Charity says rising prices making life 'tough'

Alice Nunn from the Salvation Army said many islanders are struggling to make ends meet

A charity tackling poverty and homelessness in Jersey says rising prices are making the island an increasingly "tough" place to live.

Commenting on the results of a recent cost of living survey, the Salvation Army said it believed it underestimated the scale of the cost of living challenges facing people.

Island Global Research (IGR) found 10% of respondents in Jersey could not afford their living costs and often had to go without essentials.

Prices in Jersey rose by 3% in the year to the end of September, according to newly published figures.

Statistics Jersey said the biggest cost increases were for tobacco, fuel and light, and leisure services.

'Really expensive'

Alice Nunn, from the charity, said she thought the real figure was higher than this.

She said: “It’s tough to live here. I think that all of us are finding it really expensive.

"Jersey is a lovely place, it’s got a beautiful community; but it is more expensive on an island.

"I am always a little wary of these surveys because it’s normally the people who have the time and the energy to fill in the surveys in the first place.

"The ones who’ve got three jobs are the ones who maybe don’t have the time to fill in surveys.

"I actually think it’d probably be more [than 10%]."

Already this year the charity's food bank has matched the total number of people it helped through the whole of last year, Ms Nunn said.

Traditionally, the demand increased further in the run-up to Christmas, she added.

'No increase in alcohol and fuel duty'

In a statement the government said the "fall in the rate of inflation is in line with forecasts and is welcomed".

It added: “To help bring inflation down and to help Islanders and businesses with costs of living, Budget 2025 proposes no increase in alcohol and fuel duty. A first step towards the adoption of a Living Wage for all employees – with a support package for employers – is also scheduled for implementation from April 2025."

It added expected reductions to the Bank of England base rate would also "exert downward pressure on Jersey’s RPI.”