THE Infrastructure Minister has said that he would personally support using the Islandwide rate to charge all households and businesses for the removal of liquid waste – but he stressed that no decision would be made before the public were asked for their views.
Constable Andy Jehan said that apportioning the proposed charge – which the current government is committed to introduce – based on the size of properties would be his preferred choice.
He said that it would also allow the charge to be collected using an existing mechanism, which is levied by the parishes but then passed on to the Treasury Department.
However, speaking to the Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel yesterday, the minister conceded that some people will lose out, such as a couple who lived in a five-bedroom house: their usage would therefore be disproportionate to the size of their property.
He said: “Personally, I think using the Islandwide rate is a good mechanism but the devil is always in the detail. We’ve got to be cautious in as much as we’ve got a lot of people in the Island who are asset rich and cash poor.
“Perhaps it is a way of encouraging people to downsize, but I think we have to look at all of the options, and that’s why the consultation is going to be so important.”
He added: “There are a number of ways of charging for liquid waste, and we need to consider all those options before coming to a final decision.
“There are no preconceived ideas at the moment; the Islandwide rate is one way but so is charging in association with the amount of water you use, which is tried and tested in other places. I expect the consultation to happen in at the back end of next year or early 2027.
“At the moment, we are the only utility which is currently free of charge. We also have some Islanders who have to pay to have their tanks emptied and others who don’t pay anything. I think it’s important that we get as many properties as possible connected to main sewers.”
The 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. The issue of Islanders being charged for the disposal of wastewater has been discussed for the better part of a decade.
Mr Jehan told the panel that he did not think that £10m per annum would cover all liquid waste costs.
