DETAILS of a proposed liquid waste charge appear to have “pushed down the agenda” and more information is needed on how it will impact businesses, a backbench politician has said.
The recently published draft Budget for next year reaffirmed the government’s commitment to introduce liquid waste charges, including estimating it will bring in £10m a year of revenue, but other details remain murky.
The issue of Islanders being charged for the disposal of wastewater has been discussed for the better part of a decade.
In 2017, the government of the day tried to introduce a charge for businesses, but it was delayed and then dropped after vociferous opposition, particularly from the hospitality sector.
One voice of opposition then was the current Infrastructure Minister, who at the time led the Transport and Tourism Committee of the Chamber of Commerce.
Today, St John Constable Andy Jehan has been tasked with finally making liquid waste charges a reality.
However, no details have yet emerged.
Mr Jehan said: “The reason it’s going to take so long is because there is so much work to do, and we’re trying to look at what schemes are out there.
“I was on the other side in 2017; I was a member of the Chamber of Commerce then, and I did not feel that that scheme was equitable.
“We gave the minister of the time a number of alternatives that we thought were workable, and we’ll explore some of those. Also, I don’t think we need to reinvent the wheel; if the wheel is working somewhere else, then let’s have a look to see if it will work here.
“In many jurisdictions, waste charges are often linked to water usage but not always. I don’t think we’ve got a fixed idea, but we will certainly be doing more work on that in the coming months.”
Deputy Hilary Jeune, who chairs the Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Panel said that she hoped to see more details soon.
“It is a shame that the government has not done more work on the direction of this,” she said. “It seems to have been pushed down the agenda for the next Infrastructure Minister to deal with, who may or may not be supportive of the charge.
“But this should not be a political issue. There is a clear need to upgrade our wastewater systems, which is clearly set out in the Bridging Liquid Waste Strategy, and this is a means to help pay for it.
“We have not seen any work on what it will look like. If businesses are going to argue that this is an extra cost that they cannot bear, then we need to see an economic impact study which addresses those concerns.
“We hear that the department is spending £300,000 on policy work to come up with proposals but we need more information to properly scrutinise it.”
In September 2016, the States Assembly agreed in principle to the introduction of solid and liquid waste charges for non-householders.
The wastewater charge for non-householders was proposed be £2.27 per cubic metre plus a standing charge, to be introduced in 2018.
The user pays charge back then comprised a ‘fixed’ and ‘variable’ element. The former was based on the size of supply and was a daily charge. The latter was a volume-based charge based on 95% of the water usage.
Large industrial uses were able to come to an individual agreement with the government. The proposal also took into account partial connections to the sewerage network, such as businesses with septic tanks or soakaways.
It was estimated to raise just under £4m a year for the government.
This year’s proposed Budget states: “As set out in previous Budgets funding for future liquid waste infrastructure is intended to be met through the introduction of liquid waste charging in 2028. This Budget includes an estimate of £10 million to be raised through liquid waste charging in 2028 onwards.
“Receipts will be paid into the Consolidated Fund through general revenue income. Government Plan 2024 – 2027 previously gave approval for the application of existing resources for work on the development of a ‘user pays’ charge in relation to all aspects of waste.
“Details of the charging mechanism and proposals will be included in future Budgets, alongside all other necessary arrangements for charges to take effect.”
