Committees asked for some £33m. more than would have been allowed if P&R was to follow the agreed States line of holding budget increases below the cost-of-living rises. Asked what impact that extra spending would have on staffing, the committee confirmed the net change would be 161 additional staff.
If the less severe Option B package was to be pursued, that number would fall to about 70, the hearing was told. The committee said the pressure driving the bids came largely from demographics and rising demand.
The Committee for Home Affairs was singled out as one that had told P&R it was short of staff, with heads of service telling the committee they were ‘struggling to provide an adequate level of service’ in several areas.
Rising attendances at the emergency department were cited as a major pressure within Health & Social Care.
The Scrutiny panel questioned how much of committees’ spending was genuinely controllable within a year once pay and support-service costs were stripped out, though P&R argued that committees retained control over the number and grades of staff they employed.