Cutting red tape

Jersey has become over‑regulated, and this is holding back businesses across the Island. Regulation should protect the public interest, but it should not impose unnecessary burdens or make it harder for businesses to operate. Too often, the balance has been lost.

The evidence is clear. In the December 2025 Jersey Business Tendency Survey, 28% of businesses said that regulation was limiting them. In the 2023 Barriers to Business report, 60% of respondents said regulation had a negative impact on their business. The main concerns were:

• Inflexible legislation that restricts business activity, such as trading hours and employment law.

• Onerous regulations that are not fair or proportionate, particularly in planning and housing.

• The complexity and cost of compliance, which is especially difficult for smaller businesses.

The report noted a “general consensus across all industries that the volume of legislation is increasing and is designed for either the finance industry or the general citizen without consideration of the economic impact and proportionality for all the other industries.”

This is echoed by the experience of local entrepreneurs. One business owner recently wrote publicly about the “unnecessarily difficult” process of setting up a business, describing “bureaucracy, disorganisation, and endless hoops to jump through.” She highlighted the sheer number of registrations and forms required – with different departments issuing their own IDs and reference numbers – and noted that departments do not communicate effectively with each other.

The primary issue is not the volume of laws or regulations, but the culture within government departments and regulatory bodies. The mindset needs to shift from control to facilitation. There are signs of improvement in some areas, but much more needs to be done.

There are several practical steps that can be taken quickly to reduce the regulatory burden:

• All forms should be capable of being completed online, with electronic payment options.

• Strict timetables for dealing with regulatory matters should be published and enforced.

• Information should be shared within government and related bodies, reducing duplication.

• Restrictions on taxi drivers that lead to high fares should be removed.

• The procedure for holding events should be streamlined – requiring three months’ notice is not acceptable.

• The tax office should communicate by email rather than letters, and repayments should be made electronically rather than by cheque.

• Restrictions on shop opening hours should be removed.

• A simplified procedure should be introduced for small‑value government tenders.

• Some registration requirements for businesses should be removed.

• The information required when businesses employ non‑entitled staff should be drastically reduced.