Migration policy published…but no decisions to be made yet

Thursday 15 March 2018

The Chief Minister has now officially put forward ministers' plans on how to control Jersey’s increasing population numbers – but no decisions will be made until after the election.

It means that the plans will be one of the first items to be discussed by the new States Assembly, once the members have been elected.

Political pressure has been mounting on the Chief Minister to officially publish his plans to bring down net migration after it was revealed that population targets had yet again been smashed under his administration, with over 1,000 new entrants to the island in 2016, bringing the population to around 104,000.

His proposed solutions include the issuing of time-limited work permits and photographic ID cards.

It was hoped that they would be debated by the current States Assembly and introduced prior to the elections, but numerous false starts saw them pushed back further and further.

Pictured: Population projections from the Statistics Unit.

The Chief Minister had previously stated that he had hoped a decision would be made by 6 March, but missed the deadline to submit his plans to the States Assembly for discussion and decision-making. 

The news was a blow to concluding discussion on what has been a highly divisive issue in the island for many years. 

Despite the fact that the current Assembly won’t be able to make a decision on the plans, Senator Gorst said that he had ‘officially’ published them to be able to put the subject of migration on the agenda prior to the elections.

“Debating the policy later this year will provide more time for the UK’s new post-Brexit arrangements to become clearer, especially in relation to the future movement of European Economic Area nationals,” he said.

He added: “We have some very big decisions to make on immigration. I have outlined my desire to introduce work permits and criminal record checks in the context of Brexit. I want to do this while supporting local businesses. It is now for Islanders to consider these issues as part of the election, and for the new Assembly to decide how to respond to the views of the electorate.”

Assistant Minister Senator Paul Routier, who has mostly been responsible for the work on population, and who is not seeking re-election, described the proposals as “solid” and able to “deliver a sustainable balance for Jersey in the context of the Brexit changes.”

Scrutiny are currently conducting an urgent “high-level” review into the Chief Minister’s plans, and hope to publish their conclusions before the election.