MORE than 300 Jersey businesses benefited during the first year of a scheme designed to help local employers deal with the transition towards a living wage, the Economic Development Minister has said.
During question time in the States Assembly, Deputy Gerald Voisin outlined the preliminary results of the Better Business Support package introduced in 2025.
Deputy Voisin said that 337 businesses had participated in the scheme last year, with grants for skills, productivity and the visitor economy being fully subscribed.
Private sector investment had also been secured to go alongside the funding from government, he added, with £1.40 in private funding for every £1 from the taxpayer.
Responding to a question from Deputy Beatriz Porée, the minister said that targeted support had been provided to the agriculture, tourism and marine economy sectors.
Route development initiatives covering direct flights to Amsterdam, Paris and Bordeaux had been among the outcomes of this work, Deputy Voisin added, with encouraging signs of strong demand from air passengers and good awareness of the TV series Bergerac among UK travellers – this had led to a 9% rise in overnight visitors for the year ending in August, compared with 12 months earlier.
Deputy Montfort Tadier asked whether, given the success of the two-year scheme covering 2025 and 2026, whether it would run again next year , saying that this would provide stability and certainty for businesses.
Deputy Voisin said that similar funding was not part of the 2027 Budget, but added that a full assessment would be carried out, which could mean that it might resume as part of the 2028-2030 Budget due to be lodged next autumn.
After a follow-up question from Deputy Porée about measuring whether the scheme had led to increases in productivity, the minister said he would seek to include such analysis in a full report to be published in early 2027.
