A UK website records all spending by all 650 MPs, down to train tickets, hotel stays, taxis or flights, in batches every two months to give a transparent look at who is spending what, when.
And now Chief Minister Ian Gorst says that a similar scheme could be run by the States to let Islanders know what ministers and civil servants are spending their money on.
In the past, ministerial travel and accommodation expenses have been published every year, but data on how much civil servants had spent was never revealed until States Members started asking questions in the States and journalists started to use the Freedom of Information Law to disclose it.
In response to questions from Deputy Carolyn Labey in the States yesterday, Senator Gorst said that an online register for civil servant’s and minister’s spending was being worked on.
“I think that the model that they have in the UK of an online register… we are now going to work on that,” said Senator Gorst.
“I think that it is far better if people know in real time what hospitality, what business travel, is happening, and I think that the same goes for ministerial spending as well.”
Last week it was revealed that close to £400,000 was spent by civil servants on 120 flight tickets costing more than £1,000 over the last five years.
Those figures revealed that of the 120 tickets costing £1,000 or more, four cost more than the £6,442 flexible business class tickets taken by Economic Development Chief Officer Mike King and Locate Jersey Director Wayne Gallichan took to a mining conference in Cape Town.
Those trips, which cost up to £6,852, were taken by International Affairs Adviser Colin Powell and Director of Financial Services Joe Moynihan.
During a hearing into spending on flights, States Chief Executive John Richardson told the Public Accounts Committee that some ministers had effectively over-ruled States financial rules which require civil servants to fly economy while ministers fly business class – he said that they made the decision so that politicians could sit with staff through the flight, but did not explain why officers were allowed to “upgrade” instead of asking ministers to fly economy.
He also said that some staff had gold or silver cards with BA, which allowed them to claim extra Avios points for flights that they had booked, on top of the normal points allowance which went to the States.
Senator Gorst’s comments yesterday came during questions about travel expenses – he confirmed in response to a question from Deputy Scott Wickenden that he had not signed authorisation for civil servants in his own department to fly in business class seats, rather than the economy seats that internal financial rules so that they should fly in.
And he also agreed with Deputy John Le Fondre’s suggestion that senior civil servants should have to make a disclosure of interests in the same way that politicians do, to be transparent about potential conflicts of interests.