States chief executive Charlie Parker told a Scrutiny panel that plans for a central government building should be announced ‘imminently’ – paving the way for several States buildings – including Cyril Le Marquand – to be turned into staff accommodation or sold off.
He said that while no formal decision had been made on where the States will ultimately move to, plans were in place to temporarily move some services to La Motte Street and bring departments closer together.
Last month, the HR team for the States – known as the People Hub – moved from Cyril Le Marquand House to the Social Security building on La Motte Street to create space for a dedicated area for ministers.
Speaking at a Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel about his ‘one government’ plan, whereby all States departments report to him as chief executive, Mr Parker said that bringing government under one roof would remove the ‘silo mentality’ and deliver cost savings for the taxpayer.
The hearing was initially meant to be held in private but was made open to the public at the request of the Scrutiny panel.
Mr Parker said: ‘We are reducing the number of properties we have and freeing them up for development.
‘The long-term plan about where the States might be in a single building has not been determined and that will have to be driven by the Council of Ministers.’
He admitted that Cyril Le Marquand house is ‘not configured very will for adaptation’.
The previous Council of Ministers had discussed moving into a new central building in La Motte Street but Mr Parker said ‘that debate hasn’t been had with the current Council’. He added, however, that the newly formed ministerial team had given its support to the ‘one government’ project.
Mr Parker said the ‘one government’ plan would mean ‘more people working together’ and ‘better communication channels across different departments’.
He also told the panel that the project would save tens of millions of pounds for the States once it was in place.
When asked how much the programme could save, Mr Parker said there had already been about £1 million in savings but could not put a specific figure on how much could be saved at this stage.
‘We expect to be clearer in the autumn,’ he said. ‘I am sure in the not-too-distant future we will be able to come back with some more specific figures.
‘What I can say is it’s not in the millions, it will be in the tens of millions.’
He added that had the project been started five years earlier, the States would be in a much stronger financial position.
The panel was chaired by Senator Kristina Moore, with Deputies Steve Ahier and Jess Perchard and Constable Richard Vibert also sitting.
