PLANS for how taxpayers’ money will be spent on providing services to Islanders and investing in new projects are set to be debated by the States Assembly this week.
The government’s proposed Budget for 2025–28 will be centre-stage, including the spending of £1.2 billion on services, £710m on the Island’s new healthcare facilities, a further £31m in Health, £93m in buildings and infrastructure and £20m to support businesses and charities through the transition to the living wage.
At the time the draft Budget was published at the start of August, Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham hailed it as a “commitment to building a secure future for Jersey”.
A total of 29 amendments have been put forward by backbench politicians, Scrutiny panels and by the Council of Ministers, with a total of seven having been accepted.
The 21 amendments which will be debated include:
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Increasing the price of a pint of beer in line with inflation as a sign of commitment to tackle the impact of alcohol on public health (Deputy Helen Miles).
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Bringing forward plans to invest £7.5million in the new Le Squez Youth Centre. This was proposed by Deputy Karen Wilson, who said the proposals had been “kicked down the road for years”.
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Adding a provision to the proposed agricultural loans scheme which would rule out applications by those involved in cultivating cannabis (Deputy Philip Ozouf).
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Providing funding of £66,000, originally earmarked for public-realm investment, for a play space strategy (Deputy Inna Gardiner). Ministers have lodged a counter-proposal to fund this project from existing resources.
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Obliging the government to provide a more detailed breakdown of costing for the Island’s new hospital facilities (Health Scrutiny Panel).
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A bridging grant of £200,000 to ensure the survival of Jersey Cheshire Home (Deputy Gardiner).
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The reallocation of £1m for the revitalisation of Broad Street towards repairs at Highlands College (Education Scrutiny Panel).
Deputy Jonathan Renouf had sought to reverse the government policy of freezing fuel duty, saying his move would reaffirm the Island’s commitment to tackling the climate emergency. But Deputy Renouf announced over the weekend that he was withdrawing his amendment and would repeat the move in a year’s time when he felt there was a better chance of success.
Following a meeting with the Chief Minister last week, the Scrutiny Liaison Committee raised concerns about a lack of long-term planning and the continued growth in spending on Health, with these issues set to form part of this week’s debating.
After question time this afternoon, the Budget debate is set to begin tomorrow morning and likely to last several days.
