Population policy to be lodged in autumn

Friday 06 October 2017

The Chief Minister is to finally lay down exactly how he proposes to deal with the island’s rising population this autumn, it has been confirmed.

Political pressure has been mounting on the Chief Minister’s Department to put forward a policy on managing inward migration since it was revealed in June that Jersey’s planned migration target of 325 was smashed for the second year in a row in 2016, causing the population to rise by 1,300 to 104,200.

A fresh Population Policy had expected to be submitted over the summer, but came under delays. It’s now been confirmed that this will occur during the Autumn.

The Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel have already had sight of a draft version of the new law on a confidential basis, and have pledged to undertake a review of the final version once it has been officially lodged.

If recent migration trends continue (+1,000 per year between 2013-2015), we estimate that Jersey's population would reach 128,800 by 2035 pic.twitter.com/mSGnfIcZWV

— Jersey Stats Unit (@JsyStats) June 20, 2017

The new policy will outline a government strategy for handling migration, and is expected to include the introduction of work permits, photographs on registration cards and criminal records checks for new migrants. 

Deputy John Le Fondré, Chairman of the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel, commented: “The growing size of Jersey’s population has for a long time been a key area of concern for both the Assembly and the public. Whilst migration to the Island will need to play a part in supporting an ageing population and contributing to our economy, any increase in size needs to be carefully balanced with the extra demands placed on infrastructure, housing, education and healthcare.”

The new policy will operate alongside the Population Office’s latest efforts to revoke permanent registered permissions, grant more seasonal permissions and increase licensing fees. 

Such measures have caused concerns to business leaders, who say they are finding it difficult to fill permanent vacancies.

Pictured: Work permits, photo IDs, criminal records checks - these are just some of the measures expected to be included in the Chief Minister's plan to manage Jersey's population.

While recognising the importance of having some controls, Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce, Mark Cox, previously told Express that he hoped the new legislation would take businesses’ needs into consideration.

“Overall, when you look at the number of vacancies around, there is an issue not just in hospitality and agriculture, but everywhere. Finance and retail are struggling to recruit. Whilst seasonal licences are definitely beneficial for certain areas, like hospitality and agriculture, they are struggling to find people to fill those vacancies.

“There is a bigger issue here than just seasonality… Whilst it's commendable that the States have a policy of encouraging people to employ locals, as many businesses here would try and do where they can, being able to find that resource to fill the current level of vacancies is a real issue.”