Guernsey States Rejects Social Housing Maintenance Budget Increase

Lawmakers in Guernsey have decided against a proposal to raise the budget allocated for the upkeep of social housing. The initiative, which sought a £670,000 increase for next year’s budget, was opposed by 21 States members, with 12 voting in favor. The Policy and Resources (P&R) committee had put forward a recommendation for the Employment and Social Security (ESS) department to receive £7m specifically for the maintenance of social housing properties. Peter Roffey, President of ESS, acknowledged that “the States was not as good a landlord as it could be for social housing tenants.” He further cautioned that “without this increase to his committee’s budget, the island’s social housing stock would deteriorate.”