Making good living standards a priority

Thursday 05 March 2020

Tackling poor living standards will be high up on the agenda throughout the next political term, if deputies agree to make the issue a priority, with some saying they absolutely must do that.

The Policy & Resources Committee has lodged a policy letter, asking States Members to treat it as a 'prime concern'.

According to the committee's vision statement, the plans aim to 'provide an environment which supports those in our community most at risk of deprivation and gives them the opportunity to thrive'.

"Most of us in Guernsey are fortunate enough to enjoy a very good standard of living, but we must recognise that in any community there are those who do not enjoy the same advantages," said Deputy Jane Stephens of P&R. "As a government and as a community it is our duty to ensure that we support those who need it."

Pictured: Deputy Jane Stephens.

Deprivation in Guernsey is not just measured in income, but also employment, health, education, crime, housing and environment.

"There are many complicated issues that contribute to poor living standards and all States committees have to work together towards a shared objective if we are to tackle them successfully," Deputy Stephens continued. "By developing a priority area that brings together all the good work that is currently underway to tackle issues of poor living standards and deprivation, we can make even more of a difference.

"Similarly, if we don't coordinate our efforts we may not identify the areas where attention is needed most and we may find we're not targeting our limited resources in a way that delivers the best outcomes for our community."

Although some work to tackle poor living standards has already begun, P&R is hoping to bring this all together under one framework. That work includes:

• the development of the islands' provision of primary and mental health care services, the review of the Children Laws and the development of the Strong Families initiative by the Committee for Health & Social Care
• the work undertaken by the Committee for Employment & Social Security in areas such as income support, pension provision and elements of the Support Living & Ageing Well Strategy
• the development of the Justice Strategy by the Committee for Home Affairs
• the implementation of the Children & Young Peoples Plan by the Committees for Education, Sport & Culture and HSC

If agreed, the priority area will set a number of objectives, such as addressing areas where socio-economic considerations create inequalities, identifying areas where public policy creates poverty traps and supporting households at risk of generational deprivation.

The Community Foundation, working alongside States committees, has commissioned a report to investigate the profile of poverty in Guernsey and any plausible solutions.

The policy letter is available to read in full here.