Scrutiny finds Government has delivered on some priorities, but work remains
Scrutiny
27 November 2025
A Review Panel which has been scrutinising the delivery of the Government’s 13 Common Strategic Policy priorities and how the Proposed Budget 2026-2029 supports their implementation has today published its report.The Panel, which is made up of the Chairs from the five Scrutiny Panels and the Public Accounts Committee, held several Public Hearings with Ministers, including the Chief Minister. The Panel makes 21 key findings, and 11 recommendations.
The Panel found progress has been made in delivering priorities across education, health, economic, and housing areas. This includes the provision of nutritious school meals in all States primary schools, reductions in GP fees for Health Access Scheme users, the commencement of the transition towards a living wage with associated employer support.
Whilst the Panel notes progress in some areas, some priorities remain only partially delivered, including the implementation of recommendations from the Violence Against Women and Girls Taskforce, town revitalisation, and reducing red tape.
The Panel also found that the decision to reduce the States Grant to the Social Security Fund provides short-term flexibility but raises concerns about long-term sustainability, particularly in the context of demographic pressures and rising health costs.
Deputy Inna Gardiner, Chair of the Common Strategic Policy Review Panel, said:
‘This Review has been both insightful and timely. As this is a ‘bridging’ budget, it provides short-term stability. However, long-term decisions on healthcare funding, demographic change and how we drive economic growth have been left unanswered. There is a clear imbalance between what is being spent and what the Government is receiving and there is still no strategic plan to address this in the medium and longer-term without using our reserves, including the Social Security Fund. We are concerned this will come at the expense of future generations.
‘We also urge future Governments to tackle cross-cutting issues such as demographic change, digital transformation and environmental sustainability in a coordinated way. We don’t feel this has been achieved which may undermine Jersey’s resilience in the years ahead.’
Summary of the Panel’s key recommendations:
- In relation to the nursery and childcare pilot programmes, cross-departmental work should be strengthened to address workforce and site availability challenges.
- The Council of Ministers should ensure that an integrated revitalisation plan for St Helier is mapped out as part of end-of-term planning.
- By February 2026, the Council of Ministers should publish a progress update on delivering the Age-Friendly Infrastructure Framework by July 2026.
- In terms of monitoring and evaluation, the Council of Ministers should introduce outcome-based performance metrics for all CSP priorities, with annual public reporting.
- The Council of Ministers should, before the end of Q1 2026, review the impact of the consultancy freeze on departmental capacity, identifying all critical business-as-usual work that has been delayed.
- The Council of Ministers should formalise cross-Ministerial working groups with clear terms of reference, delivery plans, and reporting mechanisms.
- The Council of Ministers should develop a long-term sustainability plan for the Social Security Fund, including modelling of demographic pressures and future service needs.
- For any future proposals to reduce the States Grant to the Social Security Fund, the Minister for Social Security should establish criteria, by Q3 2026, for using the reduction in funds for capital investment where a return can be generated, with appropriate safeguards against revenue use.
- The Council of Ministers should publish annual reports on the impact of reduced grants to the Social Security Fund on both the solvency of the Fund versus the gains in CSP deliverables and outcomes.
- The Council of Ministers should, in recognition of Jersey’s ageing population, present a report by the end of Q1 2026 detailing actions taken to address demographic change across pensions, workforce, care, education and housing.
- The Chief Minister should include in his legacy report that responsibility for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion oversight should be assigned to a dedicated Ministerial portfolio or cross-government steering group.
Visit the Review page for further information.
The debate on the Proposed Budget 2026-2029 is scheduled to take place in the States Assembly from Monday 8 December at 9.30am. It is expected to last all week. You can watch:
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