Newly elected Deputy Andy Sloan has poured scorn on the States’ Accounts during his maiden speech to the Assembly.
Explaining why he thinks a consumption tax is necessary to eradicate the island’s growing financial deficit, he also said the States must reduce expenditure – “something that has not been displayed by the States over the past decade”, he said.
Deputy Sloan also said the time has come to change the corporate tax regime.
Recently appointed as the President of the Scrutiny Management Committee, he told the Deputy Bailiff that he intends to rename it the ‘Public Accounts Committee’.
There used to be a PAC in Guernsey which was responsible for scrutinising the financial management of public funds.
Deputy Sloan said that needs to happen again – and to enable that to happen, the Accounts need to be easily understood by everyone.
“Madam, States Accounts need to present clearly and easily our underlying fiscal position to be of real use to Members and the public. That should be our lonestar. I remain to be convinced that those presented today, meet that objective.”
Today’s States meeting was only to note the States’ 2024 Accounts – and Deputy Sloan said he would vote in favour of them, but he maintained that the island’s current financial situation is not clear.
“I’m not an accountant, nor am I going to pretend to be an expert on international accounting standards, but on the presentation of the States’ Accounts I have maintained a consistent position over many years. That is, over the years I have not believed that the presentation of the Accounts has accorded with what I believe is our underlying fiscal position, and that is a state of affairs that is not helpful to the members of this chamber nor to the wider public. And it is my view that remains unchanged with the presentation of the Accounts today.”
The States of Guernsey’s 2024 States Accounts are the first to be fully compliant with International Public Sector Accounting Standards.
Deputy Sloan said even under this new system of reporting the States’ Accounts, the “picture those numbers paint is nonsense”.
“Let me take a quick example. What are we to make of the following from page 15 of the Accounts, where it states that the States of Guernsey Core recorded a net surplus of £34.3 million in 2024 versus a net surplus of £64.3m in 2023. One take is that, according to the shiny new international standards compliant accounts, it reads very much that we are running a healthy fiscal surplus. How does that statement reconcile with an underlying structural deficit? It’s a rhetorical question, though. The answer is, it doesn’t. It’s not just nonsense. That is the picture those numbers paint is nonsense.”
Deputy Sloan, and 38 of his colleagues in the States voted in favour of the 2024 Accounts.
Only Deputy David Goy did not – he chose not to vote.