Currently the company is wholly owned by the Island’s government – although it has been incorporated as a private company since 2003 – with Treasury Minister Alan Maclean as the sole shareholder representing the public interest.
Committee chairman Deputy Andrew Lewis says the panel has concerns that the Treasury does not have sufficient resources to provide proper oversight of such a large asset, estimated to be worth in the region of £300 million.
The latest inquiry follows a report last year from the States Comptroller and Auditor General, Karen McConnell, which concluded that the resources available to perform the shareholder function should be reviewed and public accountability enhanced.
The report also recommended that the States should reconsider whether ownership of JT, either in whole or in part, was appropriate and stated that a decision by JT not to publish a full set of accounts highlighted ‘the inherent tension of seeking to operate a business in a competitive commercial environment and demonstrating accountability for public funds’.
Deputy Lewis said: ‘We own this quite large asset but the Treasury Minister does not have the staff to look after it. Most investments would have more oversight. That is a huge concern to us, and to the Treasury Minister.’
Asked whether the States was reconsidering its ownership of the telecoms company, Senator Maclean said a number of options were being considered as part of a review of all public investments. ‘We are considering whether there are opportunities for sales, part-sales or mergers, but there is nothing concrete at the moment. I am not ruling anything out.
‘JT has a turnover of over £150 million a year, with over 50% of the business overseas, which is not an insubstantial asset. Like many of our investments, it is complex and needs appropriate oversight. We do have a few people looking after our investment business, but rather than resource more in the Treasury Department, we are looking at alternatives, such as bringing in specialist consultants to look at specific areas.
‘We do need to do more about it, to look after the public interest,’ said the minister.
‘We also need to consider evidence of risk, and ask what do we want from the business – do we want it to grow, or are we more interested in the dividend. There are also community and social benefits, as well as economic reasons, for holding assets of that nature.’
Speaking at the annual Teleforum conference held at the Radisson Hotel, JT’s chief executive, Graeme Millar, said that challenges facing small islands included threats from global operations such as Skype and Google, which were not subject to regulation.
Mr Millar said that over the past five years the telecoms sector overall had been declining, with a rising number of mergers between companies such as 02 and Three. ‘That leaves us more exposed,’ he said.
STATES-owned JT has come bottom in a new survey of mobile phone services last year.
Customers in both Jersey and Guernsey rated JT less favourably than rivals Airtel-Vodafone and Sure for quality of service, billing and customer service.
The survey, carried out by the Channel Islands Competition and Regulatory Authorities, questioned 500 mobile phone users in both Jersey and Guernsey.
In Jersey, 39% of the JT customers who took part said they were likely to change provider, compared to 25% of Airtel customers and 11% of Sure customers.
The Jersey survey also found:
- 90% of Sure customers were satisfied or very satisfied with the quality of service, compared to 67% of Airtel customers and 55% of JT customers.
- 81% of Sure customers were satisfied or very satisfied with the billing system, compared to Airtel (77%) and JT (28%)
- 67% of Sure customers were satisfied or highly satisfied with customer service, compared to Airtel (66%) and JT (40%).
In Guernsey, Airtel gained highest approval from customers, followed by Sure and then JT.
The results follow a survey carried out by the regulator on fixed line services, for which JT currently has the monopoly in the Island.
