Social Security Department Ministerial Report 2017 figures

​​​​​​​​Request 724144673

I refer to the Social Security Department Ministerial Report 2017

Please provides figures for 2023 and 2024 equivalent to those in Tables 1, 3, 4, 6, 10, 22, 39 and 44.

Response

The ‘Social Security Department Ministers Report’ was discontinued after the 2017 report as part of a major government restructure. More recent information has been published on the gov.je open data website and in the ‘States of Jersey Annual Report and Accounts’ which is collated and published by Treasury and Exchequer Department.

The information can be accessed via the links below:  

2018 https://www.gov.je/government/pages/statesreports.aspx?reportid=4505​

2019 https://www.gov.je/government/pages/statesreports.aspx?reportid=5234​

2020 https://www.gov.je/government/pages/statesreports.aspx?reportid=5871​

2021 https://www.gov.je/government/pages/statesreports.aspx?reportid=5539​

2022 https://www.gov.je/government/pages/statesreports.aspx?reportid=5672

2023 https://www.gov.je/government/pages/statesreports.aspx?reportid=5805​

2024 https://www.gov.je/government/pages/statesreports.aspx?reportid=5932​

Following the centralisation of annual reports, the department did not maintain all the processes previously used to collate the annual report document. In some areas the calculation of the 2023 and 2024 figures will use different methods to those used for the 2017 report.

Due to the re-collation of measures this means that the figures below represent a new statement of each of the measures. The response to this request may not be directly comparable to previously reported figures or future reported figures, as we may choose to employ different calculation methodologies for OpenData in future, rather than continue legacy methods. These measures should however provide the same broad context to the Jersey Social Security and Benefits system as may have been accessible in the past.

NB: The Treasury and Exchequer standard for expenditure and income figures published in the States of Jersey Annual Report and Accounts differs from that used in 2017 and in other government publications and statements. Commentary has been provided to explain the different reporting standards where applicable.

Table 1

Below financials represent benefit expenditure only and are a subset of total fund expenditure as reported within the States of Jersey Annual Report and Accounts. 

The financial values are classified by the Treasury and Exchequer Department, with supporting figures from Employment, Social Security and Housing. 2017 methodologies have been replicated as closely as possible.

See attached for Table 1:

Table 1 2023 Figures Freedom of Information response 724144673 - Attachment 1.pdf

Table 1 2024 Figures Freedom of Information response 724144673 - Attachment 2.pdf​

A similar breakdown of figures was provided to the States Assembly under WQ.27/2025 which provides totals for the periods 2020 to 2024. 

Note: The expenditures totals presented in WQ.27/2025 are computed from direct transactional data extracted from the financial payment system by Employment, Social Security and Housing. This reporting method following in line with how the written question (WQ) was asked – people in receipt of financial support, and the total financial value thereof. Therefore, the figures below differ from the totals listed in the States of Jersey Annual Report and Accounts, and the reproduction of the 2017 table above.

See attached for Table 1:

Table 1 Funding Source – Number of people Freedom of Information response 724144673 - Attachment 3.pdf​

Table 1 Funding Source – Total Payments Freedom of Information response 724144673 - Attachment 4.pdf​

Table 3

In January 2022 the Combined Employer Return (CER) was introduced to merge Manpower, ITIS, and Social Security returns to government into a single returns process. The introduction of CER ended the previous collation of employer Social Security Contributions Schedules. 

In February 2025 Social Security Contributions data was migrated from Employment, Social Security and Housing database systems to Revenue Jersey database systems with an effective data migration cutoff date of 10/02/2025.

These two events affect the collation and reproduction of this specific table of measures as the 2017 methodology cannot be directly reproduced. The previous measures have been reproduced using a new reporting standard for the answering of this request.

See attached for Table 3:

Table 3 - Contribution Figures for 2022, 2023, 2024 Freedom of Information response 724144673 - Attachment 5.pdf​

Table 4 

These figures appear in the Social Security (Jersey) Law 1974 in Schedules 1A and 1B. A copy of all versions of that Law is available and the information can be accessed via the link below:  

Social Security (Jersey) Law 1974​

This information is accessible by other means therefore Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 applies. 

See attached for Table 4:

Table 4 - Current rates Freedom of Information response 724144673 - Attachment 6.pdf

Table 6

This information is provided in the Table 1 breakdown above.

Table 10

The number of death grants paid is available in table 1 - the information can be accessed via the link below:   

States Assembly | WQ.27/2025​

This information is accessible by other means therefore Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 applies.  

See attached for Table10 

Table 10 - Value of death grants Freedom of Information response 724144673 - Attachment 7.pdf

Table 22

This information for benefit expenditure is provided in the Table 1 breakdown above.

There was no States Grant in 2023.

The 2024 value of the States Grant to the Social Security Fund may be found on page 257 of the States of Jersey Group 2024 Annual Report and Accounts . 

The table on page 257 of the 2024 report also includes the States Grant into the Long-Term Care Fund. 

The information can be accessed via the link below:  

https://www.gov.je/government/pages/statesreports.aspx?reportid=5932​

This information is therefore accessible by other means and so Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 applies. 

Table 39

This is publicly available in the legislation and the information can be accessed via the link below’.  

Income Support (Jersey) Regulations 2007​ Schedule 1A. 

This information is therefore accessible by other means and so Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 applies. 

Table 44

The 2017 report explains how table 44 is constructed, as follows:

“As the value of Income Support paid to a particular household depends not only on the mix of components that it is entitled to, but also on the other income received by the household, it is not straightforward to report on the value of each component in the total expenditure for Income Support. 

However, to enable an analysis of the total cost to be undertaken, a method of allocating costs within the various components has been developed. This method divides the actual Income Support benefit received by a household in proportion to the gross value of each of the components that the household is eligible for, to allocate a specific net value to each of the components. 

Whereas most of the analysis provided in this report is based on a detailed analysis of the Income Support claims in payment on the last day of the year, in order to compare the total spend in a year across the range of components, it is necessary to examine expenditure throughout the year. The mix of claims changes over time and the values of some components were increased during the year. The following analysis includes data taken from each month of the year to ensure that trends in the take-up of Income Support and rate changes during the year are represented and provides approximate net values for the cost of each component group.” 

See attached for Table 44

Table 44 – Estimated Annual Expenditure Freedom of Information response 724144673 - Attachment 8.pdf​

Article applied

Article 23 - Information accessible to applicant by other means

​(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it is reasonably available to the applicant, otherwise than under this Law, whether or not free of charge.

(2) A scheduled public authority that refuses an application for information on this ground must make reasonable efforts to inform the applicant where the applicant may obtain the information.