Guernsey States delays decision on school and hospital

Deputies will debate which capital projects to progress and how to pay for them after the summer

A debate on which of the States' building projects can move forward has been pushed back until September.

It had originally been planned for July, meaning committees like education and health will need to wait another few months for answers.

Back in March it was announced all major work was on hold until the States could reassess its priorities.

It followed deputies rejecting tax plans to plug a budget deficit, estimated to reach £100m by 2040.

Projects up for debate include the Alderney runway, the next phase of the hospital project and the post-16 education campus.

Policy and Resources has been clear the government cannot afford to do everything.

Deputy Mark Helyar, the States Treasury lead, has previously warned the island will "run out of money by 2027" if both the education and health capital projects proceed.

A new timeline for the debate has now been set out.

Only critical work

In July the States will debate the Government Work Plan, which is essentially a list of strategic and policy priorities.

But the capital projects, and how to fund the work, will not be discussed until after the summer.

Deputy Bob Murray, Policy and Resources member, said: "The bottom line is we need to ensure we are only doing work that is genuinely critical, and that we can pay for that without completely exhausting Guernsey's reserves and leaving the community vulnerable. That's what the debate on these plans will be about."

Policy and Resources is already considering borrowing to help pay for the building projects that need to be prioritised.

Deputy Mark Helyar, treasury lead, said: "These are huge decisions on whether we can deliver our most essential priorities. This is about whether we can afford to do the 'must-do' work of Government as recommended by the Principal Committees of the States."

The plan for a post-16 campus has already suffered set backs, after the education committee pulled out of the contract with the main building contractor.

Wayne Bates, representative for the teachers union the NASUWT, said further delays were disappointing.

"We've had a cloud of uncertainty hanging over particularly secondary education for 10 years now. Pushing the debate on capital funding back to September that introduces a little more uncertainty again."

He added: "Hopefully when that is debated the funding will be released to allow the secondary transformation to progress. Because I think the last thing Guernsey needs at the moment, particularly in the secondary sector, is further uncertainty."

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