Islanders asked for views on States cuts
Tuesday 25th May 2010, 2:58PM BST.
Treasury Minister Philip Ozouf
ISLANDERS are being asked for their views on States plans to cut public spending.
The Corporate Services Scrutiny panel has launched a review into the plans to cut States departments’ budgets by ten per cent over the next three years.
The cuts have been ordered by Treasury Minister Philip Ozouf as part of a comprehensive spending review launched earlier this year to plug budget deficits caused by the recession.
The panel will examine the overall nature of the cutbacks and the sustainability of the first two per cent of savings which come into effect next year. It will also examine the social impact of the proposed cuts.
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But will they actually listen . . . . ?
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Too little, too late
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No teacher payrises for a start!
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why, ask us, it wont make a blind bit of difference.
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Simple. Stop spending money on things that are not needed. The road works on victoria avenue are a farce. There was nothing wrong with that road.
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We elect politicians to make decision. Now get thumb out of *** and get on with it.
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I am so confused, I pay a fortune in tax, everyone pays GST so all this extra money from GST alone which someone reckons is about £2000 per household pa. Where has it all gone? the States coffers should be swimming in extra money.
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The end is nigh if they are actually asking us our views instead of going ahead and spending willy-nilly without a thought for tomorrow.
Money spent on useless surveys and whatever flavour of the month takes their fancy!
Bringing in experts for advice only to ignore them if they don,t get the answer they wan,t.
They must be getting worried now as nearly everything they have spent in the last few years has been a disaster.
Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves. simples!
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Right, let’s start with the politicians. A 10% pay cut for starters. Show the populace you are serious with your ambitions to reign in costs.
Then, a pay freeze across the public sector for one year.
Stop all capital expenditures, unless it is proven to either be in the interest of public safety or will help boost the long term (not short term) economy. That does mean the proposal for the “millenium” town park must be postponed until such time we can afford this type of spend.
No more expensive consultants whether they be from outside or within the island. All they seem to do is spout the obvious anyway.
An increase in GST for luxury goods to say 15%. This will include cars over a certain engine or actual size. This will hopefully be tax neutral as then we may be able to remove GST from eseentials. This is how it should have been from the start!!
Introduce a Capital Gains Tax of20% on any profits over £250k.
I could go on, but I am sure I have riled the lefties/public workers enough
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simple get people in place who know what they are doing,
not a bunch of old boy wannebe polititions who couldnt organise a drink up in peoples park,
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My frst cut would be to get rid of this guy called Philip Ozouf,anyone read the news last month ??Spent 18 k in one year out of our pockets to travel to the uk ??ONE YEAR !!!It even made the news ..Why dont you step down and get someone who can save OUR money for a change ,wouldnt that be a sight !!
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Ive got an idea ….
Get another frog built in the middle of town which is so high that no one actually notices is there
Get another steam clock that stops so often and then a UK technician has to be brought to Jersey to get it fixed with all expenses paid of course ;-}
Get another airport that is taking now 17 years to get it right (even though construction is still in place )
Ohh i could go on ….
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5 Bernard Simple. Stop spending money on things that are not needed. The road works on victoria avenue are a farce. There was nothing wrong with that road.
Couldn’t agree more mate, if there was anything wrong with the road it wasn’t obvious or so urgent that it had to be done now. Only beneift I can see is it’s given dozens of men the opportunity to stand around for the summer in fleurescent jackets.
9 Grateful Fool – scary, this makes absolute sense and would work, I think we can expect the opposite from Baggins and his crew.
If times are tough I’m happy to take another pay freeze and tighten the belt but I don’t want to see money pi**ed away whilst I’m doing so.
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Cat amoungst the pigeons – a major review of
why there is so much social housing – much of it has not been maintained – should some of it be sold off.
Rent rebate – money taken out of tax payers pockets and put into the pockets of wealthy people some who own 100 properties. This has caused inflation of property prices and inflation of rents.
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How about cutting down on the number of senior officers in the police. When I started in the police in 1960s, there was one Chief Officer and two Chief Inspectors. Today I believe they have the Chief Officer, Deputy Chief Officer, Superintendent plus three Chief Inspectors all on over £70,000 per annum. The Chief Officer is probably on well over £100,000, probably a lot more and his Deputy much the same.
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Get rid of the free states parking in Hue Court
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you could save millions at jersey airport over paid managers,directer,cleaners, firemen, airside operations etc about time you sold the airport to private sector instead of wasting tax payers money
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Riiiiight! Not that any of our politicians are going to listen anyway but…
1. Remove benefits in kind for our politicians – they can start paying for parking in town like the rest of us. Alongside that, they should give back the fat payrise they gave themselves last year when they were telling public sector workers they would get nothing and then take the pay freeze they’ve imposed also;
2. A cap on the “expenses” card for politicians and civil servants – no more free lunches or taxi rides that aren’t necessary (although I’m sure any expense is justifiable with BS);
3. Ensuring that essential services are adequately funded – cutting spending now will result in a desperate need for extra funding in the future which could be avoided if corners aren’t cut now:
- education including sorting out teachers pay and conditions;
- fire service including pay and conditions;
- police…;
- ambulance…;
- nurses…;
- hospital…;
- housing…;
4. I’m sure cuts could be made in departments such as tax – i.e. by employing people on a seasonal basis such as now when the tax returns are flooding in;
5. An end to hiring consultants to undertake reports and reviews – just do it or not – listen to the public to guide you.
6. Stop justifying wasteful spending with the “fiscal stimulus” line – the avenue did not need to be resurfaced, the lighting on the avenue did not need replacing and hundreds of bollards did not need to be placed around town!
7. On a similar note – the millennium town park is not essential either! Would have been great if had been done when it should have been 10 years ago but sorry Mr Crowcroft, if we do not have the money for essential services to not have to make cuts (like the hospital) then we certainly don’t have the money to build another park in town. If you live in town sorry for you too but a few hundred yards up the road you have Springfield and last time I looked there was a grassy area at the far end opposite the stadium and a kids play area – not very big but surely can do ’til the good times come again.
8. Don’t replace Syvret’s position – we’ve coped without him for 6 months therefore I’m sure he doesn’t need to be replaced.
9. Tourism – reduce airport taxes to reduce airfares. It’s more expensive to come here than go to spain – if I lived in the UK I know which I’d choose. More visitors = more spent here, more GST revenue, more employed in hospitality, more income tax revenue.
10. Whilst we’re on tourism – give heritage the monies they need to keep the museum sites open at least for the May-September period to give the tourists we do get something to do when they’re here!
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Legalise drugs
Privatise the airport
Privatise the Post Office
Make police self-funding by giving on the spot fines to swearers, spitter and piddlers
Introduce inheritance tax on second properties in Jersey – too many homes are left empty because they have been handed down for generations without refurbishment
Televise the States on pay per view and at the end of each sitting ritually humiliate the States member who does most violence to the English language (“I have indeed consulted myself on this issue” being one peach that springs to mind).
Outsource all law drafting.
Scrap the sort of jobs Harry McRandle picked up on yesterday.
Stop new entrants to any final salary pension schemes.
Seize union dues and send socialists back to Liverpool (only joking)
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Do what they did in Canada. Their government managed to cut the size of the state by 25% over the course of 5 years. Jersey has an extremely over inflated view of its own importance. We are just an island of 90,000 with a finance industry. We need to get some reality into things. Where is our equivalent of David Laws to send a shockwave through all the public sector departments and to show intransigence in cutting costs when the special interest start bleating? Instead we simply look to pass the buck to the individual tax payer.
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I think if Trinity declared independence that would help. I hate town and it uses all the money. Put borders around trinity and leave us country types alone. We don’t need all this civil service, street urination and income support stuff.
When will a decent States member stand up against the town lovers, most of whom aren’t proper Jersey anyway.
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16,Blue Knight
When you were in the Police Force, you picked up your wages for sod all, the nearest you ever came to the word crime was the occasional punch -up in a pub, and by the time you got there , it was all over, there was not even enough traffic on the roads to issue parking fines, not like they do now for a starting wage of of over £600 a week.
Police Force, you do not know what it is!
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Bean Bag # 22. How right you are. Jersey was relatively crime free in my day, mainly because we kept the peace by swamping the streets with cops.
I was on about £50 per month when I started in 1967 but I hear that nowadays a police constable after 12 years is on over £900 per week – nice work if you can get it. I can’t complain as I was comparatively well paid in my day.
You obvioulsy missed the point I was trying to make at # 15. The police and many other States departments are top heavy and there needs to be cuts amongst the brass hats and higher grade civilian support staff.
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The first thing that could be done is bring MOT to the Island get the car situation on a lower basis. Some families have up to four cars with only two people who are drivers.
They should now make it if you choose to smoke only in your on home or family or friends homes, make it a lot cleaner on roads & streets 1 Million a year saved when you account for 10 years till filters rot away ?
Make it law that people have to recycle products less rubbish to deal with ?
Another way for the States to get people on side would be to listen to our ideas & just maybe complete some put us to the vote not us voting them ?
Just a few things I think might make a difference maybe not to all but the majority !
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No24 What business is it of yours if people have lots of cars? They can only drive one at a time so who cares? In buying those cars (to sit in the drive) they have helped keep some car showroom in business, and they’ll pay insurance for ‘nothing’ also, they certainly aren’t doing any harm.
It does seem that rather than States cuts the island could do well just by the States using their brains a bit more instead of losing us money. There is no point making cuts if the States continue to throw money away (exchange rates, the incinerator, 3+ year suspensions etc).
I would agree on introducing fines for littering, problem is that littering can occasionally be accidental and you need workers who aren’t too power hungry and who can understand the difference (not likely to find them). Still with the cigarette butts on the street you could rake in a fortune in littering fines. I would also have cameras up at the junction of Gloucester Street and the Esplanade to fine people that go through red lights, another good moneymaker there. We could start holding people (including teenagers) financially responsible for the criminal damage they cause, it doesn’t matter that insurance pays up, hitting the criminals in the pocket could cut crime and cut the cost of policing, at the moment teenagers just get away with it.
No21 Trinity Hero, you assume that everyone in town is a town lover. I hate the place, as do many others I know, but we can’t all afford to live in Trinity you know.
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Jersey airport is over staffed.
You always see too many custom officers standing in the baggage claim areas with their arms folded doing nothing.
Benefits need looking at, too many freebies handed out.
Heard that cyril le marquand house uses £100,000 for chocolates a year for meetings.
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Leah Holmes # 25. Static speed cameras have the potential to catch many speeders on the Island’s roads would perhaps generate revenue as indeed would fixed penalties for people who who throw their litter on the street. Unfortunately this wouldn’t be enough to compensate for the heavy losses in the Islands’ finances. Unfortunately there are too many States Departments living a Rolls Royce life style on a bicycle budget and there is no alternative to cut backs. That’s what we all have to do when our household budgets are depleted – running the Island’s economy is just the same, but just on a larger scale. States Departments must live within their means.
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26
spot on,where else would you see so many customs officers lined up like soldiers and menacing looking.
In UK i never see any.
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This is just a way to bully people into accepting unacceptable States Policy.
Expect to see some things we would never agree to otherwise being put forward as an alternative.
By holding your job to ransom they get you to agree to anything.
Asking us to decide is just a divisive trick.
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No 27 Blue Knight, my point is that we should start small. There are little areas where money is being thrown away (or not collected) and they all add up. Even the number of unnecessary letters the States send out is insane. I don’t agree with speed cameras, I think too often they criminalise people who are driving at a perfectly good speed for the conditions and surroundings. On the other hand jumping the set of lights I mentioned is always dangerous (to both cars and pedestrians).
I still think cutting costs is pointless if the States continue to throw the money we do have away though.
And if 26 is right about chocolates for meetings then that’s also insane. There is simply no need for the taxpayer to be providing snacks for meetings, no-one gives us chocolates during our working day.
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Too many departments with too many computers and systems etc..
Start by allowing the Police, H&SS, hospital, Tax, Treasury etc to have ONE computer system. Put a web front end on it so that the public can maintain their own data. Online Voting etc etc..
Companies who do this save a fortune! Push the work to the owners. Stop duplication, paper and red tape… grrrr
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Leah Holmes # 30. I get your point on starting with the small things, sort of, “Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves.”
The thing that I found stupid as States employee many years ago, was I had a budget every year and was told to spend it all. I was instructed that if I didn’t spend all the money allocated to my department, the ‘bean counters’ would reduce my budget in the following financial year.
Surley they should have encouraged me to save and allowed the money to be carried over. Whatever happend to saving in the seven good years for the seven bad years?
By the way, speed is a major contributory factor in road traffic collisions. I agree however that action shouldn’t be taken against someone for driving just a few miles per hour in excess of the limit. I also agree that more robust action should be taken against people who jump traffic lights.
The problem in Jersey is they don’t have a comprehensive fixed penalty system like in many other parts of the world. This is because of the Honorary Police who are determined to keep their stranglehold of summary fines.
In New Zealand the cops can hand out fixed penalties for fairly large amounts of money. This is where the evidence is conclusive and probably recorded on video – so there is no doubt the offender was in the wrong. It saves the time and and money and means people avoid having to go to court. This in turn also saves money……don’t hold your breath Leah, this isn’t going to happen in our life time in Jersey and money will still be wasted.
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32 Blue Knight – The facility to carry over surpluses to the following year has existed for quite a number of years now.
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Jerry # 33. I am glad to hear that the hierarchy have finally woken up. If this is the case, how come there is anecdotal evidence that States Departments have overspent by so much?
I see that in the U.K. public bodies will have to publish details of any kit that costs over £500 – that idea should be adopted in Jersey too.
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If they gave departments a bonus instead of wage raise based on how much they can save you would then see a huge saving there has to be some incentive for these people to save money because other wise they will just carry on the states really to need to get going with a qualified central purchasing department
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Jerry @ 33 – which department do you work for? This certainly hasn’t been the case in the States department I’m in!
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Blue Knight 34 -
I don’t see any conflict/contradiction between the facility to carry over surpluses (i.e. effective management of underspends) and ‘anecdotal evidence that States Departments have overspent’ (rumours of overspends).
It is perfectly possible for some Departments to carry over a saving, while others may have overspent. Even happens in the private sector.
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36 Disheartened -
I can categorically state that it has been possible, for at least five years now and probably longer, for any Department to apply to the Treasury for permission to carry over a surplus into the following year. (It may be that your Department never applies to use the facility – if so, it is acting, not only against the community’s best interests, but against its own long-term interests.)
If you still don’t believe it, you can always contact a States Member, or the Treasurer, and ask them to confirm or deny.
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#32 Blue Knight, that’s true in the UK as well. In fact it even holds true if you’re a charity operating entirely on grants. Come the end of March you spend every penny you have on whatever junk you think you can justify! It’s madness isn’t it.
Oh, and I love your optimism at the end there
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One thing which might save considerable amounts of civil service resources, would be to rationalise the ‘performance measurement’ system, which (at least until recently – I have to admit things may have changed since my day) was universally derided within the Departments – and for good reason.
Nothing wrong with setting targets and measuring performance, per se – but the targets need to be rational, and the measurements achievable. This was never the case, for the targets were drafted after minimal thought or discussion, creating a monster which kept (and probably still keeps) large numbers of middle-ranking and senior civil servants busy to no good purpose.
Just as one example (and there are many): It was decided that Departments should be graded according to their ability to meet budget accurately – in principle, a reasonable objective. Some clever-clogs decreed that the criterion for ‘good’ performance should be, “Actual budget within 1% or £100K of projected budget, whichever is the lower”.
When it was pointed out that this phrasing set the very large Departments an almost impossible task (a £100m Department would have to be at least 99.9 % accurate with its projected budget, a year in advance) the final word was changed (again without discussion) to “greater”! The obvious result was that the problem was shifted to the other end of the scale – since a unit with a projected budget of £100K would now achieve a ‘good’ rating, so long as its actual expenditure was anywhere between zero and £200K…
Other imposed targets were simply expressed in such a vague way, that performance against them was completely unmeasurable – forcing Departments to go through a cynical and hugely time-consuming process of dragging in veguely-relevant statistics from anywhere in order to qualify as ‘good’.
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