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STRATEGIC PLANNING POPULATION CEILING (P.110/99): COMMENTS _______________
Presented to the States on 21st September 1999 by the Policy and Resources Committee
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STATES OF JERSEY
STATES GREFFE
175 1 9 9 9 P .1 1 0 / 9 9 C o m .
Price code: A
Comments
The Policy and Resources Committee remains fully committed to the present States' population policy objective of a resident population the same as, or less than, the level of the autumn of 1995. The Committee is of the opinion that there should be no change in this objective - notwithstanding that the resident population has increased since 1995 - until the economic model is available and any alternative policy objectives that might be put forward for consideration can be fully tested for their economic and environmental impact.
All States Committees are expected to comply with the current population policy objective and to incorporate that objective into their own strategic and business planning. However, until the effect of what is proposed in Deputy Johns' proposition can be properly tested, the Committee does not accept that it can be said at this point in time that all other policy objectives of Committees should be subordinated to the population policy. For example, to adopt the proposition as drafted would appear to mean, for example, that the Education Committee would not be able to increase the number of teachers to cope with a rising school population if this was in conflict with the population policy objective.
The Policy and Resources Committee also is of the opinion that the population objective set in 1995 cannot be achieved overnight. This calls for some flexibility in the application of a policy in the short term. The Deputy 's proposition as drafted would appear to put the States into an impractical straight-jacket.
The Committee is taking steps through the proposed introduction of the Smart Card to put in place a means of monitoring the Island's resident population. In the meantime, while the Committee does not disagree with many of the sentiments expressed by the Deputy in his report, it cannot support the proposition as drafted.