Proposed budget reductions and impact on department
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2025.11.11
2.3 Deputy H.L. Jeune of St. John , St. Lawrence and Trinity of the Minister for the Environment regarding the proposed reduction to his Department's budget (OQ.245/2025):
Further to the proposed reductions to his department's budget set out within the Proposed Budget (Government Plan) 2026-2029, which he has stated would "severely undermine service delivery across the board", will the Minister advise what services will be stopped or scaled back as a result of these reductions and what specific impact, if any, he anticipates they will have on the Department's ability to deliver its core functions?
Deputy S.G. Luce of Grouville and St. Martin (The Minister for the Environment):
2026 is going to be an extremely challenging year to manage within allocated expenditure for both the regulation and natural environment directorates. However, I am committed to living within budget, but I must say that with declining income, my options are very limited. The Deputy asked the question, and the workstreams likely to be most affected might include one or some of the following: marine offshore heavy metals analysis, annual marine reporting, blue carbon research, F.E.P.A. (Food and Environmental Protection Act) planning application responses, public marine outreach and education, countryside access path and rights of way management, climatology data and reporting, air quality monitoring, biodiversity consultation to planning applications, animal welfare visits, capacity to monitor and help enforce wildlife legislation, ability to comply with U.K. (United Kingdom) and global policy reporting obligations, Asian hornet control, and the state of nature reporting requirements.
2.3.1 Deputy H.L. Jeune :
Could the Minister advise how he determines which areas of his department's work are prioritised for funding; specifically how he weighs up what constitutes not just a priority but a necessity or risk, especially after that list that the Minister has just provided us?
Deputy S.G. Luce :
That is not an easy question to answer but I did try to explain to it in a recent Scrutiny hearing. Obviously all States Members have priority lists and when something new arrives you have to decide where in the list you put it. Something like P.F.A.S. (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), something like the results of Brexit happening, something like housing standards laws being changed and passed. We all have to accept that there are different risks and we have to reprioritise, but certainly statutory work that has to be done has to go towards the top of the list and some of the work which is nice to do, really important to do, but some of that work sometimes has to go further down the list as is required.