Guernsey States 'faces trust challenge' in revenue service
A director at an accountancy firm says the States of Guernsey faces a challenge to build public trust in the revenue service.It follows the States' decision to axe a contract with IT infrastructure company Agilisys by the end of July - halfway through its 10-year tenure.Director of accountancy firm TCS Guernsey, Tim Chilestone, said: "The trust of the public in the revenue service is very, very low. That's the biggest task they have making the public trust them again."Policy and Resources Committee said the decision to terminate the contract was unanimous and in the "best interests of the States, and the wider community".
Mr Chilestone said people had faced difficulties finding out information.He said: "A lot of people are losing track of where they are... Do they actually owe the revenue service any money? Does the revenue service owe them?"Mr Chilestone said the system made it easy for people to make minor mistakes, especially for those who conducted their own bookkeeping.
Agilisys signed a £200m contract for the delivery of the majority of States IT services in 2019.Sigma Group was in the tender process for the revenue service contract alongside Agilisys.Sigma Group CEO and chairman Robert Sillers said "it's obviously important for them [the States] to get it right going forward". For any future contracts Mr Chilestone said it was important the States was clear about what it wanted to be achieved.He said: "If they make a mistake, cause delays, overruns or extra costs then that cost needs to be borne by the company, not by the taxpayer."The whole point of using commercial external entities to do this kind of work instead of just recruiting in-house, is to reduce the risk to the States and therefore the taxpayer - and with Agilisys it doesn't feel like they've done that."I'm optimistic now they have the opportunity to resolve those issues but I'm also a little cautious. Will they actually achieve that?"Agilisys refused to comment.
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