ONE of the consequences of the decision by the States last week not to close either St Andrew’s Primary or St Sampson’s Infant Schools is to focus attention on public finances and the stomach deputies have for making economies.

The way this has raised the stakes can be judged from the Treasury minister’s exasperated comments in which he suggested that the chief minister needed to ‘get real’ about saving money since he voted to keep open the St Sampson’s school.

‘It makes it very difficult for the government to call for spending restraint when important and prominent members cannot support even quite modest efficiency measures,’ said the Treasury minister.

It is difficult not to have sympathy for him. Being the minister in charge of the island’s purse strings is a thankless task unless an endless stream of cash is provided for free-spending colleagues in the other departments.

What we have yet to see, however, is the promise of some meaningful action from this Treasury department. All we have seen is the reverse: an increase in personal tax allowances, the removal of certain classes of government spending from the ‘at or below RPI’ level and an acknowledgment that payroll costs are not controlled.

As a result, the Education minister’s first reaction to the school decision is to demand more taxpayers’ money or else threaten to cut services.

What has yet to happen is for the Policy Council or Treasury to say anything about how they intend to tackle the size and cost of the public sector.

An opportunity exists with the fundamental expenditure reviews – but it risks being lost because Treasury is reluctant to express any expectation from the process. Yet it has plenty of ammunition. The consultants leading it have told Policy Council members that they can expect savings of 10% as a minimum and their track record in achieving such results are easily verifiable.

And on this year’s projections alone, such an outcome would represent a reduction in spending of £17.5m, a considerable sum.

With such a prize in sight, it is surprising T&R and the council have not been more upbeat about what they might achieve – unless there’s a deep-seated reluctance to take tough decisions.

Perhaps it’s time for all the ministers to get real.