Spending boost for economy
Monday 24th October 2011, 3:00PM BST.
Treasury Minister Philip Ozouf
JERSEY’S economy is to get a boost from the States worth more than £40 million next year to help dispel the current gloom.
States spending on construction projects is likely to total round £80 million as £37 million in capital spending has already been approved.
Treasury Minister Philip Ozouf wants to press ahead with the extra capital projects to get the economy back on track.
He says that the States needs to act to kick-start construction, get people back into work and to reignite spending.
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I quote from Ozouf:
“Although the FPP does not recommend further discretionary stimulus, they have advised that we should support the economy without weakening States finances. ”
Given there was only £10m left in the stability fund where is this £40m coming from? There was a £100m deficit in 2010 and we expect a deficit in 2011 so where is this money coming from to fund £40m in projects? As a building firm id want paying up front!
As a jersey taxpayer i demand to know who jersey is borrowing from and what interst rate we are paying.
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An extra £40 million – that should pay for another park and a mile of road resurfacing.
Or 40 golden handshakes to underperforming senior states execs. One thing it wont do is benefit any of us.
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Please god, they don’t borrow the £40 million, or Jersey will end up like Greece.
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Where is the money going to come from, oh thats right from taxes.
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Why not raise GST some more, then Philip Ozouf would have even more money to burn.
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Why do they always want to increase states spending to “kick start” the economy. Why not reduce GST back to 3% this would help kick start the economy and let us spend our own money in shops restaurants on cars or a buying a new house rather than take our money away and then spending is on what the States wants to build.
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Buying the COM chief job!!!
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ok if it filters to long term residents.
and local firms.
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Ah! The wizard of Oz is here to save us! A couple of questions. Where is the money coming from,the “rainy day” fund? He has already put up taxes and introduced staff reductions because we have a budget deficit, and will have for the foreseeable future, so how come he can “find” 40 million to spend now?
Who will be doing the construction works and where will the workers be from? Not too hard to guess!At least Poland and Ireland will get some benefit from his generosity!
Some details of the projects would also be helpful so we can see how they will be beneficial to us.
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SAVE..SAVE…SAVE…SPEND…SPEND…SPEND…SAVE…SAVE…SAVE…SPEND…SPEND…SPEND etc.
Is it me or has this record stuck?
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A few extra flights from Poland then.
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It didn’t work last time, it wont work this time, time to stop immigration and accept this “recession” or whatever it is is here to stay!
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Thats goods news,,,,,,,however how many jobs will be undertaken by locals and how many but “visiting workers”………but there again who is going to be checking???????
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Sounds great but as long as locally born people actually benefit from this!
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This is nothing short of the COM ensuring that the states carry on spending and getting what they want (shiny buildings for their departments) without having to budget or cut spending. This is not fiscal stimulus this is doing what they want regardless under the spin of helping everybody. The cupboard is bare but they still need their new offices and roads – why because of mismanagement.. so we will pretend we are doing a good deed, when in fact we are doing what we should have been doing all along..
Oh thats ok then… the construction industry will be fine. If used for private development more chance for non local people to buy horrid little flats that lay empty as investments.
What the Eff are the states on. Most of the construction industry in Jersey is imported labour using non local companies and imported supplies. Benefit to the island – Zero – or should I say benefit to the tax coffers 5%! but no benefit to the man in the street.
Scrap GST or reduce it and allow people to spend on luxuries – help everybody not just your cronies.
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Spending £40million we haven’t got and paying it mostly to foreign workers. All this with the spectre of Fulfilment being pulled from our economy and a further £60m blackhole due to that.
Seriously – does anyone know we are on an Island 9 miles x 5 miles with 95000 people.
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Is that a new suit the Big ‘O’ is wearing?
Glad to see some people are all right.
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They seem to have money coming out of their ears.
A bit stashed here and there and kid us on the pot is empty-therefore no pay rises.
you would have thought they could have kept roseneath open and many other places they have closed recently.
Put the money where it is useful and forget your pie-in-the-sky ideas!
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Hope he keeps a few million back for when 1,500 hit the unemployment queue when fulfilment goes down the drain this winter.
Irrespective of whether the industry should have been allowed to evolve as it has there will be a lot of local people out of work soon.
Still as long as Dandara are looked after, that’s OK then.
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Why towards construction? Why not to companies that export from the island?
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Why not assist people in starting businesses and exporting from the island? It seems an excessive amount of money where a lot of it could eventually leave the island.
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May be trying to buy the CM position. Thing is, it will only be Ozouf’s if Sir Philip doesn’t want it.
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James (3) Jersey will end up like Greece.
Why are you so optimistic James? Economic growth in Greece may be dismal, but it is still better than in Jersey.
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Sounds dodgy.
Why is it the construction industry that needs supporting. Think about it – there won’t be any land left to build on soon!
How many local residents will benefit from this who have paid the tax and soc sec all these years?
Bad decision methinks. Save the money. Demonstrate that it’s possible to save. Then you might get some respect.
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As someone who has listened to States sittings over the last 6/7 years, I well remember that the Treasury Minister was a leading exponent of the (so called)”free market economy”.
He changed tack with the first stimulus package which has seen a large amount spent from the coffers. The hope always was that by the time the money was spent the world economy would be on the way to recovery and normal service would be resumed.
This did not happen – and it will not happen for many years, if at all. This is a dangerous strategy and it will not work. The JEP editorial comment shows a lack of critical analysis.
The public is facing critical inflationary pressures, whilst enduring calls for pay restraint. Why not ask landlords to show the same restraint and freeze rents subject to annual cost of living increases ?
You have been warned again.
Adios Companeros
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so the Construction Industry cry s help and £40,000,000 heads their way…..A.1000 jobs could be lost in the Fulfilment Industry and what does Ozouf do………….sweet F.A………………is this guy for real?????
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What most respondents here fail to grasp is that we only ever had a ‘structural deficit’ – not a deficit per se. It was all about propaganda for the States’ workforce; a game that has brought hardship to bear on islanders generally whilst the matress was bulging with cash all along.
We have no borrowings and no need to borrow, heck, we could probably prop-up Greece!
The money will come from the Strategic Reserve which has in the region of £450 – 500M in it.
It is often said that it would only be enough to keep Jersey running for one year, maybe that is correct but that claim depends upon there being no government income whatsoever for an entire year, that’s unlikely in the extreme.
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The general public should be under no illusion as to the seriousness of this latest statement from the treasury minister. He is about to plunder the states coffers once again to satisfy his mates in the building trade and give them another windfall of our hard earned tax money.
This money will NOT benefit the Jersey economy as many of the building companies are based off shore and do not pay local taxes. This money is going to pour out of the island into speculators pockets just like it has with the granite at the town park.
The financial policies that ozouf has been following do not work and will not work. He should be reducing taxes to stimulate the economy, he should giving tax incentives for new business to set up in Jersey and give and an amnesty on social security payments for 6 months to business and use the £40 million to pay for it. This would give a much needed breathing space for the over taxed businesses on the Island. Why not give the people who earned the money the option of having it back?
The economic stimulus MUST come from the private sector with private money NOT taxpayers. This is nothing but a smoke screen for Ozouf to give business he selects to receive public tax money. Who is checking who receives this money?
This man is a public menace and as we have just seen with Cohen should be sent packing and out of public office.
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WE have a rainyday fund which we were told had 300 million in it, I think its raining now.
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40M = 1.25% on GST
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The previous good news blurb about families was designed to get Gorst, Le Gresley and Farnham elected- and it worked a treat. This one is aimed at wavering States Members- and is designed to get himself elected as Chief Minister.
They are already throwing the Fiscal Stimulus cash in the air like they’ve just won the lottery- £1.5 million for yet more development at Durrell comes to mind… and does anyone think this will lead to Durrell lowering their entry prices next year and starting to employ local people who DON’T have a university degree? Of course not!
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Remember about 3 weeks back you printed £25 million, well now you know why, don’t get me wrong QE is doing us over, but please some honesty and £25 million is a but a pee in the wind on the half Billion you are already out of pocket.
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Heheheheh…
I cant wait until you start Bailhache and Gorst bashing, then you will forget that they were elected 1 and 2 respectively.
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40 millions to start building a new police station and the foundations of the new hospital.
Let Dandara get the staff from abroad and the material from anywhere but Jersey.
40 millions who better be spent wisely…
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In fact the Treasury Minster is not following the advice of the Fiscal Policy Panel which stated in last week’s report – “The Panel does not recommend that the Stabilisation Fund (or other money) be used for further discretionary fiscal stimulus at this stage. However, should the economic situation deteriorate, the States should be ready to support economic activity without weakening States’ finances.” So in fact by announcing a discretionary stimulus the Treasury Minister is doing precisely what he was advised not to do, at the same time implying that he is following the advice.
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According to the local news section on the BBC site one of the schemes to benefit us all in this time of gloom and doom is to renovate the opera house
Oh yes can’t wait for that one to be announced formally
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re 17
even more surprising than the new suit is that there is a new picture of him not sitting at his desk
Whats goin on there – two photos in the public domain – wow
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Anon (24) said “Why is it the construction industry that needs supporting”.
It’s because it’s the same this year as it was last year – I don’t think Ozouf knows just quite how transparent he really is! He releases £40m under the (pathetic) guise of the funds being for Fiscal Stimulus but really that is just an excuse to pilfer tax payers money to fund building works that they pretended they couldn’t afford this year.
That’s why it’s always the construction industy.
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The States would be better advised sorting out our planners….at any one time there is around £250m+ of projects “locked up” at South Hill, which private businesses want to get on with now. Our planners have free rein to impose their arbitrary and bizarre decisions, and cannot even agree basic things like how do inconsistent modern building regs apply in listed buildings. We need planning control, but its completely out of hand at present.
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I would not like his job ! I think he does it well and we should be grateful that with the wages the role pays that he is willing to do it. We are all to quick to critise but not so quick to stand for election and make an effort to change it.
Immigration is a problem – only because life is better here or they would stay where they come from – I wonder if their politicians get such a hard time.
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Days after being told not to use any more of the rainy day fund, he then chooses to use another £40m.
Going against the advice of others, similar to Lime Grove.
All a bit desperate I’m afraid, but let’s hope common sense by other members will prevail.
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Should help UK companies and Eastern European workers.
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35 Perris…Spot on.what use is policy if not followed…Camellia cottage at Gorey…law breaking,policy breaking…we have a crisis of leadership which gets caught out telling lies again and again…and yet stupid voters vote for the same old same old…we need total reform desperately and soon as the structure physically and morally is heading down the sewer…when it’s gone it’s gone,Jersey was such a beautiful place .happiness was high…now a handful of yuppie spivs are repeatedly raping what we had
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The reality is that if it goes into the pockets of construction workers from overseas who remit a high proportion of their earnings back to their oversaes relatives then there is little benefit to the local economy. Sadly there are many reasons now why Keynesian pump priming no longer has the beneficial effect it used to say 50 years ago. Same applies where the construction company is foreign owned and remits profits overseas without paying tax. We can’t whinge on that last one as we have been reducing other countries tax remittances and tax base for years.
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Think Twice Buy Local
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The Jersey Development Industry has actually got over £41,000,000 sat in its bank account,so why not use this,as realistically this cash is not going to be used in the near future,despite Mr Izzets annual salary and benefits of £266,540 (last years figures)
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@37 – I wonder why he is not standing next to a sign saying “Chief Ministers Office” a la Dave Warr. A bit of subliminal adverstising and we will readily accept the Big O as the Big Cheese.
Unfortunately his spin stinks like a long forgotten stilton.
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Reducing taxation, allowing people to have money in their pockets to spend would have more effect.
If I was not being charged ITIS at 18%, I could afford to have trademen in to do up our house rather than doing the work my self !
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loads was spent on the opera house, is the scaffold still up by the stage door side?
what a money pit.
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Yet more money to the Private sector and nothing to the Public sector again. The educators, Police, Nurses etc etc, those who look after the general well being of the population and not out to line their own pockets.
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Roll out the pork barrel in time for the ChIef Minister vote.
The public won’t forget your broken promise on GST and will have to trust the rest of the States to remember when you compete against Gorst and our own Alan ‘biggest majority in the house’ B’stard.
Watch this space for the next rise in GST to pay for this bribe, you won’t hear anything until PO is safely elected to CM.
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Thomas Jefferson was a man years ahead of his time and his words ring so true to our treasury minister and his financial actions.
“To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.”
– Thomas Jefferson
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How much money do we have in the rainy day fund?
Does anyone know?
If not then why don’t we know?
It’s our money, there’s no need for secrecy.
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If this money has to be spent, the Central Market is desperately in need of a comprehensive make-over. New floor being the prime necessity.
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Err ? ‘kick-start’ construction…!!!
This island is a building site.
‘Let’s ruin this beautiful island for the sake of non-resident workers’ is the translation.
If large projects stopped and the construction workforce left, how can this be bad for the economy ?
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Blade is right and anyone believing in Ozouf should reflect on any interviews he’s had “er um yes well” …NEVER a straight recognizable answer…anyone believing this man should sit quietly for a mo and ask themselves …WHY…why would I.
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How is construction for non-resident workers? Uneducated statement. Look aroudn you, the seond largest employer is the construction industry. Look at all those vans of plumbers, carpenters, joiners, electricians – all the sub contractors who work on all the large and small scale construction.
Typical uneducated comments from the ill informed vocal minority.
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re 49
The link on the BBC website local pages is dated 25 October 2011 so there will be more money injected into repairing the opera house.
I am sure that everyone will be so thankful for that.
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as i work in a construction related job , those who wonder why construction needs a boost . lets have a stab at , you can only spend so long building something , then it is finished and the next job is required .
if i become unemployed , i will get little or no help from the goverment, and i am anything but rolling in it ( money) .
i do understand that one day the music will stop, and thats it folks , some days i am amazed that its gone on this long .
so wobbly(55) as a localy born chap i will not be get the boat or plane in the morning, you may see me fishing of the rocks for my food , but only if its not fished out , which would appear to be on the cards.
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Another £40M down the drain then as far as I am concerned. Jersey is awash with new builds especially the unwanted flat variety why build more when next year the whole world economy has a good chance of going down the tubes?
The big O hasn’t got a clue from what I can see, he harps on about savings then he spends millions on a fiscal stimulus not once but twice.
What’s the future hold? Lots of urrs and umms by the sound of it. The future sure as hell isn’t rosey unless you have CoM system spin rosey tinted glasses on.
We’re going down hill and we’re going fast. A nice little death spiral in the offering now.
I laugh at the stupidity of it all. When will people ever learn?
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Marc,
I am not saying all the industry is populated by a non-resident workforce, just the majority.
And yes, I have seen all those white vans (‘snowblind’ comes to mind)
small money,
I sympathize,do you not think it is the large companies that bring their own workforce with them that are putting local guys out of work?
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#59 Small Money
Don’t be so narrow mindedly ignorant. There are a multitude of other sectors who provide a ‘job’ based service where one ‘job’ is completed they rely on another ‘job’ coming along to make ends meet.
Some of these are suffering far more than Construction.
The other question is – why pile cash into an industry that is designed to build homes (amongst other things) when property sales are down, lending figures are down and property prices are finally on their way down. You can use the ‘supply and demand’ arguement all you like. In reality people are finally starting to realise that property is vastly over priced and due one almighty correction.
For those of us under the age of 30 i would suggest reading a copy of ‘The Jilted Generation’. Some of the data, particularly in regard to change in house prices is rather enlightening.
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Wobbly – which large companies do you have in mind?
As a fact, the largest construction companies on the island I know use local sub-contractors: AC Mauger, Camerons, CM Mauger, even Dandara use local subbies.
WHo do you have in mind?
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What’s Ozoufs ( and his mate Cohen’s) excuse for hindering, balking – no stopping the proposed £40m private sector development of the Odeon and surrounding areas of bath street. This would have been – PRIVATE SECTOR FISCUL STIMULAS – the best and most sustainable sort of stimulus for the local economy.
I am pleased Cohen’s been voted out – and a word of advice to Ozouf – change your ways or else you will be following your mate.
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Adrian, we are in fact going up a hill, if the flats were not wanted, then they wouldn’t be built. They are here to stay, thankfully you are not.
If you are not happy with Jersey, next boat and all.
Truthseeker: In an old post you thought I had gone. I am back!
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numb butts (62).
please enlighten me as to the other job based services that are looking for the next job to make ends meet.
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57 Marc Jones
I think they’re discussing States’ projects not small individual projects. I am told that the Cheapside project was manned by over 85% non-local workers. Not by local small builders and local workers.
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Nigel – that is rubbish. There were French skilled workers brought in but the majority (and I mean 90+%) were all sourced by local sub-contractors. Who/What is your source – must be Adrian or Truthseeker.
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I can’t believe nobody’s suggested that they should spend the money on straightening out Victoria Avenue that er, they spent all the money on last time to make it wobbly…
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Marc 68
Do some checking, I think you’ll find that you are the one in error.
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