Jersey Departments Achieve Underspend

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

11 May 2011

Jersey Treasury Minister, Philip Ozouf has welcomed the announcement by government departments that last year, as a result of consolidation efforts, expenditure was GBP21m below the level anticipated.

Ozouf said of the GBP21m, GBP8m has been banked and returned to the consolidated fund while the remainder will be retained by departments to help them deliver their Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) savings.

Senator Philip Ozouf said that:

“In order to deliver their share of the GBP65m savings, departments are having to cut costs and manage both their cashflow and the timing of their spending."

"For that reason, having confirmed that they are committed to delivering their savings, they will retain their underspends so they can plan their work and restructure their services.”

“Achieving sustainable change that streamlines services and benefits islanders needs adequate investment. This was the firm message from the independent advisers who contributed to the first part of the CSR process."

“I welcome these underspends and departments' commitment to delivering their CSR savings. This confirms that the fiscal strategy adopted by the assembly was the right one and that we are on track to bring Jersey’s public finances back into balance by 2013, so we can provide essential services effectively and ensure value for money for taxpayers.”

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