FINANCIAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2011 - States Assembly

STATEMENT ON INTERNAL CONTROL FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2011SIGNIFICANT INTERNAL CONTROL ISSUESIssue Risk Action(s) and statusComprehensiveSpending Review (CSR) –achievement of savings:A Proposition to the Statesin June 2011 (P72/2011) hasrestricted the areas in whichthe Education Departmentcan take savings.Inability to achieve Value forMoneyIn progress:Most departments are delivering savings targets toplan. There is particular pressure in the EducationDepartment which puts at risk the delivery of £7 millionof their £11 million target. The Minister for Education,Sport and Culture is meeting with a Ministerial Sub-Group to discuss alternative ways to deliver thesavings.Individual actions ofMinisters – Uplands:The negotiation andagreement of a PlanningObligation Agreement bythe Minister for Planning andEnvironment with a privatedevelopment company inrespect of Uplands has ledto the Minister for Treasuryand Resources accepting aseries of Housing Bonds onbehalf of the public of Jersey.Communication betweenMinisters may on occasionnot happen early enoughwhen the decisions ofone Minister affect theresponsibilities of anotherIn progress:The new Council of Ministers has adopted a more openand discursive style and has adopted procedures toensure that key issues are discussed fully.A review of the process that led to the Planning andEnvironment Minister’s decision is a key undertaking inquarter 1, 2012 with a view that any recommendationwill be presented to the Minister.Ministerial Decision process– Lime Grove:Ministerial Decisions forJersey Property Holdings(JPH) followed a separateprocess to that adopted bythe rest of the Treasury andResources Department,with decisions signed by theAssistant Minister.All relevant parties (i.e. theMinister for Treasury andResources, the Treasurerand other senior Treasuryofficers) may not be awareof JPH Decisions that havebeen signed by the AssistantMinisterImplemented:In early 2011 changes were made to the processwhere any significant decisions were approved bythe Accounting Officer prior to presentation to theAssistant Minister. All Ministerial Decisions for JerseyProperty Holdings are now reviewed by the Treasurerand other senior Treasury officers. The AssistantMinister then signs the decisions. All importantproperty-related decisions are also brought to theattention of the Minister for Treasury and Resources.57