Guernsey to adopt good governance principles after damning audit report

The States of Guernsey is set to embed the six principles of good governance in its work, after an audit report found serious deficiencies and lack of value for money.

The principles were developed in 2004 as a standard for use in the UK by the Independent Commission on Good Governance inPublic Services, formed by CIPFA and the Office for Public Management.

Guernsey’s public accounts committee stopped short of issuing specific recommendations to the island’s government, and instead called for ‘a more fundamental approach by seeking formal States [of Guernsey] commitment to the six principles of good governance’, with compliance monitored by the island’s Parliament.

It said such improvements ‘will depend on commitment and allocation of resources, both in terms of finance and people’.

Guernsey asked the Wales Audit Office to review the island’s governance in 2009, with a follow-up report last year.

These concluded that the island’s governance met none of the standard’s six principles, and did not ‘facilitate the delivery of sustainable value-for-money services for islanders’.

Faults found included lack of clear corporate leadership, and unclear and protracted decision-making processes.

The six principles of good governance are:

·      focusing on the organisation’s purpose and on outcomes for citizens and service users;

·      performing effectively in clearly defined functions and roles;

·      promoting good values for the whole organisation and demonstrating the values of good
       governance through behaviour;

·      taking informed, transparent decisions and managing risk;

·      developing the capacity and capability of the governing body to be effective;

·      engaging stakeholders and making accountability real.