President of P&R apologises after payroll blunder

Friday 12 February 2021

The controversy over the publication of details of businesses who claim payroll support has come to an end, with a public apology from the President of Policy & Resources over the debacle.

Public backlash to the prospect of struggling claimants' details being published by the States led to a petition being set up by Ross Le Brun - who said business owners like himself were being "put in the stocks - and a subsequent media release from P&R which sought to blame the whole affair on a misunderstanding.

Business owners were required to accept a series of clauses when requesting payroll support. One of those clauses stated:

‘I understand that it remains the intention of the Policy & Resources Committee to publish information of those organisations claiming financial assistance.’

This caveat was met with public and political backlash, with one States member, Deputy Steve Falla, raising the issue to P&R in the latest States debate. The underlying concern being that small businesses owners, for many reasons, wouldn’t want their details made public, and it may lead them to not claim help.

Pictured: Deputy Mark Helyar released a statement following increased public backlash.

In response to the growing concern, P&R’s Treasury Lead released a statement. In it Deputy Helyar suggested that “The Policy & Resources Committee has no intention of publishing details of individual claims, nor has it ever stated that this was the intention of reserving these rights.”

The statement clearly wasn’t an apology, with Deputy Helyar blaming “confusion” and “misreporting” in social media.

The issue was raised again during the latest Civil Contingency Authority media briefing and was met with an apology from the President of P&R, who took full responsibility for the blunder.

“The answer is yes, we did make a mistake,” said Deputy Ferbrache.

“I’m the President of Policy & Resources, ultimately, as a president of any committee, the responsibility is mine.”

Pictured: “I apologise unreservedly to those that have been distressed or inconvenienced,” said Deputy Ferbrache.

The declaration has since been changed, from the original:

To an updated version: