Covid Vaccine to include Vaccine Booster: Extension of use of Reserve Funding

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A decision made on 29 November 2021

Decision Reference: MD-TR-2021-0131
Decision Summary Title:	Extension of use of Reserve funding for Covid vaccine to include vaccine booster		Date of Decision Summary:	18th November 2021
Decision Summary Author:	Specialist – Business Cases		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	n/a
Written Report Title:	Extension of use of Reserve funding for Covid vaccine to include vaccine booster		Date of Written Report:	18th November 2021
Written Report Author:	Specialist – Business Cases		Written Report: Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: Approval of extension to the use of Reserve funding for the Covid vaccine to now include the vaccine booster in 2021.
Decision(s): The Minister approved the extension to the use of Reserve funding for the Covid vaccine to now include the vaccine booster.
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 for all allocations from the General Reserve (Covid-19) once recommended for approval by the Treasurer of the States, to be referred for review to either the Council of Ministers or the relevant Competent Authorities Ministers and to seek comments from the Principal Accountable Officer (PAO) prior to submission to the Minister for approval. The original business case included delivery of vaccine doses 1 and 2 but did not include the booster. Costs for the first two doses is forecast to be lower than anticipated and the remaining balance is sufficient to cover the booster costs for those islanders that are eligible in 2021. The Investment Appraisal Team has reviewed the business case for the booster 1 and 2 as part of the Government Plan 2022-25 revenue investment workstream and recommends it for approval on the basis that it has been agreed as a strategic priority by the Council of Ministers as part of the Government Plan process. The future years effect of this business case will be addressed and resourced in the Government Plan 2022-2025, subject to approval of the States Assembly. Following these reviews, the Treasurer, taking into account comments from the PAO, recommends this extension to the Minister for approval within the original funding allocation.
Resource Implications: The extension of the Covid vaccine to include booster 1 is forecast to be met within the initial allocation of £5,474,000 in the 2021-24 Government Plan within the Covid-19 Response head of expenditure, so there are no additional resource implications arising from this decision. The future years effects of this allocation for remainder of booster 1 and all of booster 2 will be addressed and resourced in the Government Plan 2022-2025, subject to approval of the States Assembly. This decision does not change the total amount of expenditure approved by the States in the Government Plan 2021-24. The marginal costs of delivering booster 1 in 2021 are estimated to be between £200,000 and £300,000.
Action required: The Head of Financial Governance to advise the Specialist – Business Cases and the Head of Finance Business Partnering for HCS that this decision is approved.
Signature:		Position: Deputy S J Pinel, Minister for Treasury and Resources
Date Signed:		Date of Decision:

Covid Vaccine to include Vaccine Booster: Extension of use of Reserve Funding

Treasury and Exchequer

Ministerial Decision Report

extension of use of Reserve Funding for covid vaccine to include vaccine booster

Purpose of Report

To enable the Minister to consider the recommendation to approve the extension to the use of Reserve funding for the Covid vaccine to include the vaccine booster for eligible groups in 2021, as a part of the vaccine programme which is a key element of control of Covid-19 as a public health strategy.

Background

The original business case for the Covid Vaccine include in the Government Plan 2021-24, only covered vaccine doses 1 and 2 and did not cover either booster 1 or 2. Costs for the first two doses is forecast to be lower than anticipated due to the vaccine being supplied free of charge and therefore the remaining balance is sufficient to cover booster 1 costs in 2021 for those islanders that are eligible.

As part of the Government Plan process departments have submitted applications for inclusion in the Government Plan 2022-2025. In light of the impact that Covid-19 has had on the public finances, the Council of Ministers, as part of its financial foundations, decided that additional funding would be restricted to initiatives that met the following criteria:

- Unavoidable – requests that were recognized to be unavoidable cost pressures

- Time-limited Covid-19 response and recovery – requests that do not lead to a permanent increase in Government expenditure and support the on-going Covid-19 response or will help to facilitate the Island’s recovery

- Commitments made in previous Government Plans – initiatives that were already planned to begin during the life of the Government Plan 2022-25 and have been identified in previous Government Plans

As part of the process to agree new revenue funding, business cases have been reviewed by the Investment Appraisal Team and the overall package of investment has been refined through ministerial challenge sessions led by the Chief Minister and subsequent Council of Ministers’ workshops.

The items to be included in the draft Government Plan 2022-25 were agreed by the Council of Ministers on 16 July 2021. The Government Plan 2022-25 initiatives listed below also requested funding for 2021 and now that the Council of Ministers has agreed the strategic imperative to provide additional funding in respect of these requests, this Decision seeks to allocate the associated funding from the General Reserves in 2021 consistent with the relevant business cases.

Recommendation

On the basis that the Council of Ministers has agreed each of the investments that should be included in the draft Government Plan 2022-25, the Minister is recommended to approve the delivery of booster 1 from the existing allocation for the Covid vaccine provided in the Covid-19 Response head of expenditure, for the Covid vaccine booster 1, to enable the implementation of this initiative in line with their associated business case.

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 for all allocations from the General Reserve (Covid-19) once recommended for approval by the Treasurer of the States, to be referred for review to either the Council of Ministers or the relevant Competent Authorities Ministers and to seek comments from the Principal Accountable Officer (PAO) prior to submission to the Minister for approval.

The original business case included delivery of vaccine doses 1 and 2 but did not include the booster. Costs for the first two doses is forecast to be lower than anticipated and the remaining balance is sufficient to cover the booster costs for those islanders that are eligible in 2021.

The Investment Appraisal Team has reviewed the business case for the booster 1 and 2 as part of the Government Plan 2022-25 revenue investment workstream and recommends it for approval on the basis that it has been agreed as a strategic priority by the Council of Ministers as part of the Government Plan process. The future years effect of this business case will be addressed and resourced in the Government Plan 2022-2025, subject to approval of the States Assembly. Following these reviews, the Treasurer, taking into account comments from the PAO, recommends this extension to the Minister for approval within the original funding allocation.

Resource Implications

The extension of the Covid vaccine to include booster 1 is forecast to be met within the initial allocation of £5,474,000 in the 2021-24 Government Plan within the Covid-19 Response head of expenditure, so there are no additional resource implications arising from this decision.

The future years effects of this allocation for remainder of booster 1 and all of booster 2 will be addressed and resourced in the Government Plan 2022-2025, subject to approval of the States Assembly. This decision does not change the total amount of expenditure approved by the States in the Government Plan 2021-24.

The marginal costs of delivering booster 1 in 2021 are estimated to be between £200,000 and £300,000.

Report author: Specialist – Business Cases

Document date: 18th November 2021

Quality Assurance / Review:

Group Director, Strategic Finance and the Head of Financial Governance

File name and path: L:\Treasury\Sections\Corporate Finance\Ministerial Decisions\DS, WR and SD\2021-0131 - Reserve funding for Covid Vaccine Booster

MD sponsor: Treasurer of the States