The quarterly Business Tendency Survey, which was a measure of economic confidence and future employment locally, is one of three publications the States Statistics Unit have had to stop producing because of cuts to their budget.

It was last produced in March before the Statistics Unit went a man down at the end of May, and another post is set to go by 2019 if Ministers agree to slashing a total of £84K from the Unit’s budget.

IOD Jersey Chairman Chris Clark said: “We know from previous conversations with the Industries Sub-Committee of the IoD for example that many members utilise the reports to inform their own strategic decisions and business / investment planning based on the content of these reports (specifically the Business Tendency Survey) therefore many will see this as a hindering factor when planning for the near term.

“We believe that the Statistics Unit is relatively independent, by cutting their purse strings the Government have certainly impacted upon their ability to share data transparently across the broader community.

“There could be a misperception that by removing the finances and thus the direct impact this has on the publication of performance reports, the SoJ is inadvertently reducing the public’s awareness of the impact external factors are having on the broader economy for example.

“We are sure that this is not the intention and it is just coincidental timing, but it is a bad time to be removing publically available data which enables evidenced based policy decisions or business decisions for the Islands’ leaders.

“Whilst not having polled our Membership on this explicit matter we believe many would see that this is a step backwards, rather than progress. When it comes to leadership, data driven insights informing decision making are essential.”

They have found an unlikely ally in Reform Jersey member, Deputy Geoff Southern, who says “it’s a cut too far” and that “there are significant consequences both in the short and the long term in reducing the quality and quantity of our economic and social information.” He is bring a proposal to the States to have the Stats Unit cuts reversed. 

In his proposition Deputy Geoff Southern says: “Of all the cuts which form the MTFP, this cut of one post in the Statistics Unit appears to me to be the one that might best be described as “cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face.”

“The fact is that whether the economic times are good or bad, the one thing that all governments need is sound, reliable and trusted statistics. We need to know where we are before we decide what direction to head in.”

The Stats Unit have also had to stop  two other publications – the quarterly produced Retail Sales Survey and the Jersey-UK Consumer Price Comparison which came out once a year and if another post has to go by 2019 it looks likely the Jersey Annual Social Survey will have to go too.

Jersey Chamber of Commerce Senior Executive Manager Gillian Martindale-Parsons said: “The Statistics Unit performs a vital service for the Jersey business community and their reports provide a real-time snapshot of the island’s economy.

“Chamber of Commerce fully supports reductions in States expenditure. However, they must exercise caution in areas that provide vital information gathering during times of financial upheaval.”