Islanders invited to give their thoughts on future population policy
The Government of Jersey is inviting Islanders to take part in a frank and open discussion about the Island’s future population policy.
This will include an online consultation which will be available from Thursday 29 July on www.gov.je, focus group sessions, industry engagement, a live-streamed panel session on Government social media channels, and inviting written submissions which can be sent directly to [email protected].
The Chief Minister, Senator John Le Fondré, commented:
“People in Jersey have been discussing the size of the Island population for many years, and plans have been put forward by successive Governments to keep the population at a certain level. Despite these plans, the Island has seen a steady growth in population in recent years; today we have over 100,000 inhabitants, and continued economic growth has meant people coming from outside of Jersey to work here.
“This Government has agreed to develop a population policy that will consider how best to balance the overall needs of Jersey’s economy, environment and community. The policy will also need to plan for an Island community that is getting older and the pressures that are associated with that change.
“I hope many Islanders will take part in the population discussion, submit their views, and help us ensure we are taking the right actions to effectively manage our population to benefit successive generations.”
Assistant Chief Minister, Deputy Rowland Huelin, who has political responsibility for development of the population policy said:
“The population policy will need to consider all aspects of Island life, with the objective being to maintain, enhance and - where possible - improve the quality of life for all Islanders. A successful policy will look to balance the competing pressures presented by the economy, the environment, and the community, while maintaining the flexibility to adapt and react to future circumstances.
“We appreciate that there are strongly held views on this topic – there is no single answer to this problem and there are no easy solutions. So, it is extremely important that we have this discussion to gauge and confirm existing thoughts, explore potential innovative new ideas, and get all Islanders’ views, so the policy we develop is the right one for us.”
This consultation is open to everyone living in Jersey. The Government are interested in the views of people who have just arrived, people who have moved and built their lives here over many years, and people who have lived here all their lives.
The resulting population policy is due to be published before the end of the year.
Government of Jersey News Release.