THE annual accounts published by the States offer the most comprehensive picture of government spending that Islanders can ever hope to scrutinise.

It is just as well, therefore, that the accounts are now fuller and more precise than ever before, though it is unlikely that many members of the public take the trouble to go through them in fine detail. All the information is there, but at the cost of greater complexity and volume.

In spite of this, the headline figures in the accounts for 2007, which have just been published, are in themselves very revealing. Of particular significance is the 3.3 per cent increase in public expenditure over the year. This was well below the rate of inflation and the lowest recorded increase for 20 years.

This must count as an achievement. The States have been promising to cut back on spending ever since it became apparent that the Island has no automatic right to make vast amounts of money. The below-inflation rise in expenditure cannot yet be regarded as the beginning of a new era of prudence and sound economic regulation, but it is without doubt a step in the right direction.

The accounts also show that, for the time being at least, we have less to worry about than was forecast. The anticipated budgetary shortfall of £3 million for 2007 actually turned out to be a surplus of £37 million – a figure that suggests that at least some of the correct decisions are being taken.

The bulk of that £37 million accrued from personal income tax receipts that were well above the anticipated level thanks to general growth in the economy and the continuing impact of the tax instalment scheme.

But favourable as the headline figures are for 2007, complacency is not an option. The States must be urged to pay even greater attention to limiting spending. They must also remain aware that last year’s results have no bearing whatsoever on what will be achieved in the future.

Fiscal changes have been forced upon us, and others are in the pipeline. Some will raise new revenue, but we must not forget that others will, in the absence of economies, sustainable rates of economic growth and new income streams, punch a major hole in what the Island can hope to earn.