£250,000 being used to establish a trust to finance scientific and research opportunities presented by the Hoard and which in the longer term could contribute to the cost of research and offer educational grants to study heritage related matters, including further research on the Hoard itself.

Background

The Celtic Coin Hoard (the ‘Hoard’) was discovered at Le Catillon in Grouville in 2012.

In the absence of any Jersey statute law on treasure, the find was treated as Treasure Trove and the Hoard was claimed by the Crown through customary law. The Crown sought assistance in the valuation process of the Hoard from the UK Treasure Valuation Committee (‘TVC’).

The Council of Ministers (CoM) considered a paper at its meeting of 15th June 2021, where it was asked to consider the following options for purchase based on the information available:

Purchase the Coin Hoard from the Crown, based on the Treasure Valuation Committee’s due process and independent recommended valuation (the ‘Second valuation’) of £1,997,200.
Purchase the Coin Hoard from the Crown at the offer price presented by the Crown of £4,250,000.

Council unanimously agreed option ii. After taking into account monies already paid by the Government of Jersey, this would leave a balance of £3,512,192 to pay. Council further agreed to establish a £250,000 trust out of this amount to finance scientific and research opportunities presented by the Hoard.

Reason for Decision

Article 15(3) of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019 states that the approval by the States of a Government Plan authorises the Minister to direct how an approved appropriation for a reserve head of expenditure in the plan may be spent (including on another head of expenditure) in the first financial year covered by the plan.

The current Policy for Allocations from the Reserve, presented to the States Assembly as R.60/2021, sets the requirement that all allocations from the General Reserve are recommended for approval by the Treasurer of the States, taking into account comments from the Principal Accountable Officer (PAO), prior to submission to the Minister for approval.

In this instance, after considering the following:

review with other Treasury Officials of the documentation relating to the Coin Hoard;
the comments of the PAO and the Accountable Officer;
unanimous agreement of the Council of Ministers at its meeting of 15th June 2021 to complete the purchase as outlined above;
that the purchase has been negotiated between Government representatives and HM Receiver General; and
that the Accountable Officer concerned has sought a letter of instruction from Ministers as he cannot recommend the purchase at the cost agreed by the Council of Ministers and thereby is unable to provide a Business Case that supports the purchase at the cost already agreed by the Council of Ministers

the Treasurer agrees with the position of the AO and PAO and is thereby unable to recommend to the Minister the purchase at the price proposed but does confirm the General Reserve as the appropriate funding source, given the decision of the Council of Ministers, noting that it is expected that at the year-end funding in the Civil Asset Recovery Fund would be available to replenish the Consolidated Fund for this expenditure. The Minister has already considered the matter as part of the Council of Ministers’ decision (see above) and has indicated that she wishes to proceed with the purchase and allocation of funding from the General Reserve. In doing so the Minister acknowledges that she is departing from her own procedures as set out in R.60/2021, insofar as the Treasurer is unable to make a positive recommendation, at the price proposed.

Resource Implications

The FSDEE Head of Expenditure to increase in 2021 by up to £3,512,192 and the General Reserve to decrease by an identical amount. Any unspent balances in the General Reserve in 2021 may be requested to carry forward in to 2022 as part of the End of Year Report.

At the end of 2021 the balance on the Civil Asset Recovery Fund (CARF) will be transferred to the Consolidated Fund. That balance is currently estimated at £4.2 million so will effectively fund this purchase.

This decision does not change the total amount of expenditure approved by the States in the Government Plan 2021-24.

Report author: Head of Financial Governance

Document date: 10 December 2021

Quality Assurance / Review:

Group Director, Strategic Finance and Specialist – Business Cases

File name and path: L:\Treasury\Sections\Corporate Finance\Ministerial Decisions\DS, WR and SD\2021-0145 - Reserve funding to purchase Le Câtillon II Hoard

MD sponsor: Treasurer of the States