When Jersey’s Budget was announced in mid-September, it was accompanied by words such as “stability”, “foresight” and “considered” to underline the point that while the island faces obvious challenges, we have both the resources and the plan to weather the storm.
The Chief Minister himself wrote in the foreword: “Public health, public safety and opportunities for young Islanders are high priorities in this budget.”
As has been mentioned before in these columns, no one is pretending that our current Ministers are in an easy position, or that the difficulties they face are all of their own making; however, what is in their control is how they decide to handle them.
And ever since the Budget was announced, negative comment about those decisions has steadily grown, to the point this week when we have heard from the Police Authority, and the Fire and Rescue Service Association, who have both been deeply critical of the proposed funding they are due to receive, and the effect it may have on public safety – supposedly an area of focus for this Budget.
That follows a far-from-ringing endorsement by the Fiscal Policy Panel, who used the phrase “not prudent” when describing the use of one of the Budget’s funding sources; and then went on to voice various criticisms of spending, saving and borrowing.
Some may say when a Budget is effectively out for consultation, and money is tight, then of course representative groups are going to lobby for more – that is a necessary part of the process, and States Members will decide if they agree when the proposals formally come before the Assembly in December, if relevant amendments are proposed.
And yet, the nature of the Budget debate is already different this year. Normally attention is focussed on duty proposals, and their likely effect on the hospitality sector.
This year the debate, so far, has all revolved around spending: where is the money coming from (such as the ongoing controversy over the use of government funds, principally Social Security); how much is being spent on staff (such as the current focus on the growing size of the public sector); and despite a whopping £1.3bn now being spent annually on “delivering services” to Islanders, is that money going to the right places (such as this week’s coverage of both Fire and Police representatives warning of potential issues with public safety.)
For a Budget which was presented as being founded on “stability” the reaction so far could not be described as stable.
