Break-ups far worse in Jersey than UK

Monday 05 January 2015

The head of the Citizens’ Advice Bureau has revealed that the biggest cause of issues and queries to the CAB is a very different issue to the UK.

Malcolm Ferey says that relationship issues remain the top reason that people approach the CAB for help – in 2013 there were 12,289 complaints to the bureau, which works out at approximately 33 every single day.

And Mr Ferey says that one in seven of those referrals is about relationship issues.

“The real question is why do we do this so badly in Jersey?” he said.

“When I speak to colleagues in the UK it is way down the agenda. I still think that alcohol is fuelling a lot of social issues in Jersey, everyone knows that. It’s the way that people drink, they are using it as a recreational drug.”

Mr Ferey said that prevalence of alcohol abuse, restrictions on where people can live and the fact that many people here were away from family support networks all made relationship issues more serious.

“It’s everything from problems with parents that have split up, to a couple break up and one of them gets kicked out of the house – it’s all encompassing.

“When I speak to colleagues in the UK it’s way down, it’s not even on the radar. But in Jersey and Guernsey it’s the same – maybe it’s because we’re a smaller society, it’s harder to have an affair and get away with it.”