Efficiency savings and the reduction in maintenance budget

Published on: 15 May 2007

Question type: Written

Asked by: Geoffrey Southern

Answered by: Minister for Housing and Communities

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WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR HOUSING BY DEPUTY G.P. SOUTHERN OF ST. HELIER

ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 15th MAY 2007

Question

Will the Minister inform memberswhatismeantby favourable variance in staff costs' contained in his written answer on 1stMay2007?
Will the minister explain whyhe has further reduced his maintenancebudget by £190,000when,by his own admission, muchof the housing stock remains in need of repair?

Answer

F avourablevarianceinstaffcosts' are savings accrued as a result of staff vacancies. When staff leave the Department, the recruitment of a replacement can take sometime.During this period salary paymentscease, which results in a saving.
80 per cent of the stockisnot in need of repair. The reduction inexpenditureof£190,000relates to a decision madein 2005 for implementation in 2006,as part of required service cuts. It was a one-off' payment. Since that time the HousingDepartmenthasbroughtforwardproposals in the SocialHousing Property Plan toaddress a numberof issues, including maintenancefunding.