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The Chief Minister has pledged to rein in a number of Government projects to save £30m, just days ahead of a fight to hold onto the top job.
Appearing before a sold out Chamber of Commerce business lunch today, Kristina Moore outlined her five priorities for 2024, including investment in St Helier and major commitments in housing and health.
But she also teased that funding would be pulled from some areas, ending her speech by saying that Ministers had this week "agreed to reduce the number of public sector projects".
"It's important for us to have the capacity to deliver on the projects we desperately need as an island. By reprioritising in this sensible manner, we will shortly be returning £20m to the strategic reserves," the Chief Minister said.
She did not, however, provide details in her speech of which projects could be shelved to make these savings – and this morning officially declined to release three key reports by the Interim CEO that had underpinned her 2024 plans, following repeated requests form Express over the past four weeks. One related to how public service delivery could be "simplified" to create "material savings" by next year.
It comes just weeks after business leaders expressed their strong dissatisfaction in the island's leadership at the last Chamber of Commerce event – and days before she faces a no-confidence vote in the States Chamber brought by one of her own former Ministers.
While the remaining members of her senior team have publicly supported her, Reform Jersey's 10-strong group of politicians have so far declined to reveal which way they will swing.
Both business leaders and political colleagues have taken aim at Deputy Moore over a perceived lack of action during her term.
Pictured: Almost a quarter of respondents to a survey at a December business lunch event described the current Government as 'worse than the last lot'.
But, in her speech today, Deputy Moore sought to address these accusations, saying "it has not been easy – with external and internal events affecting our ability to deliver effectively”, but pledged to “accelerate progress this year”.
Attempting to assuage concerns, she shared her five "priorities" for this year and made several pledges, including plans to suspend annual charges for registered and licensed permissions for 2024 and 2025.
In Health, the Chief Minister promised to bring the new healthcare facilities project forward for final approval, as well as achieving an overall 20% reduction in waiting times across acute care.
Deputy Moore also admitted that the schools meal scheme has take longer to implement than hoped – explaining that "providing meals at a scale of four to five thousand a day is beyond the existing island capability" – but pledged to have hot school meals available in all primary schools by the end of the year.
The Chief Minister also pledged to reduce waiting times for ADHD and Neurodevelopment assessment and treatment for children and young people – but did not clarify how this will be done.
As part of her fifth priority of investing in St Helier, Deputy Moore announced plans to further develop the Central Market and the Waterfront.
She also pledged to build a new town school and promised a new plan "to put the fun back into Fort Regent".
Many of the priorities come off the back of recommendations in papers produced by Interim Government CEO, Dr Andrew McLaughlin, as part of his objectives for the last quarter of 2023.
However, despite being chased by Express since 11 December, the Government confirmed yesterday that these three papers will not be made public.
Pictured: Dr Andrew McLaughlin is Interim CEO on secondment from NatWest bank, where he co-leads its ‘Commercial and Institutional’ division.
Dr McLaughlin was set to provide two key papers "which provide a strategic view and set the strategic vision for the Government of Jersey and inform the 2024 planning cycle" by December 2023.
He was also to provide the Chief Minister with an options paper "which identifies five pragmatic and deliverable options to simplify public service delivery with material efficiencies by the end of 2025".
These papers provided policy advice to the Chief Minister, and the parts that she has accepted were revealed in her public speech at the Chamber of Commerce today.
However, the Government is declining to publish Dr McLaughlin's full papers, meaning that any recommendations not accepted by Deputy Moore will remain secret.
Promote economic growth and productivity by announcing:
• Annual charges for registered and licensed permissions will be suspended for 2024 & 2025
• All employers can have an additional registered Control of Housing and Work permission
• We are doubling the size of the productivity grant policy
Deliver more homes by pledging to:
• Support the building of 1,500 additional homes, consistent with the current Island Plan
• Upgrade the drainage network to enable future economic development
• Quadruple the connection rate for homes that are not on mains water
Improve island health services by pledging to:
• Achieve an overall 20% reduction in waiting times across acute care
• Bring the new healthcare facilities project forward for final approval
• Maintain the current figure of reducing delayed discharge of patients to 20
Do more for children and families by pledging to:
• Have hot school meals available in all primary schools by the end of the year
• Pilot a community school model in three schools
• Increase the number of foster places available
• Reduce waiting times for ADHD and Neurodevelopment assessment and treatment for children and young people
Invest in St Helier through further developments to:
• The Central Market – we are intent on moving Markets investment forward by working in partnership with the parish and will be completing feasibility this year
• The Waterfront
• Building a new town school – we will deliver a much-needed school and offer opportunities to increase green space and parking on those sites
• Various public realm improvements, such as moving forward our ideas for the Coronation Way, which we hope will spark islanders imagination and increase cycling and walking, especially to the east of the island
• A new plan for improvements to put the fun back into Fort Regent – and there are others to create a replacement for Rouge Bouillon School as well as Fire and Ambulance Headquarters
• We will pull these and other economic development levers together into one plan to revitalise St Helier for all Island citizens
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