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Council of Ministers – 21st September 2006
User Pays charge A5. The Council, with Deputy A.D. Lewis , Assistant Minister for Home Affairs, (P.94/2006) - Deputy C.F. Labey , Assistant Minister, Education, Sport and Culture, Mr. R. comments. McLoughlin, Cultural Development Officer, Mr. K. Lemasney, Strategy 1075(361) Development Officer, Economic Development and Mr. S. Austin-Vautier, Chief
Executive Officer, Home Affairs Department in attendance, considered its response to a report and proposition regarding the proposed introduction of a new user pays' charge which had been lodged au Greffe' by the Home Affairs Minister and was scheduled for consideration by the States on 10th October 2006 (P.94/2006). The Economic Development Minister had expressed reservations about the proposal and had asked for the matter to be discussed by the Council.
The Council was advised that in recent years the States of Jersey Police had committed resources to the policing of an increasing number of public events, and consideration had therefore been given to ways in which the additional costs could be met. It was proposed that a new charge should be introduced which would apply only to commercial/profit making' events, defined as being where a commercial organisation seeks to sell/advertise or otherwise promote or hold a particular product/merchandise/event for financial gain and where this event falls within core policing responsibilities'. Traditional, long-established events, such as the Battle of Flowers, would be exempt from the proposed charge.
The Economic Development Minister cautioned that the introduction of this charge could have implications for other Ministers' budgets. Both Jersey Tourism and the Education, Sport and Culture Department supported events at which there was a police presence, and they effectively underwrote the costs of some of these events. If the costs for events such as Jersey Live or the Polish Festival were to rise, then there was a possibility that the Economic Development or Education, Sport and Culture Departments would be asked to pay an increased subsidy, which would equate to an additional cost to the States.
The Council agreed that the proposition should not be debated on 10th October 2006, and that further discussions should take place between the Home Affairs, Economic Development and Education Sport and Culture Ministers to develop a proposed way forward. The matter would then be brought back to the Council at its Meeting on 2nd November 2006, following which it was possible that a revised proposition could be taken to the States.
The Council expected that the proposal would ensure that:
- Events were properly planned to protect public safety and security;
- Planning would be undertaken jointly by the organiser, police and other emergency services;
- All parties involved in planning and management of events would share responsible for ensuring safety and security; and,
- The organiser should have a strong incentive to ensure that crowd control and safety was managed as effectively as possible.
The Council agreed that no user pays policing charges should be applied until the States had decided whether they would be appropriate and therefore no charges would apply until at least 2007. The Council recognised the importance of events such as Jersey Live in the development of both event-led tourism and the enhancement of the cultural agenda and reiterated its support for Jersey Live, which it hoped would become even more successful in 2007.
The Council was subsequently advised that the Minister for Home Affairs had agreed that the States' debate on the proposition P.94/2006 should be deferred until 21st November 2006, and that further discussions on the matter would take place in the interim.