07/03/2012 BBC Channel Islands News

Good evening. Welcome to BBC in the Channel Islands. Coming up: A

crisis of consumer confidence as shoppers stop spending and even up

biggest supermarkets are affected. Plans to give more money to the

poor in Guernsey suffer a setback. And a splashing cause. Hundreds

Retail sales in Jersey have fallen for their second consecutive

quarter. It is the first time in two years that the volume and the

value of what is bought in shops fell and it has been put down to

falling consumer confidence following the eurozone crisis. The

volume of retail sales in the last quarter of 2011 was 6% lower than

the same time in 2010. The value of goods being bought also fell by 2%,

but this includes the rise in GST from 3% to 5%, and inflation, so it

would have been a bigger drop without those increases. Non-food

items were the worst hit, the disposable income items. They end

indicates consumer confidence. Shoppers held on to their cash amid

an escalating eurozone crisis and rising unemployment at home.

Despite the difficult trading period last year, it was also the

year when Waitrose arrived in the Channel Islands, opening three

stores in Jersey and two in Guernsey. Every employee working in

Waitrose in the UK received their Hannibal bonus today. It was cut

today for the first time in three years as the company says it has

also been affected by economic downturn.

This year's partnership bonus With a 14% bonus, it was party time

in a Jersey. It was the first time since staff had received a bonus

here since the supermarket chain opened here last year. The bonus

applies to everyone from top managers to checkout assistants.

is a great day for us. We are absolutely thrilled. What Are you

going to spend it on? To visit my family in Ireland and driving

lessons. There was a lot of speculation when Waitrose opened in

the Channel Islands about how well they would do here. Had they done

too much too quickly in a market they did not understand? Today's

figures show sales up 8%. That is for the UK as a whole. Waitrose do

not want to reveal how they are doing here other than to say they

are very pleased so far. What is clear is the arrival of Waitrose

has brought competition to other food retailers. It has had a

profound impact on retailers generally in Jersey and in Guernsey

as well. It is both positive and negative. 2011 was a very

challenging year for us, we were exceptionally busy in the first

part of the year and then we noticed customers, as we expected,

wandered off to Waitrose. Many of those customers came back. Waitrose

has tried to bring business to the islands by using local suppliers,

but the demands of the large chain do not make that easy. This beef

farmer discovered that. They are looking for a particular breed.

They only want the hind quarters, so that leaves one with other

quarters to dispose of. This year's bonus was the lowest Waitrose paid

out in three years. Last year it was 18%. That did not dampen the

party spirit. Staff were delighted to have their share of the cake.

Controversial plans to change Guernsey's benefits system suffered

a setback today. The States rejected key parts of the proposals

because the price had -- tag of up to �20 million was too much for

some deputies. Penny Elderfield spoke to me from our studios a

while ago to explain what happened in the debate.

This is by no means a straightforward one. The aim of the

plans was to improve the islands' welfare system. There were all

sorts of initiatives to try to do this. Reassurances the financial

side could be worked out later were not enough for some. There are two

concerns. One is that the range of the expenditure being suggested,

between eight and 20 million, the other was where that would be

sourced and what other expenditure would suffer as a result. Was the

whole report chucked out? No, which is where it gets

confusing. After my -- the debate, some of the proposals, such as

offering more help to get people back to work, were excepted --

accepted. Others were thrown out, such as help for housing.

Where does this leave social security?

Despite a disappointing result, not everyone was completely pessimistic,

but there was a warning it will take longer now to help the

families the department feels need more support. It was very close.

With one or two other members there, it would have gone in our favour.

Nevertheless, the authority will have to come back soon in the

future with a difference -- a different outcome. The work will

continue, but given the election is just around the corner, it could be

a while before we see what the department comes up with.

Later on, deputies agreed to continue with grants for university

students. That is despite the fact that tuition fees have gone up. The

education department will have to report back on how to fund higher

education from 2014 onwards. There is a lot of work we need to do to

see how we will go forward. There is a whole range of things we are

looking at. There is plenty of time for students to understand what

their choices are. In Jersey, it was decided that Sir

Philip Bailhache will lead the new committee, having beaten his Deputy

Geoff Southern. Joining him are two other politicians, Deputy James

Baker and Tunstall Juliet Dacombe, representing each type of elected

member. Hundreds of schoolchildren in

Jersey have is running for charity today. They are donning their

swimsuits over the next five days for the next -- 41st Jersey

Swimarathon. A different start to their school

day today. Grainville students were the first to make a splash in the

Jersey Swimarathon. It is the 41st anniversary of the fund-raising

event here, but the first one for the new Lieutenant Governor. It is

remarkable. The length of time it has been going, back in 1972 when

it started, the money raised is just short of �3 million. It is a

remarkable testament to the community spirit in Jersey. As well

as supporting schoolchildren, Sir and Lady McColl spoke to DIPS, a

disabled son club. We have all met him before. He had a swim with us.

This morning, he was telling us about him going to swim tomorrow

and his rivalry with the bailiff, I think. He was looking forward to it.

Did you give him some tips? tried to! All this fun is for a

good cause. The money raised will be donated in memory of Hannah

Johnson, a young ambassador for the Lions Club, who died last year.

was an exemplar of just how wonderful young people can be. In

her memory, we are devoting the Lions' share -- lie in's share,

�45,000, 40% of the swim, whichever is greater, to Lions Club

organisations to do with it what they will. The splashing and

cheering at Les Quennevais pool will go on until Sunday as the

event goes on into its 5th decade. There is no sign of slowing down.

Some drier weather for the rest of the week, settling down towards the

weekend. The rain clears away to the East. High pressure builds in

from the South and West. It looks generally fine for tomorrow. On

Friday, we will see increasing amounts of wind. Tonight, we are

looking at a lot of clear skies. It is dry overnight, with some strong

winds coming in from the North West. There is a minimum temperature of

five Celsius. Tomorrow morning, it will feel cold in the breeze. There

is plenty of sunshine to come throughout the day tomorrow. It

remains fine and dry into the afternoon. The winds ease off and

it should feel pleasant in the sun, with temperatures reaching 11

degrees Celsius. It should generally be fair at sea with good

visibility. There are north- westerly winds back up to force

five, and the times of high water For surfers, it is a messy first

thing tomorrow, but it should clean up later. There are possibly going

to be four ft waves. Tomorrow is the best day for sunshine,

remaining fine and dry throughout the day. On Friday, things turned

milder with a south-westerly wind, although that eases off towards the

end of Friday. On Saturday, there is thicker cloud around, meaning we

could see patchy light rain or drizzle. It is fairly cloudy on