A backbench politician is calling on the States to fully reinstate its grant to the Social Security Fund from 2028 onwards.

Deputy Max Andrews lodged a proposition urging the Assembly to ask the Treasury Minister to include the restored grant in the Government Budget for 2027 to 2030.

He argued that the grant was only partially withdrawn in the previous Budget to allow the government to fund an additional £52 million of new spending while avoiding a larger deficit.

It comes after government plans to cut the grant by around £50 million across four years led to accusations that ministers were “plundering” the Social Security Fund last year.

In his report accompanying the proposition, Deputy Andrews said the States approved £334 million of “growth bid” expenditure over the past six budgets, including £276 million between 2020 and 2024.

He also cites the Fiscal Policy Panel’s warning that Budget 2026 proposed “an increase in day-to-day spending that exceeds revenue growth” and that spending above income would rely on borrowing and reducing reserves.

The panel also warned that increasing spending while Jersey’s economy was operating at capacity was “likely to exacerbate domestically generated inflation”.

Deputy Andrews argued that, unless government spending is reduced, the partial withdrawal of the States grant will continue – with between £42 million and £45 million expected to be transferred each year from the Social Security Reserve Fund to the Social Security Fund between 2027 and 2029.

He said ministers should instead find savings within departmental budgets and improve efficiency across government to allow the full grant to be restored.

“Work must be undertaken to deliver efficiencies across government departments,” he added.

Deputy Andrews also suggested increasing economic growth and broadening the tax base to generate more government income, adding that any future surpluses should be used to rebuild reserve funds.

He said that the recent decision to transfer more than £114 million from the Social Security Reserve Fund to make up for reductions in the States grant for 2025 and 2026 had set “a dangerous precedent”.

If approved, the proposition would give the Council of Ministers time to reduce spending and introduce revenue-raising measures before restoring the full States grant from 2028.

Deputy Andrews also argued that new growth bids should not be brought forward until Jersey’s public finances are back on a sustainable footing, in line with recommendations from the Fiscal Policy Panel.

The proposition is due to be debated in September.