Parish reduces debt

Constable Crowcroft said he will tackle inefficiencies in the parish

Jersey's most populated parish ran up less debt last year than it had anticipated.

The parish of St Helier had expected to be in debt to the tune of about £2m in 2002.

But accounts show it was only £1.7m in the red.

St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft said the decrease in debt could be attributed to the parish winning the war on waste.

Hard decisions

Constable Crowcroft said in the space of a year the parish has become a "byword for thrift, good housekeeping and hard decision-making".

The hard decisions included 13 staff posts in the parish being lost.

Constable Crowcroft promised in the foreword of his accounts report that there will be no let up in the coming year.

He said the parish will tackle inefficiencies resulting from service duplication and the high cost of sickness absence.