Deputy Lyndon Farnham's Chamber of Commerce Speech

Good afternoon.

It is a pleasure to be here, and to give my first Chamber Lunch speech as Chief Minister.

At Christmas, I had no idea that I would be speaking to you today.

That is the random nature of politics – my aim is to make it slightly less random because we need stability.

Can I start by saying that it is both an honour and a privilege to do this job.

I know it’s only been five months but I am thoroughly enjoying it!

I work with a group of very able and engaged Ministers and am supported by dedicated, hard-working public servants.

We now have a government that is more representative of the States Assembly and provides a much-improved political balance which I believe will help to deliver in areas that benefit the whole community.

We came into office amidst a period of local economic upheaval and political unsteadiness.

And it quickly became clear that we needed a period of calm and stability and perhaps even some political unity.

We needed to get back to basics.

To re-focus on the essential services and tackle the most immediate challenges facing Islanders.

That means addressing the cost-of-living crisis, providing more affordable new homes, re focusing on the health service and getting on with delivering the new hospital.

We also needed to get things moving again in relation to States business and have addressed a number of outstanding items.

In the first five months this Council of Ministers have resolved the long-running pay dispute with teachers and agreed a three year pay deal with the rest of the public sector ensuring continuity and stability in the provision of public services.

We have purchased Grève De Lecq and passed it on to the National Trust, who will ensure it is utilised in the best interests of the area and of the Island.

Provided a million pounds to charities from the dormant bank accounts fund – with more to follow, and we have leased part of St Ewold’s from the Parish of St Helier as a rehabilitation centre – replacing Samares Ward with an even better facility.

We have had a robust, and respectful, debate on Assisted Dying, allowing us to bring formal legislation to the States Assembly.

We have reduced GP fees by a further £10.

We have provided 13 weeks of financial support for domestic abuse violence victims, introduced electronic prescriptions across Health Care Services, and had the Nursery Education Fund approved for the next four years.

We also launched the £10m “First Step” assisted home ownership scheme, where we are giving Islanders a lending hand to get their first step on the property ladder.

In May our Common Strategic Policy – our plan for the next two years – was approved by the States Assembly.

We are suffering from overreach. It has become clear that sometimes we try to do too much and end up achieving very little. The new government will be looking closely at where we are spending money and reprioritising to make sure we are delivering the best outcomes for Islanders.

We will curb the growth in the public sector and will redirect monies saved to those areas to where it is needed most.

To that end we have identified 13 key priorities where we can deliver measurable progress over the next two years. 

1. Extend free nursery and childcare provision
2. Provide a nutritious school meal for every child in all States primary schools
3. Increase the provision of lifelong learning and skills development
4. Start building a new hospital at Overdale
5. Reduce GP fees
6. Implement the recommendations from the Violence Against Women and Girls Taskforce report
7. Carefully manage the transition to a living wage or new minimum wage
8. Provide more affordable homes for Islanders to buy and rent
9. Keep Government fees, duties, and charges as low as possible to help Islanders with the cost of living in 2025 and beyond
10. Reform the planning service
11. Reduce red tape, unnecessary regulation, enhance opportunities for business and strengthen Jersey’s international reputation
12. Deliver a plan to revitalise Town
13. And playing our part to reduce the impacts of climate change

But today I wanted to focus on the measures that will impact you specifically as business and community leaders; initiatives to reduce red tape, increase productivity, provide more skilled workers, and to transition to a living wage.

The Minister for Social Security lodged a Proposition last week that sets out the process and timeline for that final piece of work.

This will allow us to set specific rates over the coming two years, raising the minimum wage to about two-thirds of average median earnings – as agreed by the States Assembly – by the end of our term in office in 2026.

I know this will not be an easy transition for everyone, but it is a change which will give help to those in our community who are struggling the most.

And where it is needed, support will be provided to employers and employees during the transition period.

Up to £20 million in support will be made available across 2025 and 2026 and beyond if necessary.

Rather than a direct subsidy this will be in the form of support schemes to promote productivity and skills development, with targeted support across sectors, including for retail, agriculture, and the visitor economy.

We have also committed to keep government fees, duties, and charges as low as possible and we’ll provide full details on that in the Government Plan later this summer.

I’m certain that local businesses will also welcome the removal of unnecessary bureaucracy and improvements in the ways they are required to deal with Government.

Last month the Minister for Sustainable Economic Development, Deputy Morel, published his response to Barriers to Business Report.

That work answers the 38 recommendations made by Jersey Business to streamline processes and break down the obstacles that have been created.

I’m encouraged that over 80% of the recommendations are either completed, underway, or part of ongoing collaboration between Government and industry but there is still a lot to do if we are going win back your confidence.

The CSP will also see us prioritise the delivery of skills development in Jersey.

This will include promoting apprenticeships, a series of targeted skills development schemes, and implementing sustainable Higher Education Student Finance – helping to provide the future workforce for businesses.

Outside of the CSP, we will continue to prioritise support for our Island economy in the day-to-day work of government.

Only by improving productivity and developing a strong, diverse economy can we ensure the tax revenues necessary to support the quality public services that Islanders need.

Our financial services industry remains critical to our economic wellbeing.

In May, after years of significant effort, the work to assess Jersey’s ability to combat financial crime came to its conclusion.

A delegation from Jersey travelled to Strasbourg for the MONEYVAL Plenary for the adoption of the Mutual Evaluation Report of Jersey.

The publication of that Report is still to come in July, with an event soon to be announced to fully outline the findings and next steps.

I would like to extend thanks to the brilliant efforts to the government and industry teams who have worked together on this.

Our hospitality industry has already benefitted from a relaxation in spatial standards in the Tourism Law, allowing new types of accommodation to be introduced for the first time.

We will be publishing our Retail Strategy later this year, which will support enhancing the sector with a focus on the future of the Town Centre and how we can manage our shopping areas to better engage Islanders.

Last week we announced that the Government CEO, Andrew McLaughlin will continue in his role from 1 July.

Since starting with the Government last September, Andrew has provided clear leadership, ensuring good governance, sound financial control and a collaborative approach to management.

Retaining Andrew as our Chief Executive Officer will provide much-needed stability and continuity across the Government.

Both Andrew and I are attuned to the need to have a right sized public sector, that focuses on service delivery without the need for continued growth in staff numbers and costs.

Shaping the future of the central functions of government has already begun, and we are on schedule to deliver savings in 2024 through vacancy management, reducing the use of consultants and decreasing non-staff spending.

An employee consultation on resizing has already begun, and that work will continue throughout the coming weeks.

Equally, in line with our CSP commitment, expenditure on consultancy is being curbed across Government departments.

Measures have been taken to ensure that the Council of Ministers have full transparency of spending under consultancy headings and where and how monies are currently being spent.

Don’t get me wrong, specialist consultancy can be essential as it is impossible to carry all of the skills and expertise we need on the payroll but we have become a little too reliant on it!

Where additional expertise is needed, I would like us to focus on developing our own, local, talent across the civil service and public sector.

We are also turning our focus to issues that have been without resolution for far too long.

We are absolutely committed to starting construction of the Hospital at Overdale as soon as possible, delivering the health facilities we need most urgently by 2028.

The New Healthcare Facilities team have just completed a full public consultation on concept designs of the Hospital, to an overwhelmingly positive response from residents, campaign groups and Islanders.

The clearing of the Overdale site continues at pace, and demolition will reach its final stages in September.

The next step is the development of the detailed design of the hospital, in consultation with clinicians, ahead of submitting a planning application later this summer.

The most frequent message has been ‘Just get on with it’. That is exactly what we are doing.

Another significant piece of work underway is to improve how we manage our important social and cultural infrastructure.

I know Islanders have long been frustrated by continued decline of our sporting and leisure facilities, and in some of our public spaces.

Fort Regent cannot be allowed to continue in its managed decline, and work is advanced on a plan to fund and rejuvenate the Fort alongside many other public amenities – more details on this project will follow soon.

As a government, and as an Island, we also have some significant challenges to face, not only over the coming two years but into the next political cycle and beyond.

The biggest long-term challenge relates to the forecasted reduction in working age population. And potential changes to our workforce through the acceleration of advanced technology and AI.

These are important issues that require the serious attention of politicians, policy officers and Jersey’s business and community leaders.

We need to begin working on this now to provide practical solutions and not allow ourselves to be overtaken by events.

We are not going to allow population changes to be unmanaged or unplanned.

We will need more workers.

For example – potentially as many as 4,000 additional care workers by the 2040s.

This will need careful planning to ensure we provide a balanced workforce for the whole economy.

The forthcoming annual Population Report will include a roadmap for how the Government will coordinate activity to prepare for these challenges.

In closing I want to talk briefly about the importance of confidence.

Confidence in ourselves, in each other and in our Island.

I am very aware that if we are to succeed in our endeavours as a government we will need to rebuild public confidence in our political processes.

We also realise that building, and maintaining, confidence will be an ongoing effort that will require the participation of just about everyone.

For our part we will be open and transparent, work harder to engage, discuss and consult. Be more responsive and consistent in our endeavours to address the evolving needs and aspirations of Islanders.

The new government, and States Assembly, is beginning to work more collegiately with more courtesy, respect and professionalism.

We are alive to the fact that it is OK to disagree with unnecessary disruption because without disagreement there is no debate and without debate we do not drive out the best solutions.

I would ask you all not to look back but to look forward.

The challenges we face are great but if we can work together, help each other, and have confidence in the future of our island then our potential is even greater!

Thank you.​

Comments:

Gerard Voisin quizzed him over improving economy and increases in minimum wage. The idea is to increase the minimum wage but have targeted support to businesses (e.g. hospitality based) who are most effected by it.

This makes sense to me, as at present, a large number of people on minimum wage rely on income support (across all businesses) to help them, which means, in effect, the government is helping businesses with a subsidy. 

Increases in minimum wage towards living wage would take more of those out of that net, reducing funding from government via income support to make up the shortfall, and then appropriate targeting of businesses most affected (on a case by case basis) with extra funding will help balance the books on those businesses, while those who can easily take up the shortfall will help reduce public income support funding.