Committees struggling to live within new limits

With the exception of Health & Social Care, committees were asked to identify savings of about 2.5% for 2024.

But P&R president Peter Ferbrache told the States yesterday that committees were lining up with requests to be excluded from these targets.

‘All committees were asked to develop their 2024 budgets on the basis there would be no real terms growth in government expenditure,’ he said.

‘I don’t think it surprises anybody when I say that, with one or two exceptions, it’s fair to say the committees have failed to achieve that.

‘The committees have presented very strong cases for why they should be an exception and why such a saving was unachievable in their area.’

• Listen to our Shorthand States round-up from the opening day of this week's debate

P&R was doing its best to resist other committees’ requests for more money to avoid adding to a hole in States finances projected to grow to between £50m. and £100m. a year over the next decade.

‘In every case, we’re having to explain why there is simply not the funding available,’ said Deputy Ferbrache.

He revealed that HSC alone had recently requested a budget uplift of more than £10m. for next year.

‘We all have sympathy for the challenges Deputy Al Brouard and his committee face in responding to the unprecedented demand being placed on those services.

‘We all want to live in a community which continues to have access to timely and good quality healthcare.

‘However, the simple truth is we cannot afford to give that committee the funding it wants.

‘There is a fundamental gap between the services and infrastructure the island wants and what we can pay for.’

Deputy Heidi Soulsby, who led an alternative tax plan model at the Tax Review debate earlier this year, asked P&R for an update on committees’ expenditure this year so far.

Deputy Ferbrache declined to provide an update ahead of his committee publishing a policy letter next week on its long-term tax and spending proposals.