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The number of persons in Jersey on work permits.

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1240/5(1845)

QUESTION TO BE ASKED OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE POLICY AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE ON TUESDAY, 29th APRIL 2003 BY SENATOR P.V.F. LE CLAIRE

Question

In the Assembly on 1st April 2003, in response to a supplementary question on the number of persons in Jersey on work permits who would be able to enjoy full rights should the Island employ a residence scheme for immigration and population control, the President stated -

" that figure clearly does not include those that have left in the same period - there is no suggestion that we

have an additional 2,846 people in the Island than we did 24 months ago and that, if I may say so, is a grossly misleading suggestion, to put out into the public arena. It is simply not the case"

Is the President able to justify and substantiate the statement he made? Answer

Yes, I can confirm that there is no indication that our current estimated resident population is significantly higher than it was 24 months ago. The 2001 Census was held on 11th March 2001, and showed at that time that the resident population of Jersey was 87,186. The Statistics Unit's latest estimate is that the resident population at March 2003 was 87,100. Thus the resident population has decreased marginally rather than increased over the period in question. Even acknowledging that this estimate may not be as precise as a full census, it would be correct to say that the resident population during the last two years has remained substantially constant.

In closing I would refer back to the response I gave to the Senator on 1st April 2003, and reiterate that, in my view, it was grossly misleading to put out into the public arena an unfounded suggestion that we have 2,846 more people in the Island than we did 24 months ago. I would like to again make a plea I have often made before and ask  members  to  please  check  their  facts  before  raising  important  matters  of  public  interest  or  making unsubstantiated claims on the floor of this Assembly.