Common Strategic Policy

STATES OF JERSEY

COMMON STRATEGIC POLICY

Lodged au Greffe on 4th October 2022 by the Council of Ministers

Earliest date for debate: 22nd November 2022

STATES GREFFE

2022  P.98

PROPOSITION

THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion

in accordance with Article 18(2)(e) of the States of Jersey Law 2005, to approve the statement of the Common Strategic Policy of the Council of Ministers as set out in the report of this Proposition.

COUNCIL OF MINISTERS

Page - 2

P.98/2022

OCT 2022

Proposed Common Strategic Policy

GP

Government Programme

2023-26

Common Strategic Policy 2023 - 2026 3

Jersey: A Thriving Community

Our ambition

The shared ambition of this Government is for Jersey to be a place where everyone can thrive.

A place where people can afford a home, find good work, enjoy life, love, raise a family, and stay active, healthy, and financially secure throughout life. A place that cares for its community, environment, culture and heritage.

Underpinning this, we need a strong sustainable economy for people to thrive. An economy that delivers long-term growth which positively impacts Jersey s community, environment, and culture. An economy that is resilient, and which draws strength from the skills of those who live here, promoting social mobility and equality of opportunity and reward.

We live in challenging times, and to achieve this ambition we must face with confidence some of the biggest strategic challenges in our recent history, such as the rising cost of living, climate change, global economic trends, the pace of technological transformation, an ageing population, and pressures on our public services. Clearly, some of these challenges are structural and long-term, some require change outside Government, as well as within, and many of the consequences are already with us. So, we know we need to act now to safeguard Jersey s

future for the coming decades and to produce results quickly.

In response to these challenges, and in the knowledge that we cannot do everything, we have set seven strategic priorities which we believe will have the greatest potential benefit. There are many positive aspects to living in Jersey which we wish to preserve. We aim to make sure that everyone can enjoy these benefits so that Jersey truly becomes a thriving community.

We recognise the magnitude of responsibility placed on the Council of Ministers and the States Assembly. We know people have high expectations of us. We accept this responsibility with drive and determination. This Government will work for every Islander, and we will make sure everybody has a voice in the decisions, policies and services that affect them.

The future is ours to create. It will be shaped by the choices we make now and in the coming years. While we know the changes we need to make are significant, we can make them. We have the right tools at our disposal, and we pledge to make a difference by working as a team and as one strong Island community.

Together, we will make Jersey a thriving community.

Our Priorities

We are ambitious for Jersey and our to-do list is long. Our seven interlinked priorities will help us to focus and take decisions that have regard to Jersey as a place to live, a place of work, a place to grow old with dignity, and a place to take pride in and protect.

Community Housing and

Cost of Living

Environment Economy and Seven  Skills

Priorities for

Change

Health and  Children and

Wellbeing Families

Ageing Population

For each priority, specific aims are set out in Annex 1, showing what we will focus on over the next four years, with key outcome indicators in Annex 2.

We are also working on a series of shared ministerial missions, which will help us to collectively deliver on these priorities through bold transformative interventions. These will be presented early in 2023.

Housing and Cost of Living

Improve access to, and supply of, good-quality affordable housing, and help people to achieve a decent standard of living.

Economy and Skills

Develop a more sustainable, innovative, outward-facing and prosperous economy and help people acquire the right skills throughout their lives; we want Jersey to be an attractive place for everyone to achieve their potential.

Children and Families

Help all children and young people to have the best start in life, recognising that the early years have a lasting impact, and that being loved, being listened to, and receiving a good, rounded education are essential to future life chances.

Ageing Population

Enable people to live active, independent, healthy lives as they live longer.

Health and Wellbeing

Provide and regulate good quality healthcare and social services, promoting better health and wellbeing underpinned by improvements in public health.

Environment

Protect and enhance our environment so that everyone can continue to enjoy its benefits, moving purposefully on a path to net zero emissions.

Community

Create a more inclusive, vibrant community where people feel respected and able to flourish, as well as safe and protected.

How we will deliver

We will achieve our priorities through:

Building trust

We will uphold the highest standards of conduct, enhancing trust in Government by being responsive, compassionate, accessible, and inclusive, harnessing the expertise of those in Government, the States Assembly, and the public of Jersey. This includes being serious about and responsive to the Scrutiny process.

Accountability

We will lead in a professional way. This includes being accountable, promoting good governance and democracy, and operating in an open and transparent way with clear communication. We will work with the Privileges and Procedures Committee, the Scrutiny Liaison Committee, and the ComitØ de ConnØtables in seeking to increase civic engagement and understanding.

Being prudent

We are serious about sound financial management. We will use taxpayers money wisely, ensuring that our stewardship of the public finances supports a stable economic outlook for Jersey. The Island s strong reputation for financial management has been hard won and our approach to income and expenditure, and our restraint when it comes to borrowing, will bolster this reputation.

Focusing on delivery

We will drive effective and efficient delivery of public services by identifying where performance needs to improve, as well as recognising and learning from good practice, so that we can provide the services people deserve.

Being evidence-based

We will take decisions based on the collection and rigorous analysis of evidence and data. We will look outward to learn from elsewhere, while delivering solutions tailored for Jersey.

Our workforce

We rely on the people who work for us, and will forge a motivated and productive workforce, addressing skills and labour gaps, especially in critical front-line services such as health and social care.

A commitment to partnership

We maximise our impact when we work together across the whole of government and with the private sector, voluntary and community organisations, as well as maintaining strong relationships with international partners.

Making better decisions

To deliver real benefit for Islanders, each decision will be made with regard to the impact it has on Islanders in three ways: on affordability, on wider quality of life, and on the long-term sustainability of the economy and environment.

Affordability

The affordability of basic goods and services, healthcare, and accommodation. Long-term financial security, especially when it comes to unforeseen events or retirement, is also vital.

Quality of life

Key wider factors that contribute to better living standards such as access to health; housing; education and training; employment conditions; public services; environment, culture and other lifestyle factors.

Sustainability

The social, environmental, and economic sustainability of Government policy. The fundamental question is whether we are living within or beyond environmental limits by asking whether today s prosperity compromises that of future generations.

These three factors are inextricably linked to achieving our ambition that Jersey is a thriving community. If we apply these three important factors to Government decision-making, we are confident it will lead to better, more consistent outcomes.

Our Values

We strongly endorse the existing values of our public service:

WE DELIVER

WE ARE

CUSTOMER  WE ARE FOCUSED RESPECTFUL

OUR

VALUES

WE ARE WE ARE ALWAYS  BETTER IMPROVING TOGETHER

WE ARE WE ARE WE ARE WE

WREESAPREECTFUL BETTER  ALWAYS  CUSTOMER  DELIVER TOGETHER IMPROVING FOCUSED

We care about people as individuals and show respect for their rights, views and feelings

We share knowledge and expertise, valuing the benefits of working together

We are continuously developing ourselves and our services to be the best they can be for Jersey

We are passionate about making Jersey a better place to live and work for everyone

We are proud of Jersey as a place and are passionate about shaping and delivering great public services

We will lead by example, demonstrating these values ourselves and holding the public service to account in its adoption of these values in everything it does.

Monitoring our Priorities

We will monitor the impact of actions taken under each priority. We will draw upon the full array of performance information published by Government and Statistics Jersey, with special focus on the outcomes that matter.

More information on key outcome indicators can be found in Annex 2. Some of these are long- term and will take more than four years to achieve. As a responsible Government, we are not just focused on this term of office, but on the long-term future of the Island.

The Common Strategic Policy as part of the overall Government Programme

This document is the Common Strategic Policy, the legally-required statement of the shared policy of the Council of Ministers. It forms part of a suite of documents referred to as The Government Programme for 2023-2026: From Vision to Action.

As well as this Common Strategic Policy, the Government Programme also includes:

Government Plan 2023 2026, which sets out the funding position for Government

including income, and capital and revenue expenditure.

Ministerial Plans as introduced by the Chief Minister as one of the 100 Day Actions. Each

Minister will present their plan to the States Assembly, providing a clear focus for action, and aiding the Assembly in holding each Minister to account for their delivery.

2023 Delivery Plans to support the above, which will be published in early 2023.

This Common Strategic Policy and the Government Plan will be lodged and debated by the full States Assembly in the autumn, with the Ministerial Plans presented as a report in the same timeframe to afford further detail.

The Government Programme reflects the issues that are most important to Islanders as expressed during the election. It is informed by data and evidence, and seeks to demonstrate our focus on the economic, social, cultural, and environmental wellbeing of Islanders both now and in the future.

Annex 1: Delivery Priorities

Housing and Cost of Living

Our mini-budget, delivered in the first 100 days, put money into the pockets of Islanders through tax reductions and targeted benefits.

For the medium term we will focus our attention on encouraging a strong, sustainable economy that benefits all Islanders, improving our standard of living, and keeping taxes low whilst continuing to support the most vulnerable.

Housing matters. It is a key factor in people s quality of life, as well as a driver of the increasing cost of living in Jersey, which has been exacerbated by globally-driven inflation increases.

We will be proactive in driving a sustainable response to the housing crisis, for tenants and homeowners. We will promote and support home ownership, aiding those looking to get on the housing ladder. We will release publicly-owned sites for housing development, we will enable Islanders to right-size when they want to, and we will help to return vacant homes to the market, making the most of our existing housing stock.

We will increase the supply of new affordable homes, and make more homes available for our key workers to secure our most important public services for the future. We will develop partnerships and encourage construction sector innovation.

In parallel, we will improve the quality of rental accommodation and introduce more protection for private rental tenants, increasing security of tenure and fairness for both tenants and landlords.

We will be prudent, and make sure these short-term actions do not distort the housing market for future generations. We will bring forward the Island s first long-term, sustainable strategy for the future of Jersey s housing market.

Economy and Skills

In a highly competitive world, our long-term economic success cannot be taken for granted and, to this end, we will continue the development of a sustainable economic framework within which we can create the right conditions to achieve Jersey s full economic potential in the face of varied global challenges.

Jersey s Economic Framework will provide clear long-term direction, including by identifying the skills we need, so that Islanders can contribute to the economy throughout their lives. A new skills barometer will identify skills gaps and help us target investment. In the immediate term,

we will work with employers and educators to find solutions to the skills and labour shortages following the Covid-19 pandemic and post-Brexit economy.

Everyone should have opportunities to access exciting and diverse jobs, to live in an Island where business is valued and supported, and where the economy positively impacts Jersey s community, environment and culture. We especially want our young people to see Jersey as an attractive place where they can build rewarding careers that suit their lifestyles and enable them to contribute to the economy as productively as they can. Achieving this will require us to ensure that the economy remains sustainable, addresses our social needs and environmental resources, and is long-lasting precisely because it grows in step with the ability of our Island to maintain it.

All sectors, and businesses of all sizes, contribute to the unique nature of Jersey s economy. We will invest in the continued success of our financial services industry and we will continue to support our traditional industries, particularly tourism and retail, agriculture, fishing and maritime, which help to protect our beautiful natural environment and are an important part of our Island s heritage and identity.

We will facilitate new opportunities for local businesses through a renewed focus on productivity, technological transformation, and growing exports and inward investment. To support Jersey s existing businesses and harness our Island s entrepreneurial spirit, we will develop an Enterprise Strategy, identify opportunities to cut red tape, incentivise start-ups, and help established businesses to grow and thrive.

Jersey s future must be one of economic success amidst immense global uncertainty. The Government will work tirelessly with all partners and arms-length organisations to ensure that the foundations of a truly sustainable economy are laid during the coming four years.

Children and Families

The first five years of a child s life have a lasting impact. For example, 90% of a child s brain is developed by the start of school at the age of 4 and so a happy and healthy start in life is vitally important. We will provide a range of early years support, including breastfeeding support, to build a stronger society for tomorrow.

Offering a good quality education to our young people plays a key role in life chances and

is particularly important in our community. We will progress reforms to education, including developing better support for learners with particular needs, investing in upskilling the teaching workforce, and modernising school facilities, particularly in St Helier.

We also want to begin to create schools that are hubs within our communities, hosting multiple services for children and families, and making the best use of our education facilities. And we will make sure Jersey s children and young people can be physically active and access green space wherever they live, learn and play.

Not all children in Jersey enjoy the same opportunities and life chances. Only by listening to children s experiences are we able to understand their achievements and challenges. We want children increasingly to be heard, valued, and involved in the decisions that affect their everyday lives.

Children in the care of the Minister and care leavers are a priority. We are committed to improving our social care services for children and building on the Jersey Care Inquiry recommendations.

We will invest also in children and young people s mental health services, increasing capacity to reduce waiting times and introducing an early intervention service.

In sum, we will consider children and families in everything we do as a Government, in policies, services, facilities and regeneration.

Ageing Population

We will support all Islanders to live well as they live longer.

This means we need to plan properly to help people sustain active, healthy, independent lives. In particular, we must be prepared for the increase in the number of Islanders aged over 85, which is forecast to grow rapidly over the next few decades, by supporting them to age healthily.

There are opportunities and implications of an ageing population across all aspects of Island life.

Age should not be a barrier to older workers participating in the jobs market, and we will provide opportunities for life-long learning and attractive flexible roles. Businesses should be able to cater for older Islanders needs and wants; and sports and leisure could be developed with older people in mind. Homes can be designed to allow for independent living, and local communities can ensure that people feel connected, not isolated.

We have already started work on this as part of our 100 Day Action Plan, and we will continue to evolve policies to support older Islanders, listening to and involving them in the decisions we make.

We will also ensure that, over the long term, the benefits we provide and the funds we have available to support Islanders, whether in older age or when in need, are sustainable so that we may all rely on them for the future.

Health and Wellbeing

We will support Islanders wellbeing, and we will provide and regulate for good quality health and care services.

At some stage in our lives, we all need our health service. We want Islanders to be as healthy as possible and to be confident that, when they do need help with their physical or mental health, there are high quality services available to them.

We strongly believe that listening to patients and their families, to our staff, and to our GP, pharmacy, dental and care sector partners is key to shaping future services and improving health outcomes.

We will bring forward an affordable and appropriate solution for our future hospital facilities, and we will embed quality improvement in healthcare services while modernising our care model to ensure we are providing the best care in the right places.

At the same time, we will improve the conditions that promote good health including anticipating and better meeting the needs of our ageing population, and working in partnership across

the community and Government to reduce health inequalities for all improving health and care outcomes. This includes promoting healthy lifestyles, with increased access to healthy nutritious foods, opportunities to stop smoking, and ways to be physically active.

Environment

We will protect and enhance our environment for future generations.

People care passionately about the natural beauty of the Island. We will preserve our natural heritage and move towards a zero waste, circular economy. We will improve biodiversity, water, air and soil quality, and will continue our drive to reduce carbon emissions in line with our Carbon Neutral Roadmap. Accordingly, we commit to making meaningful and measurable progress on the Carbon Neutral Roadmap (approved by the States Assembly in April 2022) and meet our international climate obligations under the Paris Agreement.

To protect and enhance Jersey s natural environment, heritage, habitats and species, we will introduce proposals to extend the protection of our land, sea and unique built environments.

Through planning powers, we will also enhance the quality of the places and neighbourhoods in which we live. We will ensure delivery of the homes and infrastructure that are essential to economic prosperity and Islanders wellbeing.

This will be underpinned by the ongoing maintenance of our built infrastructure, including our roads, sea defences and solid and liquid waste processing facilities, and working closely with our partners who provide the Island s utility services.

Community

We will create a more inclusive and vibrant community.

Inclusivity is at the heart of our vision for Government and for the Island. We have already committed to much more proactive government engagement with the parishes, older and younger people, disabled Islanders, and our diverse communities. We will actively promote equality, diversity, and social inclusion in conjunction with our specific priorities on children, families and our ageing population.

We will ensure Jersey continues to nurture a positive and inclusive island identity, which is bolstered through our proud tradition of volunteering. We will support this through enhanced opportunities to volunteer both here and overseas.

We will play our part in the international community by continuing to support the work of Jersey Overseas Aid and by welcoming all parts of our diverse population through our cultural diversity centre.

We will continue to invest in arts, culture, heritage, and sport as a route to improving Islanders quality of life and by funding the renovation of Jersey Opera House so that it can once again be at the heart of our community.

We recognise that strong communities flourish when people are, and feel, safe. We will prioritise early intervention, working in partnership to prevent issues escalating. And we will bring energy to countering violence against women and girls.

We will ensure that there are sufficient police officers and firefighters, and we will drive forward policy to ensure that Jersey remains a safe and peaceful society where crime and the fear of crime are low.

Annex 2: Monitoring Impact

Jersey s Performance Framework

We will monitor the impact we make by drawing in particular on the indicators in the Jersey Performance Framework, which are based on what people said was important to them in Future Jersey.

L

TA Built  Children EN environment

NM Health and O wellbeing

R

I

V Natural

N environment

E

Safety and Jersey's security

Performance

Sustainable  Framework Vibrant and resources inclusive community

Affordable  Jobs and

living growth

Business environment

NOMIC

This will enable us to take a holistic view of progress on community, environmental and economic wellbeing across Jersey over the next four years and beyond.

The table over the page presents some of the key indicators we will use.

Common Strategic Policy 2023  - 2026

Where we will:   Where we will:  Continue to improve Turn the curve

Increase or sustain the rate  Transform the rate of progress of progress

Housing and    Increase real average earnings    Increase the amount of housing

(and the real median equivalised  that is affordable

Cost of Living household income)

 Increase the % of Islanders who are very satisfied with their housing

Economy    Increase total GVA per person    Increase % of young Islanders  

who see Jersey as the right place and Skills   Iwnicthreqauseal it fih ce a ntiuomnsb ae br  oo vf eIs Llaenvdeel r4s  to build their careers and lives

[new indicator]

 Increase productivity in real terms

 Reduce skills shortages in key

sectors, through a skills barometer and training for Islanders

[new indicator]

Children    Increase wellbeing scores for    Reduce inequality in attainment  

pupils in Years 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12  for key groups

and Families

% of mothers who are    Increase % with access to open breastfeeding (either fully   space at home

or partially) at 6 to 8 weeks

Ageing    Increase % of older age groups    Increase the % of Islanders in  

who report medium to high life  each age group who report Population satisfaction  good or very good health

 Reduce the premature mortality

rate

 Increase the % of Islanders who

meet the recommended level of physical activity

Health and    Reduce the % of patients waiting    Reduce the % of Islanders who longer than 180 days for elective  smoke daily or occasionally

Wellbeing treatment    Reduce the % of Islanders who are  Improve the healthy life   overweight or obese

expectancy at 65

 Monitor the full suite of indicators

on health service quality and waiting times

Environment   Increase coverage in square    Reduce Jersey s emissions of kilometres of Marine Protected  greenhouse gases in line with

Areas  the Carbon Neutral Roadmap

 Increase kilometres of coast  and in line with our international

and countryside access routes  commitments under the Paris available to the public  Agreement

 Increase the area of land protected

as ecological and geological Sites of Special Interest

Community   Increase % of Islanders who say    Reduce gender-based violence

their neighbourhood is very safe [new indicator]

% who are satisfied with the area  in which they live

CBP001149

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