Population Office: Transfer of budget and staff to Social Security Department

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A decision made 15 May 2015:

Ministerial decision reference MD-C-2015-0053
Decision summary title Population Office - Transfer to Social Security
Decision summary author	Executive Support Officer	Is the decision summary public or exempt?		Public
Report title The transfer of the Population Office from the Chief Minister’s Department to Social Security Department
Report author or name of person giving report	Executive Support Officer	Is the report public or exempt?		Public
Decision and reason for the decision Following the relocation in December 2014 of the Population Office from Jubilee Wharf to the Social Security building in La Motte Street, the Chief Minister agreed to the 2015 budget transfer of £124,116 together with the transfer of 17 FTE from Chief Minister’s Department to Social Security Department, and the transfer of the fixed asset software “Migration Control”, being the CRM database used by the Population Office (Populus/Opus/Domus). These changes will be substantiated in the next Medium Term Financial Plan 2016 – 2019. Bringing the services and staff of the Population Office and Social Security Department together is more convenient for both Islanders and employers, by providing a number of services in one place, and fits within a wider drive to improve efficiency and customer service. The ministerial responsibility for the Law remains unaltered, with the development of Population Policy remaining the responsibility of the Chief Minister’s Department, and the Assistant Chief Minister, as delegated by the Chief Minister, remaining the Chair of the Housing and Work Advisory Group, which includes the Minister for Social Security, and which considers licence applications from businesses and population policy.
Resource implications There are no resource implications involved with this Ministerial Decision, other than departmental budget and staffing transfers.
Action required The Corporate Group Finance Manager to arrange the transfer of funds and FTE.
Signature			Position Senator I J Gorst Chief Minister

Date signed			Effective date of the decision

Population Office: Transfer of budget and staff to Social Security Department

Chief Minister’s Department

Ministerial Decision Report

The transfer of the Population OFfice from ThE Chief Minister’s DEPARTMENT to SOCIAL SECURITY DEPARTMENT

Purpose

The purpose of this report is to seek the Minister’s approval for the transfer of the Population Office from the Chief Minister’s Department to the Social Security Department.

Background

Following a discussion between the Chief Executive, Director of Corporate Policy and the Chief Officer of Social Security in 2014 it was agreed that the administration of the Population Office could be made more effective through integration with the Social Security Department (SSD).

In order to minimise the administrative requirements it was agreed that the budget, manpower and assets allocated to the Population Office (including the Housing Gateway) should be transferred from Chief Minister’s Department (CMD) to SSD with effect from 1 January 2015.

The 2015 budget allocated to the Population Office function within CMD is £124,109.

In addition £250,000 has been held in central contingency to cover the shortfall in income under the Control of Work and Housing Law as a result of the States Decision not to implement an annual charge on registered employees

Recommendation

It is recommended that the Minister:

approves the transfer of the Population Office from the CMD. The CMD will retain responsibility for population policy, with the Assistant Chief Minister and Housing and Work Advisory Group continuing to consider licence applications from businesses. However, a Policy Consultation Committee will be established to ensure there is a formal communication path relating to proposed changes in population policy, or changes of interpretation/application of rules that could affect the administration function.
approves a recurring budget transfer of £124,109 from the Chief Minister’s revenue head of expenditure with effect from 1 January 2015;
approves the transfer of the fixed asset software “Migration Control”, being the CRM database used by the Population Office (Populus/Opus/Domus).
seeks the approval of the Minister for Treasury and Resources for a recurring budget transfer in 2015 of £124,109 from the CMD revenue head of expenditure to the SSD revenue head of expenditure;
seeks the approval of the Minister for Treasury and Resources for a budget transfer in 2015 of £250,000 from Central Contingency to the SSD revenue head of expenditure;
seeks the approval of the Minister for Treasury and Resources to increase the SSD 2015 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) included in the 2015 Annex to the MTFP by 17.0;

Reason for Decision

Bringing the services and staff of the Population Office and Social Security Department together is more convenient for both Islanders and employers, by providing a number of services in one place, and fits within a wider drive to improve efficiency and customer service.

The ministerial responsibility for the Law remains unaltered, with the development of Population Policy remaining the responsibility of the Chief Minister’s Department, and the Assistant Chief Minister, as delegated by the Chief Minister, remaining the Chair of the Housing and Work Advisory Group, which includes the Minister for Social Security, and which considers licence applications from businesses and population policy.

Resource Implications

The CMD revenue head of expenditure to decrease by £124,109, Central Contingency to decrease by £250,000 and the SSD revenue head of expenditure to increase by an £374,109. The CMD approved FTE total will decrease by 17 FTE and the SSD approved FTE total will increase by an identical amount. There is no overall increase in approved FTE for the States of Jersey because of this decision. This decision does not change the total amount of expenditure approved by the States for the period of the current Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) 2013 – 2015. This transfer will be reflected in the next MTFP 2016 – 2019.