THE States has been told it must use senior staff better to save nearly £2m. a year on consultants. Deputy Geoff Mahy is concerned about the high level of spending on such people, who are mainly from outside the island.

The States has spent more than £3.8m. on consultants’ fees in the past two years – a figure which has alarmed several politicians.

‘I believe that over the years, because money has not been tight, we have probably too often taken the easy way out and commissioned consultants,’ said Deputy Mahy.

‘Now that we are looking for savings, we should prioritise and use consultants sparingly.

‘There will always be occasions when you need to use consultants, but we must look towards the experts within our own staff first.’

States accounts for 2005 show that departments spent £1.97m. on consultants’ fees last year, compared with £1.9m. in 2004.

The figures do not include contracted-out work or consultants’ fees for capital expenditure.

In January, there were 325 established staff on senior officer grades. And according to the Treasury and Resource’s 2006 interim financial report, money spent on consultants’ fees last year was 0.6% of the States’ total revenue expenditure. A total of 5.1% is attributed to ‘contracted-out work’.

‘In view of the fact that the States of Guernsey employs 325 established staff on senior grades, I believe that many of these senior grade officers could have been used to provide expert advice rather than departments commissioning expensive consultants.’

Currently, deputies, with assistance from the Policy Council, are producing a government business plan to identify and prioritise work streams of key objectives for future years.

‘This should assist departments in ensuring that consultants are not employed on non-priority objectives.

‘I believe that the government’s business plan will enable us in future to prioritise workloads so that we do not waste money on unnecessary consultants’ fees for projects and work streams that never reach fruition.’

He believes that although Treasury minister Lyndon Trott has stated that Guernsey’s expenditure on consultancy fees is low compared to other jurisdictions, there is still room to make further savings.