Chair of the Public Accounts Committee regarding the P.A.C.2-2025 Report

STATEMENT TO BE MADE BY

THE CHAIR OF THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE

ON TUESDAY 8th JULY 2025 Procurement by the Government of Jersey (P.A.C.2/2025)

Today, I present to Members and the public the Public Accounts Committee's report on Procurement by the Government of Jersey.

Government spends nearly  £445 million annually on goods, services, and infrastructure everything from hospital equipment and IT systems to public transport and care services.

How that money is spent matters deeply.

We listened to suppliers, reviewed Government data, and held public hearings with officials and business leaders.

At its heart, this review asks a simple question: Is public money being spent wisely, fairly, and in a way that benefits Islanders?

Procurement in Jersey is built on a strong foundation. The Public Finances Manual and Procurement Best Practice Toolkit sets clear principles around transparency, value for money, and strategic alignment.

However, what we found is that these principles are not always reflected in practice. The result is a report with 30 findings and 19 recommendations.

Let me summarise the critical areas where we believe action is required:

• One message we heard clearly is that the system isn't working as well as it should for smaller local businesses and charities. The process is often too complex and resource- heavy, putting local businesses and charities at a disadvantage. Some are simply giving up. That should concern us all and needs to change. There is real potential for Jersey to deliver more socialand economic value, supporting local jobs and encouraging sustainable procurement if the system is made more accessible and consistent.

• We also believe that more information should be shared with the public. There is currently a Social Value Impact Report, but it is not in the most accessible format publicly. Islanders deserve to see how government spending is helping to meet community priorities, whether that's through job creation, environmental sustainability, or support for the voluntary sector.

• The Committee recommends the creation of a single point of contact to help charities navigate procurement and commissioning across different departments. We also want to see local economic contributions, such as tax paid and jobs created, properly recognised when the government decides which supplier to choose.

• More sustainable charity funding - Charities face multiple barriers: fragmented contracts across departments, short-term funding cycles, and difficulty navigating procurement systems. We are calling for a single point of contact to support charities engaging with the government and a move toward  3-year funding cycles, providing stability and improving service planning.

• Procurement breaches have been identified as an area of concern for the PAC, with 142 recorded in 2024 alone. These breaches are often attributed to poor planning, and there is a lack of clarity around how officials are held accountable when these occur. The PAC calls for stronger enforcement of breach reporting, including investigations for breaches over £25,000 and integration of breach accountability into performance appraisals for Accountable Officers and officers responsible for procurement activity. These measures aim to foster a culture of responsibility and continuous improvement.

• We also identified major challenges in  the Government's approach to digital procurement. An overarching IT strategy which has been promised since 2022, we hope will be published shortly. Departments have been managing hundreds of separate projects without a shared roadmap, leading to duplication, inefficiencies, and unclear value for money. Without stronger central coordination and performance tracking, Jersey risks falling behind in delivering effective and secure digital services for Islanders.

• A lessons-learned exercise on the joint ferry tender. The recent joint ferry procurement exposed critical flaws in governance, coordination, and decision-making. No shared evaluation process, no shared accountability, and ultimately two different outcomes. We recommend a full review of what went wrong, and the development of a robust joint procurement framework for any future bi-jurisdictional tenders.

• These are not abstract recommendations. They are designed to make the system fairer, simpler, and more responsive so that businesses, charities, officers, and the public can better engage with how the government spends their money.

Finally, I thank my fellow Committee members, officers, businesses, charities, and members of the public who shared their experience and evidence. We hope this report helps move the conversation forward and leads to real, visible improvements.

This report, available on the States Assembly website, is a call to action. We look forward to the Government's formal response and, more importantly, to visible, measurable progress in the months ahead.