In the UK, since about 2010, there has been an ‘Office of Budget Responsibility‘ who have a prime role in analysing the finances of Government independently. Guernsey had something similar up until the change of Machinery in 2016 in the form of the Public Accounts Committee. So, suggesting an external body that can analyse how the Public’s money is being spent would be a good Governance move.
But it could be more than about the money. Without a doubt, some amount of Trust has been lost by Islanders in ‘The States’. There are many reasons for this – people’s unrealistic expectations, constant bickering in the Assembly, the glacial pace of getting anything done (see the post on 30 Deputies) etc, etc. So, creating an independent Scrutiny function that also covers (for example), performance against the Government Work Plan which are political but practical initiatives that need to be monitored. Furthermore, if Government is claiming (for example) that a lack of resources is stymying progress – many Islanders might not believe it directly from Politicians – but if an independent body endorses that view after investigation, then some Trust might just start being built again in ‘The States’.
Also, it would require some resources – so that it’s investigative work could proceed, but also so that it could be the first port of call for Islanders who have concerns or complaints about provision of services or a Deputy’s actions or any number of things that many Islanders feel get lost in the noise of Government. And again, if this independent body investigates and finds that either there is no case to answer – or action needs to be taken, then the aggrieved person can have confidence in the outcome and not just think that Government has closed ranks or ignored them. By the same token however, vexatious or serial complainants would be identified and prevented from wasting hours of Officer time unnecessarily.
Such a body can provide a voice for Islanders that many might feel is not available to them today. Couple this with the proposed Parish Deputies and suddenly, Government is seen to be accessible to Islanders. Of course the necessary resource requires a budget. But if we reduce the amount of full time Deputies then it is highly likely this could well be self funding.
I do see such a body having a vital role in re-connecting Islanders with their Government and restoring confidence (whether or not the reasons for such opinions have any merit). The downside of a subscale location like Guernsey means that the People’s representatives share the same pubs, sports and their children go to the same schools and that can be very difficult to manage because in that respect Deputies are very accessible as individuals – albeit far less so formally. A good example of this is when something contentious like Mooring fees or taxation are topical. Such contentious decisions made in (say) Westminster will have the Politicians far removed from the impact of those decisions on their constituents. They may get pilloried in the media, but they don’t get shouted at in Waitrose.
Indirectly of course it can be exactly because we all share the same, small Island that, coupled with Social Media, many would-be Deputies never stand, precisely because they see some of the abuse that local Deputies sometimes have to deal with. I am not saying that this might not still occur (people are people after all), but it just might provide a service whereby more credit might be given to the outcome of any complaint or a statement about Government’s finances can be seen through this independent lens so that Government will make very sure of its ground, knowing it has this ‘watchdog’ to satisfy. It might also put a few myths to bed…..
Add comment