Taxpayers fork out for private jet – so we are seen as a “good host”

Wednesday 30 November 2016

Estonian Ambassador Lauri Bambus and three colleagues caught a private jet earlier this month from Jersey to London costing Island taxpayers up to £4,050.

The plan was signed off by Assistant Minister Philip Ozouf who agreed the private flight costs so that the Estonians wouldn't miss meetings, after their original scheduled flights were cancelled. They were in Jersey to assist the Island in building a digital sector, and in getting more government services online.

So far today Senator Ozouf has declined to comment to Express on the decision, saying he will issue a statement later. It's not yet clear how his decision to agree the funding fits with States rules on travel expenses. 

But Digital Jersey has already come to his defence, with its Chief Executive Tony Moretta issuing a statement minutes after the news broke, saying the cost was met jointly by the States and Digital Jersey - Digital Jersey receives the majority of its funding via a States grant, with the rest coming from the digital industry. 

Mr Moretta said: “When the Ambassador was delayed in his return to London due to flight cancellations, States of Jersey and the digital industry were happy to contribute to pay for an alternative flight to ensure he could return to London to attend to his important obligations there.  

“Given the huge amount of guidance and assistance we are being given by Estonia, this is the least we could do as a good host. It is behaviour like this that forges strong relationship, and it is in Jersey’s interests that we have that with Estonia.”

“Estonia is the world leader in the use of technology by Government, and for a small country it has a thriving digital sector.

“A few years ago there was a visit to Estonia led by Senator Alan Maclean to learn from them and to build a relationship. More recently we have been working more closely with Estonia, since Siim Sikkut (their Government's Digital Policy Adviser) visited Jersey earlier in the year. This has resulted in significant help being offered to Jersey from Estonia in relation to our eGov programme, in particular to help us develop a Digital ID system. This is incredibly valuable support, which we believe will help us to reduce the costs and increase the efficiency in terms of how we deliver eGov. 

News of the Ambassador's trip comes only months after a pledge by senior Ministers and departmental leaders to keep States travel spending to a minimum in the wake of a business visit made earlier this year to South Africa by two States employees costing over £12,000.