Guernsey Press

‘Covid, Brexit and IWV has delayed momentum’

A GOAL to reduce the island’s civil service by 200 posts by the end of last year was not achieved, and the pandemic has been blamed for the missed target.

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States chief executive, Paul Whitfield. (29137894)

Back in 2018, Paul Whitfield, the States chief executive, set out a plan to shed 200 posts from the 1,600 workforce by the end of 2020.

A spokesperson for the Chamber of Commerce recently questioned what progress had been made towards delivering the objective.

It is not clear exactly how many civil service posts have gone, but in a statement Mr Whitfield revealed that Covid-19, Brexit and the island-wide election had slowed the momentum.

‘In wanting to achieve that by the end of 2020, there’s no doubt the pandemic has had an enormous impact and we’ve had to put some priorities to one side while we deal with the very urgent and serious threat to our community.

‘Those leading the public service reform, including myself, have had to focus almost entirely on the pandemic and, more recently, the delivery of the first island-wide election and the end of the UK-EU transition period.

‘On all three of these fronts I feel the public sector has been extremely successful and surpassed expectations.

‘But there’s no doubt the challenges we’ve faced are extraordinary.’

The missed target of shedding 200 jobs has coincided with the publication of two government reports showing the perilous state of the funds which pay for the island’s welfare and care system, including the old-age pension, unemployment benefit, and elderly care in private residential homes.

It has focused attention on the desire for an efficient and slimmed-down States.

However, Mr Whitfield issued a reality check to those who think it will solve the island’s financial challenges.

‘While public service reform, and securing savings in how services are delivered, remains more important than ever, given the new challenges we face for public finances as a result of the pandemic, I would also urge caution that it should not be seen by itself as a solution to some of the economic challenges we face.

‘The shrinking funds which the Committee for Employment and Social Security has highlighted are an endemic problem that results from a changing demographic and smaller working population relative to the numbers of people who are retired and needing not only pensions but also additional health and care services.

‘While moving forward with a reduction in the number of civil service posts is the right thing to do, to make government as cost-effective as possible, it obviously cannot address that much more fundamental problem.’

Despite the pandemic, Mr Whitfield stressed that he remained committed to the transformation of the public sector, and he pointed to achievements made, such as the restructuring of the senior management team, the new partnership with Agilisys to modernise the IT infrastructure, and the setting up of improved online public services.

Every post that becomes vacant is being scrutinised to see if it can be removed and if the States can work differently.

On the political front, Deputy Heidi Soulsby has taken on the lead role for the reforms.

Mr Whitfield said that the role of chief executive was very different in the public sector to the private sector, because he also supports a democratic, political Assembly.