Review: States Annual Report and Accounts 2025

About

Part of PAC’s role is to assess whether public funds have been applied for the purpose intended by the States and whether sound financial practices have been maintained. Therefore, to fulfil this statutory scrutiny role, the Committee intends to review the processes for the preparation of, and the performance reported in, the States Annual Report and Accounts 2025.  

The Annual Report and Accounts contain a breakdown of the activities and initiatives carried out by the different elements of the States of Jersey, including Government Departments, Non-Ministerial Departments, funds and some subsidiary companies.  

The Annual Report provides information on how the Government of Jersey has performed over the course of the year in the context of its objectives (‘the Performance Report’) and on how the States is governed (‘the Accountability Report’). It also provides information on the financial performance of the States of Jersey covering both assets and liabilities and income and expenditure.

The States Annual Report and Accounts is effectively the culmination of the Budget (Government Plan) and, therefore, reports on the successes or otherwise of the projects and programmes agreed within the financial envelope by the States Assembly for that year. As other Scrutiny Panels conduct reviews of proposals by Ministers within the Government Plan, the PAC ensures that this is retrospectively examined to identify whether or not priorities have been delivered and outcomes achieved. Furthermore, it is important to assess the following matters:  

• Whether the performance reporting presents clearly the Government’s aims, activities, functions and performance. 
• Whether the reported risks and mitigations have been clearly articulated. 
• The transparency and timeliness of the overall report.  
• Whether consideration has been given by the States of Jersey to the recommendations of the External Auditors (Mazars), previous recommendations from the Comptroller and Auditor General and previous recommendations of the PAC.  
• Consideration of changes to the Annual Report and Accounts and rationale for doing so.  
• References and linkages within the report.  
   

The Review will seek to address the following key issues:  

1. The accuracy, transparency and timeliness of the States Annual Report and Accounts 2025, including whether the Performance Report contained therein presents clearly the Government’s performance. 
2. Follow-up on previous recommendations made by the External Auditors of the States of Jersey, the Comptroller and Auditor General, and the PAC in respect of the Annual Report and Accounts, with particular focus on risk management and procurement controls. 
3. Evaluate the difficulties in year-on-year comparisons when non-recurring transactions are mixed into reported results. 
4. Examine financial management and financial sustainability within Health and Care Jersey (HCJ), including the effectiveness of the HCJ Financial Recovery Plan, the drivers of ongoing budget pressures, workforce planning, governance and oversight arrangements, and the actions being taken to ensure sustainable service delivery, value for money and expenditure in the medium to long term. 
5. Examination of capital spending allocations compared to actual spend, with a focus on key areas such as Health and Care Jersey. 

Terms of reference

1. To examine the content, reported performance, transparency, accessibility and timeliness of the States of Jersey Annual Report and Accounts 2025.
2. To consider whether the Performance Report contained within the Annual Report and Accounts 2025 presents clearly the States of Jersey’s aims, activities, functions and performance during that period (including service performance measurements).
3. To examine the contents of the Accountability Report contained within the Annual Report and Accounts 2025 including reported risks and mitigations as well as remuneration reporting (including exit and redundancies payments).
4. To review real expenditure against the Budget (Government Plan) 2025-2028, assess the effectiveness of spending in delivering intended outcomes, and establish the extent to which spending has contributed to the achievement of Government objectives
5. To determine whether the States Annual Reports and Accounts 2025 incorporate the recommendations of the previous PAC Reports and recommendations of the External Auditors of the States of Jersey and Comptroller and Auditor General, with special focus on:

• Improved overall awareness and presentation of the report for ease of use and understanding;
• Plans to introduce a public feedback process for the Annual Report and Account;
• Separate reporting of non-recurring financial items;
• Health and Care Jersey related expenditure and performance;
• Capital projects expenditure and reporting.