Top committee to back plans to delay fiscal rules

Guernsey's top political committee is set to back plans to force it to come back to the States before mid-July with new proposals on how the States should manage its finances.

The Scrutiny Management Committee had proposed a sursis motivé - or reasoned delay - which asked Policy and Resources to re-draft its fiscal framework policy and return to the States with it before 15 July.

Policy and Resources (P&R) President Lindsay de Sausmarez said her committee will back scrutiny's motion.

In an email to all States members P&R Vice-President Gavin St Pier said his committee was working on a similar proposal, and so was minded to back scrutiny's.

The States of Guernsey parliament's glossary of terms describes a sursis as a French term which "means a delay or a stay".

It described it as "a motion to do just that in respect of an item before the Assembly".

"A sursis which directs a course of action during the period of deferral is a sursis motivé."

The decision came after a meeting with deputies where concerns were raised about P&R's proposals.

It also follows a fiery scrutiny hearing where a member of the Scrutiny Management Committee labelled the proposals from P&R "useless".

Scrutiny President Andy Sloan said he was concerned the States was being asked to move from a set of firm rules to something "more qualitative".

P&R's proposed framework centred on what it called "long-term financial stability" underpinned by four key principles:

• Balanced income and expenditure

• Sustainable infrastructure investment

• Sustainable and well-managed debt

• Healthy financial reserves

Deputy de Sausmarez said her committee had been speaking to deputies at the weekend about their views on the proposals.

"We had drafted our own sursis, and I actually had a conversation with Deputy Andy Sloan and he said he was drafting one too, so I said I would send him ours.

"But he managed to publish his version, before I managed to send him mine, and he had actually agreed to second ours, so there was a bit of duplication of effort, which is frustrating to be honest.

"But the process is unimportant, it's all about the outcome and what is particularly important is this reflects the views of this assembly and that's what our motivation was to sursis the debate."

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