Senator Lyndon Farnham said that the States must push ahead with policies designed to tighten the issuing of work licences and introduce a new waste charge, even though critics have claimed it will force businesses to increase their prices.
This week retailer Gerald Voisin, who owns Voisin’s department store, said that shops in Jersey are feeling increasing pressure to push up their prices as the costs of imports has increased due to the slump in the the value of the pound after the UK voted to leave the EU.
Last month Jersey’s Retail Price Index – the measure of price increases – reached 2.9 per cent, which was its highest level since 2012.
Senator Farnham said that there was little that the States could do about the inflation caused by the UK’s decision to leave the EU.
‘Inflation is a concern, but it is a result of global pressure and there’s not a lot we can do about that.
‘We have policies in place to help control inflation and growth of the economy. We need to balance our budget – that’s what was recommended by the Fiscal Policy Panel. If we don’t do that then the risk of inflation will be even higher,’ he said.
