SCRUTINY leaders will be demanding answers from the Infrastructure Minister in the wake of revelations about the cost to taxpayers of the AquaSplash pool in St Helier rising beyond £1 million this year.
Following the publication of the government’s annual accounts, it emerged that the facility in St Helier faced an operating deficit of £750,000, with a contractual obligation for losses incurred by operating company Serco to be met with taxpayers’ money.
After one politician expressed his dismay in a letter to the JEP, describing the situation as “completely bonkers”, the chair of the Public Accounts Committee has confirmed that Infrastructure Minister Andy Jehan will be grilled over the matter in the coming weeks.
Deputy Inna Gardiner said: “There are a lot of questions that need to be asked and I’ll be discussing it with Deputy Hilary Jeune, who chairs the Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Panel, to decide on the best approach.”
Figures published within the accounts showed that Serco was paid £5.6m between 2010 and 2021, an average of £467,000 per year. A grant of £750,000 was paid in 2023, rising to £1.1m last year and a projected £1.2m for 2025.
Deputy David Warr, a member of PAC, said Serco’s investment came from global conglomerates.
“Is this where we want hard-earned local taxpayers’ money ending up, in the hands of global finance investment companies? It’s completely bonkers,” he said.
Deputy Warr told the JEP that the situation with AquaSplash was part of a wider issue, with the government failing to invest in valuable assets.
The St Helier South representative contrasted the funding provided for the continued operation of AquaSplash with the treatment of the Havre des Pas Lido, a facility which he has campaigned for strongly in recent years. He estimated that annual maintenance bill for the Lido was around £170,000, a fraction of the cost of AquaSplash.
Issues such as the two pools and the uncertainty over Fort Regent, set to be closed later this year ahead of a major refurbishment, contributed to a lack of activities for young people, particularly teenagers, who were failing to meet recommended exercise targets and creating the prospect of mounting healthcare costs in the future, he added.
In a statement issued following the publication of the States account, Mr Jehan said a review of the increased costs of the AquaSplash pool was ongoing, with the aim that a “clear action plan” would be developed in order to reduce the operating deficit.
