:00:14. > :00:19.Good evening. Welcome to BBC in the Channel Islands. Coming up: A
:00:20. > :00:25.crisis of consumer confidence as shoppers stop spending and even up
:00:25. > :00:31.biggest supermarkets are affected. Plans to give more money to the
:00:32. > :00:41.poor in Guernsey suffer a setback. And a splashing cause. Hundreds
:00:42. > :00:48.
:00:48. > :00:53.Retail sales in Jersey have fallen for their second consecutive
:00:53. > :00:57.quarter. It is the first time in two years that the volume and the
:00:57. > :01:01.value of what is bought in shops fell and it has been put down to
:01:01. > :01:06.falling consumer confidence following the eurozone crisis. The
:01:06. > :01:13.volume of retail sales in the last quarter of 2011 was 6% lower than
:01:13. > :01:20.the same time in 2010. The value of goods being bought also fell by 2%,
:01:20. > :01:24.but this includes the rise in GST from 3% to 5%, and inflation, so it
:01:24. > :01:31.would have been a bigger drop without those increases. Non-food
:01:31. > :01:38.items were the worst hit, the disposable income items. They end
:01:38. > :01:43.indicates consumer confidence. Shoppers held on to their cash amid
:01:43. > :01:46.an escalating eurozone crisis and rising unemployment at home.
:01:47. > :01:51.Despite the difficult trading period last year, it was also the
:01:51. > :01:57.year when Waitrose arrived in the Channel Islands, opening three
:01:57. > :02:01.stores in Jersey and two in Guernsey. Every employee working in
:02:01. > :02:05.Waitrose in the UK received their Hannibal bonus today. It was cut
:02:05. > :02:09.today for the first time in three years as the company says it has
:02:09. > :02:19.also been affected by economic downturn.
:02:19. > :02:22.
:02:22. > :02:31.This year's partnership bonus With a 14% bonus, it was party time
:02:31. > :02:38.in a Jersey. It was the first time since staff had received a bonus
:02:38. > :02:41.here since the supermarket chain opened here last year. The bonus
:02:41. > :02:47.applies to everyone from top managers to checkout assistants.
:02:47. > :02:50.is a great day for us. We are absolutely thrilled. What Are you
:02:50. > :02:54.going to spend it on? To visit my family in Ireland and driving
:02:54. > :02:58.lessons. There was a lot of speculation when Waitrose opened in
:02:58. > :03:02.the Channel Islands about how well they would do here. Had they done
:03:02. > :03:08.too much too quickly in a market they did not understand? Today's
:03:08. > :03:11.figures show sales up 8%. That is for the UK as a whole. Waitrose do
:03:11. > :03:16.not want to reveal how they are doing here other than to say they
:03:16. > :03:21.are very pleased so far. What is clear is the arrival of Waitrose
:03:21. > :03:25.has brought competition to other food retailers. It has had a
:03:25. > :03:32.profound impact on retailers generally in Jersey and in Guernsey
:03:32. > :03:38.as well. It is both positive and negative. 2011 was a very
:03:38. > :03:42.challenging year for us, we were exceptionally busy in the first
:03:42. > :03:48.part of the year and then we noticed customers, as we expected,
:03:48. > :03:53.wandered off to Waitrose. Many of those customers came back. Waitrose
:03:53. > :03:57.has tried to bring business to the islands by using local suppliers,
:03:57. > :04:04.but the demands of the large chain do not make that easy. This beef
:04:04. > :04:10.farmer discovered that. They are looking for a particular breed.
:04:10. > :04:16.They only want the hind quarters, so that leaves one with other
:04:16. > :04:21.quarters to dispose of. This year's bonus was the lowest Waitrose paid
:04:21. > :04:28.out in three years. Last year it was 18%. That did not dampen the
:04:28. > :04:31.party spirit. Staff were delighted to have their share of the cake.
:04:31. > :04:36.Controversial plans to change Guernsey's benefits system suffered
:04:36. > :04:41.a setback today. The States rejected key parts of the proposals
:04:41. > :04:46.because the price had -- tag of up to �20 million was too much for
:04:46. > :04:48.some deputies. Penny Elderfield spoke to me from our studios a
:04:48. > :04:52.while ago to explain what happened in the debate.
:04:52. > :04:59.This is by no means a straightforward one. The aim of the
:04:59. > :05:05.plans was to improve the islands' welfare system. There were all
:05:05. > :05:10.sorts of initiatives to try to do this. Reassurances the financial
:05:10. > :05:16.side could be worked out later were not enough for some. There are two
:05:16. > :05:23.concerns. One is that the range of the expenditure being suggested,
:05:23. > :05:28.between eight and 20 million, the other was where that would be
:05:28. > :05:33.sourced and what other expenditure would suffer as a result. Was the
:05:33. > :05:40.whole report chucked out? No, which is where it gets
:05:40. > :05:46.confusing. After my -- the debate, some of the proposals, such as
:05:46. > :05:56.offering more help to get people back to work, were excepted --
:05:56. > :05:58.
:05:58. > :06:03.accepted. Others were thrown out, such as help for housing.
:06:03. > :06:07.Where does this leave social security?
:06:07. > :06:11.Despite a disappointing result, not everyone was completely pessimistic,
:06:11. > :06:17.but there was a warning it will take longer now to help the
:06:17. > :06:21.families the department feels need more support. It was very close.
:06:21. > :06:26.With one or two other members there, it would have gone in our favour.
:06:26. > :06:35.Nevertheless, the authority will have to come back soon in the
:06:35. > :06:39.future with a difference -- a different outcome. The work will
:06:39. > :06:43.continue, but given the election is just around the corner, it could be
:06:43. > :06:51.a while before we see what the department comes up with.
:06:51. > :06:55.Later on, deputies agreed to continue with grants for university
:06:55. > :06:59.students. That is despite the fact that tuition fees have gone up. The
:06:59. > :07:03.education department will have to report back on how to fund higher
:07:03. > :07:12.education from 2014 onwards. There is a lot of work we need to do to
:07:12. > :07:18.see how we will go forward. There is a whole range of things we are
:07:18. > :07:22.looking at. There is plenty of time for students to understand what
:07:22. > :07:32.their choices are. In Jersey, it was decided that Sir
:07:32. > :07:33.
:07:33. > :07:38.Philip Bailhache will lead the new committee, having beaten his Deputy
:07:38. > :07:41.Geoff Southern. Joining him are two other politicians, Deputy James
:07:41. > :07:44.Baker and Tunstall Juliet Dacombe, representing each type of elected
:07:44. > :07:49.member. Hundreds of schoolchildren in
:07:49. > :07:55.Jersey have is running for charity today. They are donning their
:07:55. > :08:01.swimsuits over the next five days for the next -- 41st Jersey
:08:01. > :08:05.Swimarathon. A different start to their school
:08:05. > :08:09.day today. Grainville students were the first to make a splash in the
:08:09. > :08:14.Jersey Swimarathon. It is the 41st anniversary of the fund-raising
:08:14. > :08:18.event here, but the first one for the new Lieutenant Governor. It is
:08:18. > :08:28.remarkable. The length of time it has been going, back in 1972 when
:08:28. > :08:29.
:08:29. > :08:33.it started, the money raised is just short of �3 million. It is a
:08:33. > :08:42.remarkable testament to the community spirit in Jersey. As well
:08:42. > :08:51.as supporting schoolchildren, Sir and Lady McColl spoke to DIPS, a
:08:51. > :08:57.disabled son club. We have all met him before. He had a swim with us.
:08:57. > :09:03.This morning, he was telling us about him going to swim tomorrow
:09:03. > :09:09.and his rivalry with the bailiff, I think. He was looking forward to it.
:09:09. > :09:13.Did you give him some tips? tried to! All this fun is for a
:09:13. > :09:19.good cause. The money raised will be donated in memory of Hannah
:09:19. > :09:22.Johnson, a young ambassador for the Lions Club, who died last year.
:09:22. > :09:29.was an exemplar of just how wonderful young people can be. In
:09:29. > :09:36.her memory, we are devoting the Lions' share -- lie in's share,
:09:36. > :09:40.�45,000, 40% of the swim, whichever is greater, to Lions Club
:09:40. > :09:42.organisations to do with it what they will. The splashing and
:09:42. > :09:50.cheering at Les Quennevais pool will go on until Sunday as the
:09:50. > :10:00.event goes on into its 5th decade. There is no sign of slowing down.
:10:00. > :10:01.
:10:01. > :10:08.Some drier weather for the rest of the week, settling down towards the
:10:08. > :10:11.weekend. The rain clears away to the East. High pressure builds in
:10:12. > :10:21.from the South and West. It looks generally fine for tomorrow. On
:10:21. > :10:25.Friday, we will see increasing amounts of wind. Tonight, we are
:10:25. > :10:30.looking at a lot of clear skies. It is dry overnight, with some strong
:10:30. > :10:34.winds coming in from the North West. There is a minimum temperature of
:10:34. > :10:38.five Celsius. Tomorrow morning, it will feel cold in the breeze. There
:10:38. > :10:43.is plenty of sunshine to come throughout the day tomorrow. It
:10:43. > :10:46.remains fine and dry into the afternoon. The winds ease off and
:10:46. > :10:51.it should feel pleasant in the sun, with temperatures reaching 11
:10:51. > :10:55.degrees Celsius. It should generally be fair at sea with good
:10:55. > :11:05.visibility. There are north- westerly winds back up to force
:11:05. > :11:12.
:11:12. > :11:19.five, and the times of high water For surfers, it is a messy first
:11:19. > :11:25.thing tomorrow, but it should clean up later. There are possibly going
:11:25. > :11:29.to be four ft waves. Tomorrow is the best day for sunshine,
:11:29. > :11:33.remaining fine and dry throughout the day. On Friday, things turned
:11:33. > :11:38.milder with a south-westerly wind, although that eases off towards the
:11:38. > :11:43.end of Friday. On Saturday, there is thicker cloud around, meaning we
:11:43. > :11:49.could see patchy light rain or drizzle. It is fairly cloudy on