15/12/2011 BBC Channel Islands News

Plus, spending on sewage, but does Guernsey's budget go far enough to

And after a winter night last night, tonight even India with potential

gusts of 70 miles an hour. A full More Jersey-born people left the

island than returned over the past decade, that's according to latest

census figures. More information has been released from the 2011

census. It shows only half of islanders who responded were born

in Jersey. Edward Sault reports. Islanders shopping and battling the

cold weather in St Helier today. And now we are getting a clearer

picture of the people that live here and where they are from. Let's

look at some of those figures. Nearly 49,000 people said in the

censors they were from Jersey. Just over 30,000 said they were from

elsewhere in the British Isles. 7,000 people registered as

Portuguese or Madeira and 3,000 as Polish. This was the press

conference where the latest census figures were released. But what is

worrying senior politicians is the number of Jersey-born people who

are actually leaving the island. would be concerned that these

numbers showed that too many people do not feel they have a future here

in Jersey and it is government's responsibility to make sure

everyone feels they do have a future here. Toby has lived and

worked in Jersey for two-and-a-half years but now he is packing up and

moving to the UK to pursue his career. There are only so many

opportunities professionally and personally that you can get in

Jersey, I find, so I feel I need to move back to the mainland. Michael

Vautier is a Jerseyman through and through. He s also a genealogist,

researching and tracking down people's family trees. Jersey

people have left the island and settled all over the world. Would

you like to see more stay here? Well, there is not opportunities

for everybody, and I think Jersey folk are enterprising and will go

and seek their fortune elsewhere if they need to. People have left our

shores and the past and will no doubt live again in the future but

the mission now will be to make sure Jersey men and women feel they

have a reason to stay on the island where they were born.

Our islands are bracing themselves for gale-force winds which could

reach 70 miles per hour tonight. Jersey Fire Service have warned

homeowners to secure bins and outdoor furniture, and are

suggesting people stay indoors. Guernsey Police are also warning

motorists to take care as there is likely to be debris on the roads.

There will be a full weather report with David Braine later in the

programme. A Guernsey man convicted of rape

has had his three life sentences reduced. Filipe Burton was

sentenced in May to three concurrent life sentences for one

rape and two attempted rapes. Today, Guernsey's Court of Appeal reduced

that to 12 years in prison, followed by an extended six-year

licence. Reasons for the decision are expected to be given at a later

date. Jersey Electricity has recorded a

turnover of �100 million for the first time in the company's history.

That is despite a price freeze this winter. Overall profits, however,

fell from �14.6 million last year to �11.1 million. The States own

the majority of Jersey Electricity. Guernsey's States met for the final

time this year and approved the island's budget. Mike Wilkins was

following proceedings and has this report.

It seems quite appropriate that, on a day when the island is bracing

itself for stormy weather, the States voted to improve the failing

storm water filters at the Belle Greve waste water treatment plant.

But treating waste water is an expensive business. Just this part

of the upgrade alone will cost �11 million. This will make the great

difference to the volumes of water we see in Belgrave. This is a storm

water protection for flooding in the future. We are hopeful that as

the States have agreed with us that we will go starting on this very

shortly, in January, and within 18 months we will see the benefits of

this to management. As the States rounds off the year, Deputy

Parkinson wished everyone a prosperous new year as his last

budget as Treasury and Resources Minister was passed. So it means

the cost of cigarettes, alcohol, fuel and property tax will be going

up. But to bring some festive cheer, personal tax allowances will also

be rising by approximately �150 per person. However, there are some in

the Chamber who feel there should be a clampdown on personal tax

allowances. It is not so much wrapping, it is rebalancing the

personal tax allowances because they are definitely out of six --

out of sync with the situation in the island at the moment. They may

have an adverse effect on pensioners but no affect on the low

income groups. So the debating is over for another year, but there is

still plenty to come at the start of next, such as what do with

Guernsey's waste, what to do with its population and how to deal with

its benefits system. Now, as you may have seen in the

national news, shoppers have been spending less this year. The Office

for National Statistics said that retail sales fell by 0.4%. Those

figures do not apply to the Channel Islands but here, too, we have had

evidence of difficult times. In Jersey, Government figures show the

number of items bought by islanders in the latest quarter was 5% down

on last year. That is the biggest slump since records began in 2005.

In Guernsey, they do not publish figures but retail bosses say times

are challenging. They say they are losing customers to be internet.

Amy Harris has been looking at how shops in Jersey are adapting to

changing spending habits. Offers galore to catch thrifty eyes.

Welcome to the world of budget food shopping. This Iceland store opened

in Jersey three years ago and it has been so popular, there are now

five across the islands. And with an increase in sales of over 40%

over the last year, no surprise that franchise owners Sandpiper

have plans for more. We have expanded because of demand,

essentially. We identified a few years ago there was a lack of food

offering in the island. Everybody in the middle market or premium end

of the market, and working with Iceland, known in the UK for the

value of their product, we have gone from no stores three years ago

to five now. But it is not just stores like this that are cashing

in on our need to be prudent during the recession. Bob Bridgen and his

wife Andrene have just opened this, their second 99p store. I think the

prices in Jersey have always been high and now, in a time of

recession, people do not have the money to spend and they are looking

for lower-priced discount stores. As customers feel the pinch and

hunt the bargains, it has led to opportunities for some retailers to

cash in. Although the recession has hit some traders hard, these

shopkeepers have found a silver lining in the current storm clouds.

And in Guernsey there is concern over the future of the high street

because of the competition of the internet. It comes as national

figures show a record number of sales online, despite overall sales

falling. Some retailers in Guernsey also feel they are losing out. But

not all shoppers have abandoned the local stores, as Penny Elderfield

found out. Whether it be to pick up a few last

minute bits, or to start their Christmas shopping in town from

scratch, there was a steady stream of shoppers in town today. But

where have people been doing the majority of their buying - on the

high street, or online? I've been doing most of it in town because I

think it is good to support local shop. Mostly online, it is cheaper

and there is more to his. In St Peter Port because I find the shops

are convenient -- there is more trees. I do it on the internet, it

is easiest. The majority of shoppers I stopped and asked said

they would be supporting local shops this Christmas. But the

problem is not all of the shops here feel the public are supporting

then enough. Like this electronics store, which, although it has loyal

customers, has felt the impact of internet shopping. Rising costs

mean it can be difficult to compete. You have got a lot higher costs to

run a shop. If the people out there to shop locally, I want to thank

them for the support, but the ones that treat you as a viewing place,

they are not going to have a viewing place eventually because we

need the turnover as much as anybody else. For some shoppers,

the decision of where to buy something will always come down to

cost. But if that ends up being online, what price will Guernsey's

As storm-force winds are heading our way, here is David Brain with a

deep house. Some more wind is going to be a

problem over the Channel Islands. Last night we had gusts of 60 miles

an hour, tonight we could have duster 70 miles an hour overnight.

The wind direction, south-westerly, changing to west, then north-

westerly. Overnight, so big gale force winds across the island. You

can keep in touch with the details on the BBC local radio has. The

area of low pressure that is generating the wind is moving

through the English Channel overnight tonight, tracking pretty

much along the south coast of England before it disappears to the

east. Behind it, NW winds introducing cold air, so the risk,

again, of seeing wintry showers through to the morning on Friday.

As we move into the weekend for a Friday and Saturday, north-west of

winds continue to bring showers, but perhaps not as windy as it has

been in the last few days. Heavy rain coming in with the low

pressure, that continues to be a problem for a while overnight

before it clears out of the wake, the wind swinging round to West and

then north-westerly. Tomorrow, a blustery day with North West winds,

some sunny spells but also frequent showers. Some of those will be hail

showers with thunder, a top temperature of seven or eight

Thank fully into the weekend it gets quieter. After frequent

showers on Saturday, bright on Sunday and calming down but cloudy

And remember you can keep up to date with the effects of tonight's

predicted storm in our local radio bulletins from six am on BBC Radio

Someone in the Channel Islands is three quarters of a million pounds

richer this evening. The Christmas Lottery was drawn earlier, and the