Committee for Employment & Social Security, Committee for Health & Social Care & Committee for Education, Sport & Culture - P.2020/126
Letter of Comment - Policy & Resources Committee [177kb]
The States are asked to decide:-
Whether, after consideration of the Policy Letter entitled 'Building a Better Future: Children's Health and Education', dated 29th June 2020, they are of the opinion:-
1. To agree that the States will subsidise the cost of primary care appointments, and will revise its own charges for Emergency Department visits, for children up to the age of 18, such that:
a. The charge for a visit to the GP will be £25;
b. The charge for a visit to a practice nurse will be £15; and
c. The charge for a visit to the Emergency Department will be £25;
subject to the Committee for Health & Social Care negotiating an appropriate funding arrangement with each GP practice in order to facilitate this.
2. To note that the estimated total cost of subsidising primary care GP and nurse appointments as set out in Proposition 1 is anticipated to be in the region of £820,000 per annum, and the estimated income foregone from Emergency Department charges is expected to be approximately £380,000 per annum.
3. To agree that children, up to the age of 18, will be entitled to a free annual dental check-up, including fluoride varnish treatment, from a General Dental Practitioner, at an estimated cost of £270,000 per annum, subject to the Committee for Health & Social Care negotiating an appropriate funding arrangement with each private dental practice in order to facilitate this.
4. To agree that a supervised toothbrushing programme ('Super Smiles') will be provided for children at pre-school, and that children at primary and secondary school will receive regular dental health education, provided by the Children's Dental Service, at an estimated cost of £110,000 annually.
5. To agree that children in primary school will receive additional cultural enrichment activities, at an estimated cost of £150,000 annually.
6. In order to fund the services set out at Propositions 1 to 5 above:
a. to agree that families with a gross household income of £120,000 or more shall not be entitled to receive Family Allowance (resulting in an estimated saving of £1,580,000);
b. to reaffirm the importance of Family Allowance, and to agree that it shall continue to be paid to families with gross household income of less than £120,000; and
c. to agree that Family Allowance shall only be payable in respect of children up to the date of their eighteenth birthday (resulting in an additional estimated saving of £320,000).
7. To direct the Policy & Resources Committee to recommend Cash Limits for the Committee for Health &Social Care for 2021 and subsequent years which include specific funding for the services in propositions 1 to 4 (an estimated full-year costs of approximately £1,580,000, or £525,000 pro rata for four months in 2021).
8. To direct the Policy & Resources Committee to recommend Cash Limits for the Committee for Education, Sport & Culture for 2021 and subsequent years which include specific funding for the services in Proposition 5 (an estimated full-year cost of approximately £150,000, or £50,000 pro rata for one school term in 2021).
9. Only if propositions 6(a) to 6(c) are approved:
a. to note that the Committee for Employment & Social Security's formula-led expenditure on Family Allowance will decrease by approximately £1,900,000 per annum;
b. to direct the Committee for Employment & Social Security to write to all households in receipt of Family Allowance informing them that they will cease to receive Family Allowance unless a declaration is returned stating that they anticipate that their gross household income will be less than £120,000; and
c. to note that the Committee for Employment & Social Security, in conjunction with the Revenue Service, will implement a mechanism for verifying a sample of the declarations referred to in sub-paragraph (a) for the purpose of preventing fraud.
10. To agree that the above propositions, if approved by the States, shall be implemented from 1st September 2021, and to direct the Committee for Employment & Social Security to communicate the changes to affected households well in advance of that date.
11. To direct the Committee for Health & Social Care and the Committee for Education, Sport & Culture jointly to publish evidence of the impact of these changes two years after their introduction.
12. To direct the preparation of such legislation as may be necessary to give effect to the above decisions.
The above Propositions have been submitted to Her Majesty's Procureur for advice on any legal or constitutional implications in accordance with Rule 4(1) of the Rules of Procedure of the States of Deliberation and their Committees.
