Press Release - Covid19 - Budget Revisions 24.04.2020

COVID 19 Crisis hits States Budget

Alderney's Policy & Finance Committee has received a report looking at the impact of Coronavirus on the current year's budget. The report identifies that many income sources, including fees for vehicle import, hire cars, property transfer duties, permits, licences and harbour services, will be reduced.

The Committee recognised and welcomed the fact that most of the support measures in Guernsey also apply in Alderney, but noted there were some that were not applicable. The Committee was advised that among those that did not apply, but should be supported by the States of Alderney, were potential concessions on mooring fees for commercial fishermen and deferral of commercial rent payments to mirror similar measures in Guernsey.

Short term measures have been taken to freeze recruitment and defer or cancel planned activities which will now not need to take place in 2020. The report set out that the current budget can be balanced taking into account the adjustments which are being made.

But without further savings, the current emergency could result in a budget shortfall, the report said. Further changes will therefore need to be made as the budget is kept under review.

The Committee was also advised about the need to identify and prioritise funds that can support recovery from the Covid-19 emergency - sources of this investment could include the Alderney Gambling Control Commission funds, the Economic Development Reserve and re-prioritising the capital and revenue budgets.

Committee Chairman James Dent welcomed the report and thanked those who had thoroughly reviewed the budget implications.

"The financial implications for the States of Alderney budget are clearly significant," he said. "The situation may change as we become more aware about the breadth and depth of the crisis. We are, however, taking action to ensure we know as much as possible about where we stand. We intend to free-up as much funding as possible to support the island's economy and we will be looking at a range of options for sourcing additional funds."

The Committee deferred any decisions until the Finance Committee has reviewed the report.