“DARK clouds on the horizon are starting to roll in”, the Environment Minister has warned, ahead of budget cuts which he said will create “significant challenges” for his department.
Under the government’s 2026 Budget proposals, the Environment Department’s funding is set to be slashed by £656,000 from 2025 to 2026.
In 2025, the department was given £11,763,000 to spend – but the proposals would see this reduced to £11,107,000 in 2026, if they are given approval by the States Assembly in December.
Deputy Steve Luce yesterday told the Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Scrutiny panel that his department needed to make £749,000 in staff related savings in the proposed Budget.
The minister said: “There’s no doubt that next year is going to be challenging. The last few years, we’ve been working hard to make sure that we stay inside budget – a budget which is continually under pressure.
“We are a department which relies very heavily on fees and charges for a good chunk of our income, and consequently we find ourselves under increasing pressure year on year.”
Deputy Luce said that the impact of the further funding cuts next year will be “profound across the whole department”.
He explained: “We are a department which relies very heavily on fees and charges for a good chunk of our income, but as a government we’re determined to try to our best to not make the cost of living any worse so we’ve decided there won’t be any increase over 2.5%.
“And of course, as you know, we’ve introduced a consultancy and recruitment fees as well. So when you put all those factors together, things are very challenging, and without doubt, the effects are across the whole department.”
It comes after Jersey’s team of Asian hornet hunters last week warned that budget cuts could force volunteers to give up and the Island to lose the fight against the invasive species.
John De Carteret, one of the founding members of the volunteers hornet hunters, has said proposed Environment Department funding cuts must not impact the programme to find, track and destroy the species, which threatens to wipe out the Island’s bee population.
This year, the number of nests dealt with more than doubled from 2024 – with 625 found compared to 261 the year before.
The Environment Minister acknowledged the work of volunteers during the hearing yesterday.
“I cannot underestimate how grateful we are in the department for the work done by volunteers,” he said.
“You can take Asian Hornets, for example, where we have a team of around 50 people out there, looking for them, tracking them, putting out the traps to see where they are, and actively helping us.
“We have that across the whole gamut where people are on the seashore, doing surveys, out in the countryside – we have a huge range.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if there were nearly 500 people who help the natural environment team to do their work, so that’s hugely important.”
Deputy Luce added: “I don’t know that I could even think about asking them to do more, because the input is so great already. I know they respond really well to challenges.
“They’re so helpful, but they also feel the pinch when we become as a department short of funds, because they feel the effects of that as well.”
Speaking after the hearing, panel chair Deputy Hilary Jeune said: “The impact of these cuts is not just that some bushes don’t get cut back on a path, or that a survey on the impact of an invasive species doesn’t get done; these cuts have the potential to hit the competitiveness of our economy, livelihoods and essential regulatory work.
“When the minister himself is concerned about the effect of these cuts on the services his department can provide, then we should all take note.”
She added: “Not only is the reduction in budget a worry, but there is no contingency financing at all for the department which means that any unexpected incidents, such another major storm, a disease threat to livestock or the public, would mean other areas are de-prioritised further.
“In addition, the Brexit re-set negotiations that are about to get underway between the UK and the EU, will require Jersey to make changes to around 89 pieces of legislation to bring us in-line if we are to be able to benefit from the improved trading conditions. There is no funding allowed for this.
“That is a potential threat to our economic growth and to the livelihoods of our fishers, farmers and businesses across the Island.”
