Survey looks at islanders' lives

Thousands of people in Jersey are to be asked about their daily lives for a major new States survey.

Questions about work, health, how they travel and what people think of public services are included in the first Jersey Annual Social Survey.

The 21-page questionnaire is being sent to 3,000 households chosen at random by the States' Statistics Unit.

The results will be used by several departments to determine trends in the island and help decide future policies.

But some of the questions could prove controversial, particularly those about health and people's habits.

One critic is St John Deputy Phil Rondel who believes asking people what their weight is and whether they gamble is far too intrusive.

But the Statistics Unit said all the responses were anonymous and it just wanted to find out general trends.