States' power to set covid restrictions extended until end of year

Thursday 31 March 2022

The States Assembly’s powers to set covid regulations have been extended until the end of the year.

On Wednesday, States Members voted to extend the covid ‘enabling provisions’ – which gives the Assembly as a whole, rather than ministers, the power to bring in restrictions without having to go to all the way to the Privy Council for Royal Assent, which can take as long as three months.

The Enabling Law was due to expire on 1 August but it will now run out on 16 December, unless the next Assembly decides to extend it further.

Members overwhelming supported the move after seeking reassurance from the Solicitor-General that only the Assembly could approve regulations brought forward by ministers under the law.

Pictured: The regulation allowing for mandatory masks in public indoor spaces will fall away at the end of next month. 

Health Minister Deputy Richard Renouf said: “Jersey has come a long way since the start of the covid pandemic in March 2020. 

“The introduction of the vaccination has led to a significant reduction in severe illness and minimised disruption to critical services. This has made it possible to remove most covid restrictions. 

“However, the pandemic has not ended. Given the remaining level of uncertainty about the trajectory of the pandemic, I believe that it is reasonable to retain the Enabling Law so that action can be taken quickly should the situation deteriorate significantly.

“This could be, for example, if there were an urgent need to control the spread of a new ‘variant of concern and provide time for a further vaccine booster.”

Deputy Renouf said another reason to extend the law was to give the new Council of Ministers and Assembly – which will come in after the 22 June election – the power to bring in covid restrictions if needs be, without the complication of having to enact more enabling legislation.

Once the law had been approved, States Members began to debate extending certain regulations under it from when they currently end on 30 April to 30 September.

However Deputy Renouf is not planning to extend all of them.

Restrictions due to fall from the statute book at the end of April are: 

• work-place restrictions (the power to close retail, gyms, restaurants etc);
• the requirement for businesses to provide contact tracing details;
• mandatory mask-wearing in public indoor spaces;
• control over gatherings;
• the requirement for social distancing.

However, the Minister is asking the States to approve the extension of 11 regulations, which remain dormant unless enacted by a ministerial decision.

These include:

• screening, assessment and isolation regulations to force covid-positive islanders to isolate. It also allows border restrictions to be revived;
• the suspension of regulations setting out how many staff need to be on shift at any time in an adult care home in case of covid-related absence;
• allowing someone to officially make a will virtually rather than physically having to see a lawyer;
• modified rules around marriages and civil partnerships.

The States is continuing to debate extending these regulations on Thursday. Some Members have expressed concern over the suspension of staff numbers in care homes, which is approved by the Environment Minister on the advice of the Jersey Care Commission.

In the States Assembly on Wednesday, States Members also approved:

• banning exclusivity clauses in zero-hours contracts;
• extending the supervisory powers of the JFSC to auditors of any bank;
• obliging the Treasury Minister, except in emergencies, to ensure that Jersey's credit rating is BBB or above; and
• taxing the profits of limited liability companies.