Wednesday 26 March 2014
Deputy Fallaize requested a comparison of HSSD's budget and expenditure in 2013 against earlier years. Please find table at the bottom of this page which provides the original budget, authorised budget and actual expenditure for HSSD from 2005 to 2013.
The columns on the left-hand side give the figures; while the columns on the right compare the difference between original & authorised budgets; original budgets & outturn; and authorised budgets & outturn.
In respect of Deputy Fallaize's specific question - in 2009, there was a £9m increase from HSSD's original budget (£98m) to authorised budget (£107m). The Department at that time did not report an overspend, because the outturn was equal to the authorised budget. In 2010, there was a £2.2m increase from HSSD's original budget (£103.3m) to authorised budget (£105.5m), and a further overspend of £2.2m (final outturn £107.7m).
As Deputy St Pier explained in answer to States Members' questions, some element of the increase from original to authorised budget - for all Departments, not only HSSD - will be as a result of centrally funded costs, including pay awards, which fall outside the 2% increase which T&R can use its delegated authority to approve. How much of the remaining increase is reported as an "overspend" depends on whether the increase has been authorised by T&R (or in the case of 2012's outturn, by the States) prior to the States Accounts being finalised, or whether a proposition is required in the accounts to approve this.
Again, as both I and Deputy St Pier said in the States, T&R has used its delegated authority on two occasions this year to approve significant additional budget for HSSD. The first was in respect of unplanned off-island placements and an unusual situation in respect of children in care, which totalled £700,000. The second was at the end of 2013, to approve a forecast overspend of £1.3 million. Following year-end processes, it appears that the 2013 overspend is now closer to £1.6 million, and there will be a proposition in the States Accounts for the remaining £300k. This information is all consistent with the statement given by the T&R Minister in September 2013 and the statement I gave during the Budget Debate in October 2013.
