FACED with the prospect of an embarrassing defeat barely five hours into a week-long Budget debate, ministers performed a u-turn yesterday and scrapped proposed cuts to the Environment Department – then just hours later reversed their stance on cuts to the States of Jersey Police’s funding.
A Scrutiny panel’s amendment to reinstate the £656,000 worth of funding that threatened key environmental projects, including work to combat the spread of Asian Hornets across the Island was set to be backed by the Assembly, multiple backbench sources have confirmed to the JEP.
With the likelihood of receiving a bloody nose in the Chamber as the first of a raft of amendments was debated, hurried discussions took place during the course of Monday evening and early on Tuesday regarding a potential change to the government’s approach, which was confirmed by Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham.
The Island’s volunteer team of Asian-hornet hunters breathed a collective sigh of relief in the wake of the ministerial climbdown.
Deputy Hilary Jeune, chair of the Environment, Housing and Infrastructure panel said that the cuts created dangers of “undermining public safety, economic resilience, and environmental protection to save a relatively small sum when compared with other much larger departmental budgets”.
“This is not trimming fat, this is cutting into the bone,” she added.
Areas of concern cited by Deputy Jeune included Public Health monitoring for water quality, PFAS and air pollution, the “reputational damage” to the Island of being unable to comply with international conventions and the adverse effects on agriculture and tourism.
“Jersey’s natural environment is not a discretionary add-on or a ‘nice to have’ – it is a core public service that protects our health, our safety, and our economy,” she said.
Deputy Farnham said there had been productive exchanges between ministers and members of the Scrutiny panel and that he was now happy to support the amendment.
Treasury officials would work on an amendment in order to ensure the funding was identified and the Budget balanced, he added.
Following the Chief Minister’s confirmation about the change-of-heart regarding the cuts, the Scrutiny panel’s amendment was supported 44-1 by Members, with Deputy Max Andrews the only politician to vote against.
Prior to the Chief Minister’s confirmation of the ministerial u-turn, Treasury Minister Elaine Millar said that it was essential that the continued growth of public services was stopped.
“We can’t afford to backtrack on previous decisions about curbing growth – we have to live within our means,” she said.
Ministers’ second major u-turn of the day came during the afternoon, when they accepted a separate Scrutiny amendment which will see police funding increased by £240,000.
Though the amendment originally asked for the full £240,000 to come out of the Health budget, Deputy Millar said ministers would work to ensure the burden was “shared across a number of departments”.
She said she had already signed a letter of comfort “guaranteeing” to the States police that they will be able to recruit and train ten new officers in 2026, and that money confiscated in criminal cases would be used “to invest in technology for the digital forensics team”.
Islanders value community policing and feeling safe, she said, adding that safety was “not something we should take for granted”.
But she added that it would be “inappropriate” for anyone but the police chief to decide how the funds would be spent.
Home Affairs Minister Mary Le Hegarat said that with police funds “eroding” over the years, she was grateful for her colleagues’ work finding the additional funds.
Speaking to the JEP after yesterday’s vote on Environment funding, Jersey Asian Hornet Group member John de Carteret said: “We are heartened by the fact that we’ve had the support of States Members.”
He continued: “They’ve seen that reducing the general Environment Department budget would have affected the monies available for the Asian-hornet campaign, because it involves consumables and paying professional pest-controllers.”
So far this year, 694 nests have been found – compared to 261 last year.
Mr de Carteret praised the support of the public in reporting nests, as well as the work of the volunteers in tracking them.
Following the support for her panel’s position, Deputy Jeune told the JEP she was pleased with the outcome, but disappointed that it had been necessary to bring the amendment.
“It was clear I was getting strong support and so it was the right move for the government to back down rather than face defeat,” she said.
One backbencher said ministers had been heading for a “certain defeat”, arguing that it would have been “political suicide” for anyone proposing to stand for Senator in next year’s election to have voted against the amendment.
