We question Chief Minister and former accountant Ian Gorst about the planned public sector spending cuts and the challenges of his current job
THERE are times, admits Chief Minister Ian Gorst, when he misses the tidy totals of his old job in accountancy.
This week, in particular, has seen two days of States debates, followed by an overnight visit to London to mingle and network with European commissioners.
Then there’s the publication of the long-awaited Medium-Term Financial Plan, which sets the blueprint for States spending and saving over the next four years and has attracted not a little verbal tomato-throwing from the electorate – especially the proposal to scrap the Christmas bonus for pensioners.
‘I think politics is becoming a much more stressful, active role than it used to be,’ said the 46-year-old, now in his tenth year as an Island politician.
‘Even in Jersey we face the same issues as elsewhere in the world.
‘Until you’re in this job, you can never fully understand what it involves, although you may think you have an idea.
‘But often the most important decisions, about our international relationships, are not the ones that most people see – unless we get it wrong.
‘Yes, I do miss accountancy – not every day will be the same, but it will be more similar than in this job.
‘You get to the end of things, you prepare your accounts, you have a financial year end, a great sense of satisfaction of completing something, and to some extent you’re doing the same thing the following year.
‘In this job, do we ever complete things? Yes we do, but the reality is that most things continue and continue.
‘You might get something approved in the States and straight away there is something else.’
Not least the latest four-year plan which, with £90 million of proposed public sector jobs and services cuts, freezes on benefits and the erosion of pensioners’ perks, doesn’t seem to add up to the pledges he made before his re-election at the end of last year about job creation and a fair community.
Yet, Mr Gorst suggests, there is very little in this plan that was not spoken about before (except the new user-pays charge on sewage).
‘I’ve been talking about health and the ageing population for years, and we’ve been working on government reform for the last three years.
‘The private sector will say, we thought you would have done this earlier, and that’s a good point.
‘Barely a day goes by that somebody doesn’t say to us that the States is wasting money, or “you don’t need all those people doing this or that”.
‘We can start to get our house in order and limit the cost of government by trying to manage that growth. I think that’s what the public want.’
Some decisions, like scrapping the Christmas bonus, have been very difficult.
‘We can’t avoid the ageing population – I am part of the ageing population. Everyone assumes that is the current population of pensioners, but in fact it’s about those of us who will be coming through. The number of over-65s and over-80s will grow massively, so benefits and tax allowances based on age, rather than financial ability, will have to be addressed.’
Another difficult call has been cutting some of the Income Support benefits.
Lone parents, for example, will lose £40 a week, and jobseekers under 25 will no longer be able to claim £92 a week if they live at home with parents. But the States cannot allow the bills to keep piling up indefinitely, says the former Social Security Minister.
‘Do we, as a government and a community, want people to become dependent on benefits? No, we don’t.
‘And surely, from a budget that has grown so much in the last four years, there is room to make changes and savings?
‘I am a great believer in Income Support. People should feel that they can claim benefits they are entitled to, but a lot of people say to me they think that the support system is too generous and it’s leading to lifestyles they don’t feel it is fair for taxpayers to be supporting.’
A similar sentiment comes through for cuts in the Health Department – including reducing spending on food services for inpatients, and reducing patient travel subsidies.
‘If, as the Health Minister is currently saying, the department is “feeding the bins”, we are paying out to throw food away at the end of the day.
‘I think every taxpayer would want every arm of government to drive out waste and inefficiency and do things better.
‘Health is a big department and lots of people talk to me about where it is not working as well as it should – and they know that.
‘We either bury our heads in the sand, or face these things up front.’
Neither has Mr Gorst any qualms about spending £21 million on new IT systems. ‘We’ve got lots of separate systems – why are there so many?
And ultimately, all governments will be interacting with people in the way that we use internet banking now.’
As for the public sector job cuts – more than 340 people have volunteered for redundancy or severance so far, with compulsory redundancies to follow – some public sector workers will be able to retrain in financial services, he suggests.
In addition, £14 million a year has been set aside for job growth and a further £20 million for economic growth and productivity.
‘Some will be able to retrain, others will find it difficult, so we’ve got to really think about whether it is right to let that person take voluntary redundancy.
‘The government cannot be a job creation employer, but it has to deal fairly and compassionately. And ultimately we’re still going to be employing around 6,500 people.’
This is by no means the end of the story of the four-year plan – there are more papers on property tax and fiscal matters still to come before the October debate, and, of course, the 2016 budget towards the end of the year.
After all the deliberations and decisions, are the Council of Ministers still on speaking terms?
‘There is no doubt that the discussions have been a challenge. There are strong characters around the table who are not afraid to make their opinion heard.
‘My job is to balance out those voices and get to a decision we can all accept.’
Outside politics, what is important to him? ‘Work, and family, probably in that order, sadly.’
Married to Dionne (née A’Court), they have two daughters, Sophia (6) and Mim (3).
‘People do ask what I do out of work, and I say every other moment is family – it has to be. We can be successful in our jobs, but the most important for me is our family unit.’
As a former member of the Conservative Party, have his political leanings changed over the past ten years? ‘Have I moved more to the centre?
‘Yes, I think I have – in the modern world, that’s where politics is.
‘Sometimes you get emails and correspondence from people and you can’t help but be moved, and you ask yourself, how on earth have we let that situation arise?
‘We have a responsibility to try to change those things.
‘There is no doubt that we sit at the top of a large, complex organisation at Cyril Le Marquand House, but people are not afraid to tell me what they think, their experience – from all walks of life.
‘That’s why, for me, making the changes to re-prioritise the government and put money into health and education is a no-brainer.’
