Attempt to cut States budgets by almost £28m. is defeated
AN ATTEMPT to reduce government budgets by almost £28m. was defeated, though it gained support from nearly a dozen deputies.
Deputy John Dyke led the proposal, explaining that by limiting budgets to a total of £622.2m. instead of the £650m. proposed by Policy & Resources, he was aiming to recoup an amount similar to that which would be raised if 2p was added to income tax – a move favoured by P&R and which was still to be debated. The reduction was equivalent to a cut of 4.3% and was ‘what middle Guernsey would expect us to achieve before imposing tax increases on a struggling population’, he said.
He picked out a number of areas for potential savings – spending on consultants, inefficiencies in HR, and spending on the Active8 sports strategy and the Nature Commission, which he said was unnecessary when La Societe Guernesiaise and the National Trust were already active.
He also called for phase two of the modernisation of the Princess Elizabeth Hospital to be deferred until adequate nurses’ accommodation had been secured.
Taxpayers were ‘stressed enough as it is, and more taxation from us is simply unacceptable to them – and rightly so,’ he said.
Seconding his proposal, Deputy Simon Vermeulen admitted it was ‘a rehash’ of the previous day’s amendment from Deputy Mark Helyar, which failed to secure support for a £40m. reduction in budgets, but succeeded in amending the Budget proposals to include votes on limiting automatic civil service pay increments and doing away with posts that have been vacant for six months.
Deputy Vermeulen questioned whether Guernsey needed as many committees as it had, or as many staff working in those committees.
Support came from Deputy David De Lisle, who called for the PEH phase two project to be ‘brought back’ to its original budget, and pointed to job growth within the States of 400 posts over the last five years, compared to a reduction of posts in the finance industry of 500 in the same period and of a reduction of 400 in retail.
How they voted ...
... on Deputy John Dyke’s amendment to cut States committee budgets by £27.8m.
For: Deputies Blin, De Lisle, Dyke, Fairclough, Ferbrache, Helyar, Le Tissier, McKenna, Meerveld, Parkinson and Vermeulen. 11
Against: Deputies Aldwell, Brouard, Burford, Bury, de Sausmarez, Dudley-Owen, Falla, Gollop, Haskins, Kazantseva-Miller, Le Tocq, Leadbeater, Mahoney, Matthews, Moakes, Murray, Oliver, Prow, Queripel, Roffey, Soulsby, Taylor and Trott and Alderney representatives Roberts and Snowdon. 25
Did not vote: Deputy Inder.
Absent: Deputies Cameron, Gabriel and St Pier.
