According to the report to the proposition, the fees have not been increased since 2008, when they were put up by 2.5%.
If the proposals lodged this week are approved by the Assembly next month, licensees will be asked to pay the increase over the next two years, ‘to reduce the financial burden on licensees’.
This will mean an extra ten per cent in 2016, and a further 9.5% rise in 2017 – 7% plus the 2.5% inflation for 2015.
The 17% now being proposed has been calculated according to an annual increase of 2.5%, or the cost of living excluding mortgage interest (RPIX), whichever is the lower, which is in line with States financial directions.
For a first category pub licensed for 60 people, the licence fee will go up from £498.20 to £599.40 in 2017; restaurateurs (third category) will pay £88 more for their licence; off-licences (sixth category) an additional £23; and fees for ‘comprehensive’ premises (fourth category) will rise from £1,942 annually to £2,343.
The report adds that the effect of the increases on the most common types of licence, the category 1 taverners’ licence for pubs, ‘is limited to a few pounds a week’, and although larger premises will have more significant rises, ‘this must be seen in the context of both their existing higher cost base and turnover’.
In all, the increases are expected to bring in an extra £50,000 in revenue over the two years.
Economic Development Minister Lyndon Farnham, who is a director of the Royal Yacht Hotel, said that he had distanced himself from the matter because of the conflict of interest, with the responsibility delegated to St Brelade Constable Steve Pallett, who is currently on holiday.
In Jersey, applications for liquor licences and approval of managers of licensed premises are considered at the quarterly licensing assembly in the Royal Court.
