Wednesday 20 November 2024
General Update
I am grateful for the opportunity to update the Assembly on the work undertaken across the States of Alderney to date and our priorities for 2025. It has been a very busy year for our Island, and I will focus on the areas of our work which are most pertinent to the Bailiwick as a whole and the relationship between our two islands in particular.
As well as our close Bailiwick ties, we share the same agenda for change with Guernsey and this is demonstrated in the similarities in our ongoing programmes of work. In a list which will be all-too familiar to Guernsey colleagues, we have focused on the sustainability of public finances, modernising our civil service, securing the core services required by our community and supporting and fostering economic growth.
We continue to work closely with the Guernsey public service and have established great collaborations. This contributes to improving working practices and processes and provides expertise in areas that our organisation does not have readily available. Good examples include work with your planning and data protection departments. During 2025 we would like to build on this positive experience and explore options for enhanced collaboration, creating opportunities for people and young families to build a successful public service career in the Bailiwick.
The themes on the agenda of the Island Plancontinue to mature as we focus on those areas which will make the greatest difference to our community. There are, of course, only limited resources available within Alderney and we're conscious of the need to prioritise effectively, including considering how our workstreams can be complementary to their Guernsey equivalents.
To take our areas of focus in turn:
We have focused on public finances; striving towards value for money, challenging expenditure, identifying opportunities for additional income, and delivering efficiencies so that funding is allocated to areas of greatest priority. Exceptional, and unavoidable operational pressures within health and care provision in the last 2 years has brought new challenges.
However, through careful financial management, coupled with significant income through Document Duty and Property Transfer Duties and a good return on investments, 2024 is forecasted to provide a £400,000 surplus. This will be a welcome addition to our General Reserves to ensure we have capacity to be resilient in less favourable years. However, it is recognised that this positive position is based on volatile income streams and therefore, whilst a balanced budget for 2025 has been achieved, we remain vigilant as we enter the new year.
Despite delivering this balanced Budget, we continue to explore alternative sources of revenue to diversify our income streams and reduce reliance on a few key taxes. We also continue to explore opportunities to optimise operating cost and improve efficiencies wherever possible. To be successful in putting Alderney on a stronger financial footing, it is crucial that investments are made to improve connectivity and ensure reliable and affordable links are secured. We are conscious of the simple fact that the cost of delivering essential services on a small island is relatively high. We appreciate that the cost of transferred services such as healthcare, education, the Airport and emergency services exceed the taxes paid to the Bailiwick to help pay for these. Improved and affordable connectivity will enable Alderney to grow its taxbase and increase its contribution to the Bailiwick.
In the same vein, the cost of service provision continues to rise, and every effort is being made to identify opportunities for efficiency. This is proving difficult with our fragile connectivity issues, which must therefore be our immediate priority.
At the same time, we are continuing a proportionate programme of capital investment, predominantly funded by Alderney Gambling Control Commission surpluses. We have a structured programme of investment, combining key routine infrastructure works with new projects to ensure we continue to align with the States' strategic goals and the Island Plan. In 2024, we have focused improvement activity on the phased work on the Mouriaux to Platte Saline Sewer Scheme which has successfully enabled many properties to be connected to the mains sewer.
Road & Pavement Resurfacing will be the main capital spend in 2025 and is anticipated to provide for a more long-term, structured approach to our road maintenance programme.
Stabilising healthcare provision has been at the forefront of our public services, with the primary healthcare practice - Island Medical Centre - now operating safely and efficiently, providing an enhanced service to the public along with increased patient appointments.
The ambulance service provided by St John Ambulance and Rescue Service Guernsey commenced in 2023. The Alderney service is a satellite station of the Guernsey organisation, operating under the same clinical governance framework, with ongoing support, leadership and oversight provided by senior staff in Guernsey. Locally based staff have been suitably trained and are supported by a small number of volunteers who act as Community First Responders. This new resilient and professional service provides reassurances to the Community and complements our existing emergency service provision on Island.
Stabilising healthcare, whilst hugely important, was only the short-term aim. Our longer-term aim is to develop a sustainable and integrated care model that can effectively respond to the needs of an ageing population.
The vision of an Integrated Care System is the focus of the Alderney Care Board, which is a joint effort between Guernsey and Alderney. We welcome working with colleagues in the Committee for Health & Social Care and collectively develop delivery models that could be rolled out throughout the Bailiwick. Importantly, this joint working with regard to healthcare has demonstrated a mature, twenty-first century approach to the transferred services where the two Islands have worked collaboratively, acknowledging respective roles and responsibilities to ultimately deliver improved services which should lead to efficiencies for both Islands. We hope that this can provide a blueprint for other areas of joint working between the two islands. Although developing integrated care has been challenging and progress has been slower than we had hoped, we remain strongly committed to its delivery.
Similarly in common with Guernsey, we wish to support and foster economic growth and a key focus was the preparation work carried out for the MoneyVal inspection. We are united with our Bailiwick colleagues in our commitment to meeting the FATF standards and we continued to support the Bailiwick's collective position, consistently prioritising the consideration and approval of the legislation needed to support MoneyVal requirements.
The Economic Development Committee continues to explore opportunities for economic growth in collaboration with local business associations and businesses direct. Alderney already punches above its weight, the Gambling Commission being an obvious example in generating significant value into the Bailiwick.
We know however that there is further untapped potential which would benefit not just Alderney but the Bailiwick as a whole.
Alderney is open for business, and we're working with all those involved to ensure that we have the right infrastructure and legislation to support the established sectors whilst attracting new businesses and individuals to the Island.
It won't surprise the Assembly to hear that the key priority for Alderney remains the necessary, and overdue, works to the airport. Aurigny and Alderney Airport have been the lifeline cornerstone of connectivity for our island community for many, many years and although there are fewer destinations through direct routes now than there once were, Southampton and Guernsey represent our lifelines that we depend on and keeping these routes alive through the runway investment is more important than ever.
The States of Alderney was naturally disappointed about the outcome of the tender process of the project but continues to do all it can to support the project locally. We are concerned that time is of the essence with an end-of-life runway. Work on the runway rehabilitation project must continue at speed and we are looking forward to a workable future-proofed solution as soon as possible. This is particularly pertinent since the decision to reduce the PSO budget provision. We are of the opinion that savings to the PSO cannot be delivered until the runway rehabilitation is complete, and it is inappropriate to further impact our residents, businesses and visitors in this way.
On the subject of future-proofing, the States of Alderney are working closely with Alderney Electricity Limited on the implementation of a renewables strategy, in line with the recently agreed Energy policy. The engagement with the general public on the renewable domestic energy initiatives for the island was very encouraging and we anticipate real progress during 2025. Furthermore, as we look to enhance Alderney's contribution to the Bailiwick's future prosperity, we have started work in close collaboration with Guernsey, to examine options to develop marine renewable generation within our waters and use our assets to forge a sustainable future for the Bailiwick.
We recognise that capital investment is understandably a contentious subject in Guernsey, made more so by recent decisions within the Assembly. We are as invested in the delivery of the full Capital Portfolio as Guernsey. We know for example that the digital elements of the Transforming Education Programme will have tremendous benefits for our learners in St Anne's School as will the development of the Guernsey Institute.
The merits of these other, well-deserving projects do not however detract from the need for investment in Alderney Airport and we're grateful to the States for their continued support. We do need to get on with these necessary improvements to Alderney's runway and we hope that there are no further challenges to the process as this project is not only essential to Alderney but will provide benefits to the Bailiwick as a whole.
Sir, I am most grateful for the opportunity to provide this update to the Assembly, and I welcome any questions. Thank you.