Thursday 23 November 2017
Statement from Deputy Jan Kuttelwascher, Vice President of the Committee for Economic Development.
'For the purposes of background, the mandate of our Committee is related to economic development. To this effect it has over recent years provided grant funding to four bodies (Taste Guernsey, Floral Guernsey, the Sports Commission and the Arts Commission) on the basis of their impact upon tourism. This grant funding is directed at driving incremental visitor growth through events that can be promoted off-island to bring new visitors in, and the promotion of events and initiatives that enhance the visitor experience, as opposed to solely funding arts and sports. Therefore the grants primarily provide tourism support from an economic perspective.
'Tourism is responsible for up to 4% of the Guernsey economy. Given the pressure on the Committee's budget and the level of overall support provided to tourism relative to the rest of the economy - £2.58m in 2017, roughly 40% of our total spend - and the need to support other types of economic activity (as outlined in our recent economic vision policy letter), we decided by majority to reduce the events funding from £156,750 to £100,000, and by majority that this funding should be focused upon Taste Guernsey and Floral Guernsey.
'The Committee acknowledges that there is limited formal quantitative evidence of the economic impact of the majority of its activities to support activity across the economy. This position has existed historically and the Committee has been concerned by this evidence base as it has sought to review its activities over recent months.
'As such the Committee used its judgement in order to decide upon:
- The proposed level of funding of the Events Groups for 2018.
- The relative shares of this grant funding provided to each of the Events Groups.
'In making these difficult decisions the Committee noted that events such as Seafront Sundays, the successful Food Festival, and Floral Guernsey events and initiatives such as Britain in Bloom entries, the excellent work at La Vallette, floral displays throughout the island, and at the Little Chapel were central to the island's tourism strategy and should not be put in jeopardy as they had no other funding to draw on.
'The Sports Commission and Arts Commission receive funding from the Committee for Education, Sport & Culture (£209K to Sports and £114K to Arts). As such, the reduction in overall States support to these two bodies is in the order of 18% - it is important to note that the funding for these bodies was not cut completely. However, Taste Guernsey and Floral Guernsey receive no other funding at all from the States and this naturally factored into the Committee's decision.
'The Committee originally decided by majority to inform rather than consult on this issue. Following that decision, the Committee has listened to the feedback received, particularly in relation to the lack of consultation, and decided to further consider the level of grants.
'Running parallel to these considerations, a number of real and perceived conflicts of interest have become apparent amongst the Committee. As such, two members of the Committee - myself and Deputy Merrett - have considered this issue alongside Deputy le Tocq from the Policy & Resources Committee, which is in accordance with the States Rules of Procedure for such circumstances.
'Following those additional deliberations, we acknowledge that this issue should have been handled better, in a more consultative and timely fashion. The Committee regrets the manner in which this was conducted, and the negative impact this process has had on stakeholders.
'As such, the Committee has revised its decision for 2018 and committed:
- The Grant to the Events Groups will be at the level originally envisaged (£156,750).
- The additional £56,750 grant will be split evenly between the Sports and Arts Commission.
'This will inevitably reduce the support we are able to provide to other parts of the economy.
'We will need to address on an ongoing basis the relative funding of the four events groups as part of the overall tourism promotional approach adopted. Funding for events in 2019 will reflect the results of the ongoing strategic review of Guernsey tourism and its promotion. The Committee is determined that, going forwards, funding to support tourism promotion is used in the manner which best drives economic activity, and that one sector is not favoured over and above the remainder of the economy.
'At the same time the Committee once again notes the importance of doing this in consultation with the community and will ensure it fully engages with the key events groups as part of this work.
'Finally the Committee commits to:
- Improve its understanding of the economic impact of all its activities across the economy, not just in relation to the Events Groups.
- Work with other Committees and stakeholders to achieve a coherent and joined up approach to funding Sports and Arts in their various roles within the island's economy and society.'
