‘No plans to axe arm’s-length organisations’

THERE are no plans to cut funding to – or disband – any of Jersey’s 54 publicly funded arm’s-length organisations, according to the Chief Minister.

Deputy Lyndon Farnham said that instead the government was reviewing ways to improve efficiency by sharing resources and increased collaboration.

Deputy Farnham, who was responding to a written question from Deputy Helen Miles, said there were no immediate plans to reduce or withdraw funding from ALOs, which includes Digital Jersey, Visit Jersey, Jersey Sport and Jersey Heritage and a host of other organisations.

The government’s interim chief executive, Dr Andrew McLaughlin, told a room full of business leaders in January that the Island had too many arm’s-length organisations and was over-regulated.

Addressing this point in his written response to Deputy Miles, Deputy Farnham said: “In his presentation, the chief executive used the term ‘ALOs and organisations linked to government’ in a general sense to highlight the complexity and costs of governing.”

He added: “All financial allocations are subject to decisions taken in the approved 2025 Budget, which makes clear that government will be considering issues such as sharing of resources and cross-organisational working.

“In the current challenging financial context, it is appropriate that these issues are considered in conjunction with these organisations.”