Gov Work Plan Has 10 Main Action Points

GOVERNMENT WORK PLAN 2021-2025

“Investing in Islanders, our Island and our Future”

Main Priorities

• Housing: Scope and deliver urgent measures necessary to address housing pressures;

The States are asked to decide:-

Whether, after consideration of the ‘Government Work Plan – stage 2’ Policy Letter dated 17th June, 2021, they are of the opinion:-

1. To agree that –
   1. the Government Work Plan is the approach to recovery that the Assembly

      has adopted for this political term to provide a framework for determining, developing and resourcing the most critical actions to be completed by government; and

   2. all Committees of the States should advise and consult with the Policy & Resources Committee on emerging issues critical to the Island’s economic competitiveness and success, and the health and wellbeing of Islanders, and that are likely to require resource and funding within the Government Work Plan this political term;
2. To approve the top ten recovery actions for the first six months as set out in section 1.8 and the wider actions to be progressed in 2021 and 2022 as set out in the four priorities of the Government Work Plan framework in Annex 1;
3. To agree that all Committees of the States will work with the Policy & Resources Committee to prioritise and resource the progression and completion of the actions in the Government Work Plan;
4. To agree, in principle, the actions to be progressed and resourced in 2023 and 2024 as set out in the four priorities of the Government Work Plan framework in Annex 1, and direct the relevant Committees of the States to work with the Policy & Resources Committee to further explore the resource requirements, and the impact

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against the Assembly’s agreed outcomes1, to inform the consideration of the Government Work Plan by the Assembly in June 2022;

5. To agree that the actions identified in Annex 2 are held in abeyance and kept under review as part of the monitoring required to maintain the focus and relevance of actions prioritised annually by the Assembly in the Government Work Plan, as set out under Rule 23 of the Rules of Procedure of the States and their Committees;
6. To agree the governance arrangements for the workstreams within the four priorities of the Government Work Plan, as set out in Annex 3.
7. To agree the monitoring framework and recovery action reporting approach set out in Annex 4, and to note that the Policy & Resources Committee will continue to develop this framework for annual reporting purposes in accordance with Rule 23;
8. To agree that the Funding & Investment Plan sets the framework within which funding will be secured and financial resources allocated during this political term and to direct the Policy & Resources Committee to prepare annual Budget Reports within this framework.
9. To direct all Committees of the States to prepare annual budget submissions and other funding requests to deliver actions prioritised within the Government Work Plan and to agree that funding should not be made available for non-prioritised service developments.
10. To agree that the Committees of the States are collectively responsible and accountable for delivery of the savings set out within the Funding & Investment Plan which are integral to funding: baseline pressures; the revenue impact of capital expenditure; and the ongoing costs of the government priorities as defined through the Government Work Plan.
11. To authorise the Policy & Resources Committee to approve transfers of funding from the Budget Reserve and General Revenue Reserve to Committee budgets and make specific allowance in recommended Cash Limits for 2022-2025 in order to resource:

i. Managing the effects of Brexit and meeting international standards (ongoing expenditure) over the period 2021 – 2025 for the specific initiatives detailed in Appendix 11.5;

1 Billet d’État VI of 2021, Resolution 2

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2. Recovery actions (ongoing expenditure) over the period 2021 – 2025 for the specific initiatives detailed in Appendix 11.4;
3. Revenue impact of capital expenditure (ongoing) over the period 2021 – 2025 for the specific schemes detailed in Appendix 11.7;
4. Recovery actions (one-off expenditure) over the period 2021 – 2025 for the specific initiatives detailed in Appendix 11.4; and
5. Reshaping government initiatives (transformation) (one-off expenditure) over the period 2021 – 2025 for the specific initiatives detailed in Appendix 11.6.

12. To direct the Policy & Resources Committee to include proposals in the annual Budget Report for each of the years 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 to generate an additional real-terms increase in revenues for each of these years of £1million per annum.
13. To approve the schemes detailed in Figure 20 as the capital portfolio for the period 2021-2025, acknowledging that the portfolio value is £200million in excess of the funding available and, consequently, funding the portfolio will require the States to enter into new borrowing facilities of a maximum of £200million.
14. To agree the assurance and approval pathways for capital projects set out in paragraphs 6.2 to 6.10 in the Funding & Investment Plan at Annex 5, including delegating authority to the Policy & Resources Committee to approve the opening of capital votes for all schemes in the capital portfolio or to enter into alternative delivery arrangements, subject to the overall capital portfolio being delivered within a total of £568million.
15. To agree that the balance of the Bond Reserve as at 30 June 2021 shall be transferred to the General Revenue Reserve.
16. 12. Notwithstanding the Resolutions of the States of 1 May 2020, To authorise the Policy & Resources Committee:

    13. 4.

        4.1

        Government Work Plan approach

        The Policy & Resources Committee has worked collaboratively with States Members to develop proposals that make the best use of available resources, as set out in Figure 4.1 below. Stage 2 has sought to further identify and determine actions and their resource requirements for this term under all four priorities by gathering available information on each priority and the actions listed within from a variety of sources including:

        • A review of extant Resolutions and prioritised legislation;
        • Exploring further government strategies and larger areas of policy work;
        • The results of the capital prioritisation process;
        • Prioritisation of the public service transformation projects;
        • Officer level test and challenge discussions; and
        • Sub-Committee and other political engagement such as through discussions with

          Committees, the regular meeting of Presidents and specific update events held in May and June 2021 for all States’ Members.

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    1. a  to continue with a maximum of £200million of the existing £225million short-term borrowing facility, and to increase or decrease its term; and
    2. b  to enter into new external borrowing facilities

    up to a total maximum of £200million for a period of up to 40 years, on such terms and conditions as the said Committee shall deem appropriate.

    17. To agree that the Policy & Resources Committee may by Resolution authorise the President of that Committee, or a delegate nominated by the President for the specific purpose, to sign any document necessary for the purposes of entering into or otherwise in connection with the borrowing facilities referred to in Proposition 16.
    18. Notwithstanding the Resolutions of the States of the 8 October, 2014 on Article I (Propositions 27 and 28) of Billet d’État no. XXII of 2014 and the 16 January, 2020 on Article V (Proposition 1) of Billet d’État no. I of 2020, to agree that:
        1. the proceeds of the 2014 States of Guernsey Bond issue; and
        2. the capital raised by external borrowing facilities taken up pursuant to

           proposition 16b

        can only be used for:

        1. on-lending to States owned entities including subsidiaries thereof, trading accounts and funds, the Guernsey Housing Association, the Alderney Housing Association, the Ladies College and / or to sporting organisations or playing field authorities to support the provision of sporting facilities on such terms and conditions as the Policy & Resources Committee shall deem appropriate; and
        2. financing capital expenditure which is part of the States capital portfolio, including on-lending to schemes progressed under alternative delivery arrangements, with the interest charged on that amount and any associated expenditure for arranging the facilities and their ongoing administration to be funded as “Financing Costs” from the General Revenue Account.
    19. To rescind or rescind and replace extant Resolutions as set out in Annex 6;

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    20. To agree to adopt an approach consistent with the management of the work of government when prioritising legislative drafting and therefore approve the proposed Schedule of prioritised drafting of legislation as set out at Annex 7, noting that where possible during this term of government every effort will be made to reduce the requirement for future legislation by ensuring that legislation is only recommended where there is no practicable alternative solution; and
    21. To agree the revisions to Rule 4 of the Rules of Procedure of the States of Deliberation and their Committees, as set out in Annex 8 and direct the States’ Assembly & Constitution Committee to amend the Rules accordingly.

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    THE STATES OF DELIBERATION of the
    ISLAND OF GUERNSEY

    POLICY & RESOURCES COMMITTEE

    GOVERNMENT WORK PLAN 2021-2025 Investing in Islanders, our Island and our Future

    

    The Presiding Officer States of Guernsey Royal Court House St Peter Port

    17th June, 2021
    Dear Sir
    1 Executive summary

    This is the Assembly’s Plan to ‘work in partnership to recover our economic

    prosperity, build on our inclusive community values and capitalise on our many

    strengths to make Guernsey a safe haven based on sustaining health, wealth and

    2 community .’

    We will support investment in housing, education, health and infrastructure; we will enable economic growth, diversification and innovation; we will enable regeneration while protecting our natural and marine environment; and we will accelerate the transformation of the public service and reduce government costs.

    During previous terms the Assembly has under-invested in critical national and economic infrastructure, has deferred significant decisions time after time, and it has encouraged the size and cost of government to grow through failing to prioritise and take difficult decisions. Conversely, the challenges of Brexit and the global pandemic have shown that government in Guernsey can work effectively and efficiently when it has clear priorities, is prepared to meet its challenges, and recognises it has opportunities it must take.

    2 Recovery Strategy – Revive and Thrive

    

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    The experience of the past two years shows that we can and must change – we must prioritise, we must invest in the long-term future of the community and economy, and we must make government fit for the future. The States of Guernsey (“the States”) need to be bolder and focus on completing a smaller number of critical actions or enabling activities phased through the political term to maximise return in the short, medium and longer term, as opposed to attempting to deliver too much at once and achieving less.

    This means that the States need a single, consolidated and prioritised plan to deliver in this political term the actions necessary to maintain our community’s resilience and our Island’s sustainability and to set the foundations for next term and beyond. They need to act decisively in the short-term and plan for the future. They must also rethink the role of government – the States must be committed to delivering critical public services, protecting our living environment and keeping us competitive in the global economy. But they do not need to create layers of bureaucracy and regulation that stifle innovation and cost taxpayers yet more of their hard-earned money to enable the States to administrate. They need to readdress what they must do, and how they do it.

    To achieve this, the States must:

    • Continue to manage the public health risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in an effective way – in keeping our community safe we are also protecting our economic wellbeing;
    • Understand that our Bailiwick’s future rests in its people through addressing education, skills and literacy; employment and working conditions; income and social status; and the physical environment;
    • Reduce unnecessary burdens on business while meeting international standards – we need less regulation, and where required it must be proportionate and risk- based;
    • Maintain a competitive environment through strengthening digital connectivity and resilient transport; understanding our approach to risk as an economy; and keeping business costs as low as possible;
    • Invest taxpayers’ money in those initiatives that will improve their lives meaningfully now and in the future, ensuring services are available where they are needed, and delivered in the most effective way;

    

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    • Accelerate the pace of public service reform and transformation and continue improving the purpose and efficiency of government services;
    • Be prepared to step back and work in partnership or let others in our community take the lead and apply their expertise and energy to projects which for too long government has tried to control – such as regeneration, energy, social housing, skills development and lifelong learning, and infrastructure management. This approach will mean commissioning service delivery and potentially infrastructure management to external partners or public-private partnerships, reducing cost, sharing risk, sharing knowledge and increasing speed and efficiency; and
    • Maintain momentum – during the pandemic and through the exercise of Emergency Powers, the States have been able to make essential decisions rapidly and have communicated with credibility to the public, businesses, and other organisations to the envy of other jurisdictions. This has enabled government to build and maintain public trust and respond quickly to emerging issues. It is critical that the States maintain this momentum.

      The States will achieve this by completing work already in train; focusing energy on new work that delivers against the agreed outcomes; and stopping other work that either is less relevant today or significantly impacts revenue costs and needs to be re-assessed. This approach has been applied consistently across policy development, capital investment, prioritising legislative drafting and discharging States Resolutions and underpins the proposals set out in the Government Work Plan (“the Plan”). The States will need to work in partnership with external bodies and agencies as it will not have the capacity or expertise to do this alone.

      The States recognise that our economy is linked closely to that of Alderney – with whom Guernsey is effectively in fiscal union – and of Sark. The Islands’ Assemblies are mindful of the mutual benefit in Guernsey, Alderney and Sark having strong economies, and where appropriate and practical will seek to work together in order to strengthen those economies.

      The Policy & Resources Committee has identified ten critical recovery actions and decisions for government for the first six months noting that significant decisions will be made by the Assembly on the date of this publication with regards to future harbour development and shortly after on secondary and post-16 education. These critical actions address the immediate issues while work also commences on the longer-term policy objectives already established on climate change and sustainability:

    

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    • Housing: Scope and deliver urgent measures necessary to address housing pressures;
    • Education: Commence the reorganisation of secondary and post 16 education;
    • Skills: Set out and resource proposals to grow knowledge and skills in our

      community;

    • Digital infrastructure: Determine and begin implementation of the approach to

      enhanced digital infrastructure;

    • Children: Support vulnerable children through revision to the Children Law and

      action on the Outcomes Report;

    • Population: Assess the fitness for purpose of our population and immigration

      framework while recognising the need to balance economic needs with

      maintaining quality of life;

    • Finance and tourism: Invest additional funding into promoting Guernsey’s

      finance sector and establish a tourism plan and campaign to expand Guernsey’s

      tourism offer;

    • Regeneration: Establish a development agency and enable work to begin on the

      development of the seafront masterplan;

    • Transport: Set out a clear and co-ordinated transport connectivity and

      infrastructure policy and further develop the general and commercial aviation

      sector; and

    • Health recovery: Support the physical and mental recovery of Islanders through

      scoping and delivering the SOHWELL3 phase 3 programme and launching the pilot wellbeing centre jointly with third sector partners.

      The Funding & Investment Plan in Annex 5 has overlaid the costs associated with all

    the priorities set out in the framework in Annex 1 as well as the results of the capital prioritisation exercise on the States’ medium-term baseline. Although it is expected that the States’ general revenue position will return to surplus following the COVID- 19 period, those surpluses are not sufficient to support the delivery of government’s priorities and invest in necessary capital infrastructure which is now vital if the States want to achieve all the ambition they have set out in the Government Work Plan.

    Therefore, the Policy & Resources Committee is recommending that, as a short term solution, the States agree to utilising the un-lent proceeds of the previous bond issue and to a further £200m of borrowing to invest in the islands’ infrastructure, improve our financial resilience and boost economic recovery and expansion.

    3 Supporting Occupational Health & Wellbeing programme: phase 3 will respond to pandemic pressures by building on vocational rehabilitation and occupational health services and achievements of phases 1 and 2.

    

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    The Policy & Resources Committee is recommending that the States only borrow what is actually required to fund capital investment and will look for the most cost effective and low risk debt option to deliver on the ambition of the States and ensure financial security over the medium term.

    The proposed funding solution to borrow, in addition to the usual utilisation of reserves to support the capital requirements over the current term, is intended to enable the immediate progression of the States’ priorities. However, it is a temporary solution only and a way of managing but not removing the underlying structural deficit. Without further action, beyond 2025 the States will again have to consider how best to support their spending requirements in the face of the same pressure to provide for the increased demand for existing services and maintain an appropriate level of capital investment. A longer-term solution is required, and the provision of that solution will span the consideration of expenditure (covered within the States’ priority 4 – Reshaping Government), economic growth (included within priority 3) and raising additional revenues (with proposals from the Tax Review due to be considered by the States in September 2021) – all three elements will be required to achieve a sustainable solution.

    2 Introduction

    1. 2.1  The impacts of the pandemic on public finances have been significant and the long- term challenges of demographics, inequalities in living standards, climate change, under-invested infrastructure and global competition facing government remain.
    2. 2.2  If the States attempt to do too much at once, consistently review decision making, or become distracted from agreed activities, they will significantly reduce their ability to complete actions that will deliver change. This in turn will frustrate the relationships with our community and partners. For this reason, the Plan has a focus on the first 18-month period and in recognising that public service capacity will be the limiting factor on delivery, the Policy & Resources Committee has specifically indicated those actions it believes should receive priority resourcing.
    3. 2.3  Guernsey needs to demonstrate that it is open for business by prioritising enablers such as skills, digital capability, cutting red tape, ensuring regulation is proportionate and maintaining Guernsey’s competitive advantage. It must continue to invest in its community; to keep Islanders safe, secure and able to meet their basic needs; to have a resilient and proportionate government and public sector that is focused on enablement and support of those it exists to serve.
    4. 2.4  These proposals are a first step in this new approach to delivery: as far as possible

    

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    within the time available the Policy & Resources Committee has sought to identify and resource enabling actions on which this Assembly can build annually to deliver the high-level ambition it has already established in line with the international targets of the United National Sustainable Development Goals.

    3 Background and current context

    Government Work Plan: stage 1 setting the direction of travel

    In March 2021, the Assembly considered the wider context for recovery planning, identifying 16 outcomes its Plan should seek to deliver across four priorities for government:

    • Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic;
    • Managing the effects of Brexit and our international obligations;
    • Delivering the recovery actions; and
    • Reshaping government (at that time termed ‘right-sizing government’).

      The first two priorities continue to receive priority resourcing. The third and fourth priorities are where the States have sought to identify the right actions to deliver the agreed outcomes and which they have a greater degree of choice.

      In the stage 1 Policy Letter the States also recognised that there is a virtuous circle: where the urgent need to recover and enable further economic stability and prosperity will provide employment and secure the revenues to fund important social and environmental policies; implementing those social and environmental policies supports Guernsey’s resilience and competitiveness, which in turn supports economic recovery.

      Since March 2021, the landscapes have all changed: Guernsey has experienced a second lockdown; new variants of concern have emerged; the global approach to managing COVID-19 has shifted; and efforts to vaccinate and protect the global population are progressing.

      For Guernsey, the change is positive, moving swiftly from a full lockdown lasting 58 days to a community that is learning to live responsibly with COVID-19; border restrictions are easing slowly and cautiously to preserve an exceptionally strong internal economy (Annex 5 for financial appraisal within funding and investment proposals). Contextual issues, including those that have become apparent since the Assembly agreed stage 1 of the Plan, have been factored into the set of proposals presented in the Plan in Annex 1