Guernsey States endorses savings programme

The States of Guernsey has endorsed calls for more accountability of a multimillion-pound efficiency savings programme.

Under the Financial Transformation Programme the States committed to identifying £31m of annual savings from its overall budget by the end of 2014.

In the first three years of the five-year project £10.5m has been saved from the budget.

Deputies agreed to continue the programme with some minor changes.

Future reports will include breakdowns of where and how savings have been made including if they are service cuts, increased charges or efficiency savings.

The savings of individual departments will also be listed.

The Public Accounts Committee, which is responsible for scrutinising the finances of the States, will now receive the same status reports as the Policy Council.