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long term and have to be tackled over a much longer period than just the electoral cycle. The most obvious example is an ageing population where the solution will take decades, but where the earlier the strategy is agreed, the more effective the response is likely to be.


A new set of politicians will always want to put their stamp on the Island’s long-term strategy, but in any case a vision of Jersey in 2035, for example, would have to adapt to changing circumstances, new challenges and the performance achieved in reaching the goals. The politicians will always be in charge, but there will be strong pressure for them to remain focussed on long term solutions to long term problems.


The new planning process being put in place by the Council of Ministers is even more important than that, however. It will also provide a more effective way of judging whether the government is doing a good job or not.


The role of government is quite simply talked about, if difficult to achieve. Government is supposed to improve the quality of life of everyone in Jersey, but how can we judge whether we are making progress in meeting the Island’s social, economic and environmental challenges? It’s also difficult for government to prove that its policies are working.


While concentrating on what is realistically achievable, the Shaping Our Future programme will identify eleven ‘Island


Page 88 20/20 The Plan


Outcomes’ that reflect the social, economic and environmental issues by which people judge Jersey as a place in which to live. Measuring these outcomes will need 58 Island Indicators, so that aiming for children to have a better start in life, for example, will mean looking at such factors as breastfeeding rates, school readiness, education qualifications and work/life balance. That information will show how much progress is being made to achieve the vision. Policy and targets can then be set accordingly, and that includes dealing with the major issues which we all know about already.


As Dr Ian Skinner, the States assistant director, Strategic Planning and Performance said: ‘As we develop the long-term vision, we will need to consider the impact of big issues, such as an ageing population, climate change and advances in technology on the indicators. We will also need to set a population planning assumption that aligns to the vision.’


There’s obviously a danger that bringing in new much-longer term planning will mean politicians and officials taking their eye off the ball in dealing with immediate, more urgent problems. There are enough of those to keep the States busy without also looking for longer term problems to deal with.


But always concentrating on urgent problems, could mean less effort goes into sorting out issues which may be further into the future, but which could have a much more devastating impact on the Island. An ageing population is a very good example of where


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