Licences under the Control of Housing and Work (Jersey) Law 2012

1240/5(7947)

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE CHIEF MINISTER

BY DEPUTY J.A. HILTON OF ST. HELIER ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 5th NOVEMBER 2013

Question

1. Would the Chief Minister provide members with a table showing the number of licences held by companies and the type of licences held for the period January 2010 until July 2013 inclusive?
2. Comparing statistics for the period January 2010 until July 2013 would the Chief Minister show by year the number of licences which came up for renewal where the number of non- local licences has been reduced?
3. Does the Chief Minister have evidence that companies inflated the number of non-local licences originally applied for but never used and, if so, how many have had their non local licences reduced and by how many?
4. Of the new applications received during the period January 2010 until July 2013, how many applied for non local licences, how many were granted and for what type of businesses?
5. How many companies hold registered licences? How many of those companies have been reviewed in the past three years and how many non local/registered licences have been removed, if any?
6. Since the Control of Housing and Work Law came into force, how many licences have been reviewed? How many licences have had their Registered category reduced and, if none, the reason why?

Answer

Note: The term "registered" is used in this answer, being equivalent to persons called "non- locally qualified" until 1st July, 2013.

1. The  below table  shows number of undertakings  licenced  as  at each year end, i.e. inclusive  of  January  2010  –  June  2013.  These  licences  are  issued  to  permit  an undertaking to trade, include a description of the undertaking being performed, and may include permissions for staff. (As at end June 2013, 3,500 of these undertakings where single person businesses, compared to 2,700 in December 2009).

Number of Undertakings

Dec-09  6,699 Dec-10  7,107 Dec-11  7,475 Dec-12  7,802 Jun-13  7,942

2. The below table shows the number of licences which came up for renewal where permissions for registered staff were reduced:

Number of licences reviewed where permissions for registered staff were reduced

2010  92 2011  165

2012  155 Q1 - Q2 2013  77

3. No.
4. The below table shows number of permanent "registered" permissions granted to new businesses applying to commence an undertaking. These permissions were spread across a range of sectors, with most of the permissions being for a single member of staff.

Number of "registered" permissions granted to new businesses

2010   66 2011   20

2012   12 To end June 2013   18

In  each  of  the  years,  the  following  requests  were  refused  from  existing  and  new businesses: 2010, 390; 2011, 334; 2012, 200; to end June 2013, 125). It is not possible to separately analyse numbers refused between existing and new businesses under the old Law, although this will be possible under the new Law.

5. 2,024 businesses held permission for registered staff as at 1st November, 2013.

All licences with permission for staff are reviewed, either every 3 years, or sooner, as such all these licences will be reviewed in a period to not exceed 3 years from either previous review or issue.

The below table shows number of licences reviewed in each year, the number of licences reviewed where registered permissions were reduced, and the number of "registered" permissions removed:

Number of licences  Number of Number of  reviewed where  "registered" Licences  permissions for registered  permissions Reviewed  staff were reduced  removed

2010   836  92   571 2011   1,135  165   421

2012   1,182  155   405 To end June 2013   720  77   283 Totals   3,873  489   1,680

6. 432 licences have been reviewed since the 1st July, 2013 (when the new Law came into force). Of these licences, 47 businesses have had their registered permissions reduced, removing 209 registered permissions to total. (Note: Of the 432 licences reviewed, many will not include any permission for registered staff).