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STATES OF JERSEY
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MIGRATION POLICY: POLITICAL RESPONSIBILITY
Lodged au Greffe on 30th August 2005 by the Policy and Resources Committee
STATES GREFFE
PROPOSITION
THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion
to re f er to their Act dated 22nd June 2005 in which they approved proposals relating to the monitoring and
regulation of migration and agreed that the Policy and Resources Committee should bring forward for approval proposals on which Committee (or Minister) should have political responsibility for the population office, and –
to a g re e th a t this responsibility should lie with the Policy and Resources Committee (or the future
Chief Minister).
POLICY AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE
REPORT
The States decided on 22nd June 2005, on adopting an Amendment of Deputy G.P. Southern of St. Helier, tha political responsibility for the population office should not lie with the Economic Development Committee (or the future Minister for Economic Development) and charged the Policy and Resources Committee to bring forward proposals for approval by the States on which other Committee (or Minister) should have this responsibility.
The Report and Proposition P.25/2005 was silent on the issue of political responsibility, because the initial phase of the new migration policy will be operated within the current Regulation of Undertakings and Development (Jersey) Law 1973 and Housing (Jersey) Law 1949. Creation of the integrated office was seen as a managerial task, with officers ultimately reporting to the Chief Executive of Policy and Resources and hence to that Committee.
It is essential that in implementing the migration policy, regard should be given to achieving a balance of all the issues involved, as identified in P.25/2005 –
T h e s ingle office would retain close partnerships with other departments, for example the Employment and
Social Security Department in relation to ensuring maximum employment opportunities for the existing resident population and promoting training by employers for local school-leavers; with the Housing Department regarding provision of Category A housing or first-time-buyer homes; and with the Planning Department regarding residential development within the Island.
T h e aim of the Departments, working together, will be to ensure that these social policy objectives are
effectively balanced against the goals of economic growth, environmental sustainability and population size.
The Committee recognises that it is reasonable to clarify this matter and therefore proposes that the Policy and Resources Committee, and then the Chief Minister, should become politically responsible for the office. This reflects both the importance of managing migration, the need for central coordination across a number of States departments and ensuring that all of the interests identified in the original proposition are properly balanced.
Financial and manpower statement
This Proposition has no manpower or resource implications.