ALMOST from nowhere, a sensible amendment aimed at preventing States members from putting forward uncosted amendments to the island’s business plan – thus leaving others to do the dirty work of actually paying for – it has triggered an ill-tempered row about trust.

The deputy chief minister started it by saying that if members could not be trusted, they should not be in the Chamber. Few would disagree – but how to define trust?

For instance, can Health and Social Services be relied on to look after taxpayers’ money? From the chief minister’s revelations on Thursday about budget overruns, possibly not.

The HSSD minister was furious and demanded a right of reply. Unfortunately, from his statement yesterday, it is clear that the department’s view of fiscal integrity is questionable.

‘The total authorised budget for 2009 has not yet been formally notified to HSSD but we expect it to be £105m.,’ he told the States.

So, if the comments are to be taken at face value, Guernsey has a minister denying any overspend but admitting he hasn’t a clue how much he actually had to play with.

The reality is worse.

The Budget Billets released last November show that HSSD actually spent £94.1m. in 2008, was given £98m. to spend last year and £103.33m. for 2010. The Health minister would have been privy to that well before actual publication day so his confusion yesterday is worrying.

What the department actually spent in 2009 was £107.4m., significantly more than the States allocated it.
Because of the wiggle room that was provided by departments being able to retain unspent balances – actually unfairly withholding taxpayers’ funds – the minister is rightly able to claim that he needs no extra money for 2009.

Where he is damned by his own admission, however, is in saying that £2.5m. of the diverted money – £60 per taxpayer – came from unspent capital balances.

While not forbidden, that means HSSD has used money it claimed was needed for replacement and new medical equipment, potentially life-saving kit, on, for all we know, cups of tea and pay rises for its bureaucrats.
In other words, the minister has sanctioned the spending of money for purposes other than those envisaged by the States.

What was that about trust?