The weight of the world

TREASURY minister Charles Parkinson is carrying much of the weight of public expectation on his shoulders.Last week he fronted two keystone reports, which will pretty much make or break this States.

The Fundamental Spending Review and States Strategic Plan have been held up by some as the answers to all the criticisms that have been levelled at the States.

But is this Assembly ready to deliver?

Or will it take the easy option, give us more promises and then baulk when it comes to making the hard decisions?

At least now there is a yardstick against which to measure its achievements.

There are concrete targets for making £70m. of efficiency savings in the next five years, but do not be surprised if the States falls short.

The myriad of issues raised with HR and IT, while raising some staffing issues, are not politically very sensitive, more common sense.

But the emotive issues - college funding, Beau Sejour, closing schools, the future of the buses - are the one's that will test the Treasury minister's plea that the States does not take a piecemeal approach.

Sadly, the States has been very good at piecemeal.

Backing spending and policy decisions here, requetes there and amendments everywhere, without ever fully realising the impact.

Tribal's report will be seen as vindication for those who have questioned the way the States is run.

It is very hard now to say, 'everything is rosy - just look at your fabulous services'. Because we now know that even the inability of departments to work together - one of the problems the change to our system of government was meant to overcome - costs us tens of millions of pounds annually.

Just think about what we could have done, or how much less in tax we all could have paid, if the culture of waste and silos had not been left to flourish.

Some might find it slightly galling to now hear ministers supporting action - or at least action on everything that is painless - because there is a nagging thought that they should already have done it.

And we say 'painless', as some of the immediate reaction has been very defensive.

Guernsey could be a very different place if the Tribal findings were followed to the letter.

The review is couched in language that makes it easier for members to support - as in 'review this immediately' rather than 'this should happen' - but to get to that £70m. figure, those investigations would have to lead to hard action.

But would islanders want to live in a world where they have to pay £1 to use the bus to go to a leisure centre that closes at 7pm, having already forked out equivalent fees to the UK to send their child to college, with their other child going to a larger primary school and spending even more ion a flight when they want to get away from it all?

It is one vision you can read into Tribal. And is actually probably one that will have different elements that appeal to different people.

The States Strategic Plan, which was released the day after the Fundamental Spending Review, is the panacea to some - the answer to all the ad hoc splashing of cash.

It is the document aimed at ensuring strategic decision-making, that all the cards are on the table and nobody is hiding an airport runway refurbishment in their closet.

It is also one that lays bare the lack of corporate thinking that has plagued previous decision-making - initiatives being passed without the funding having been identified.

That is why there were 60 bids for cash and only eight successful.

Sadly for the public, looking at it, you are left asking what some of the spending in the report is actually for - £200,000 for direct communication with the European Union means a lot more than installing a phone line, but the report does not tell us that.

Those on the left may be reeling from what has been left stuck on the shelf to accommodate'essential' spending, which includes £250,000 on a firefighters inquiry that could have cost £15,000, £365,000 on four lawyers and £175,000 largely towards hosting a British Irish Council Summit.

Nursery education, legal aid, the domestic abuse strategy, the alcohol strategy are all on the back burner, and what does it all mean for anti-poverty measures?

And then when we need to buy a swine flu vaccine.

All the promises of new spending being covered by savings elsewhere could be busted anyway, because there is no slack left by the current plan.

Deputy Parkinson led the States Strategic Plan team that has at least finally come up with a reasonably coherent costed report.

He will also front the Fundamental Spending Review.

Leaving the States at the end of this term, his personal legacy is now largely bound up in the success or otherwise of seeing the promises inherent in both kept.

Islanders will have fingers, toes and everything else crossed that the leopard does change its spots and our deputies can finally deliver.