Draft Alcohol Licensing (Jersey) Law 202- (P.112/2025) – Children’s Rights Impact Assessment
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STATES OF JERSEY
DRAFT ALCOHOL LICENSING (JERSEY) LAW 202- (P.112/2025) – CHILDREN'S RIGHTS IMPACT ASSESSMENT
Presented to the States on 8th December 2025
by the Minister for Sustainable Economic Development
STATES GREFFE
2025 P.112 Add.
CHILDREN'S RIGHTS IMPACT ASSESSMENT (CRIA)
PART 1: SCREENING
Name and title of Duty Bearer: Deputy Kirsten Morel Type of Duty Bearer:
(Minister, Elected Member or States Minister
Assembly Body)
Assessment completed by (if not
Private Secretary completed by duty bearer):
Date: 28th November 2025
1) Name and brief description of the proposed decision Decision' means: • an Assembly proposition • an amendment (or further amendment) to a proposition • for Ministerial duty-bearers, policy under development |
The States Assembly is being asked to approve the Draft Alcohol Licensing (Jersey) Law 202-. The proposed Law would replace the existing Licensing (Jersey) Law 1974 and aim to reduce barriers to business, enable effective enforcement and ensure that that licensing regime is modern, proportionate and fit for purpose. The Draft Law proposes replacing the Licensing Assembly with a Regulatory Authority answerable to the Minister and States Assembly. It will also reduce the current seven categories of licence to three and brings new powers for the Police and Fire service. |
2) Which groups of children and young people are likely to be affected? Groups of children could include early years, primary or secondary education; young adults; children with additional learning needs; disabled children; children living in poverty; children from particular ethnic backgrounds; migrants; refugees; care experienced children and LGBTQ+ children |
As with the existing Law, the Draft Alcohol Licensing (Jersey) Law 202- is most likely to impact young adults. |
3) What is the likely impact of the proposed decision on children and on their rights? Impacts may be positive or negative, direct or indirect Include whether different groups of children will be affected differently by the decision |
The Draft Alcohol Licensing (Jersey) Law 202- introduces provisions concerning both minors' and minors over the age of 16,' with the primary aim of prioritising their best interests and protecting their health through responsible regulation of alcohol. These measures are designed to safeguard children from exploitation and exposure to harmful substances, thereby promoting safer environments and stronger protections. The amendments align with the following relevant articles of the UNCRC: • Article 3: Ensuring the best interests of the child • Article 24: The right to the highest attainable standard of health • Article 32: Protection from economic exploitation |
• Articles 33 and 36: Protection from exploitation, abuse, and harmful substances The Draft Law maintains the existing minimum drinking age and prohibitions on acquiring alcohol for consumption by a minor. It further allows for the Regulatory Authority to designate an on-licenced premise as a Public Bar or as a Public Bars which is unsuitable for minors, providing for restrictions on access of young people to unsuitable environments. Additionally, the Draft Law permits that young people working in a role associated with the delivery or sale of alcohol must be doing so in a training capacity or supervised by a fit and proper person. |
4) Is a full Children's Rights Impact Assessment required? If you have identified impacts on children and their rights, a full CRIA should be completed. If no impacts are identified then a Full CRIA is not required, but please explain your rationale and how you reached this conclusion |
A full CRIA is required and has been prepared below. |
If screening determines that a full CRIA is needed, complete Part 2
Part 2: FULL CHILDREN'S RIGHTS IMPACT ASSESSMENT
5) What will be the impacts (positive or negative) of the proposed decision on children's rights?
For each of the UNCRC articles described below, click to identify any that may be relevant ☒
Category UNCRC Article Impact? YES NO
Non-discrimination (Art 2) ☐ ☐ Best interests of the Child (Art 3) to be a top priority X ☐
Guiding
Principles Right to Life survival and development (Art 6) ☐ ☐ Respect for the child's views (Art 12) ☐ ☐
Right to birth registration, name and nationality (Art 7) ☐ ☐ Right to an identity (Art 8) ☐ ☐ Freedom of expression (Art 13) ☐ ☐
Freedom of thought, conscience, and religion (Art 14)
Every child has the right to think and believe what they ☐ ☐ Civil Rights choose
Freedom of association (Art 15)
& Freedoms Every child has the right to meet with other children and ☐ ☐ to join groups and organisations
Right to Privacy (Art 16) including family and home life ☐ ☐ Access to information from the media (Art 17)
Right to access reliable information from a variety of ☐ ☐ sources, in a format that children can understand
Protinhuemctaneion tagareatimnsentt to orrtur pe uniorshm otherentcr(uAelrt, d 37(egra)adi) ng or ☐ ☐ Respect for the responsibilities, rights and duties of
parents (or where applicable, extended family or ☐ ☐ community) to guide their child as they grow up (Art 5)
Family
Environment Rdeveesponslopmibenilitt ofies tofhe boir chith pld ar(entArts 18in )t he upbringing and ☐ ☐ and
ACarlteer native Cagahiilndstren themiusr wt noill unt beles ses ipart iats ied n tfheromir btesheti irnparterentests s (Art ☐ ☐ 9)
Family reunification (Art 10) ☐ ☐
| Abduction and non-return of children abroad (Art 11) | ☐ | ☐ |
Right to a standard of living that is good enough to meet the child's physical and social needs and support their development (Art 27) | ☐ | ☐ | |
Special protection for children unable to live with their family (Art 20) | ☐ | ☐ | |
Best interests of the child in the context of Adoption (Art 21) | ☐ | ☐ | |
Review of treatment whilst in care (Art 25) If a child has been placed away from home for the purpose of care or protection (for example, with a foster family or in hospital), they have the right to a regular review of their treatment, the way they are cared for and their wider circumstances. | ☐ | ☐ | |
Protection from violence, abuse or neglect (Art 19) | ☐ | ☐ | |
Recovery from trauma and reintegration (Art 39) Children who have experienced neglect, abuse, exploitation, torture or who are victims of war must receive special support to help them recover their health, dignity, self-respect and social life. | ☐ | ☐ | |
Basic Health and Welfare | Rights of disabled children (Art 23) | ☐ | ☐ |
Right to health and health services (Art 24) | X | ☐ | |
Right to social security (Art 26) | ☐ | ☐ | |
Right to adequate standard of living (Art 27) | ☐ | ☐ | |
Education, Leisure and Cultural Activities | Right to education (Art 28) | ☐ | ☐ |
Goals of education (Art 29) Education must develop every child's personality, talents and abilities to the full | ☐ | ☐ | |
Leisure, play and culture (Art 31) Every child has the right to relax, play and take part in cultural and artistic activities | ☐ | ☐ | |
Special Protection Measures | Special protection for refugee children (Art 22) | ☐ | ☐ |
Children and armed conflict (Art 38 and Optional Protocol #1) Governments must do everything they can to protect and care for children affected by war and armed conflict. | ☐ | ☐ | |
Children and juvenile justice (Art 40) Right to be treated with dignity and respect, right to legal assistance and a fair trial that takes account of age. | ☐ | ☐ |
| Inhumane treatment and detention (Art 37 (b)-(d)) Children should be arrested, detained or imprisoned only as a last resort and for the shortest time possible. | ☐ | ☐ |
Recovery from trauma and reintegration (Art 39) Children who have experienced neglect, abuse, exploitation, torture or who are victims of war must receive special support to help them recover their health, dignity, self-respect and social life | ☐ | ☐ | |
Child labour and right to be protected from economic exploitation (Art 32) | X | ☐ | |
Drug abuse (Art 33) | X | ☐ | |
Sexual exploitation (Art 34) | ☐ | ☐ | |
Abduction, sale and trafficking of children (Art 35) | ☐ | ☐ | |
Protection from other forms of exploitation including for political activities, by the media or for medical research (Art 36) | X | ☐ | |
Children belonging to a minority or an indigenous group (Art 30) | ☐ | ☐ | |
Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography | ☐ | ☐ | |
Optional protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict | ☐ | ☐ |
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6) Information and research What evidence has been used to inform your assessment? | ||
Evidence collected (include links to relevant publications) | What did the evidence tell you? | What are the data gaps, if any? |
More than half (55%) of young people in years 6, 8, 10 and 12 reported never consuming alcohol. Year 12 had the highest proportion of drinkers with one in four reporting that they consume alcohol occasionally or regularly. There was also a higher proportion of females (31%) being regular drinkers than males (25%). The number of Year 12 students who drink | The data provided does not reveal whether young people are accessing alcohol (either directly or indirectly) from on- licenced or off-licenced premises. It also does not confirm how many minors between the age of 16 and 18 work in licensed premises under the existing Law. | |
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| alcohol occasionally or regularly has decreased substantially since 2018. |
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Alcohol consumption generally increases with age, but many young people are increasingly choosing to abstain or only drink infrequently. Amongst younger year groups there has been a steady increase in abstinence from alcohol. For example, amongst Year 8 students (12-13 years old) 70% report never having consumed alcohol compared to less than 20% in 2006. | ||
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7) Engagement with children What groups of children and young people (or those who speak on their behalf, such as social workers, teachers or youth workers) have been directly or indirectly involved in developing the decision? | ||
Groups consulted | How they were involved | What were the findings? |
Minister for Children and Families. Public Health Jersey Jersey Children's Commission. The General Public | The Draft Law has included briefings with a wide range of relevant stakeholders including the Minister for Children and Families A full public consultation was also undertaken on the proposals behind the draft law between 23.12.2024 and 26.01.2025. | The impact on children should be minimal from the Draft Law but care has been taken to ensure that young adults working in association with alcohol are supervised by a fit and proper person. |
8) Assessing Impact on children's rights Based on the information collected and analysed above, what likely impact will the proposed decision have on the specific children's rights identified in question 5)? | ||
Relevant UNCRC Articles (rights) identified in Q5 | Describe the positive or negative impacts on these rights | Which group(s) of children are likely to be affected? |
• Article 3: Ensuring the best interests of the child • Article 24: The right to the highest attainable standard of health Article 32: Protection from economic exploitation Articles 33 and 36: Protection from exploitation, abuse, and harmful substances
| The Draft Law maintains the existing minimum drinking age and prohibitions on acquiring alcohol for consumption by a minor. It therefore continues to positively impact children's rights under the articles mentioned by restricting access to alcohol and premises where alcohol is consumed It should have a positive impact on the rights mentioned given the new powers for the Regulatory Authority to designate an on-licenced premise as a Public Bar or as a Public Bars which is unsuitable for minors, providing for restrictions on access of young people to unsuitable environments. Additionally, the Draft Law introduces the provision that young people working in a role associated with the delivery or sale of alcohol must be doing so in a training capacity or when supervised by a fit and proper person. | Primarily young adults will be affected. The Draft Law makes specific provision for minors aged between 16 and 18. |
9) Weighing positive and negative impacts • If a negative impact is identified for any area of rights or any group of children and young people, what options are there to modify the proposed decision to mitigate the impact? • Could any positive impacts be enhanced? | ||
The considerations noted above reflect a positive impact on children in Jersey. The Draft Law allows for licence conditions to be amended on a case by case basis which should provide for greater flexibility and expediency in correcting any breaches of the Law or addressing any concerns. Licence conditions could also be added in future to provide greater protections against minors accessing alcohol, for example by restricting the sale areas within off- | ||
licensed premises. Such decisions would be guided by Government policy and informed by future research.
10) Conclusions In summary, what are your key findings on the impact of the proposed decision on the rights of Jersey children? |
The Draft Law will have a positive impact on the rights of children and young people given the considerations noted above. There has been a marked increase in recent years in the proportion of children who report never having consumed alcohol. The new Law will not impact the drinking age but will introduce further requirements that where a minor (aged between 16 and 18) works in a licenced premise, they are supervised by a fit and proper person. |