Covid tops the charts for 2020 petitions

Friday 30 April 2021

Covid-19 and its effects were the most prominent topic for islanders creating e-petitions throughout 2020, new data published by the Government has revealed.

Out of the 323 petitions created by islanders, 138 were centred around covid - though only around half of these made it through the moderation process.

Pictured: The top e-petition topics in 2020.

According to a briefing paper on the Government’s website, the most signed petition of the year was a petition to put Jersey in lockdown during the corona virus outbreak in March 2020, which garnered 6,048 signatures in total.

However, though it reached the 5,000 signature threshold to be debated in the States Assembly, it was not debated, as lockdown measures had already been implemented by the point it came to them.

The second-most-signed was related to the pandemic’s wider impact, with an e-petition to get emergency support for self-employed businesses racking up 5,876 signatures – again, this was not debated as a package had been offered by the time it came to the Assembly.

The Government also measured how prominent these covid-related e-petitions were, noting a number of spikes, particularly during March 2020 (36 e-petitions) when the pandemic first arrived, and in December (24 petitions) during the ‘lockdown lite’ circuit breaker.

Pictured: The sub-topics considered in the covid petitions.

The rest of the top ten e-petitions started in 2020 (as of 12 April 2021) were as follows: 

• Write off income tax liability for prior year if moved to current year basis – 5,774 signatures
• Keep gyms open and enforce masks and 2-metre distancing for extra protection – 4,429 signatures
• Break up from school a week earlier – 4,258 signatures
• Legalize, Decriminalize and regulate Cannabis for Islanders – 3,021 signatures
• Reverse the decision to spend £200,000 on the child abuse memorial – 2,886 signatures
• Stop the de minimis level being reduced from £240 to £135 – 2,597 signatures
• Follow Scotland and make period products free for all – 2,210 signatures
• Reconsider the childcare memorial – 1,832 signatures

Studying e-petitions’ effect on States Members’ and Government’s decisions, the briefing paper acknowledged that in the case of the debate on moving to current year basis for tax, the petition to write off income tax liability “had some influence on Government action," which saw a U-turn on how long islanders would have to pay off their 2019 bill. 

Pictured: Home Affairs Minister Constable Len Norman had the most petitions directed at his department.

Furthermore, it noted how in several proposals, including banning the use of single-use carrier bags, and school closures, public petitions were referenced.

The most petitioned Minister was Home Affairs Minister Constable Len Norman – he was followed by the Minister for Social Security, the Minister for the Environment, and the Minister for Children and Housing, all in joint second.

In total, 120 e-petitions were put online - 28 of those gained 1,000 signatures or over, warranting a response from Ministers.

The reason only 120 of the 323 created e-petitions were put online was due to the moderation and sponsorship process, whereby a petition must have at least 5 sponsors behind it, meet the set standards, and not be a duplicate of any others.