Guernsey Housing Department Meets With GIBA Over Licence Reforms

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

07 August 2007

Following the sending of an open letter to States Members by the Guernsey International Business Association (GIBA), it has emerged that representatives of the Housing Department have met with representatives of GIBA to discuss the Association's suggestions for reform of the housing licence system.

GIBA has called for longer housing licences to be issued to expatriate workers considered essential to the Island's finance industry.

The meeting was initiated and chaired by the Director-General of the Guernsey Financial Services Commission, Peter Neville.

Housing Department, Chief Officer, Stephen Langford, announced that:

“The meeting was a positive one. We listened to GIBA’s concerns and were able to reassure them that they were being taken seriously by the Housing Department. We were also able to draw attention to the various statements in the Government Business Plan and the Strategic Economic Plan to review the way the housing licence system operates, to show that there was political commitment to examine reforms to the current arrangements.”

Chairman of GIBA, Steve Le Page, added that:

“We were pleased that the Housing Department responded so promptly to our letter. After an open discussion of the issues, we left the meeting with a better understanding of how the current housing licence system operates, and with a clearer picture of the initiatives the Department was already looking at, and how those initiatives could help to tackle our concerns.”

Both parties agreed that there was need for further dialogue on the matter.

“We’ve agreed to meet again, with the Minister, at the earliest opportunity, to discuss more fully our views and concerns, and our involvement in the proposed review of the system.” revealed Mr Le Page.

However, reports in the local media have suggested that the Guernsey authorities are unlikely to budge on the issue of housing licences.

Speaking to the Guernsey Press and Star last week, Housing Minister, Dave Jones stated that:

"Many times, we get applications from the finance sector saying that prospective employees are essential to their company, but that is not the same as being essential to the island."

He continued:

"This will be a worthwhile exercise to the business community in helping to understand the complex issues involved with licences, population, essentiality and what Guernsey will need in the future in order to maintain a vibrant and sustainable economy. We don’t believe we have been restrictive. We are only restrictive when we think it is necessary to be so."

"We simply have to make sure that those people who occupy licences are essential to the community."

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