ANY more States savings will have to mean service cuts or extra charges, says the independent spending watchdog.
Comptroller and Auditor General Chris Swinson says that the States have cut back on ‘invisible inefficiency’ to the point at which any more reductions in the £500m per year States budget will mean services being stopped or more charges being passed on.
That message has been welcomed by Treasury Minister Terry Le Sueur, who said that there was no ‘fat’ left in the system.
But Mr Swinson says that public sector workers are paid on average 23% more than those in the private sector — with staff on the lowest grades earning much more than those in the private sector, but those on the highest learning less. If the pay were levelled out, the States would save £30m per year.
