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The Policy Centre held a discussion meeting on how Jersey can become a technologically advanced economy on 15 November 2024. Technology is the only industry capable of matching finance in terms of economic value to the Island. But it is not prioritised. Key points raised were immigration policy, regulation and skills.

On 15 November the Government announced a consultation on whether Beautiful Jersey should be adopted as Jersey’s national anthem and also whether Liberation Day, 9 May, should be adopted as Jersey's national day.The consultation is not accompanied by any analysis. The Policy Centre’s Knowledge Centre Paper, Jersey’s National Anthem , provides a comprehensive analysis of the issue, including the text and recording of the three alternative anthems – Beautiful Jersey, Island Home and Ma Normandie. The Knowledge Centre paper provides the essential information to enable people to make an informed response to the consultation.

The most recent report on house prices by Statistics Jersey is at first sight alarming. The 3rd quarter report, published on 7 November, reported that average prices were 12.0% lower than a year earlier. The fall was particularly pronounced for 4-bedroom houses (19.7%) and 1-bedroom flats (15.5%).The Centre’s Policy Brief on Housing has been updated to include the new data. The Brief includes calculations of the fall in house prices and rents taking account of the rise in prices generally -

The Policy Centre Jersey aims to improve the quality of the discussion on public policy issues. It therefore warmly welcomes the publication of the report by PwC and the Jersey Community Foundation.

The Policy Centre held a discussion meeting on energy policy on the morning of 26 September 2024. 45 people participated - members of the Centre’s Advisory Council, representatives of business and government and people interested in the subject.The discussion followed the publication of the Centre’s Policy Brief on Energy policy.

The Policy Centre has published a new Policy Brief Alcohol and entertainment licensing. The Brief explains the current Licensing Law and arrangements for approving entertainments, analyses the concerns about current arrangements and describes the various attempts at reform with as yet no action being taken.

The Policy Centre has published a new policy brief – on the important subject of Energy Policy . Jersey is a consumer rather than a producer of energy. The Brief seeks to explain all aspects of energy supply and consumption in the Island and analyses key policy issues. The Brief draws on the latest statistics including the annual Energy Trends report published by Statistics Jersey today. Key points made in the brief are –Energy consumption in Jersey has fallen by 44% since the mid-1990s and there has been a significant switch away from electricity being generated from oil to electricity being generated by nuclear and hydro power.

The Policy Centre has published its Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2024. The Report details the research that has been undertaken, meetings held and papers published in its first full year of operation.In his introduction to the Report, the Centre’s Chair, Alan Merry, said – We have made great progress. In little more than a year, the Centre is well on the way to becoming firmly established as the source of authoritative analysis on key policy areas relevant to Jersey.

The Policy Centre held a discussion meeting on regulation of taxis on the morning of 26 July 2024. 26 people participated - members of the Centre’s Advisory Council and representatives of business and government.The discussion followed the publication of the Centre’s Policy Brief Regulation of taxis.The meeting was chaired by Simon Soar, Director of the Centre. Opening comments were made by Sir Mark Boleat, the Centre’s Senior Adviser.There was then an open discussion.

The Policy Centre Jersey in a paper on secondary education has called for a review of the policy of selection at age 14 and for meaningful value-added figures for each secondary school so that they can be compared with each other and with schools in comparable jurisdictions.The Centre has submitted evidence to the Children, Education and Home Affairs Panel of the States Assembly which is currently conducting a review of secondary education funding. The Centre’s response concentrates on the 14 plus secondary transfer system and educational outcomes.

The Policy Centre held a discussion meeting on the subject of improving the consultation process on the morning of 28 June. 35 people participated - members of the Centre’s Advisory Council and representatives of business, government and charities.The discussion followed the publication of the Centre’s research paper Improving the consultation process .The meeting was chaired by Simon Soar, Director of the Centre. Opening comments were made by –Sir Mark Boleat, the Centre’s Senior Adviser and author of the research paper.Paul Wylie, Group Director of Policy, Government of Jersey.There was then a lively discussion.

The Policy Centre has published a new Policy "Brief Regulation of taxis". The taxi service in Jersey has been the subject of much discussion over the past 15 or so years. However, there is little published information about the regulatory regime or relevant statistics. The Brief brings together the available information in a coherent way and analyses public policy issues.

The Policy Centre has published a Policy Brief on dogs. The Brief provides some basic information about dogs in Jersey – their number and characteristics, laws and regulations governing their ownership and control, and policy issues.

The Policy Centre has responded to the Statistics Users Group 2024 Survey. The surveys undertaken by Statistics Jersey are immaculate. High quality statistics are produced strictly in accordance with a published schedule. There is scope for some minor improvements in the presentation of statistics.

The Jersey Government fails to comply with its own code of practice and policy on consultations with an adverse effect on the quality of policy-making. This is the principal conclusion in a report published today by the Policy Centre Jersey. The report Improving the Consultation Process was written by the Centre’s Senior Adviser, Sir Mark Boleat.The report argues that a major deficiency is that consultations are not always meaningful, rather they are going through the motions with the objective of claiming that consultation has been undertaken and that there is broad agreement with the proposals. There are reports of charities or businesses being invited to events labelled as consultations but which in practice comprise a PowerPoint presentation with little opportunity for discussion. A second major deficiency is that little notice is taken of points made in the consultation, combined with the absence of a meaningful analysis of consultation responses.