However, Policy & Resources has pledged to hold the line in its 2027 draft budget – which will be published in three weeks’ time – and contain spending increases to inflation minus 1%, in line with a Forward Guernsey proposal agreed by the States earlier this year.
The senior committee’s treasury lead, Charles Parkinson, said it was still working out how the real-terms cut would be achieved, as some spending committees openly explained why they believed they would be unable to make net savings next year.
‘P&R is developing its 2027 budget proposals on the basis of the proposed 1% measure,’ said Deputy Parkinson.
‘However, the detailed structure and presentation of those proposals are still being developed.’
The Guernsey Press understands that P&R received requests for budget increases totalling approximately £30m. and had recently identified only about £5m. of the roughly £7m. of savings needed to hold spending adjustments to inflation minus 1%. The senior committee would not comment on those figures.
It had previously told other committees that it expected savings to come from efficiencies rather than service cuts.
Some committees, including Home Affairs and Housing, have told P&R that they cannot reduce their budgets in real terms next year without cutting services.
‘As a committee we have been open about the fact that Home Affairs will not be able to meet the 1% target for 2027,’ said Home Affairs president Deputy Marc Leadbeater.
‘While all services have sought to mitigate pressures through efficiencies and cost control, increases in funding are considered necessary to maintain safe, compliant and effective service delivery.’
Housing said it did not request to be exempt from the 1% savings measure but acknowledged excluding it from its budget request.
‘The primary reason for this is due to a requested increase in the States’ housing maintenance budget,’ said Housing president Deputy Steve Williams.
‘The committee’s work plan sets out the reasons why the committee believes it is financially and socially responsible to invest in maintenance. The committee has, however, considered savings in some operational areas.’
Three principal committees – Economic Development, Employment & Social Security, and Environment & Infrastructure – confirmed that they had identified ways of reducing their budgets by 1% in real terms in 2027.
Economic Development said it had agreed ‘targeted reductions in certain budget areas’ to realise a 1% real-terms saving compared to its forecast expenditure in 2026, which it currently expected to come in about £220,000 under its approved budget.
ESS had identified savings worth £55,000 in its non-formula-led budget.
E&I said it had proposed ‘a number of potential options to deliver savings, the extent of which will depend on the final outcome of the budget process’.
Education, Sport & Culture said it had ‘proposed savings in order to contribute to the 1% savings target versus its own 2026 baseline expenditure’, but admitted that it currently anticipated overspending its budget by about £200,000 this year.
Health & Social Care denied having requested an exemption from the 1& savings policy directed by the States Assembly in January, but said ‘these need to be considered in the context of increasing underlying demand, which they have served to mitigate at least in part’.
Asked how much the committee was offering to save in 2027 and how it would achieve such savings, HSC president Deputy George Oswald said: ‘Work is ongoing across HSC to create a sustainable model for the island’s future, improve services, and create efficiencies, which in the coming years will realise savings in a variety of different ways.
‘For 2027 specifically, the majority of service areas have contributed in modest but cumulatively significant ways by detailed review of their non-pay budgets and spending. Pay cost savings, including reductions in agency staffing, have helped to bring pay costs closer to the budget but demand-driven baseline challenges still continue.
‘A number of specific savings initiatives have been proposed, including in relation to drugs and medicines savings, relating both to price and volume factors.’