Friday 17 April 2015
- £28.7 million of annually recurring financial savings made
- Almost three-quarters of savings made during this States term
- Up to £6 million of further savings could be secured from ongoing projects
- Total reduction in spend so far is over £55 million
The final annual report for the Financial Transformation Programme (FTP) confirms that the public sector's five-year efficiency programme has enabled year-on-year net reductions in Departmental budgets amounting to almost £29 million per year.
Projects completed in the final 14 months of the programme enabled further recurring annual savings of £8.6 million, bringing the final programme total to £28.7 million of year-on-year recurring reductions to general revenue budgets.
In addition to this the report confirms that a number of "live" projects, initiated as part of the Programme, are yet to be concluded. If these initiatives are completed as planned they have the potential to deliver additional year-on-year savings of between £3 million and £6 million. This would mean that the original FTP target of £31 million is exceeded.
Deputy Jonathan Le Tocq, the Chief Minister said:
"Controlling public sector expenditure has been one of the priorities for the Policy Council and this assembly. Securing almost £29 million of year-on-year savings is a significant achievement, not least given the FTP's relatively slow progress in its early years.
The FTP has made the States of Guernsey cost-conscious in ways that it never was and never had to be before. It has brought changes in decision-making and thinking. It has imposed a financial management framework that had previously not been considered as necessary, and brought a more rigorous approach to how taxpayers' money is spent.
The economic and fiscal environment is different today to what it was a year ago, let alone a decade ago. The States is now far more able to reflect those changing environments in the way that it delivers public services in the future, and it has a strong foundation from which to build public sector reform."
Deputy Gavin St Pier, the Treasury & Resources Minister said:
"The changes made through the delivery of the FTP means that we are now far better equipped to face the longer term challenge of ensuring the ongoing financial sustainability of public services while keeping costs under control. Without the FTP, the States would not have been able to move towards a balanced budget and multi-year budgeting.
It's important to recognise that the FTP is ground breaking for the States in that virtually every service area in every department has made a contribution to the overall achievements of this single programme. Almost £29 million of benefits have been signed off as a result of this combined effort, with around £21 million of that delivered during this political term.
For taxpayers this means that £29m a year less will be put into General Revenue budgets in future than would otherwise have been the case. The cumulative cash saved to date has now exceeded £55 million. For clarity, that is £55 million that, due to the success of the programme, we have not had to withdraw from the Contingency Reserve to fund our budget deficit.
There are live projects, started as part of the FTP, with potential to deliver significant additional benefits over the coming years. Delivering these benefits, however, will require the continued support of all States Members and continued strong leadership in the public service. In other words the good practice that has been embedded through the FTP needs to continue."
Paul Whitfield, Chief Executive of the States of Guernsey said:
"The long-term positive impact of the FTP on the way that the public sector works should not be under-estimated. As well as reductions in baseline expenditure, the FTP has secured a variety of non-financial benefits for the States including a significant increase in the internal programme and project management capability, with over 120 States employees receiving training and now having experience in this area.
The FTP has been a States-wide effort, and it has been important in starting to embed a culture of joined-up working across the public sector to create efficiency, the only way that cost can be reduced. This is the foundation for the Service Guernsey initiative and the next phase of public service reform, making sure that the services we deliver are efficient and effective, are of the right quality, and are value-for-money.
The FTP programme coming to a close is not the end of public sector reform - it is the end of one phase and the beginning of the next."
-ENDS-
Further information
A Q&A document is available to download below.
