Your Excellency, Madame President, Ladies and Gentlemen, good afternoon. As always, it’s a pleasure to be here.
Much has happened since I last spoke to you in March last year. We have a new president in the White House, the UK has started the formal process of leaving the EU, and there will be elections in the UK, France and Germany.
Some claim that we face the most uncertain future for 70 years. But the truth is - the world around us has been changing fast for the last few decades.
We are seeing large movements of peoples across the globe, power and resources moving from West to East, the rapid advance of technology, a move to service economies.
Closer to home, the international spotlight is on financial service centres. We’ve seen the great recession of 2008. In short - we see challenges on all sides.
At the start of this government we knew we needed to spend more on health and education, and to invest in our infrastructure. We also knew that our foundations were solid, thanks to the difficult decisions taken by previous Treasury Ministers.
So we developed a plan. Some commentators chose to characterise that plan as a black hole, but it was never that. It was a plan to re-prioritise our spending and invest in the future. As the Treasury Minister said yesterday, we are now on target to broadly balance our books two years ahead of schedule.
Economy
The island’s finances are healthy – both income and investment returns - and we are doing all we can to boost that positive position:
- supporting a strong economy
- getting islanders working
- continuing our drive to expand fintech initiatives
Our finance industry is providing more than 13,000 jobs for islanders, more now than at the peak of the 2007 pre-crisis levels. We have seen a growth in assets under administration.
Digital Jersey is supporting solutions that will help islanders, like our new digital health strategy. Visit Jersey is seeing a growth in visitor numbers. Our construction sector has a very strong pipeline of projects.
Our economy grew in 2015 by 2.2 per cent, more than double the forecast. Unemployment continues to fall. 1180 people are actively seeking work – 320 of those are actually in work but would prefer longer hours. The figures for March were the lowest for six years, one hundred less than at the end of December and two hundred less than a year ago.
The Social Security Minister and her department are getting people into work, tackling low income, raising aspiration, turning people’s lives around.
464 job starts have been supported by Back to Work so far his year, mostly in construction, hospitality, tourism and leisure. I know many Chamber members support Back to Work, Advance to Work, apprenticeships and Princes Trust training schemes. I would like to thank you for putting your time and energy into passing on employment skills and experience. These are valuable contributions to our community.
We have a new Rural Economy Strategy that focuses on economic and environmental sustainability in the countryside. It is promoting growth in the sector, while protecting our environment, and considering the impact of rural business on the wider community.
Economic Development is pulling together a Retail Development Policy, with input from Chamber members, to help this important sector to prosper and grow. The £13.5m allocated to our Economic and Productivity Growth Fund is being used to help improve productivity:
- more money for Digital Jersey to provide digital skills courses, networking events and lectures
- money to keep Jersey’s data protection procedures in line with EU regulations
We have to meet new standards if we want to continue exchanging information beyond these shores. Data protection in Jersey must match far-reaching changes to European Union law, and the Information Commissioner will continue to advise businesses how to prepare for the new regime.
£40,000 has been allocated to research Jersey’s future skills requirements, so we can plug the gap between available skills and employer requirements.
Money is going to Community and Constitutional Affairs to safeguard the island’s interests on borders, migration, citizenship, passports, single market in goods and the Common Travel Area
We have proposed a new cyber-strategy, with education at its heart. It proposes cyber security training at all levels of education, through partnerships with business and educational establishments. The world of cyber security moves quickly and it’s important that Jersey has the right skills.
Priorities for 2017
While we may have achieved many of our objectives, we have much more we want to complete during this term of office:
- the Home Affairs Minister is introducing legislation on cybercrime, hate crime, safeguarding vulnerable people and sexual offences
- the Housing Minister is working on shared equity legislation, a deposit loan scheme and new social housing regulations
- the Environment Minister continues to reduce red tape and plans to present a climate adaptation plan, and an updated Waterfront Masterplan
- ED is finalising a new Licensing Law and is almost ready to launch Jersey Sport
- Social Security is preparing a pilot scheme to support workplace adaptions for disabled workers
- Education is coordinating projects that link schools, colleges and apprentice schemes with local companies. Campus Jersey is being expanded with more on-island degrees and there is a new Level 3 qualification at Highlands which focuses on employability skills
- the Infrastructure Minister has reorganised his department and is working to secure sustainable capital funding for the assets his department manages
- the Health and Social Services Minister continues to reform our health care model and to improve Mental Health facilities. He is working with the Treasury to fund health care for a growing elderly population and to build a new hospital
Much has been said in recent days about how we should fund the hospital “given the global uncertainty”. Let me be clear – the Treasury proposal is a blended solution. It makes the best use of our balance sheet by using some reserves and borrowing at a low interest rate so we can pay back the money using income from those same reserves.
We are living through a time of low interest rates and global uncertainty. Now is not the right time to use our reserves on a capital project. It is not right to remove flexibility by paying for the hospital solely from the Strategic Reserve, nor would it be right politically to fund it entirely from borrowing.
My department will soon publish a disability strategy. We are recruiting a Charities Commissioner – that law should be introduced early in 2018 - and we are aiming to consult on a Telecoms strategy in the second half of this year.
The Digital Policy Framework we published earlier this year has been shortlisted for the Smart Island World Congress Awards. Jersey’s Digital Health and Care Strategy will speed up communication between the Hospital and family doctors by connecting their IT systems. GPs will be able to receive the results of hospital tests electronically. This is an essential step towards delivering as much health care as possible in the community.
These priority policies will see more social and community protection, improvements in housing, infrastructure, and our town, and improvements in the life chances of all children and families.
Long term planning
In the last two years we have been working on a vision for Jersey for the next twenty years. I want to keep Jersey a great place to live by enhancing what’s special about our island – our beautiful environment and safe community. And I want to continue welcoming newcomers to the island who bring the skills and experience that we need.
We cannot, and must not, close our doors to the world around us. Our economy and our people can thrive on globalisation. Our challenge is to ensure that all our people reap its benefits, and to strike the right balance when managing migration.
We have introduced new measures to reduce the number of new migrants. 264 permissions have been removed from just over thirty businesses since our pilot project began last year, and we are starting work with another sixteen businesses.
I know this can be difficult for those affected, but we want to see productive businesses making a profit and paying good wages, with migration delivering the greatest benefit for Islanders.
Brexit
As the UK negotiates its departure from the EU we are maintaining a programme of engagement with UK parliamentarians and government departments. We are engaging with our EU partners through the Channel Island Brussels Office, talking to local businesses and industry bodies to understand their needs and highlighting our requirements to the relevant UK departments.
We know there will be challenges as we don’t yet know what the new deal the UK government is seeking will look like. But, again, I am clear that our most important relationship is with the UK, and I am confident that this will remain strong.
I have been asked over the last twenty-four hours – will the UK election affect our aims? Of course it won’t. We work with all parties and with whichever government is in power. My officers work daily with their UK counterparts and this will continue whatever the complexion of the next government.
Financial Services
When it comes to financial services - we are outside the EU today and our position in that respect will therefore not change when the UK leaves the EU. The UK Prime Minister has said she will be seeking the broadest possible agreement with the EU on market access, including for UK financial services.
We know there are many challenges and we are not complacent. We are in a great place and I am not afraid, but I want to continue to invest in the future of this sector. That’s why we have allocated up to £900,000 from the Economic and Productivity Growth Fund for Jersey Finance to commission an updated review of our financial services industry.
The decisions we took after the 2013 review have directly contributed to our continued growth and stability. The new review will look at changes in digital technology and fintech, and help us to identify opportunities for future growth.
The financial services industry is hugely beneficial to the economic and social well-being of our island. With 13,000 islanders employed in financial and professional services and a 42 per cent contribution to our economy, this is an investment to assure the sustainability and future success of this sector. A strong economy allows government to deliver the public services and social provision that is so important to all of us.
Planning for the future
It’s not just in financial services that we are working to protect the Island’s future. The changing nature of the job market could leave some jobs obsolete, but it will also present new opportunities. That is why our Digital Policy Framework, released just a few months ago, has “Digital Skills for all” as one of its six core objectives.
Digital Jersey are offering a range of courses so students and workers can gain the skills they need for a successful career in the digital sector. Jersey Business has a new website to signpost resources for skills development. We have set up resources for islanders to practice using modern technology.
Digital Jersey, Jersey International Business School and the Channel Islands Information Security Forum are all offering cyber security training, an essential skill for keeping safe online.
The Department for Education is working on a Skills Strategy for release by the end of the year which will include a commitment for all students up to the age of 16 to be enrolled in computing lessons.
Keeping islanders’ skills updated throughout their careers will feature in our long term plan, a plan that will look to the next twenty years of Jersey’s development.
We are approaching the challenges ahead with optimism and many advantages:
- our business friendly climate
- our skilled workforce
- a world-renowned financial services sector that contributes 42% of GVA to Jersey’s economy
Our buoyant financial and professional services sector also drives wider economic growth. Research from Jersey Finance suggests that for every job in financial and professional services, another job is supported or created in the wider economy - from the spending of those companies and their employees.
Improving productivity will help us manage issues like population growth. Our challenge is to focus on completing the work we have started – while establishing a comprehensive long term vision for Jersey that can carry us through the next twenty years.
We have a number of important policy changes to complete:
- a new population policy
- a disability strategy
- legislation on the regulation of care and sexual offences
- a continued focus on high quality, affordable housing
- firm proposals for funding Higher and Nursery Education
- a funding model agreed for our new hospital
- and – most importantly - we will work hard to protect Jersey’s interests as the UK leaves the EU
Our vision is to provide:
- a healthcare system that treats people in their home, in the community, and in a hospital that meets current standards
- a St Helier where people want to live and work – at the centre of a thriving economy
- more decent standard homes
- an education system that supports all our children to reach their potential
- an island with strong, stable public finances that can fund our services, care for the vulnerable and provide a safety net for those who need it
Madame president – this government is working towards creating a better Jersey. Whether or not the challenges we face now are the greatest for 70 years, I am confident that we will manage them.
I believe we can navigate tomorrow’s challenges successfully and for the benefit of all islanders. I welcome constructive criticism, and I know Chamber is willing to provide it. But let us be constructive.
We are not made stronger by knocking each other down – but by creating together. There are no easy solutions.
Partisanship won’t deliver the answers – but coming together, building together, will.
At this time of global challenge, we owe that to each other.
We owe it to our children and our grandchildren.
Together we can create a strong future.
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