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Former Treasury Leads say it is unprecedented but unsurprising that no amendments have been submitted to the Policy & Resources Committee’s 2022 Budget proposals.
The States’ annual budget debate starts on Tuesday 2 November. P&RC’s proposals contain no significant policy changes. But they do include increases above inflation to a range of duties and rates on domestic and commercial property.
In the medium term, the States are still projecting deficits of tens of millions of pounds a year.
Budgets typically attract several amendments – sometimes dozens of amendments – but the deadline for amendments to the 2022 Budget passed without a single amendment to any of P&RC’s proposals. Experienced Deputies cannot remember the last time this happened.
“I have delivered eight budgets as a member of the [proposing] committee and participated in another 13 budget debates and all, without exception, have had amendments placed against them,” said Deputy Lyndon Trott.
“I delivered three budgets in the 2000s which remained unchanged despite attempts to amend them. It is the absence of challenge this year which is without precedent.”
P&RC’s Treasury Lead, Deputy Mark Helyar, puts this down to the Budget containing no surprises.
“The lack of amendments is likely to be less about the Assembly’s view of P&RC and more about the Budget being what they expected,” said Deputy Helyar, who is also the leader of the Guernsey Party in the States.
Deputy Helyar’s predecessors agreed. Deputy Trott called the proposed Budget “generally dull…steady as you go…but certainly not in the category of ‘action this day’", a mantra coined by P&RC President Deputy Peter Ferbrache at the start of this political term.
Pictured: P&RC has chosen to keep the tax raising policies it inherited from the previous Assembly, to the surprise of some former members of P&RC.
Deputy Charles Parkinson said the proposed Budget was “uncontroversial”. Deputy Gavin St. Pier said “there are so few propositions that there is little to amend”.
Deputies Trott and Parkinson said that States’ members were awaiting the outcome of the next phase of P&RC’s review of tax policy, which is now due to be released next summer.
Deputy Parkinson also claimed that States’ members who might normally hold alternative views to P&RC were increasingly resigned to being in a minority in the Assembly.
“Clearly this States differs from previous States in some respects,” said Deputy Parkinson. “The Van Party / Guernsey Party coalition can be sure of a majority on many issues, which may dishearten potential movers of amendments.”
Deputy St. Pier agreed. “Everyone knows that the Van Party / Guernsey Party coalition’s working majority means that amendments are unlikely to succeed, unless they are seeking to amend something particularly controversial,” he said.
Deputy St. Pier was surprised that the current P&RC had not made more changes to the tax and spending policies inherited from the P&RC which he led in the previous States’ term.
“I think the more interesting observation is that this administration has adopted hook, line and sinker all the policies and spending commitments of the previous administration,” he said.
“Despite the rhetoric of the last States having wastefully engaged in vanity projects, this Budget quietly endorses the previous States’ decisions. As they say, ‘actions speak louder than words’, and in this case the action is to do nothing.”
Pictured: A Budget overview covering the 2021 forecasts that were made in October 2020, the revised estimates nine months in to 2021, and the Budget that has been set for 2022.
Deputy Peter Roffey, who many years ago used an amendment to a budget debate to propose almost an entire alternative budget, said that some of his colleagues may have become more pragmatic on tax policy than when they were first elected this time last year.
“I am not close enough to enough deputies to understand all of their motivations,” said Deputy Roffey. “But it is quite surprising that those elected on a manifesto of no tax increases haven't tried to amend this tax-raising budget. Perhaps reality is starting to dawn on them.”
Deputy Helyar was aware of States’ members who considered submitting amendments.
“Treasury staff received a couple of approaches from States’ members and were happy to provide advice to inform members. The members receiving that advice ultimately decided against laying amendments,” said Deputy Helyar.
“We certainly hope that the Assembly will support the Budget in full and as a Committee we have no plans to seek to amend it.”
Pictured top: P&RC's Treasury Lead Deputy Mark Helyar.
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