Chamber boss: 'We need to pause over population regime'

Chamber of Commerce president Martyn Dorey told the gathered audience at its latest lunch event of his concerns about the new laws.

As Deputy Gavin St Pier, president of the Policy & Resources Committee, was about to speak, Mr Dorey said that his concerns were reflected by other business groups, and he said he was concerned about 'the signals we are sending out about Guernsey'.

'I appreciate the laws were written a long time ago but there is a feeling that we have got to do something, that we need to take a pause, have a think.

'The world is a different place now, with two changes of States since the law was conceived.'

Mr Dorey said that he wanted Guernsey to be open to attracting the best talent to enable the economy to thrive.

'We're in a fight for global talent and our population laws need to reflect that.

'What I'm hearing from business is not that population numbers need control, but to make sure that the values of people coming in to the island fit in with the values of the community, and that is completely missed in the proposals.'

Deputy St Pier said that his committee had not recently discussed the population laws – the States is expected to agree the commencement date when it meets next week.

But he rejected the idea of a delay.