In Guernsey, the economic balance is increasingly delicate, and the burden of supporting public services falls heavily on a relatively small proportion of the population. Of the 22,000 employed individuals, 6,000 work in the civil service or public sector. This leaves only 16,000 private-sector workers, 2,000 of whom are in retail and 2,000 in hospitality whose average earnings fall below £30,000 per annum. These groups make minimal contributions to the public purse.
The real financial weight is borne by approximately 11,000 full-time private-sector employees, alongside 1,120 retirees who still contribute. The finance industry, with its 6,000 odd workers, contributes an oversized 42% of the economy, without which we’d be bankrupt.
This small group of ‘net positive taxpayers’ not only funds public services but also supports benefits for others, government salaries, pensions, and costly public sector projects.
These hard-earned contributions are being mismanaged.
An example
One glaring example is the States’ IT modernisation project, where nearly £135 million of taxpayer money has been squandered so far with little to show for it. The waste on this scale is not just unacceptable – it is a real betrayal of public trust. It does not matter how hard the Scrutiny Committee tries to spin it, what has come to light (and what we already know through defective computer systems) as an absolute, world-class f*ck up. But we are to be reassured that the relationship between the civil service and the contracting company has ‘matured’. One might hope so after that much of our money.
One of the most damning aspects of this IT fiasco is that the States did not even understand the extent of their own existing systems before embarking on a multi-million-pound overhaul1. How can public servants justify spending vast sums on an upgrade when they don’t even have a clear grasp of what they are upgrading? This level of incompetence would be unthinkable in the private sector, yet in government, it seems to be the norm – because no one is held accountable for failure.
Taxpayers are entitled to demand accountability and transparency from the public servants they fund. Yet, in Guernsey, there is no effective mechanism to ensure this & this is by design.
A solution
Calls for a Public Services Ombudsperson have gone unheeded, despite repeated evidence of systemic inefficiencies, opaque decision-making, and financial mismanagement. An Ombudsperson would provide an independent avenue to investigate grievances, hold public servants accountable, and ensure that taxpayers’ money is spent responsibly.
The current arrangement, where public servants answer only to their own internal structures or distant committees, is insufficient. Taxpayers deserve more than vague assurances and hollow promises. Each net positive taxpayer in Guernsey effectively supports 5.5 people who are not contributing to the system – whether through employment or taxation. When a small group shoulders such a disproportionate burden, every pound squandered is a real insult to their effort. If you divide the total cost of this IT project alone by the 11,000 net positive taxpayers, you arrive at £18,000 per person. That equates to months of our lives squandered.
Our public servants must remember they are not above those who fund their salaries. They are stewards, not rulers, and their actions must reflect a commitment to serving the public efficiently and responsibly. Therefore transparency is not an uncomfortable optional extra – it is a fundamental obligation.
Implementing an Ombudsperson would send a clear signal that waste and mismanagement will no longer be tolerated. I propose that this role be held on a rotational basis, filled by carefully chosen senior retired UK judges renowned for their impartiality and fair judgment.
Which Deputies will stand behind this?
Conclusion
The time for vague reforms and surface-level improvements has passed. The deck chairs have been rearranged and the ship is still sinking. Guernsey’s taxpayers, who work tirelessly to keep the island afloat, deserve nothing less than a public sector that is fully accountable, wholly transparent, and genuinely committed to delivering value for money.
Anything less is a betrayal of the trust that underpins the entire system. And we are being betrayed, make no mistake. It is time to stop pretending that all is well in the Garden of Guernsey and demand accountability. We have that obligation for our Island, for our children and for those children yet to be born.
- https://guernseypress.com/news/2025/01/28/states-underestimated-scale-of-it-overhaul/ [↩]