‘It’s a point that is often repeated, especially as we move towards wider debates about taxation and public finances,' said Ross Le Brun.
‘But it is also one that risks being misleading if we do not fully understand what sits behind the headline numbers.'
He said that the island had to provide the same or similar core services, including healthcare, education, policing, infrastructure and regulation, without benefitting from economies of scale.
‘Those services require a minimum level of staffing to function safely and effectively.
‘They cannot simply be reduced in proportion to population,’ he said.
And the public sector includes several trading entities, employing more than 1,300 staff, who would not be public servants in the UK, and much of the adult social care sector in the UK is delivered through private providers, which is not the case locally.
‘That automatically increases our public service headcount — not because more care is being provided, but because it is organised differently,’ Deputy Le Brun said.
‘This distinction is important. It means that comparisons, whether explicit or implied, between Guernsey and larger jurisdictions can quickly become inaccurate if they are based purely on headline figures.
'We are not always comparing like with like. None of this is to say that we should not expect efficiency or value for money. Of course we should.
‘Good stewardship of public funds is a must.
‘But if we are to have a meaningful conversation about the size of the public service, it needs to be grounded in a clear understanding of what those numbers represent.’
Deputy Le Brun said that a higher figure in the island would not mean excess.
‘In many instances, it reflects the reality that services which are delivered privately elsewhere are delivered publicly here and that a small island trying to be a modern international place still needs to provide a full range of essential services.
‘As the broader debate continues, it is worth keeping that context in mind. Without it, there is a real risk that we draw conclusions from figures that do not tell the full story and lead to misleading conclusions and unrealistic expectations.’