Let’s warn potential migrants

For anyone made suddenly redundant, average income figures or measures of how well the whole economy might be faring are an irrelevance. They can also be a sad reminder for some Islanders that they are, to modify Orwell’s phrase from Animal Farm, less equal than others.

The recently published Citizens Advice Bureau annual report has highlighted the difficulties of immigrant workers who lose their jobs. If they have been in the Island for fewer than five years, their entitlement to government help is minimal. Whereas longer-term residents can fall back on Income Support, those who fail to meet the five-year criterion cannot claim social welfare payments of any description.

It might be difficult for Islanders who have not known hard times to appreciate just what this means. In practice, people who can already be described as the have-nots of the community because they are unable to buy or occupy the sort of homes that many take for granted, can be forced to rely on charity if their jobs are axed.

This, of course, affects not only breadwinners but also their families. As the CAB report says, the present position is so difficult that it has been necessary to find temporary accommodation for some people through the good offices of the Shelter Trust.

There are, alas, very good reasons why Jersey should operate what could appear to outsiders as a discriminatory policy. Unfortunately, if the five-year rule did not exist, the Island could soon become a prime target for ‘benefit tourists’ – not only from the UK but also from elsewhere in Europe. The phenomenon is well known in the UK, where seaside towns are disproportionately popular with those on the dole.

Thanks to organisations such as the Grace Trust and the St Helier Methodist Centre, emergency aid is available. This should continue to be the case, but, as CAB advises, efforts should be made to alert people to the potential dangers of coming to Jersey without guaranteed work and accommodation.

There can be little doubt that some arrive here without advance warning of the five-year limitation and subsequently find themselves falling on very hard times. An ounce of prevention could well be worth a pound of cure.