Statistics Jersey Chief Outlines Vision for Trusted Data at Chamber Lunch
Chief Statistician Ian Cope addressed the Jersey Chamber of Commerce today at our monthly lunch event, titled "It’s a Numbers Thing – Data We Need." Speaking to a capacity audience, Mr Cope detailed the critical role of independent, high-quality statistics in navigating the Island’s economic and social future.
The presentation highlighted the significant structural changes following amendments to the Statistics Law, which came into effect on 21 February 2025. These changes established Statistics Jersey as a professionally independent ‘Other States Body’, legally protecting the Chief Statistician from outside direction on how functions are performed.
The Value of Reliable Data
Mr Cope emphasised that official statistics serve as an essential "barometer for business", providing impartial data that allows firms to benchmark performance against other industries and jurisdictions. During 2025, a team of 19 staff produced 25 major reports—averaging nearly one every two weeks—covering critical indicators such as the Retail Prices Index (RPI), GDP, and the House Price Index.
Key insights shared during the briefing included:
Inflation & Housing: The latest figures show the RPI annual inflation rate at 2.8% as of December 2025, a significant decrease from the peak of 12.7% in early 2023. Meanwhile, the House Price Index in Q3 2025 remained 13% lower than its 2022 peak.
Survey Participation: The Chief Statistician urged businesses to continue supporting mandatory surveys, such as the Annual Business Survey and the Average Earnings Survey. He noted that since the Average Earnings Survey became compulsory, response rates have jumped from 56% to 91%, drastically improving data reliability for uprating pensions and benefits.
Future Innovation: Future work includes a shift towards web-based reporting rather than traditional PDFs and investigating the use of ‘supermarket till data’ to enhance RPI accuracy. Plans are also underway for the 2031 Census, with the Government weighing options between a traditional approach and an admin-data-led model similar to that used in Guernsey.
Call to Action for Local Businesses
A key takeaway from the event was the invitation for closer collaboration between the business community and the Island’s data experts. Ian Cope, alongside Dr Kathryn Chamberlain OBE, Chair of the Jersey Statistics Council, is actively encouraging businesses to reach out to the department for bespoke data analyses and advice to support informed decision-making.
The full presentation slides from today’s event, including detailed economic breakdowns and the future work programme, are available to view on the Jersey Chamber website: Trusted data and statistics.
