£50m 'special situations fund' still unused

Thursday 04 June 2020

A £50m fund originally announced just over two months ago to provide support for large organisations delivering a public good is not yet up and running, Express has learned, and is now intended as a fund for shoring up the island’s economic recovery.

Formerly known as the Special Situations Fund (SSF), the £50million funding pot has been given a new name and, instead of providing support for organisations which deliver a wider public good or strategic purpose, it is now geared towards helping the island recover economically.

The fund was initially announced by the Ministers for Economic Development and External Relations on 18 March as a £50million funding pot for larger organisations who deliver a public good to access financial support.

It has now emerged that the exact way this fund will operate is still being developed – even though it was unveiled as part of what the Government referred to as its £180million package of business support measures ahead of lockdown being imposed. 

Pictured: The fund was initially announced as part of the Government's package of business support measures.

Now labelled the Jersey Recovery Fund, the Government say that the money is there for support “in cases where, without intervention, companies or assets critical to the economic recovery would otherwise be lost.”

Due to being framed initially as a fund for organisations identified as delivering a wider public good or strategic purpose, it was initially thought that this fund could be a resource for larger charities struggling after lockdown. 

When asked by Express about the status of the fund, a spokesperson for the Government said: “Funds have been allocated to an earmarked purpose of a Jersey Recovery Fund to be able to intervene and provide exceptional support in specific circumstances. This allocation was initially named the Jersey Recovery Fund, and while the name Special Situations was used, it is now felt Jersey Recovery Fund remains more appropriate.”

The fund is now positioned as a fund for helping in Jersey’s “recovery stage, rather than the immediate stage of the pandemic”, although this was not stipulated when the fund was first announced.

Elaborating on the Jersey Recovery Fund, the spokesperson continued: “The Scheme will enable government to act as ‘lender or investor of last resort’ to intervene in cases where, without intervention, companies or assets critical to the economic recovery would otherwise be lost.” 

“The exact funding provided by the Treasury for support would come through the Stabilisation Fund, from the balances within it, or the borrowing facility. The intended purposes of this earmarked funding of up to £50m has not changed. The Policy and Procedures for operation of the fund are being developed as the funding is designed to operate in the recovery stage, rather than the immediate stage of the pandemic.” 

It comes after Minister for External Relations Senator Ian Gorst announced he was releasing £2million for local charities during this week’s online media briefing focusing on the island’s economic recovery. 

Video: Watch the media briefing in full (Facebook/Government of Jersey).

He said: “I on behalf of the government want to thank all of those volunteers and all those who have continued to work in the charitable sector - some of them putting themselves in harm's way in regard to the virus - it is much appreciated and we are extremely grateful for all the work that you have done. Senator Farnham and I said on a previous media conference that we would be announcing funding going into the charitable sector and I can today say that it is my intention to initially distribute £2,000,000 from the fund which holds the dormant bank account monies in the coming weeks and after this media conference I will be signing the order which will give effect to that distribution.”

Elaborating more on the funding, Senator Gorst said: “We appreciate that charities have been using their reserves and we hope that this initial tranche of money will go some way into supporting them throughout the coming weeks. An independent organisation will be appointed by me to review and decide upon all grant applications and that is a requirement of the relevant law. So, it will be a de-politicised distribution of funds to those charities that need it. But, to be clear, the firms are principally going to be directed to charities assisting with projects and activities aimed at supporting the local community in terms of health and, of course, more generally to cope in this time of emergency and its immediate aftermath.

“We are committed to supporting our charitable sector to ensure that they can continue to provide the invaluable services that islanders rightly rely upon they can provide those services with passion, with direct personal touch in a way that governments could never hope to do and we hope that this money and future monies will continue to allow those individuals at the heart of those organisations to continue to serve islanders in an individual way, but also with passion.”