P&R seeking a loan of up to £250m.

Initially, P&R will provide financial support to businesses and individuals by using up to £100m. from the ‘Rainy Day Fund' – the Core Investment Reserve.

The debate saw 10 amendments placed of which five were carried, two failed and three withdrawn.

The two most significant included one from Policy & Resources itself, which split the amount it had intended to request in half.

Another amendment saw members approve the raising of an additional £50m. via bonds in which islanders could invest – ‘Guernsey Together Bonds’ as proposer Deputy Peter Roffey named them – which would take the total amount to be raised initially up to a maximum of £300m.

Members heard that one islander had already expressed an interest in investing £5m. into the scheme.

P&R’s amendment may have been designed to make the borrowing suggestion more palatable to members, but several were not persuaded, even after the amendment was passed. While many members who supported the proposals, in all or part, said that they did so with reluctance, there were others who were fiercely opposed.

One of the strongest speeches against any borrowing at all came from Deputy David De Lisle, who said that the States already had funds it could draw upon, and that included a total of £250m. in the Rainy Day Fund and the bond reserve plus £230m. in capital reserve, £24m. in General Reserve and some £100m. likely to become available for investment from the Social Security fund.

He likened the proposals to ‘mortgaging people’s lives to the state’.

Deputy De Lisle’s point was echoed by others, including Deputy Mark Dorey: ‘We have a Rainy Day Fund; it’s raining, so we should be using it,’ he said.

In a similar vein, Deputy Sarah Hansmann Rouxel said the bond money had done nothing to help the public: ‘What benefit is there if the money isn’t invested, creating something that fulfils a need?’

A solution to the situation needed to be designed that did something for people in the long-term, she said, and reminded members that there were other crises occurring too, including climate change.

The States was doing things in the wrong order, said Deputy Lester Queripel, who said he would not be voting to borrow when there was no indication of how it was to be spent or how it was to be repaid.

Speaking on behalf of the Scrutiny Management Committee, Chris Green said its members believed that a ‘quick and dirty’ budget could have been drawn up quite quickly to enable members to understand the full spending and revenue implications were.

Personally, he felt it was not enough to get back to ‘business as usual’ because of the eye-watering level of borrowing involved. The Assembly would need the political gumption to make everything work and that would require a look at the constitution.

A call for companies that have benefitted from taxpayer bail outs during the crisis should put back by into the system through paying income tax on their profits was made by Deputy Charles Parkinson.

Deputy Jennifer Merrett was concerned about the cost implications of the borrowing and she said members needed to understand how they were going to get out of this debt.

The Development and Planning Authority stood ready to help in any recovery plan, its president, Dawn Tindall, said.

P&R president Gavin St Pier said that next month it would come forward with a ‘high level’ strategy, which would in effect be the Policy and Resource Plan for the rest of the term.

In answer to queries about using the Rainy Day Fund, P&R vice-president Lyndon Trott said that it would be depleted by 50% if members approved the proposals.

The propositions, as amended, were all approved.

BLOB There was applause, cheers and whistles of approval for the Bailiff, Sir Richard Collas, at conclusion of yesterday’s meeting, which was his last as presiding officer. A warm tribute was paid by the longest-serving States member, Deputy Mary Lowe, who said it was her honour and privilege to thank him for all he had done to assist members in his eight years as Bailiff. ‘We all thank you and wish you a very happy retirement.’