Scrutiny Committee members expressed concern that the Government Business Plan was unwieldy and too complex as long ago as July 2007.

It was only on Monday the Policy Council decided a radical rethink was needed of one of its key documents, which has prompted questions why no-one acted earlier to rein it in.

Scrutiny has been monitoring the progress of the plan, work on which began in 2004.

‘It is important that there is a corporate and coordinated approach to government work, which the former States sought to achieve through the GBP and which the current States endorsed in its embryonic form,’ said chairman Barry Brehaut (pictured).

‘The former committee’s comments made in July 2007 and March 2008 fully supported this concept, but raised some concerns, including that the plan was overly complex, unwieldy and incomplete, which have been acknowledged by the Policy Council.’

He said creating the plan, which sets out the States’ priorities and work streams that flow from them, was always going to be a mammoth task that would take time.