Sir,
I’m pleased to provide this general update statement on behalf of the Policy & Resources Committee, but before I get into the detail of that, I want to put on record my thanks to those in the public sector, the volunteer sector, the private sector and indeed the community more generally who pulled together in what I think we would all agree was an impressive response to Storm Goretti, before, during and in its immediate aftermath. While much of the island is now back to normal, we are mindful that some people experienced significant damage to their homes and property and those and other effects will be felt for a while longer. Guernsey lost around a thousand trees, according to the latest estimate, and a fund has been established by the Nature Commission and Guernsey Trees for Life to mitigate some of this damage. As much of their focus will be on re-establishing trees lost on public land, the Committee will be contributing to that fund.
Sir, I will begin with a couple of long-running property issues. As has already been reported in the media, the situation stemming from the States’ sale of Fort Richmond has finally been resolved outside of the court system, and good relations with the affected family restored. We are also having constructive conversations with the tenants of the Fermain Café: we’re hopeful that this situation can also be amicably agreed without further court involvement, and the relationship positively reset going forward for the remainder of the current tenancy.
I will touch only lightly on Leale’s Yard in this statement, given its status as a proposed super priority in the Government Work Plan and the recent media coverage following Deputy Williams’ Guernsey Press podcast broadcast in the last few days, but updates include the encouraging fact that there has been strong engagement from industry on the demolition tender, and that the infrastructure master-planning has similarly generated a lot of professional interest and the planned works remain on track.
More generally on the topic of property, the States Property Unit has begun engaging with committees on the Strategic Property Portfolio. Given the scale and importance of States land and property to delivering our infrastructure, housing, operational efficiency, affordability and long-term financial sustainability goals, the Committee considers it essential that members are well informed, and that committees have input with respect to their mandate’s needs.
On Tax Reform – another of the GWP’s super priorities, – members will be aware that we have published a policy letter relating to Workstream 1, which carries out the direction from the previous Assembly that was passed in November 2024. Political and public engagement on that front continues. Deputy St Pier and I will be answering questions in a Facebook video livestream tomorrow evening, and while we’re open to being quizzed on any subject in our mandate, we’re expecting the majority to focus on tax.
Meanwhile, we recently launched a consultation on Workstream 2 – the work exploring the potential for corporate tax reform that is being led by Deputy Parkinson and his sub-committee, which has made swift and good progress. Industry bodies are playing an active and important role in making sure the consultation reaches the various businesses with relevant information and perspectives, but we are keen to stress that the consultation is open to anyone that wishes to share their views. The consultation will run for five weeks and the overall timeline to bring the twin tracks of work together for a States decision on tax reform is still on target for the summer.
This brings me onto the all-important other side of the ledger: States expenditure. As a government, we must clearly justify all expenditure and make sure effective controls are in place to prevent waste. This will require not just systemic change but a cultural change as well. This challenge has been a major focus for the Committee since its inception, but even more so in the last two months.
At the end of November last year, Deputy St Pier on behalf of the Committee made a statement to the Assembly on a number of significant matters, including the original MyGov project. Members will recall that this programme ran until 2024 and was intended to digitise government services, incurring significant costs as previously advised. Ultimately, though, it failed to deliver the intended benefits.
In announcing the investigation into this, Deputy St Pier confirmed that he would keep the Assembly updated regularly on progress. The first of those updates is planned for next month. For now, though, and ahead of that, I can provide an interim update on the work undertaken to date and the next steps.
Since that statement, the Chief Executive has personally reviewed a substantial body of material relating to the project and has conducted numerous interviews. I know he is grateful to many colleagues across the organisation who have provided information and insight to support this work.
Based on the material reviewed to date, I can report that the Chief Executive has reached the following preliminary conclusions:
· While appropriate financial controls had been set within the organisation, they were not always effective because they were frequently not followed.
· External suppliers failed to meet agreed deliverables, and there was no sufficiently robust mechanism to ensure that they did.
· Concerns raised about the project were not addressed adequately or in a timely manner.
· There was a significant disparity between how the project’s status was reported (including to politicians) and the reality of its progress.
To ensure that this work continues thoroughly and swiftly, the Chief Executive has redirected the work programme of the Internal Audit team to focus fully on this investigation as well as seconding additional assistance.
I wish to be clear: this Committee is absolutely determined to establish a comprehensive understanding of how this project was allowed to proceed as it did, and where accountability properly lies. This work is being undertaken to ensure that lessons are not just identified, but more importantly acted upon, so that similar failures are not repeated, and accountability is ensured. We are also committed to being open with this Assembly and the public about the outcomes of the investigation. Every word of this commitment applies equally to the other projects and areas that we are investigating. Members will be kept informed of the findings and of the actions that follow, so that confidence can be restored in how major programmes are governed, monitored and reported.
This is important because the public service must be able to account for its actions, particularly where outcomes have fallen so far short of expectations. There is some excellent work taking place across the sector, delivering real value for our community, and too often, criticism falls on the people who do not deserve it. That happens because we are not sufficiently clear about where responsibility for waste and failure properly sits. When that clarity is missing, the consequences are felt by everyone. We know that short-term this level of openness may impact the public’s trust and confidence, but we believe it is a necessary step. The scale of this failure requires a clear, evidenced understanding of what went wrong and why.
TheRevenue Service transformation programme is another that the Committee is reviewing. We’re pleased to report that the new Director of the Revenue Service Operations took up her role on the 17th November and is making strong progress in developing a clear and definitive plan to – once and for all – address the issues of which the community is only too well aware. The Committee will receive regular updates on progress which will be shared with the Committee for Employment & Social Security (given its link to contributions), this Assembly and the public, whom we are keenly aware include many people directly impacted by these problems.
Central to this work is a newly launched initiative focused on direct engagement with Revenue Service staff, recognising their experience and insight as essential to understanding the challenges. All of this will provide both the Assembly and the wider community with a clear and shared view of what needs to change, and what will be required to deliver the necessary improvements.
Another of the Committee’s major priorities relates to the States’ IT function. In my first update statement, I set out our commitment to strengthening political oversight and constructive challenge throughout the digital transition. Within our first few weeks in office, we engaged Deputy Lainé in a digital and technology advisory capacity, and I will take this opportunity now to put on record our thanks for his valuable input. The scale of the task is and will remain for some time very significant, but work is proceeding with energy and determination.
Progress against all of the Scrutiny Management Committee’s recommendations from its Review of the Future Digital Services Contract with Agilisys continues – and I will have the opportunity to provide more detail shortly in answer to some Rule 11 questions later in this meeting.
Since transitioning to a multi-vendor model following the termination of the contract with Agilisys, we have focused on stabilising the operational environment, reducing risk, achieving greater efficiency and implementing more effective financial controls. Meanwhile, the Digital & Technology Team is working to continually improve IT services and strengthen the States’ in-house capability to meet the organisation’s – and ultimately, the island’s – evolving needs. We know, through the much-improved visibility and oversight the Committee now has, that while there is still much to be done, the key metrics on work to date are positive: operational delivery is more stable and resilient, risks have reduced, and crucially there is now much stronger governance around expenditure, meaning more control and better savings.
We are currently recruiting to the IT Advisory Panel which will – alongside Deputy Lainé as its chair – provide the Committee with robust support in terms of understanding the problems, tracking the progress, identifying issues and informing better decision-making. The need for this type of specialist advice and support was highlighted in the Scrutiny Review as an important defence against similar problems arising in future, so we are very encouraged by the quality of those that have put themselves forward for consideration. We are lucky to have people willing to volunteer their considerable talent and skills in this way. The Committee will continue to meet with Deputy Lainé and the Chief Digital and Information Officer at least monthly, but they know they have immediate access should they need it.
As the Assembly will be aware, as part of the 2026 Budget process the Strategic Leadership Team has been tasked with leading a comprehensive review of all consultancy and contracted support arrangements. This work started in 2025. There is a robust focus on identifying opportunities to reduce reliance on external support and to realise savings of £4 million in 2026, including £2.5 million in general revenue expenditure. We recognise that in a small island where it is simply unrealistic for us to have certain types of expertise or specialisms in-house, the use of some consultants will still be necessary. The review, however, is considering the purpose, value and outcomes of each and every arrangement, alongside opportunities to build internal capability and ensure that external spend is used only where it adds demonstrable value.
This leads me onto the work we committed in the 2026 Budget Report to undertake with respect to developing Priority-Based Budgeting. This approach ultimately helps to ensure that public money is deployed where it delivers the greatest impact. We are planning to launch a pilot scheme that will – subject to discussions with the relevant committees, of course – cover three areas: we are proposing one of the corporate services, a key service area of the Committee for Health & Social Care, and one of the smaller States committees.
By piloting Priority-Based Budgeting on these three contrasting areas, we will be able to test the methodology in different-sized operational environments with different cost drivers and different statutory constraints. We want the organisation to walk before it tries to run. We will not engage another Big Bang initiative which risks failure.The pilot will inform how we can most effectively roll the programme out across the rest of the organisation. The potential for delivering greater efficiency and impact is obvious, for example by identifying services that may no longer be needed in their current form, or where simplification could improve outcomes and reduce cost, but I do need to be upfront about the intensity of the process: it will require a significant and sustained commitment from each of the participating service areas and a good deal of political engagement to determine the prioritisation. However, we believe that the benefits of this more structured, evidence-based and transparent approach to budgeting will be significant enough to justify the effort. We also welcome principal committees’ help in providing members as their finance leads to help build consistent experience and skills among those committees.
Sir, I would like to bring this general update statement towards a conclusion by reporting the positive progress of the work on the Bailiwick Commission. This work represents a truly significant moment in the modern development of our constitutional relationships between our islands. Following the decisions taken last year by the respective parliaments of Guernsey, Alderney and Sark, the Commission has now been agreed and is about to be launched as an independent body, external to all three governments.
The Policy & Resources Committee has worked closely with Alderney’s Policy & Finance Committee and Sark’s Chief Pleas to agree the terms of reference, governance and constitution of the Commission. The details will be published in the next few weeks, along with the names of the five commissioners that have been appointed. While I cannot name them today, as contractual arrangements are still being finalised, I can say that the calibre of the individuals is exceptional, with a genuine interest in the task in hand. They bring a wealth and breadth of constitutional, economic, legal and governance expertise, alongside experience of working with small island jurisdictions and remote communities. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to determine how we can best meet the shared challenges of the modern age, in a way that protects the unique identity of each island. To put it in its simplest terms, the process will be a Bailiwick-scale “national conversation”, involving individual islanders, community organisations, industry groups, and civil society more broadly.
Sir, the Policy & Resources Committee has a very broad mandate, so while we have made a conscious effort in this update to focus on the major priorities and most salient topics, and while there is a degree of overlap between some of these issues and those we are likely to debate later in this States meeting by virtue of the items on the agenda, I welcome as always members’ questions on anything within our committee’s remit.
Thank you.