Anne Godfrey was in the Island for two days this week to speak to professionals and politicians in environmental and public health, focusing on areas such as Jersey’s newly adopted legislation on minimum rental standards and the Island’s approach to food safety.
Addressing the issue of a registration or licensing scheme for landlords in Jersey, Ms Godfrey said that, in her view, such a scheme would be ‘fundamental’.
‘If you don’t have a registration scheme, which allows you to know who the landlords are, where they are and how many properties they have, then how on earth can you go and inspect? So that has to happen,’ she said.
Jersey’s director of Environmental Health, Stewart Petrie, confirmed that, under the ambit of a new law giving government officers the power to enter rented housing and enforce ‘minimum standards’, the government will be looking to introduce a licensing scheme.
‘We will be bringing in licensing,’ he said, ‘which means we’ll effectively be saying to landlords that there’ll be grandfather rights if you’re already letting a property, so we’re not going to prevent people from renting their properties because that’s a route to eviction. But for anybody new, they will have to have a licence before they rent it out.’
Meanwhile, on the topic of food hygiene and safety, Ms Godfrey said she uses Jersey as an example of good practice when speaking to professionals elsewhere in the UK.
‘We absolutely do use the example of Jersey, especially the use of technology here. I think Jersey is really good at testing things and using digital platforms. You are way ahead of the game compared to most of the rest of the UK. I’m thinking of the apps and platforms that your businesses and professionals can use to get data and insight.’
This kind of ‘scores on the doors’ system, she said, which requires restaurants to display their food hygiene ratings, is not yet mandatory in England. However, since December last year, Jersey’s Eat Safe scheme has required every local restaurant, café and takeaway in Jersey to display its rating or risk a £1,000 fine.
Assistant Environment Minister, Gregory Guida, commented: ‘We’ve been informed by the Chief Executive of CIEH, Anne Godfrey, that Jersey is “ahead of the curve” on many issues. Policies and legislation such as the Rented Dwellings Law and the Eat Safe displays in restaurants and cafés are leading the way for the UK with health and safety laws.’
