A10 of the Engagement and Information Improvement Report (FOI)

​​Request

Recommendation A10 of the Engagement and Information Improvement Report was that “A structured centralised approach to observing public opinion should be implemented to provide Ministers with information about current issues that matter most to Islanders.”

Please provide the results of any surveys undertaken following this recommendation.

Response

The Policy Inclusion Framework consists of policy engagement good practice guidance and a policy engagement toolkit. This guidance is designed for policy officials with the purpose of implementing an improved, centralised approach to engaging with Islanders, which includes approaches to observing public opinion. The Framework was published internally in November 2022 with an accompanying package of training launched in 2023 on the Government’s learning and development platform. Please see the link below:

Policy Inclusion Framework.gov.je

As a result of the Framework, the Government’s policy directorate piloted regular polling of Islanders in Q1 2024 to gain insight into the top issues for Islanders and how well they feel Government is progressing in addressing these. This involved an independent poll which gathers quantitative data to assess:

• the top issues for Islanders; 
• a mean score for how well Government is doing at addressing respondents’ ‘top issues’; and 
• a demographic breakdown of respondents based on information provided when completing the poll. 

In addition to this, in Q1 2024 4 focus groups took place (3x mixed, 1x with 18–24-year-olds) giving 32 participants with a great mix of ages, ethnicities, employment situations, income levels, home situation, family constructs and years living in Jersey. Each group lasted about 90 mins and was held independently of Government. 

The subsequent reports, consisting of high-level quantitative and quantitative data, are passed on to Ministers for their information. 

Attachment 1 Survey Data.pdf

Attachment 2 Executive Summary.pdf

Attachment 3 Top Issues for Islanders.pdf​​

Results of the January 2024 poll (quantitative):

• 1,801 Islanders completed the independent poll.
• Spontaneous top issues for respondents were Cost of Living, followed by Housing.
• Young respondents (17-24) were more likely to cite Housing as their top issue, those aged 25-74 cited Economic 
• Concerns (eg. cost of living, inflation) as their top issue, those over 75 cited Faith in Government as their top issue.
• Regardless of income level Economic Concerns (eg. cost of living, inflation) were the most important issue.
• Other frequently mentioned issues included Faith in Government 12%, The Hospital 7% and Population Levels 5%. 
• Mean score of 2.7/10 for how well Government is doing at addressing respondents ‘top issue’.
• Respondents aged 45-54 scored Government the lowest at 2.38 - Highest Mean Score those aged 75+ at 3.25, closely followed by under 25s at 3.24
• When asked to select (up to four) ‘Other Important Issues’ facing Jersey, Economic Concerns (eg. cost of living, inflation) (50%) was still the most commonly selected, followed by The Hospital (43%) then Faith in Government (36%). 
• Talent Leaving the Island (32%) and Healthcare (32%) were also selected frequently.
• Looking at the mean scores for individual issues - Cost of Living was 2.97/10, Housing was 2.73/10. Lowest was for ‘Faith in Government’ at 2.11/10 and ‘The Hospital’ at 2.14/10, highest were for ‘Climate Change’ at 3.76 and ‘Renewable Energy’ at 3.67.
• Respondent profile similar to the population on age, marginal differences observed by ethnicity and gender. Weighting the data by ethnicity and age had little effect on the ‘most important issue’ facing Jersey, the ‘other important issues’ or average rating of how Government is doing.

​Results of focus groups in February 2024 (qualitative): 

• Similar to the January quantitative poll, spontaneous top issues were:

1. Cost of Living (53%)

2. Housing (34%)

• Then there was a significant gap to next most important issues – Faith in Government/Politicians (x2), Healthcare and the Hospital (x2).
• Cost of living is impacting Islanders quality of life across all income levels. Widespread struggles to afford basic necessities like food, limited opportunities to shop around due to a lack of competition, wages not keeping up with rate of inflation. Bleak outlook for younger Islanders going straight to the ‘reduced section’, abstaining from socialising and constant temptations to leave Jersey.
• Housing is compounding the cost of living, with rent unaffordability and uncertainty among participants. Available properties perceived as inadequate and any desire for home ownership is hindered by financial constraints. Hopelessness among young Islanders, 8/9 participants were still living at home, most were looking to move elsewhere for affordable, desirable accommodation.
• Calls for clear communication and recognition of the top issues - increasing the public's awareness of initiatives to address the Cost of Living in particular eg. ‘We know the cost of living is affecting Islanders…… this is what we’re doing about it.”
• Issues perceived as interconnected - the cost of living and lack of affordable housing is having a knock-on effect leading to talent leaving the island, labour shortages, compounded by the ageing population and issues with healthcare. 
• Adequately addressing these two issues was perceived to have a positive downstream effect on all the other key issues facing Jersey.
• Climate change/the environment and renewable energy were ranked lowest, even with the young islanders.