Newsletter March 2026

Jenny Bevis appointed Policy Centre Director

On 23 February, the Centre announced the appointment of Jenny Bevis as its new Director. Jenny brings extensive experience in policy and regulatory work, including roles within the Government of Jersey and leading strategic review projects for both Jersey and Guernsey. Her expertise spans strategy development, investment appraisal, organisational transformation and policy delivery across sectors including agriculture, environment and food.

Top issues survey published

On 26 February the Centre published its annual Top Issues for islanderssurvey. This showed that cost of living remains the issue Islanders are most concerned about, with 38% identifying it as the most important issue facing Jersey.Housing ranked second at 13%, followed by faith in government (11%) and Jersey’s economy (8%).  The survey has been running for three years, and cost of living has been the top issue in each of the surveys.

New research report – religion in Jersey

The Centre has published a new research report – Religion in Jersey – Historical Development, Demographic Change, and Policy Considerations.

The Report, by Maia-Grace de Bourcier, a Research Assistant at the Policy Centre and at Yale Divinity School,  traces the historical trajectory of religion in Jersey, which is characterised by a transition from pre-Christian ritual activity to a complex landscape of Christian denominations and, more recently, a significant shift towards secularisation and religious pluralism. There is a clear trend of increasing secularisation, with religious identification declining from 54% in 2015 to 39% in 2023. While Christianity remains the dominant religion among those among those who identify as religious, non-Christian religious identification has risen from 3% to 7% over the past decade.

The report identifies several key policy areas for consideration –

• Data Collection: The need for standardised and detailed religious data collection to inform evidence-based policymaking.
• Constitutional Review: Reassessing the constitutional role of religious representatives, such as the Dean of Jersey, to ensure broader representation of the Island’s diverse population.
• Legal Reform: Amending the Discrimination (Jersey) Law 2013 to include religion as a protected characteristic, closing the gap with human rights protections.
• Education and Engagement: Reviewing the religious education curriculum for inclusivity and enhancing formal engagement with minority faith and non-religious groups.

Policy Briefs updated

The Centre’s 33 Policy Briefs cover all current policy issues and are regularly updated or expanded.  In February –

• Population policy was updated to include new population projections and annual figures on births and deaths.
• 2026 general election was updated following the coming into effect of several new laws.
• Annual budget was updated to include extracts from the final 2026 budget agreed by the States Assembly.
• Cost of living was updated to include the December inflation statistics.
• Economic trends was updated to include the December 2025 Business Trends survey.
• Housing was updated to include the 2025 Q4 house prices and rents report and new projections of housing needs.
• Reinstating senators was updated following the implementation of the decision the States Assembly took in September 2025.
• Social security was updated to include a summary of the report by the Comptroller and Auditor General on the Health insurance Fund.

A new brief Violence against women and girls was published. This includes a summary of the independent review by Eleanor Laws KC of the Jersey criminal justice system in relation to domestic abuse, rape, and serious sexual offences. 

Knowledge Centre papers updated

The Centre’s 14 in-depth Knowledge Centre papers explore various aspects of Jersey, such as its history, political system, and economy. 

Two papers were significantly updated in February –

• Jersey’s political system was updated to include all the legislative changes following the decision to reinstate senators.
• Jersey’s population was updated to include the latest population projections.

Policy Centre Jersey aims to improve the quality of public decision-making and civic engagement in Jersey. It provides accessible, evidence-based research, policy briefings and public forums that help residents, decision-makers and institutions better understand the challenges facing the Island. The Centre is a registered Jersey charity, reliant on donations and sponsorship to fund its work. If you would like to support the work of the Centre, please contact the Director Jenny Bevis – director@policy.je.