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Prioritisation Principles

Our prioritisation principles guide us in deciding which projects to undertake.

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Introduction

As Jersey’s economic regulator for ports, postal services and telecommunications, and as Jersey’s competition law enforcement body, we must carefully prioritise our work to make the best use of our limited resources.
We make strategic decisions on how and where to focus our resources based on:

  • Our legal remit under applicable laws
  • Intelligence and analysis from research and stakeholder engagement

We take an evidence-based approach to assess how each action aligns with our strategic aims, both in the short and long term. Where appropriate, we collaborate with other regulators and agencies to ensure our efforts complement theirs.

We will only intervene when necessary to:

  • Protect competition
  • Improve how markets operate

Our interventions aim to:

  • Promote open competition
  • Encourage greater availability of products and services
  • Consider Jersey’s economic scale

We focus our efforts on deterring and addressing behaviours that pose the greatest threat to consumer and citizen welfare, while avoiding unnecessary burdens on businesses.


Our goal is to allocate resources effectively to deliver real outcomes for Jersey. We prioritise projects and programmes that align with our responsibilities and have the greatest impact.  

How we use the principles

We prioritise work based on its:

  • Impact on consumers: how it affects consumer welfare and access to services
  • Strategic significance: how it aligns with our long-term goals and responsibilities

These decisions are balanced against the risks and resources required to deliver the work. Our actions are guided by our mission, values, high-level strategy, annual work plan and guidance to stakeholders. We also consider our obligations under the Memorandum of Understanding and Funding Agreement with the Government.

Applying the principles

The principles we use are illustrative, not exhaustive. We do not apply them mechanically; each case requires careful judgement and balanced decision-making.

When deciding on new projects or programmes, we consider:

       Timing and resource needs: assessing the resources required over the life of the project and weighing these against its potential impact.

       Ongoing relevance: reassessing whether a project warrants continued resources at key stages, especially when compared to other potential priorities.

As a small regulatory authority, certain large or complex investigations may be better handled by competition authorities in larger jurisdictions. In such cases, we may rely on their decisions rather than prioritising these investigations ourselves. Even where we have the legal power to act, we consider the practicalities of conducting investigations and enforcement before proceeding.

Legal obligations

In some circumstances, we are required by law to act, including:

  • Investigating breaches of licence conditions for sector licensees.
  • Obtaining and reviewing information relating to mergers.
  • Conducting regulatory appeals on price controls, licence terms, or other regulatory arrangements under sector-specific legislation.
  • Responding to Ministerial directions.

When prioritising work, we carefully assess the timing and resource requirements to ensure we meet our legal duties effectively within the resources available to us.

Prioritisation principles

Impact

We evaluate:

  • Direct effects on consumer welfare: benefits such as better prices, quality and service options, including non-financial gains like avoiding harm or distress
  • Indirect effects on consumer confidence and behaviour: improvements driven by our actions, such as increased awareness or deterrence of anti-competitive practices
  • Economic impact: encouraging innovation, efficiency and growth in specific sectors and the wider Jersey economy

Strategic significance

We assess:

  • Alignment with our strategy: ensuring projects fit with our mission to promote fairness and competition
  • Value beyond monetary benefits: some work protects fairness and principles that require subjective assessment rather than financial metrics
  • Best-placed to act: determining whether another body, such as private enforcement, Government, or other regulators, is better suited to intervene.
  • Portfolio balance: ensuring our resources focus on the most important issues while maintaining a balanced work programme

Risks

We consider:

  • Likelihood of success: prioritising projects with higher chances of achieving strategic goals
  • Scale of detriment: addressing severe harms even if the likelihood of success is low, to clarify laws or set long-term precedents
  • Consistency: establishing standards, legal certainty and sending clear messages, even when immediate success is uncertain
  • Risk management: balancing risks across our portfolio and embedding good risk management in decision-making

Resources

We ensure proportionality by assessing whether resource requirements are justified by the expected benefits. Decisions factor in:

  • Resource levels and duration needed
  • Proportionality to anticipated benefits
  • Alternative uses of resources
  • Cost-saving opportunities that improve efficiency

We also consider external resources, such as legal counsel or consultancy, when determining feasibility.

Watch our Prioritisation Principles video

Our CEO Tim Ringsdore talks about the Prioritisation Principles.

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