The much delayed and derailed debate on how Jersey’s new £466million hospital should be funded takes place today (Tuesday), but it faces opposition from individual politicians and from the parliament’s only political party, Reform Jersey.
It was originally scheduled for last December but faced a series of knock-backs from politicians concerned the plan hadn’t been properly scrutinised, and then by those who had alternative suggestions for paying the bill.
£23million has already been spent on a project team to work up the plans for the build which will be based on the site of the current hospital in St Helier.
The Treasury and Resources Minister wants to borrow up to £275million, and use money in the Strategic Reserve Fund to cover the rest. The plan is to pay back the loan through returns on growth in the Fund, and not through taxation.
Introducing the proposition, Treasury Minister Senator Alan Maclean wrote: “This will be Jersey’s largest single capital investment in a generation. After considering all the options and consulting with expert advisers, the Minister for Treasury and Resources, with the support of the Council of Ministers, is proposing to raise the funding required through a blended solution; borrowing, supplemented by existing reserves.”
“That borrowing is proposed to be by means of a public-rated sterling bond. That borrowing would be repaid by future excess returns on the Strategic Reserve Fund. The proceeds of any future sales of property or other strategic assets would be used to further strengthen reserves. It is not planned to raised additional taxation to pay for the new hospital.”
At the weekend, three senior medics from Jersey’s health service wrote an open letter to politicians warning that there are now “critical safety concerns” about the current hospital including an inability to deliver best practise care because of the ageing site.
They wrote: “We carry a significant risk in relation to our most critical services as they are located in the 1960s building, which is in the worst condition. The services at risk include the Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit, Theatres, Chemotherapy Suite and the Children’s Ward. This will remain the case until they are moved to our new hospital.”
An alternative funding arrangements is being proposed by Senator Philip Ozouf who wants an already agreed bond for Andium Homes to be spent on the hospital instead. He argues that the social housing provider is now able to borrow money itself, and so doesn’t need the bond.
Senator Ozouf says his plan shouldn’t cause much delay: “It is important to quantify these costs so that they can be weighed-up against the advantage of ensuring that any proposed borrowing is repaid over the life of the new Hospital, rather than in a single lump sum on final maturity at the same time as the anticipated end-of-life of our new Hospital.”
“I have requested that the Minister for Treasury and Resources bring the outcome of the proposed review to this Assembly by 28th February 2017. I would hope that this work can be carried out very quickly and without disruption to the existing work-streams.”
Meanwhile, Jersey’s only political party has announced its intent to vote en bloc against the funding plan.
Party chairman, Deputy Sam Mézec, said: “From the beginning, the Council of Ministers has shown incompetence and a lack of leadership on both the choice of site and its funding. We acknowledge the huge amount of work that has gone into this project and we share the desire for a hospital which will be fit for purpose for generations to come, but we cannot in good conscience sign off on something which we believe may cause huge problems down the line.”
And beyond that wholesale opposition, Deputy Jeremy Macon and Constable Chris Taylor are also proposing amendments which, in effect, split the £466million hospital bill into a £392million expected spend, and a £76million contingency pot which would only be allowed to be spent on a case-by-case basis if the project goes over budget.
You can see the full plans for the Future Hospital project here.
