Latest news with #PolicyandResources
BBC News
6 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Guernsey could benefit from UK-EU Brexit reset on youth mobility
Guernsey could benefit from a youth mobility scheme under a new UK government deal with the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said as part of a "reset" with the EU post-Brexit there could be a "reciprocal" arrangement in which young people would be able to move abroad for up to two her first speech to the States, President of Policy and Resources Lindsay de Sausmarez said Guernsey officials had been speaking with UK counterparts. As part of the new UK-EU relationship de Sausmarez said: "This could give young people more opportunities to experience living and working in Europe for a time." Prior to Brexit, young people in the Bailiwick of Guernsey had the right to travel and study freely, without a visa, in the rest of Europe and vice versa under an arrangement called Protocol 3. A new deal could see a return to a similar state of affairs. 'More goods from France' De Sausmarez told deputies any new arrangement would not mean any change to fishing rights, as those are settled. However she said there could be changes to border controls for goods."It could provide a good opportunity to diversify our imports and bring in more goods from France," she said."In doing so it could increase our food security, reduce our carbon footprint, and improve affordability as well."She went on to explain where she thought the other advantages of the new UK-EU relationship may fall. "We could see benefits. Our young people could access the proposed youth mobility scheme, the Erasmus scheme could also give our young people opportunities in training and learning," she added.
ITV News
05-07-2025
- Politics
- ITV News
Gavin St Pier back on Guernsey's top political committee as vice-president
Gavin St Pier has returned to Guernsey's top political committee after being elected vice-president of Policy and Resources. Deputy St Pier formerly served as P&R president between 2016 and 2020 and will now sit alongside the new committee president Lindsay de Sausmarez. In a statement, Deputy St Pier said: "I'm very grateful to have gained the early support of my colleagues. "In this role, I look forward to serving the committee and supporting the president. "The mandate of the Policy & Resources Committee is vast, and I know from experience how challenging it is given its role in providing leadership and coordination to the work of government. "Many of the challenges faced by our island are, at this point, well-documented and it's essential that this Assembly makes significant progress in addressing them this political term." Speaking about Deputy St Pier's appointment, Deputy de Sausmarez said: "I'm delighted that Gavin has been elected Vice-President. "We have a very experienced committee, with each member bringing many strengths to the table, but Gavin's experience as a previous P&R president will be invaluable. "The whole committee is looking forward to getting on with our work and I was pleased we wasted no time by meeting on Thursday, with our next meeting scheduled for Tuesday." Guernsey's deputies decided on who will serve as presidents of the 13 political committees earlier this week. Deputy St Pier received the seventh highest number of votes in Guernsey's recent election. Want the inside track on the key issues that will shape Guernsey's Election this June? Listen to Guernsey Votes, an ITV Channel podcast packed with expert guests, local insight and analysis you can trust...
BBC News
25-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Deputies to draw lots for States of Guernsey seats
Guernsey's new deputies will draw lots in a secret ballot to decide where they sit in the assembly. A number of the island's incoming politicians and current deputies blamed the way members were seated during from 2020-2025 for the divisiveness of the last Sir Richard McMahon decided the parties in the assembly should sit together facing each other, like in the UK's House of Commons. This time around members will draw lots, starting with whoever came highest in the polls. The president of Policy and Resources, who is elected on 1 July in a secret ballot, will sit on the top bench. The presidents of the other principal committees, such as Environment and Infrastructure, Home Affairs, and Health and Social Care will also join the P&R president next to the presiding officer and often the Lieutenant-Governor on the top bench. Deputies will be sworn in at the Royal Court on 1 July. This week they have received briefings about what each committee in the States does and how States meetings worked, including how the rules of procedure were operated.
BBC News
13-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Guernsey: States report £44m annual deficit in core services
The States of Guernsey's financial position remains "parlous", with a £44m shortfall in core services in 2024, according to Policy and Resources (P&R) President Lyndon comprised of a £9m deficit in General Revenue, £13m in Social Security Funds and £22m in non-infrastructure project spends, such as IT transformation, elements of the revenue service programme and electronic patient Trott gave the update ahead of the General Election, with the total underlying structural annual deficit for 2024 said to be around £56m."In October when we published our 2025 Budget proposals I described the state of public finances as parlous and that remains the case," he said. He said the States "cannot continue to rely on reserves built up in the past to fund the services of today and tomorrow".Deputy Trott said the new Assembly needed to "immediately focus its attention on the issue of improving public finances" adding "I cannot stress enough how important that is to the long-term prosperity of the island".Deputy Heidi Soulsby, Vice President of the Policy and Resources Committee, said the message was that "we are not raising enough through taxes to fund the services our community relies on"."The decision for the next States will not be whether something needs to be done, but what should be done to balance the books," she said the value of investments was important, as was the financial performance of commercial entities under the wider States of Guernsey group, "but they don't impact the amount of money we have available to deliver public services and invest in much-needed infrastructure". "The bottom line is we had a significant deficit in General Revenue last year," she added. Deputy Soulsby said the work the States did earlier in the year "shows a looming need to invest in essential infrastructure projects with funds to pay for only a fraction of that". 'Investment growth higher' News of the deficit came as the States of Guernsey investments were valued £130m higher at the end of 2024 than the previous year. A spokesperson said this did not mean that the public purse received £130m in 2024, but rather their value had increased by 31 December 2024. The 2024 States of Guernsey Accounts were set to be published on 23 March, Deputy Trott said the provisional General Revenue results for 2024 gave a revenue deficit of £9m, which was a shortfall of £21m against the budget.A States spokesperson said the 2024 Accounts were the first to be fully compliant with International Public Sector Accounting Standards and to be given a "true and fair" view by the auditors.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Guernsey civil servants reject 5% pay rise offer
Members of a trade union representing civil servants in Guernsey have rejected a 5% pay rise offer. The Association of Guernsey Civil Servants said its members voted against the "below inflation pay offer", but added the decision was about more than money. It said civil servants felt "undervalued and underappreciated" for their efforts. Deputy John Gollop, pay negotiations lead for Policy and Resources, said the committee was "naturally disappointed" and the 5% pay rise was "a fair offer, especially in the current financial climate". In 2023 four trade unions accepted a three-year pay deal giving States staff pay rises of 1% below the Retail Prices Index - the average change in prices of common goods and services. The deal was backdated to 2022, so needed be renegotiated after 2024. The Guernsey union, a branch of UK trade union Prospect, said pay had not kept up with inflation over the last 15 years and civil servants were struggling with high housing costs and the cost of living. Staff were being given "more complex and ever-increasing workloads, without the investment in resources, skills and technology to support staff", the union said. The union said rejecting the offer was "the only tangible means" for members to show how they felt. "The States is asking its workers to do more with less," it said. "While we know and appreciate that Policy and Resources have been openly supportive of the civil service, it is also falls to them to evidence that support by re-entering negotiations to find an acceptable way forward." Follow BBC Guernsey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to Unions criticise proposals on States pay and jobs Guernsey rate of inflation slows to 4.6% Deputy proposes slowdown on States recruitment Guernsey States staff to get 5.8% pay rise in 2024 Association of Guernsey Civil Servants States of Guernsey
