Select a region
The States will need to harvest its reserves and borrow hundreds of millions of pounds in order to raise the £651m that Policy & Resources says Government needs to spend on capital projects and one-off costs in the next five years.
The Government Work Plan, published today, sets out a roadmap for the political term, outlining which capital projects need to be funded, which covid-related costs need to be met and which international obligations need to be fulfilled after Brexit.
The capital projects listed contain few surprises, most notably featuring the reorganisation of schools and the modernisation of the hospital, both of which are leftover from previous political terms.
Other workstreams include scoping out "urgent" ways to address the island's growing housing crisis, come up with a seafront "masterplan", supplement Guernsey Finance's funding package and "accelerate" the growth of the digital economy.
"It is intended to have some oomph," said Chief Minister Peter Ferbrache, who said previous States' have built up a weighty backlog of unfunded projects.
"We have been adding things and adding things without any blinking idea of how we will do it all."
Pictured: If the States will spend more than a half a million pounds on capital projects this term, if the Assembly approves the Plan at its meeting starting on 21 July.
Doing some of it - the parts that P&R believe to be the real priorities - will set the States back a total of £651m. This is to cover responding to the Covid-19 pandemic, managing the effects of Brexit and meeting international standards, delivering the identified 'recovery' actions and re-shaping government.
There is strong support on Policy & Resources for a smaller number of politicians having greater power over decisions and the way the States is run.
If approved, the States will raid its reserves - built up in previous political terms - for £258m, seek a change to the Bond rules to take £187m, and look to borrow the remaining £206m.
The plan will see increased access to NICE-approved drugs, equal pay for work of equal value, and the redevelopment of Guernsey Dairy among the many projects moved to the back of the priority queue.
As well as looking at short and medium-term actions, the plan looks to address a trend of under-investment in the Island’s infrastructure, where the States has fallen short of its own capital investment targets.
Pictured: Some of the headline actions to boost the economy and improve living conditions, which still need to be worked up in greater detail.
“The need is great and aspirations are high, but time is short and finances are limited," said P&R Vice-President Heidi Soulsby.
"The plan focuses on our immediate economic, social and environmental needs while positioning Islanders for a thriving, sustainable future."
Deputy Mark Helyar, the Treasury lead for the Policy & Resources Committee said: “There has been underinvestment in critical national and economic infrastructure – capital investment is now vital to deliver this Plan.
"The recommendation, which is affordable in the medium term, is to utilise existing financial assets and borrow a further £200m to invest in our infrastructure, improve our financial resilience and boost economic recovery and expansion.”
Pictured: Policy & Resources is bidding to repurpose how funds in the States Bond can be utilised in order to help fund the States' strategic priorities.
The Plan calls for commencing work on a Top 10 list of recovery actions now to address pressing issues:
o Housing: scope and deliver urgent measures necessary to address housing pressures;
o Education: Commence the reorganisation of secondary and post 16 education;
o Skills: set out and resource proposals to grow knowledge and skills in our community;
o Digital infrastructure: determine and begin implementation of the approach to enhanced digital infrastructure;
o Children: support vulnerable children through revision to Children’s Law and action on the Outcomes Report;
o Population: assess the fitness for purpose of our population and immigration framework, recognising the need to balance economic needs with maintaining quality of life;
o Finance and tourism invest additional funding into promoting Guernsey’s finance sector and establish a tourism plan and campaign to expand Guernsey’s tourism offer;
o Regeneration: establish a development agency and enable work to begin on the development of the seafront masterplan;
o Transport: set out a clear and coordinated transport connectivity and infrastructure policy and further develop the general and commercial aviation sector; and
o Health recovery: support the physical and mental health recovery of islanders through new occupational health schemes and a pilot mental health centre.
The Government Work Plan is set to be debated by the States on 21 July.
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.