FTP can be reached by streamlining civil service

After trawling through 18 pages, I note on page 19, at the top, there is a 'Senior Employees Gross Cost Analysis'. Of course, for a set of accounts, this is nothing particularly unusual. The interesting fact is when you note that the analysis is calculated on the banded salaries of every civil servant that earns a package in excess of £70,000 and that there are 363 States employees that fall into this category.

As the accounts kindly indicate how many employees fall into each band and the bands are shown in £20,000 increments, this has allowed me to quickly whip up a spread sheet (available upon request) from which I can conclude that the 'average' salary package across these 363 high earning civil servants comes to a figure of £97,520.16.

Times this figure by 363 and you have a whopping gross annual salary expenditure of £35,399,818.08 shared between these top civil servants.

These same civil servants are now having to find £70,000,000 in 10 years to meet FTP targets.

There are two ways to meet this target, the first being to cut a multitude of services (and yes, whatever clever spin these States civil servants and politicians put on it, they are, at the end of the day, cutting vital services). However, this way is doomed to failure, as they are currently far from making the requisite savings.

The other way would be to look at internal reorganisation of the States of Guernsey and to cut the number of high-earning civil servants by 20%. This may not be as daft as it seems as there are 50 more (a 16% increase) States employees who fall into this high-earning category in 2012 than there were in 2011 (same page of the 2012 accounts). Quite possibly, the vast majority of these additional States employees shown in the 2012 figures are likely to be those currently tasked with finding ways of cutting these services to meet FTP targets.

This cut in States salary packages would save £7,079,963.62 per annum, based on the average salary calculation above. So £79,963.62 more than needed each year to meet the FTP targets.

With this additional saving, I would be happy for those remaining, hard-working civil servants, to have a nice Christmas party.

If the States of Guernsey was a 'business', then no doubt there would be a proper employee structure, with everyone in the pyramid working hard and doing their bit. The necessity for a lot of these highly paid States employees would then fall away.

I, for one, would be happy as a taxpayer for the States to fund an external team of consultants to come in on a contract to undertake this review. In fact, for 6.5% of the savings (about the going rate for external consultants, I believe) I would be happy to provide my services and bring a quality team with me. My team would be from on-island, not off-island and I can think of a few who would chew my arm off to be involved. We would promise not one public service cut, not one school closed and no raise in income tax – just the cutting of unnecessary jobs and a streamlining of the service. Voila, FTP solved in one fell swoop.

I believe this might also go some way to solving the deficit in the States pension fund, although I am yet to get to the bottom of this particular half-a-billion-pounds debacle.

As a final point to ponder, it appears that these civil servants are fully aware of the mess they have made of Guernsey's finances and in a vain attempt to ensure there is not an outward migration of the current local population and thus an inevitable decrease in income tax receipts, they are now trying to ensure that we remain in the island until our children have reached the age of 14. To leave before this age may result in them losing their birthright – to remain is likely to damage their education. Quite a quandary.

So, by hook or by crook, the States of Guernsey will ensure that our schools remain brimming to capacity, or as the majority of the populace think, severe over capacity, with those remaining teachers stretched to the absolute limit.

The people like you and I will continue to dutifully pay our taxes, which will inevitably keep these senior civil servants in the manner to which they have become accustomed, as there will be limited services that require taxpayers' money. So, my challenge to you, Mr Whitfield, new chief executive of the States, is to add the above to your agenda. I would also be extremely grateful if, unlike many of your colleagues, you would refrain from using the word 'vision'.

SIMON BOUGOURD