Deputy Steve Luce said that the budget had remained the same in real terms for the last eight years, and that some of the mandatory cuts of two per cent which all States departments must make as part of a £12 million savings drive would be made ‘from within the workforce’.
- Deputy Steve Luce has been a States Member since 2011, when he ousted sitting Deputy Bob Hill in the parish of St Martin.
- The Deputy is married with four children and prior to becoming a Deputy worked as a dairy farmer.
- When he was elected Planning and Environment Minister in November last year he said that he wanted more green space in town, more flexibility to allow changes to the Island Plan, which sets Jerseys planning policy, and less red tape, so Islanders can get on with minor home improvements.
- In addition to being Environment Minister, he also currently serves as an Assistant Minister for the Economic Development Department and is a member of both the Legislation Advisory Panel and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
He said: ‘Like all departments, we are under severe pressure.
‘Health is the number one priority and is a vast consumer of finance. Education and the economy are the second and third priorities. Planning and Environment is further down the line.
‘We have a budget of £5.9 million, which has been the same since 2008. We have an income but in real terms the funding has not changed.’
He made the comments at the first quarterly hearing of the Environment, Housing and Technical Services Scrutiny Panel, which was held yesterday and was attended by senior Environment Department staff.
St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft, chairman of the Scrutiny panel, asked Deputy Luce whether he thought the environment should be at the top of the list when it comes to States spending.
Deputy Luce replied: ‘If you prioritise the environment over health, people become pretty agitated.’
Mr Crowcroft said there was a danger that the environment was being ‘put into the background’ and asked whether the department had enough resources to realise projects such as the Eco-Active scheme, which promotes sustainable environmental practices in businesses and States departments.
Willie Peggie, director of the Environment Department, told the panel: ‘There is more and more work which the Environment Department does.
Many issues have not gone away – they have magnified.’
Deputy Luce added that the workload for the department had been increasing for more than 20 years
‘Every year we are funding more and more schemes with less money,’ he said.
Mr Peggie said that as a result of a lack of funding, projects such as improving the public footpaths and signage to educate the public about the environment were ‘not a priority’.
Panel member Deputy David Johnson asked whether the case for additional funding for environmental projects was being sufficiently fought for in the Council of Ministers.
Deputy Luce said that it was, but added: ‘We are putting in for funding, but we want it for increasing the number of footpaths in the Island and the Health Minister may put in a bid for a new MRI scanner.’
He said that the department was prepared to meet the mandatory cuts of two per cent, and would do so by re-priortising the money it has.
Mr Peggie said: ‘The first thing we will look at is the workforce, and how it changes naturally in the next five years.
‘We have an ageing workforce and a number of people who will retire.
‘We have to use that flexibility, because most of our costs are on people.
‘We need the people left to do things differently.’
- The Island has five Scrutiny Panels, made up of States members who are not Ministers or Assistant Ministers. Their aims are to carry out detailed investigations into Ministers work and carry out reviews aimed at improving government policies and public services.
- The Environment, Housing and Technical Services Scrutiny Panels remit covers matters relating to the Environment, Housing and Transport departments and reviews polices and legislation put forward by their Ministers and matters of public importance in those areas.
- The panel is chaired by St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft and its members include Deputy Montfort Tadier, Deputy David Johnson and Deputy Judy Martin.
- It has recently carried out reviews into issues ranging from the compulsory wearing of cycle helmets and waste water strategy to protecting our marine environment and Green Street Police headquarters: traffic and parking.
- The Eco-Active campaign was launched in February 2007 by the then Environment Minister, Freddie Cohen, with the aim of turning Jersey green.
- The programme is run by the States of Jersey to promote and raise awareness of sustainable environmental practices in schools, businesses and homes
- It encourages people to think about by reducing the impact of climate change by doing things as simple as switching off lights or turning the heating down by one degree.
- The scheme encourages local schools to think about the environment by taking part in their Eco-Schools programme, an international scheme which involves schools carrying out environmental projects and saving money through improved efficiency, among other initiatives. School children are also encouraged to take part in various Eco Active competitions,
- It also encourages businesses to think green, through its Eco-Active Business scheme. The initiative aims to help local businesses to become more environmentally efficient and reduce their running costs.
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