‘Don’t be complacent after fantastic year’

‘One swallow does not make a summer,’ Mark Helyar said during yesterday’s States debate.

He described 2021 as a more successful year than could have been anticipated when the budget was set, and said the surplus of £22m. in general revenue – against an anticipated deficit of £15m. – was a ‘fantastic result’.

He pointed out that the £61m. improvement of the States’ overall financial position from 2020 to 2021 – including consideration of investment returns – was a turnaround of some £120m. when set against an annual deficit of nearly £64m.

‘While this is an extraordinary outcome, given the challenges of Covid, this reversal of predicted fortunes cannot be considered to be sustainable for Guernsey’s general revenue,’ Deputy Helyar said.

Covid had caused one-off economic effects which had benefited the bottom line for last year, he argued, including a decrease in public service provision during lockdowns, a sharp rise in document duty when the housing market suddenly took off, and increases in excise duty caused by a lack of access to duty free during travel restrictions.

He emphasised that £60m. of annual capital expenditure had to be financed and that anticipated future deficits would continue to erode Guernsey’s assets.

‘This deficit is not temporary or cyclical,’ he said. ‘It is structural in nature and will persist until such time as the States take action to address it.’

During debate, Deputy Lester Queripel asked that more detailed breakdowns of figures be provided in future accounts and questioned the spending of more than £3m. on project planning.

Speaking later in debate, Health & Social Care member Deputy Aidan Matthews said investment in expert project planners had created savings for HSC, having led to the fixing of project costs prior to the surprising rise in inflation seen this year.

Education, Sport & Culture president Deputy Andrea Dudley-Owen also addressed this.

‘Any major project, or even any minor project... has to have planning,’ she said. ‘We can’t afford to have projects failing on our watch.’

Deputy David De Lisle complained that the accounts themselves failed to meet international standards and, although he recognised this was being addressed, they would continue not to meet them until 2024.

‘That’s a long time to wait,’ he said.

Deputy Gavin St Pier speculated about whether the removal of remuneration details for some senior public servant posts was due to a reluctance to reveal any compensation package offered to the former chief executive Paul Whitfield, following his departure from the States in 2021.

‘There was no specific intent to cover anything up there,’ Deputy Helyar said. ‘The committee will no doubt consider whether that should be included in next year’s accounts as a matter of course.’