Entitled status approvals (FOI)

Request

How many individuals have been granted 'entitled' status on social, economic or hardship grounds as defined under the Control of Housing and Work (Jersey) Law 2012 since January 2018.

Please provide the name(s) of assembly member(s) who has approved them or department and the number of approved individuals by the name of the assembly member or department which has approved them.

Response

The table below shows the number of individuals granted ‘entitled’ status on social and / or economic grounds as defined under the Control of Housing and Work (Residential and Employment Status) (Jersey) Regulations 2013 since January 2018:

All decisions to grant ‘entitled’ status on these grounds between January and May 2018 were considered by the former Assistant Chief Minister, Paul Routier MBE. All decisions to grant ‘entitled’ status on these grounds since May 2018 have been considered by the Housing and Work Advisory Group. The Group is chaired by Assistant Chief Minister, Connétable Christopher Taylor, and comprises the Minister for Children and Housing, Senator Sam Mézec, the Minister for Social Security, Deputy Judy Martin, and the Assistant Minister for Economic Development, Tourism, Sport and Culture, Senator Steve Pallett.

The referral will include financial and due diligence information, and an officer recommendation for their consideration from the Director, High Value Residency; the Team Manager at Customer and Local Services with responsibility for administration of the Control of Housing and Work (Jersey) Law 2012; and the Head of the Ministerial Support Unit.

The table below shows the number of individuals granted ‘entitled’ status on hardship grounds as defined under the Control of Housing and Work (Residential and Employment Status) (Jersey) Regulations 2013 since January 2018:

Relevant officers within Customer and Local Services will consider these applications under delegated powers from the Assistant Chief Minister where they fall within the Control of Housing and Work (Jersey) Law 2012 – Residential and Employment Status – Policy Guidance, dated May 2019, available at the following link:

Control of Housing and Work (Jersey) Law 2012

(previous published versions dated December 2016 and March 2018).

This guidance has been approved by the Housing and Work Advisory Group, and sets out parameters in which decisions under the legislation regarding residential and employment status are made.

The Assistant Chief Minister has the ability to consider applications which do not fall within the guidance on a case-by-case basis, and to exercise discretion in respect of such applications. In these cases, officers will refer applications to the Assistant Chief Minster for consideration, and whilst he is ultimately accountable for the decision, he will seek the advice of his political colleagues on the Housing and Work Advisory Group as part of the decision making process.