Proposed Budget (Government Plan) 2026-2029 (P.70/2025): Thirty- Fourth amendment. 2026 Election Budget
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STATES OF JERSEY
PROPOSED BUDGET (GOVERNMENT PLAN) 2026-2029 (P.70/2025): THIRTY- FOURTH AMENDMENT
2026 ELECTION BUDGET
Lodged au Greffe on 24th November 2025 by the Comité des Connétable s
Earliest date for debate: 8th December 2025
STATES GREFFE
2025 P.70 Amd.(34)
PROPOSED BUDGET (GOVERNMENT PLAN) 2026-2029 (P.70/2025): THIRTY-FOURTH AMENDMENT
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1 PAGE 2, PARAGRAPH b (viii) –
After the words ""as set out in the Appendix 2 – Summary Tables 5(i) and (ii) of the Report", insert the words –
", except that, in Summary Table 5(i), £130,000 of the head of expenditure for the States Assembly budget shall be allocated to allow for additional expenditure to be met by the States pursuant to Article 15 of the Elections (Jersey) Law 2002 (as amended by P.56/2025) arising from the fact the elections to the States Assembly will take place on Sunday 7th June 2026".
COMITÉ DES CONNÉTABLES
Note: After this amendment, the proposition would read as follows –
THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion
- In accordance with Article 16 of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019 (the Law) to approve an amendment to the Government Plan 2025 – 2028 (entitled "Budget 2025 – 2028") to a reduction in the 2025 head of expenditure "Grants to States Funds" as included in Table 5(i) Revenue Heads of Expenditure of that Government Plan from £119,821,000 to £69,821,000.
- To receive the Government Plan 2026 – 2029 (entitled "Budget 2026-2029") specified in Article 9(1) of the Law and specifically –
- to approve the estimate of total States income to be paid into the Consolidated Fund in 2026 as set out in Appendix 2 – Summary Table 1 to the Report, which is inclusive of the proposed taxation and impôts duties changes outlined in the Government Plan, in line with Article 9(2)(a) of the Law.
- to refer to their Act dated 24th June 2003 in which they approved that no new user pays' charges be introduced without any such charge receiving prior in principle approval by the States Assembly and accordingly to approve the introduction of two new charges, to be levied by Health and Care Jersey to promote appropriate use of the Emergency Department and for repeated non-attendance of outpatient appointments, detailed in the section entitled "Departmental Income Sources" as set out in the Appendix to the accompanying Report.
- to approve the proposed Changes to Approval for financing/borrowing for 2026, as shown in Appendix 2 – Summary
Table 2 to the Report, which may be obtained by the Minister for Treasury and Resources, as and when required, in line with Article 9 (2)(c) of the Law, of up to those revised approval amounts.
- to approve the transfers from one States fund to another for 2026 of up to and including the amounts set in Appendix 2 – Summary Table 3 in line with Article 9(2)(b) of the Law.
- to approve a transfer from the Consolidated Fund to the Stabilisation Fund in 2026 of up to £50 million, subject to a decision of the Minister for Treasury and Resources based on the availability of funds in the Consolidated Fund as at 31st December 2025 in excess of the estimates provided in this plan, or from budgeted underspends identified before 31st December 2026.
- to approve a transfer from the Consolidated Fund to the Agricultural Loans Fund in 2026 of up to £5 million, subject to a decision of the Minister for Treasury and Resources based on availability of funds in the Consolidated Fund as at 31st December 2025 in excess of estimates provided in this plan, or from budgeted underspends identified before 31st December 2026;
- to approve each major project that is to be started or continued in 2026 and the total cost of each such project and any amendments to the proposed total cost of a major project under a previously approved Government Plan, in line with Article 9(2)(d), (e) and (f) of the Law and as set out in Appendix 2 – Summary Table 4 to the Report.
viii. to approve the proposed amount to be appropriated from the
Consolidated Fund for 2026, for each head of expenditure, being gross expenditure less estimated income (if any), in line with Articles 9(2)(g), 10(1) and 10(2) of the Law, and set out in Appendix 2 – Summary Tables 5(i) and (ii) of the Report, except that, in Summary Table 5(i), £130,000 of the head of expenditure for the States Assembly budget shall be allocated to allow for additional expenditure to be met by the States pursuant to Article 15 of the Elections (Jersey) Law 2002 (as amended by P.56/2025) arising from the fact the elections to the States Assembly will take place on Sunday 7th June 2026.
- to approve the estimated income, being estimated gross income less expenditure, that each States trading operation will pay into its trading fund in 2026 in line with Article 9(2)(h) of the Law and set out in Appendix 2 – Summary Table 6 to the Report.
- to approve the proposed amount to be appropriated from each States trading operation's trading fund for 2026 for each head of expenditure in line with Article 9(2)(i) of the Law and set out in Appendix 2 – Summary Table 7 to the Report.
- to approve the estimated income and expenditure proposals for the Climate Emergency Fund for 2026 as set out in Appendix 2 – Summary Table 8 to the Report.
- to approve, in accordance with Article 9(1) of the Law, the Government Plan 2026-2029, as set in the Appendix to the accompanying Report.
REPORT
On 1st April 2025 the States Assembly adopted the proposition States Assembly | P.17/2025 and agreed that the ordinary elections next year will be held on Sunday 7 June 2026.
In its report, PPC anticipated that a Sunday election will increase the administrative cost of the process, given that officials and Parish staff will be working on a weekend, and believed that this slight increase in cost will be worthwhile, if there is an associated increase in voter turnout.
The Comité des Connétable s presented comments (P-17-2025-Com.pdf) to outline in more detail what those costs would be including -
• staff time (working over the full weekend, the polling station set up being the day before polling day; with staff on duty from early morning on polling day etc.)
• availability of municipality/helpers to act as Adjoints
• hospitality/refreshments (cafés/restaurants previously used for Wednesday polling may have limited availability on a Sunday) and
• hire/use of premises (where polling stations are offered other than at the Parish Hall ).
These costs will fall on both the Parishes and the States as Article 15 of the Elections (Jersey) Law 2002 provides for the States to meet the costs incurred for a public election of Deputies and, when amended by P.56/2025, of Senators.
The Parishes have sought to quantify those costs in more detail and provided an estimate in the region of £125,650 for staffing costs for all Parishes, excluding other costs.
Historically, the States costs have been met through the Judicial Greffe budget with a contribution per polling station being made. The Comité understands that the Judicial Greffe budget for 2026 provides for a contribution in respect of each polling station at the same level as in 2022 (which was £2,500), plus inflation, but does not cover the additional costs which the Comité brought to the States Assembly's attention.
This amendment is to ensure the 2026 budget adequately provides for the costs which the States Assembly accepted when agreeing to the elections being held on 7th June 2026 by ring-fencing £130,000 of the States Assembly budget to meet these costs.
Financial and staffing implications
The amendment ensures that funds are ring-fenced to meet the additional costs which have to be met by the States arising from the fact the elections to the States Assembly will take place on Sunday 7th June 2026.
There are no staffing implications as a result of this amendment to current staffing or resource requirements for the States or the Parishes.
Children's Rights Impact Assessment
The Comité considers that this proposition (amendment) has no direct or indirect impact on children and that the duty to have due regard to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child does not arise. Accordingly, a Children's Rights Impact Assessment is not required under the Children (Convention Rights) (Jersey) Law 2022.