Treasury and Resources
Ministerial Decision Report
Liberation 70 – Request for funding for additional costs associated with the enhanced programme of events
- Purpose of Report
Request for non-recurring Central Contingency funding and budget transfer of £108,217 from the Provision for Central Reserves (Central Contingencies) for the additional costs associated with the 70th Anniversary of Liberation Day (Liberation 70) on 9th May 2015.
2. Background
On 7th April 2015 the Chief Officer of the Bailiff’s Chambers wrote to the Chief Minister at the request of the Bailiff outlining the budgetary pressures on the programmed arrangements which addressed the concerns raised by the general public, namely the implementation of an enhanced re-enactment ceremony in Liberation Square in the morning and the knock on effect this had in relation to the afternoon arrangements in Peoples Park and the programming for HRH The Countess of Wessex, and requested an additional sum of £25,000 be made available to cover these increased costs.
In the intervening period, after allowing time for supplier invoices to be settled, there has been an ongoing dialogue between officials to account for the full costs involved and to provide a breakdown of expenditure, which can be found below.
3. Requirement
The current budget held by the Bailiff’s Chambers for this purpose is £119,461, made up of:
£53,000 original departmental base budget allocated to Liberation 70
£45,682 carry forward into 2015 from underspend within the Department in 2014
£20,779 remaining balance of the £40,000 budget held within Economic Development after spend was incurred directly by Economic Development on the event
As at 31st October 2015 the Bailiff’s Chambers show a current spend for Liberation 70 celebrations of £208,392. This is expected to reach a total of £227,678 once the last remaining outstanding invoice just received has been paid. A breakdown of the actual costs is detailed below:
Liberation eve Island Service at Town Church £1,623
Re-enactment in Liberation Square £20,465
People’s Park Liberation event £141,006
Royal Marine Band £7,215
Island parade £9,526
Liberation Fireworks £40,347
Liberation 70 Logo £1,085
Schools/Community Project £6,411
£227,678
The additional funding requested from the Provision for Central Reserves (Central Contingencies) is therefore £108,217.
4. Recommendation
The Minister is recommended to approve the non-recurring budget transfer of £108,217 from the Provision for Central Reserves (Central Contingencies) for the additional costs associated with the 70th Anniversary of Liberation Day (Liberation 70) on 9th May 2015.
5. Reason 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 or the insurance fund of amounts not exceeding, in total, the amount available for contingency expenditure in a financial year.
On 25th November 2015, the Council of Ministers agreed to the request to approve non-recurring funding in 2015 totalling £108,217 from the Provision for Central Reserves (Central Contingencies) to the Bailiff Chambers for the additional costs associated with the 70th Anniversary of Liberation Day celebrations.
6. Resource Implications
Bailiff Chambers revenue head of expenditure to increase by £108,217 in 2015 and the Central Reserves (Central Contingencies) to decrease by an identical amount. This decision does not change the total amount of expenditure approved by the States for the period of the current MTFP 2013 to 2015.
Report author : Head of Decision Support | Document date: 25th November 2015. |
Quality Assurance / Review : Head of Decision Support | File name and path: LDrive/Treasury/Sections/Corporate Finance/Ministerial Decisions/2015-01xx – Liberation 70 request for Contingency Funding |
MD sponsor : Director of Treasury Operations |