CASH payments will once again be allowed in government-run sports facilities, if a proposition lodged by a backbencher is approved.
Deputy Lucy Stephenson is calling for the Infrastructure Minister to reintroduce cash payments by June, and for the Council of Ministers to review current and planned government policies regarding cash payments across all departments.
The Deputy, a former assistant minister with responsibility for sport, highlighted the case of a “vulnerable Islander” who was prevented from using cash at Les Quennevais Sports Centre in December last year, following the introduction of the cashless policy in 2020.
In the report accompanying her proposition, which will not be debated until at least 19 March, Deputy Stephenson said: “Government needs to take a pragmatic but compassionate approach to this issue.
“This proposition acknowledges that such cases have not been reported in high numbers and that in the increasingly digital world the vast majority of people have no problem with paying by card or on their phones.
“There are, however, still those in our community who need or want to use cash.
“This proposition does not seek to reintroduce layers of costly bureaucracy unnecessarily, but it does seek to ensure that no Islanders are prevented, or discouraged, from accessing important public services because of cashless policies introduced during a pandemic which has long since passed.
“In addition, making efficiencies, as this policy originally sought to do (around £30,000 a year in the case of sport facilities), should not be at the expense of fairness and accessibility, especially for vulnerable members of our community.”
