Senator to call time on booze law delays

Wednesday 07 October 2020

Politicians hope they can finally call time on long delays to updating the Island’s decades-old Licensing Law.

Replacing the 1974 law with a new set of rules and regulations governing how the drinks trade is run, and policed, has been a long-running saga. A draft law was proposed in 2017 but then withdrawn after Scrutiny and the Jersey Hospitality Association raised concerns.

Now the politician behind that proposal, Senator Steve Pallett, is having another go at bringing the law up to date. 

He told the States on Tuesday that the Council of Ministers had asked him to set up a “task and finish group” comprising of himself, Home Affairs Minister Len Norman, Health Minister Richard Renouf and Treasury Assistant Minister Leslie Ash.

“This new group is being charged with developing a draft statement of alcohol licensing policy and proposing either new legislation or amendments to the existing 1974 Law as appropriate to achieve the necessary reform,” he said.

“It will aim to lodge an in-principle policy proposition for debate by the States Assembly in Q1 2021, with detailed policy and legislative proposals to be lodged as soon as possible thereafter and no later than December 2021.”

Pictured: Currently, the Bailiff and Jurats regulate the drinks' trade in the form of the Licensing Bench.

The Senator’s first attempt at a new law, drawn up more than three years ago, set out a new regime to better regulate the industry, reduce alcohol-related crime and disorder, and protect the young and vulnerable. However, it also proposed that licences would be decided by a Licensing Authority, comprised of politicians and laymen, rather than the existing Licensing Bench, which is made up of the Bailiff and Jurats. 

However, the plans were pulled at the eleventh hour amid concerns that not enough work had been done to scrutinise the legislation. Progress then came to a halt as Government resources to work on the project dried up.

This time, however, Senator Pallett hopes to get an updated law through.

“The formation of this new group is certainly not a return to square one,” he said. “I still believe that the draft licensing proposition – P.103/2017 - should be used as a basis for updating the law as much of the contents have been consulted on and have industry support.

“It included the development of a Statement of Licensing Policy to be agreed by the States Assembly which puts policy for alcohol licensing in the hands of politicians, which is an issue that Members have made clear that they want rectified.”

Initially, the group will draw up a draft statement of alcohol licensing policy that will cover, as a minimum, alcohol availability, pricing, advertising and promotions; which authority should determine licence applications; whether the current licence category model and fee structure needs changing; and propose new legislation.