07 April 2022
The Government has published the States of Jersey Annual Report and Accounts for 2021. The report covers the Government's achievements over the last year, its continued response to Covid-19, and its financial performance.
In 2021 the Government continued to deliver key elements of the Government Plan, while still meeting the needs of Islanders and businesses during the pandemic.
The Performance Report provides a breakdown of the activities and initiatives carried out by Government departments, covering both Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 related work. It explains what the government has done with taxpayers' money.
Highlights from the Performance Report includes:
- the development of the Children and Young people's Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health Strategy, which runs from January 2022 to 2025
- launch of the Family Intervention Service, which, working with Social Workers, will reduce the number of children and young people going into care
- in 2021 the Care Leavers Support team helped 15 care leavers into employment, including five into Care leavers internship posts.
- the Covid-19 Vaccination Programme delivered 210,000 vaccinations to Islanders during 2021, with 88% of over 18s receiving two vaccinations by the end of the year
- 2021 marked the first year of the Jersey care Model; a five-year programme to improve healthcare on the Island
- businesses continued to be supported during 2021 with a variety of schemes, including the Co-Funded Payroll Scheme, the Fixed Cost Support Scheme and the Business Disruption Guarantee Scheme
- the Creating Better Homes Action Plan introduced an ambitious programme for tackling the housing challenges faced by Islanders, including the Fair Rents Plan.
- the draft Carbon Neutral Roadmap was published at the end of 2021, following Island-wide community engagement and the work of a Citizen's Assembly
- a number of programmes also continued to help to modernise Government, including the Integration Technology Solution and Cyber Security.
The headline numbers in the Financial Review show that while the Government had expected to run deficits in the short term, the combination of higher General Revenue income and lower net revenue expenditure across departments meant there was a surplus of £59 million, after depreciation.
The Government's income streams performed well in 2021, with net general revenue income increasing by £146 million, with an uplift in tax revenues of £72 million and Impôts Duties and Stamp Duty of £30 million. Added to this was a one-off £40 million dividend from the sale of JT Group's Internet of Things business.
In addition, expenditure was less than anticipated, with spending on Covid-19 at £109 million, compared to £190 million in 2020.
In 2021, Group net assets increased by £481 million to £8.1 billion and investment performance also remained strong. The Strategic Reserve grew by 7% during the year and ended 2021 totalling more than £1 billion.
Other key information in the report includes:
- the Social Security Funds increased in value by £157 million – up 7% on 2020
- Revenue Jersey collected £750 million in tax revenues, including more than £20 million through compliance activity
- the Government's investment performance held up well, with gains of £348 million, up from £253 million in 2020
- including Funds and subsidiaries, if the investment gains were removed, expenditure exceeded income by £95 million compared to £271 million the previous year.
Chief Minister, Senator John Le Fondré, said: "While we were still living with and responding to Covid-19 during 2021, I'm proud that we were able to deliver on many of our strategic priorities during the year. Some of these were a direct response to Covid – from our very successful vaccination programme to the support provided to those with long-Covid – while other touched the lives of many Islanders.
"These included the first year of the Jersey Care Model, the new mental health strategy for children and young people and the publication of our Carbon Neutral Roadmap, which will guide the Island's response to climate change for years to come."
The Minister for Treasury and Resources, Deputy Susie Pinel, said: "In presenting these accounts, during a second year that was dominated by Covid-19, it is pleasing that we ended 2021 in a better financial position than anyone expected.
"We were prudent in the face of the on-going uncertainties created by Covid-19 and were fortunate that its impact was less than in 2020. While borrowing will still be needed to fulfill all of our commitments, we ended 2021 with a strong balance sheet and we have a good platform to build on for the years to come."
The full report can be found here.
gov.je