RESPONSIBILITY for deciding who can sell alcohol could shift from the courts to an independent regulator that oversees gambling, if changes to Jersey’s decades-old legislation are approved next month.
The proposed change forms part of a wider set of reforms put forward by Economic Development Minister Kirsten Morel to ensure the alcohol licensing regime is “modern, proportionate, and fit for purpose”.
It follows the lifting of restrictions on drinks promotions earlier this year and comes after 16 years of attempts to modernise the 1974 legislation and reduce red tape for businesses.
Under Deputy Morel’s draft law, licensing decisions would no longer be made by the Bailiff and Jurats sitting as the Licensing Assembly. Instead, responsibilities would be transferred to the Jersey Gambling Commission, which would be renamed the Alcohol and Gambling Commission.
A report accompanying the draft law said this would avoid the “lengthy and costly process of establishing a brand-new regulator”.
At present, businesses must apply to the Assembly for one of seven fixed licence categories, including taverners’, restaurant, club and entertainment licences. Many hold multiple licences to cover different parts of their business, and the government wants to streamline this approach by replacing these categories with just two: an on-licence and an off-licence.
A new temporary licence for special events would also be introduced so that festivals and fairs no longer require every stallholder to apply for their own separate permit.
Under the draft law, the commission would be able to consider applications as they are received, rather than waiting for quarterly Licensing Assembly hearings.
Parishes would retain their current role in the licensing process – including holding Parish Assemblies and interviewing managers – and Constables would gain a new power to refer concerns to the commission.
New enforcement powers are included in the draft law, with the police able to issue Temporary Closure Orders for up to 72 hours where a “disturbance is causing a significant public nuisance”.
Business owners and Islanders have long argued that the Island’s decades-old approach to alcohol is outdated and in need of review, with a string of failed attempts to reduce red tape around businesses serving alcohol.
The closest attempt to update the law came in 2017 when then-Senator Steve Pallett brought a new draft law to the Assembly, but it was withdrawn over concerns about the lack of cohesive agreement and scrutiny.
In 2020, States Members voted to allow happy hours and promotional deals to stimulate the post-Covid economy but no progress was made.
Support for an overhaul of Jersey’s “onerous” and “outdated” alcohol licensing law was underscored earlier this year by responses to a consultation on proposed updates to the 50-year-old legislation.
The majority (89%) of the 98 respondents agreed the Licensing Law should be updated, with 74% also agreeing that the process should be run by a regulatory authority, though there was uncertainty around whether this should involve the Gambling Commission.
Around two-thirds (65%) of respondents agreed that the parishes should continue to give their views as part of the licensing process.
A reduction in the number of categories of on-licence also drew support from the majority of respondents, while plans for a new temporary licence for “special events” to be established was backed by 84% of those who took part in the consultation.
If approved by the States Assembly, the new law would not take effect before 2027. Time would be needed for the next government, elected this summer, to develop an Alcohol Policy Framework.
