Home Affairs needs millions to maintain Guernsey's frontline services

Wednesday, 28 October 2026 at 09:50

The Committee will ask for money for more police, fire and prison officers and a training budget for evolving cyber crime.

Home Affairs says it needs the money to increase police, prison officer and fire fighter numbers and train police to deal with complex and evolving cyber crime.

It also wants at least three quarters of a million each to keep funding the Sexual Assault Referral Centre and the Economic Crime Bureau.

Home says the money will sustain existing services, not provide new ones, and 'address serious short falls in critical staffing areas, that have arisen due to sustained operational demand.'

It is asking for nearly £4M under P&R's spending path A which delivers a 1% real terms cut to States budgets, or more than £2M under option B which delivers a 2.1% uplift.

Deputy Marc Leadbeater says the estimates were produced alongside service leaders in critical areas:

“The core purpose of Home Affairs is to keep the community safe.

We decided on this approach as it provided an opportunity to clearly identify how our services were already under considerable pressure to respond to increased demand and the real risk to the public if they are not resourced to respond to that demand and the challenges of a modern society.”

Elsewhere, more than £360,000 is being asked for to sustain Alderney's air routes, known as the Public Service Obligation, funded by Guernsey.

The debate takes place on 3 November and the budget currently faces 30 amendments.