This Is Guernsey

By Gemma Hockey

Health and Social Services and Education are bracing themselves for difficult times following the release of the Budget. Health minister Peter Roffey said his department’s budget was the best he could expect but the increase in the medium term was not sustainable for future health care spending.

‘In the UK, Prime Minister Gordon Brown, in the Queen’s speech, said that the National Health Service over the next few years would go up by RPI plus 4% each year.

‘We just don’t have that amount of money available to spend and over time we are spending less per head of the population on health than the UK - it’s going to be a struggle,’ said Deputy Roffey.

‘On a positive note, it is better than we thought it was going to be a few months ago.

‘The money is sufficient to carry out what we call level running but it will be very difficult to introduce any new services or new treatments other than what has been in the news the last few days ‘an £805,000 windfall allocated for cervical cancer vaccinations and colorectal screening programme’,’ he said.

Deputy Roffey said he was extremely relieved that Treasury and Resources had listened to his department’s concerns about the off-island budget.

‘The really positive thing is the agreement to ring fence the off-island budget,’ he said.

‘We have been extremely good at keeping down our on-island budget, but our off-island expenses have risen considerably and that is something that is completely out of our control.

‘It’s a huge relief for us in terms of being able to control our own destiny in that the off-island expenses will come from a central fund,’ he said.

Health has been forced in the past to take out of its on-island budget to supplement rises in off-island costs.

Deputy Roffey said it was unlikely he or members of his board would attempt to amend the Budget in the House.

Education minister Martin Ozanne said overall the budget was OK, but changes would have to be made to recoup almost £1m.

‘It’s a kinder budget towards Education than we had originally anticipated,’ he said.

‘It does mean that we will have to find around £1m. in savings if we are going to keep to the budget of 2008.

‘It’s going to be a difficult budget for us to keep to and we are going to undertake a review of where we can bring in more savings. We may well have to make some alterations.’

Deputy Ozanne said 80% of its £68.75m. budget would be spent on salaries.

‘With incremental growth it means, taking into account the RPI agreement for wages for this coming year which remains until September 2008, there will need to be some negotiations taking place,’ he said.

‘It does mean we are going to have to make savings elsewhere if we are going to keep within our budget.

‘We will be holding board meetings in the next two months to give us some time to decide how we are going to do that,’ he said.