AFTER three years of ministerial government, States departments are still not tackling corporate savings and are making short-term cuts that have negative long-term consequences for the Island, according to the States independent spending watchdog.
Comptroller and Auditor General Chris Swinson (pictured) told the Public Accounts Committee yesterday that the approach to cuts in the States £574m budget was still about each of the ten departments working separately, rather than an ‘across the board’ attitude towards spending.
He said: ‘The pressure over the last 20 years has always been on chief officers making savings. In most places, there has always been an assumption that major policies would not be changed.
‘What has not been done consistently, other than an attempt in 2004, is a look at structural savings within the States across departments. That’s extremely difficult because departments are strong, and they don’t wish to look at this. The structural change implemented under ministerial government has not got to the point of forcing corporate views through most departments.’
