Holy cow! How much?

Monday 20 June 2016

Politicians have often been accused of milking the public purse - remember the expenses scandal - but now we have the proof they are economising.

So have you heard the one about the Jersey milk can that cost £238 - udder madness? Well, it’s true, but admittedly it was made of silver.

And the recipient was the Japanese ambassador, who received it from Jersey’s Minster for External Relations in 2014, Sir Philip Bailhache. 

The States’ expenditure on gifts for the three-year period 2013-2015, have been revealed thanks to a Freedom of Information request which shows that belt-tightening by Jersey’s political movers and shakers appears to be spreading to the annual gifts bill. 

The silver milk can was the single most expensive gift given by Jersey’s States members on presents for visiting dignitaries, or on gifts taken on overseas visits.  

Proving that members can fudge matters, literally, the smallest gift was for a packet of fudge costing just £6.50, given by Jersey’s Education Department to schools in Guernsey - a sure sign that the age of austerity has reached the Channel Islands. 

Figures show that £3,469 was spent on gifts in 2013, but that shot up to £5,876 the following year. Last year, with cuts looming to services, that figure dropped to just £2,921. 

Chief Minister Ian Gorst has spent by far the most on gifts, but again the figures show a similar pattern. In 2013, his department spent £2,081 on gifts, the following year £5,467, but in 2015 that dropped to £2,055. 

Some departments did not incur any expenditure in the years 2013 - 2015, in relation to visiting dignitaries or gifts taken overseas, such as the Department for Infrastructure, non-ministerial departments, Social Security Department and the Treasury and Resources Department. 

However, non-ministerial departments do not fall within the scope of the Freedom of Information Act, which means no figures were included for the Bailiff’s Chambers, Law Officers’ Department and Probation and After-Care Services.