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WQ.433/2020
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE CHIEF MINISTER
BY DEPUTY G.P. SOUTHERN OF ST. HELIER ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 17th NOVEMBER 2020
Question
Further to his responses to previous questions asked in the Assembly, will the Chief Minister advise whether he has consulted the Chief Statistician about when the results of the 2019/2020 Income Distribution Survey will be available and, if so, what was the outcome of the consultation; and will he take the necessary steps to ensure that this data is available before the States Assembly is asked to make decisions in respect of the Government Plan?
Answer
The Chief Minister can confirm that he has consulted with the Chief Statistician as to the intended date of publication for the 2019/2020 Income Distribution Survey on more than one occasion in recent weeks. The Chief Minister has relayed the results of these meetings to Members on 06/10/2020 and 09/11/2020. To summarise, the Chief Statistician has confirmed each time that Statistics Jersey intend for the 2019/2020 Income Distribution Survey to be published within Q4 2020. Unfortunately, Statistics Jersey are unable, at this stage, to confirm a specific date within Q4 2020 as they are still in the process of validating the data which has been accumulated and will only be able to give a response once they are satisfied the analysis is complete. This process has been interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic but Statistics Jersey are working apace to ensure the survey can be published as soon as possible.
Statistics Jersey is an apolitical body formally constituted under the Statistics and Census (Jersey) Law 2018. Under Article 7(2) of this law "The (Chief) Minister must not influence any decision of the Chief Statistician in the exercise of his or her responsibilities under Article 3(1)". Article 3(1) of the law includes "(g) the form, timing and methods of dissemination of statistics compiled by Statistics Jersey".