In brief: Deputy Lee Carpenter has tabled an amendment to the Government of Jersey’s Common Strategic Policy, calling for a dedicated strategy to bring young islanders home after university. The proposal focuses on maintaining contact with students, improving access to affordable housing, and creating graduate career opportunities. It comes against a backdrop of an ageing population and a worsening dependency ratio.
The Brain Drain Problem Jersey Has Been Ignoring
There is something quietly absurd about a government that funds twelve years of schooling, waves its young people off to university on the mainland, and then does absolutely nothing to persuade them to come back. Deputy Lee Carpenter has noticed this, and he has done something about it. Bailiwick Express reports that the St Helier deputy has lodged an amendment to the government’s proposed Common Strategic Policy, asking ministers to commit to developing a strategy that actively encourages young islanders to return to Jersey after their studies.
The amendment proposes three practical pillars: keeping in regular contact with students while they are away, ensuring returning graduates can access affordable housing, and creating genuine career opportunities for those who do come home. Deputy Carpenter’s argument is straightforward. “As an island we pay for our children’s education, we encourage and prepare them for university, and then we do nothing to encourage them to return,” he said. “This amendment seeks to change that.”
The Numbers Behind the Concern
The demographic picture underpinning the amendment is not comfortable reading. Statistics released last month showed that Jersey’s population aged 65 and over grew by 13% between 2020 and 2025, while the number of under-16-year-olds fell by 7%. Jersey’s dependency ratio, which measures the non-working-age population against those aged 16 to 64, now stands at 53.5.
Deputy Carpenter spelt out the consequences plainly. “A larger older population will require greater spending on health and social care, while a smaller proportion of the population will be working and contributing to the taxes that fund it,” he said. “A higher dependency ratio places additional burden on healthcare, social security and educational systems.”
The island, he argued, will need to maintain or grow its working-age population, whether through inward migration, a larger resident workforce, or both. Enticing back even a small proportion of Jersey-educated graduates would, he suggested, bring meaningful benefits to the economy and public finances.
The Cost of Living Obstacle
Of course, telling young people to come home is one thing. Giving them a reason to do so is quite another. Deputy Carpenter acknowledged the scale of the challenge directly. Jersey’s cost of living is approximately 20% higher than the UK, he noted, and its housing market is among the most expensive in the world. To put that in concrete terms: the Q2 2026 UK house price index shows the national average house price across the UK was £272,000. The average price of a one-bedroom flat in Jersey is £326,000. A graduate returning from a UK university, likely carrying student debt and starting on an entry-level salary, faces a housing market that makes London look almost reasonable.
This is precisely why Deputy Carpenter’s amendment ties the return strategy to affordable housing access and graduate career pathways, rather than simply asking the government to send the occasional cheerful newsletter to students in Exeter or Edinburgh.
What Happens Next
The government’s Common Strategic Policy outlines 11 core priorities across four pillars: targeting the cost of living, restoring competitiveness, investing in homes and infrastructure, and maintaining financial stability. The priorities are due to be debated by the States Assembly in November, at which point Deputy Carpenter’s amendment will be considered alongside the main document.
Whether ministers will accept the amendment or resist it remains to be seen. The government has not yet publicly responded to the proposal, according to Bailiwick Express.
Source: Bailiwick Express
