YOUNG people want the flexibility of being able to shop on Sundays, the Economic Development Minister has said, as he outlined his proposals to ease trading requirements.
Deputy Kirsten Morel has lodged a proposition which, if approved, would remove the requirement for shops to obtain permits to open on Sundays and public holidays.
Discussing the move at an Economic and International Affairs Scrutiny Panel yesterday, the minister said it is part of his commitment to remove “unnecessary regulation” and “red-tape”.
However, he faced questions around a lack of evidence and assessment before bringing forward the proposals. During the hearing, Deputy Beatriz Porée asked: “Did you do a study? Have you kind of been looking at the businesses who are asking you for more flexibility on those type of opening hours? Where is your evidence coming from?
Deputy Morel responded: “The world has changed a lot, and so people are much more comfortable with shopping on Sunday, and in fact surveys are showing, people, particularly young people in Jersey feel they should be able to.”
He added that members of his department had engaged with parish officials – particularly in St Helier where the “majority of retailers” are – and said that they had been met with queries at to why shop owners were forced to apply for a permit in the first place.
He added that the bureaucracy involved is costly to both businesses applying for permits and the parishes administering them.
And, in response to concerns raised about the potential noise of deliveries and lorries on Sundays and public holidays, Deputy Morel said there are many “technological breakthroughs” that supermarkets are adopting, including quieter cages to carry deliveries that are “vastly quieter” and have “wheels don’t make the noise”.
He added that he has been in discussion with the Chamber of Commerce about amendments to codes of conduct that would allow the industry to regulate itself without the need for a law.
