News that the man in charge of Guernsey’s Treasury wants to end the States’ final salary pension scheme is a welcome development for the island’s financial future.

While existing employees would see no change to their agreed packages, if Deputy Charles Parkinson gets his way then all new entrants will be offered defined contribution schemes only.

As outlined in our page one story today, these would replace the now highly controversial, so-called ‘gold-plated’ options that are enjoyed at present.

In the light of findings from the WAO and Tribal  the move would be a timely step towards bringing Guernsey’s financial governance more into line with what has been called for and what, quite simply, really must start to happen.

Those in charge of the island’s purse strings are waking up to what those working in the private sector have long known – that such generous pension schemes are no longer sustainable or, indeed, justified.

This move could also represent a quick and easy way of reining in public expenditure -

essential if the island is to survive the ever-increasing financial challenges that now appear to be far worrying than we thought.

Unfortunately, a downside to all of this is that despite the Treasury minister’s announcement, any such sweeping change is not actually guaranteed.

Nor, despite strong calls from business leaders that the scheme be closed immediately, does anyone genuinely expect something to happen sooner rather than later.

As Deputy Parkinson himself points out, the States’ employees pension scheme is essentially a matter for negotiation between the Public Sector Remuneration Committee and the unions.

No one is arguing that this is the current process or disputing that the matter is on the PSRC’s agenda.

But how quickly it will be dealt with, or what the outcome will be, still remains frankly anybody’s guess. So, not such good news then.

But at least one thing is for certain.

This is yet another issue that brings us neatly back to where we started – namely the WAO’s criticism of the delays and unwieldy decision-making processes that are rife within the States.