States Accounts to be Approved

Tuesday 26 June 2018

Deputies will today be asked to approve the States 2017 accounts as they reconvene for their June meeting.

Guernsey Water, Guernsey Dairy, States Works and the Ports accounts also need to be approved in today’s meeting, the first of two States days this week – and the last before the summer recess.

Last year saw the government register a significant surplus of £113.9m. - £22.1m. of which is available for spending in the next financial year.

Diverting the money into the Core Investment Reserve, which was heavily drawn on in recent years when the States consistently ran a deficit, replenishing the Future Guernsey Economic Fund to enable greater support for economic development initiatives, speeding delivery of priorities agreed as part of the Policy and Resource Plan or funding increases in personal income tax allowances are all options available to the island’s politicians.

Committees collectively underspent by £2.7m., with the same amount again also going unallocated – giving a total underspend of £5.4m. Health & Social Care were responsible for nearly half of the underspend by being £2.6m. under budget for the year. Employment & Social Security had £1m. left over and the States Trading Supervisory Board was also £600,000 under budget.

Not every Committee underspent, however, with Education overspending by £2.1m., Economic Development by £400,000 and Home Affairs by £57,000.

Contributing to the generally healthy States finances were an extra £21.4m. of income tax, and a range of other taxes – including Excise and Import Duties, TRP, Document Duty and Vehicle First Registration Duty – boosting the coffers by £79.8m., more than £5m. over the previous year.

Elsewhere the accounts show the States spent £138,800 on preparing for GDPR, £100,000 on the 2021 Island Games and £97,000 on ‘managing Brexit’ in the last financial year.

Tomorrow the States will discuss the latest Economic Development plan.