Staff shortages put a stop to road repairs
STAFF shortages have forced States Works to give up doing road repairs, vehicle inspections and daytime commercial waste collections, its accounts have revealed.
States Works is responsible for many municipal and maintenance services, as well as providing emergency response resources to unplanned incidents.
But States Works board chairman Simon Thornton said it had been facing a number of challenges.
‘A skills shortage on island continued to impact recruitment and retention and the business’s ability to deliver all its contracted obligations,’ he said in the chairman’s report.
‘This to the extent that we relinquished our involvement in highways repair, public service vehicle inspections and commercial daytime waste and recycling collection services as of 31 December 2022.’
The number of staff at States Works dropped from 212 in 2021 to 196 last year, and the amount of income generated per employee rose from £80,300 to £91,700.
Brexit and the war in Ukraine were blamed for shortages of kit, which pushed up costs and delayed projects.
‘Despite the noted loss of contracts, all remaining contracts performed as expected with some minor incomplete works expected to be recovered in 2023,’ Mr Thornton said.
‘The efforts of our staff must be recognised, as they have responded well to all the challenges and helped to minimise disruption while embracing new ways of working.’
States Works published its business plan in 2020, which aimed to transform the body.
Mr Thornton said good progress had been made on the plan, which was a long-term commitment.
‘However, in the backdrop of the challenges experienced during 2022, the management executive has commenced a fundamental review and re-baselining of the business plan,’ he said.
‘This with a view to establishing a set of focused priorities for the next one to two years – an approach it is considered will leave the business better placed to respond to market conditions and the changing needs of our clients. In the meantime, a key focus will continue to be digital transformation and the technological enablement of frontline staff, the building blocks in relation to which are expected to be in place by mid-2023.’
States Works earned revenues of nearly £18m. last year – up from £17m. in 2021 – and made a surplus of £467,000.
Managing director Paul Lickley noted that operating expenses had ended up £824,000 over budget.
‘This was primarily as a result of pay increases in line with inflation that was higher than expected,’ he said.
