31 May 2016
The Assistant Minister for Economic Development, Tourism, Sport and Culture, Connétable Steve Pallett, has published a summary of the responses to liquor licensing consultation paper today.
The Government will now act on the consultation feedback from the public and from industry regarding aspects of a proposed new liquor licensing law for Jersey. The consultation document was issued in February this year.
The publication of the summary document follows careful consideration by the Shadow Alcohol and Licensing Policy Group of all 64 consultation responses, several of which offered the views of more than one individual.
Licensing objectives
Connétable Pallett said he was pleased with the level of public engagement “It has been a worthwhile consultation that has generated plenty of constructive comment on licensing objectives, process and fees. On price promotions, the strong message is that Islanders believe the majority of us to be responsible drinkers. Our data is nevertheless telling us that Islanders are, on average, drinking the equivalent of 134 bottles of wine a year each and those perspectives aren’t easy to reconcile.”
Feedback received in respect of five of the six parts of the paper was generally positive, albeit a number of industry stakeholders expressed some reservations regarding licensing objectives, aspects of the application process and fee levels. The majority of comments regarding the proposed extension to off-licences of an existing policy that restricts alcohol price promotions in on-licensed premises were nevertheless negative.
Connétable Pallett said “We do not intend to lodge either a draft law or any subordinate legislation that will propose promotion controls of the type outlined in the consultation paper – but that shouldn’t be taken to mean that the Alcohol and Licensing Policy Group will allow total deregulation of pricing across pubs and clubs when the new law comes into force.”
View the consultation responses
gov.je