In a damning new report published on Thursday, Karen McConnell said that arm’s-length organisations such as Digital Jersey, Jersey Heritage and Visit Jersey, which operate separately to the government but fall under their control and influence, are not being overseen ‘properly’.
The document, which was compiled by the Jersey Audit Office and examines current policies, found that there are also no clear guidelines in place to decide the number of board members assigned to arm’s-length organisations or how much they are paid.
It is also critical of how no formal arrangements are in place for the governance and oversight of agencies and there is no framework to oversee their establishment.
It adds that there are no ‘clear’ policies in place to ensure that organisations are regularly reviewed or that value for money is being achieved through the provision of grants.
The Jersey Audit Office states that in 2016, a total of 38 organisations received grants totalling at least £75,000, costing £38 million overall.
Among the agencies are Visit Jersey, which received £5.1 million, Jersey Heritage, which was given £2.73 million, and Digital Jersey, which received £1.22 million.
In a statement, Ms McConnell, said that without the proper arrangements being in place, it was easy for ALOs to become ‘out of sight and out of mind’ for accounting officers in the States.
She said: ‘The funding of an arm’s-length organisation does not relieve government or the individual accounting officer from a responsibility for ensuring that good governance is being demonstrated, effective internal control is in place and value for money is being secured.
‘Current arrangements in place for oversight of these organisations are not consistently fit for purpose. ‘
