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10
1240/5/1(65)
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE
MINISTER FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, TOURISM, SPORT AND CULTURE BY DEPUTY S.Y. MÉZEC OF ST. HELIER
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 30TH JANUARY 2017
Question
Further to the response provided on 17th January 2017 to written question 1(15) regarding the legislative measures the Minister had taken to provide a tangible effect on promoting economic growth, will the Minister reproduce the list provided in that response with the addition of a clear explanation beneath each item to show what growth in our economy, if any, could be attributed to the measure in question?
Answer
The four changes to subordinate legislation highlighted in the previous answer were progressed on the basis that businesses generate economic growth, while government concentrates on improving conditions for economic growth. Both the efforts of business and government can take time to filter through.
Each of the four relevant legislative projects listed in the previous answer were designed to create important but incremental changes to business trading conditions.
In the case of the changes made to the Tourism (General Provisions) Order during 2015 and 2016, the primary success measures are indirect. Visit Jersey has been able to source higher quality baseline data to help direct its marketing resource effectively. If, as a consequence, Visit Jersey secures a sustained increase in the number of visitors then businesses will be well placed to generate sustained economic growth. Industry feedback indicates that businesses have also benefited from the incremental reduction in red tape insofar as their staff can devote time to other tasks.
Turning to the changes made to legislation governing licensing and retail activity, the incremental benefit of both will ultimately be factored into the economic activity reports published by the States of Jersey Statistics Unit. It is nevertheless worthy of note that local media reporting of pre-Christmas 2016 on-Island retail activity was positive.