Guernsey government facing mounting pressure over ferry purchase plans

Guernsey’s government is facing mounting pressure for their decision to purchase a ferry to be brought before the States Assembly.

The government announced earlier in the month it would be purchasing the vessel and leasing back to Condor.

The project is thought to cost between £15 and £20 million pounds.

However, there has been outcry from some politicians who say they were not consulted about the purchase and believe it should have been discussed in the Assembly.

Deputy Peter Roffey said: “I think for ordinary Deputies it feels like you’re in the States but not in government and that’s not the way it works in Guernsey.

The purchase is being made by the Policy and Resources Committee which is allowed to make purchases on the Government’s behalf without the need for them to be debated by members.

However, the authority is only supposed to use funds on projects agreed by the States, and a ferry was not on the list.

“Technically it may be within the rules of procedure to do it this way but there’s the letter of the rules and the spirit of the rules," Deputy Roffey said. "Twenty million is a heck of a big purchase and I think the spirit of the rules is that the States should discuss it. I just don’t want us to slip into a Cabinet Government by default. This is only one incident but if it becomes a habit then I’d worry about it.”

Deputy Gavin St Pier called the proposed purchase ‘chaotic’ and he was not sure if the island even needed a ferry. “The information that it's even being looked at has come out well before any serious work has been done on it," he said.

“It all seems to be done in the wrong order that clearly the priority I would have thought has to be to agree what the policy is for air and sea links and what our needs are and then determine how we fulfil those.”

A spokesperson for the Policy and Resources Committee said: “The negotiations around the purchase of a vessel are ongoing and being conducted in commercial confidence and there is therefore little more that can be disclosed at this time.

The Policy and Resources Committee looks forward to providing further details once an agreement is reached, allowing for a vessel to be secured, improving the capacity and reliability of our sea links.”