Population Office: Transfer from Chief Minister's Department to Social Security Department

Information about the publication of Ministerial Decisions

A formal published “Ministerial Decision” is required as a record of the decision of a Minister (or an Assistant Minister where they have delegated authority) as they exercise their responsibilities and powers.

Ministers are elected by the States Assembly and have legal responsibilities and powers as “corporation sole” under the States of Jersey Law 2005 by virtue of their office and in their areas of responsibility, including entering into agreements, and under any legislation conferring on them powers.

An accurate record of “Ministerial Decisions” is vital to effective governance, including:

demonstrating that good governance, and clear lines of accountability and authority, are in place around decisions-making – including the reasons and basis on which a decision is made, and the action required to implement a decision
providing a record of decisions and actions that will be available for examination by States Members, and Panels and Committees of the States Assembly; the public, organisations, and the media; and as a historical record and point of reference for the conduct of public affairs

Ministers are individually accountable to the States Assembly, including for the actions of the departments and agencies which discharge their responsibilities.

The Freedom of Information Law (Jersey) Law 2011 is used as a guide when determining what information is be published. While there is a presumption toward publication to support of transparency and accountability, detailed information may not be published if, for example, it would constitute a breach of data protection, or disclosure would prejudice commercial interest.

A decision made 7 May 2015:

Decision Reference:MD-S-2015-0041
Decision Summary Title :	Transfer of Population Office from Chief Minister’s Department to Social Security Department		Date of Decision Summary:	06 May 2015
Decision Summary Author:	Finance and Governance Director		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title :	Transfer of Population Office from Chief Minister’s Department to Social Security Department		Date of Written Report:	06 May 2015
Written Report Author:	Finance and Governance Director		Written Report : Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: The Minister agreed to accept the transfer of the Population Office from the Chief Minister’s Department to the Social Security Department
Decision(s): The Minister: accepted the transfer of the Population Office from the Chief Minister’s Department (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. agreed to seek 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 Social Security Department (SSD) revenue head of expenditure; agreed to seek the approval of the Minister for Treasury and Resources for a non-recurring budget transfer in 2015 of £250,000 from Central Contingency to the SSD revenue head of expenditure to meet the shortfall in income under the Control of Work and Housing Law as a result of the State’s Decision not to implement an annual charge on registered employees; agreed to seek 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; agreed the transfer of the fixed asset software “Migration Control”, being the CRM database used by the Population Office (Populus/Opus/Domus). This Decision supersedes the Agency Agreement In the Administration of the Control and Housing Work (Jersey) Law 2012, the Service Level Agreement between the Population Office and Social Security, and the Information Handling Protocol.
Reason(s) for Decision: Article 18(1)(c) of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2005 states that all or any part of the amount appropriated by a head of expenditure may, with the approval of the Minister for Treasury and Resources, be used for the purposes of another head of expenditure. Delegation 1.2 delegates authority for non-contentious transfers between heads of expenditure of up to £1,000,000 to the Treasurer of the States. 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. To comply with P67/1999, which charges the Minister for Treasury and Resources to regulate the number of persons that may be employed by the States. Delegation 2.3 delegates authority to the Treasurer of the States for agreeing non-contentious increases to States manpower.
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. The transfer between CMD and SSD revenue heads of expenditure will be reflected in the next MTFP 2016 – 2019. Measures to address the shortfall in income under the Control of Work and Housing Law will need to be considered in the next MTFP 2016 – 2019.
Action required: Finance and Governance Director to seek the necessary approvals.
Signature:		Position:
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):