Plans for Guernsey ombudsperson could be scrapped

Guernsey States estimated the cost of the new ombudsperson would have been £170,000

Plans to create a new independent body to investigate complaints against Guernsey's States could be ditched.

Guernsey's States started work in 2022 to look at setting up a public services ombudsperson in cooperation with the States of Jersey.

Guernsey's Policy and Resources (P&R) Committee had asked deputies to back a proposal to halt the new scheme.

P&R has said it was "not a priority use of resources and should not be pursued further at this time".

In its policy letter, P&R stated the estimated cost of the new ombudsperson would have been £170,000.

The new body would also have looked at Health & Social Care (HSC) complaints from the outset.

In a letter to P&R, the president of the Committee for Health and Social Care, Deputy Al Brouard, wrote that he understood the current financial pressures on the States and the need to prioritise.

The proposal is due to be debated by Guernsey's States members in 2024.

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