In the latest episode in an ongoing war of words, Senator John Le Fondré has responded to repeated claims from the pair that his Government Plan lacks detail and not enough information is being provided to Scrutiny panels about it.
An open letter to Senator Le Fondré dated 10 September, which was signed by Senator Moore and four other Scrutiny panel heads, heavily criticised the document, calling for better breakdowns of planned expenditures and businesses cases for investments.
The Chief Minister said that he felt compelled to respond with an open letter of his own.
‘Given that you have chosen to communicate by open letter I feel I must do the same,’ he says.
‘I also feel compelled to make some general introductory comments, given the seeds of uncertainty that have been sown by your letter, your public comments and other comments made yesterday during States proceedings.
‘This is Jersey’s first Government Plan and I am proud of it. I am proud of how a new Council of Ministers has worked together, and with officers, to produce a cohesive and forward-looking plan, following on from its work on the Common Strategic Policy.
‘I am proud of how the plan pulls together income and expenditure, and achieves a balance between short-term detail and longer-term demonstration of financial sustainability.
‘I am particularly proud of how the plan moves forward many issues that been “stuck” for some time – issues as diverse as mental-health funding, Fort Regent and increased police numbers.
‘Having said that, I recognise that there are always opportunities for improvement and I recognise and sympathise with some of the points made in your letter.’
The Chief Minister also responded to comments made by Deputy Kirsten Morel during a recent States sitting concerning the lack of information about the plan being provided to Scrutiny panels.
‘I was puzzled and a little dismayed by Deputy Morel’s criticism of this during States proceedings last week,’ he said.
‘As a reminder, meeting the requests of the various panels was not as simple and straightforward as just emailing pre-existing documents.
‘Officers have worked hard to tight deadlines, not only to provide what was asked for in a structured way but also to make the task of panels and your officers easier.’
Last week during a Scrutiny hearing Senator Le Fondré also came out in defence of the transparency of his Government Plan, claiming it was the ‘clearest’ document of its type he had seen during his time as a States Member.
His comments came in response to Deputy Morel’s criticism of a section in which £20 million of government expenditure over four years is explained with just seven words: ‘replacement costs of various IT infrastructure assets’.
