'No decision' yet on proposed wastewater tax

A minister has said "no decision" has yet been made about the introduction of a new liquid waste charge - despite its inclusion in the government's proposed 2027-2030 budget.

A new tax has been under consideration for a number of years, to pay for the replacement of ageing pipes and work to enable pumping stations to deal with increased volumes of water.

Details of the proposed charge - including how much it will be or how people will pay it - have still not been made public.

The government's latest financial plan confirmed ministers intend to raise "a minimum" of £10m per year from 2028 through the introduction of new "user pays" charges for liquid waste.

Deputy Jonathan Renouf said the island needed to invest more in liquid waste, but ministers had not yet agreed where the money would come from [BBC]

In response to questions from Deputy Hilary Jeune, Minister for Infrastructure Deputy Jonathan Renouf told the States Assembly the £10m per year figure had been included in "several budgets" before his time in office.

"It represents a figure that has been calculated to meet the investment requirements for the liquid waste programme, given that there is a known shortfall of investment historically, and given that we know there are some significant infrastructure upgrades required in the liquid waste programme," he said.

Renouf said the council of ministers was yet to discuss the details of a proposed liquid waste charge, and further details would be brought forward in its next budget, which would be published the autumn of 2027 and come into effect in January 2028.

He concluded: "There are various different models for how a charging mechanism might be implemented but no decision has yet been taken."

Deputy Samantha Gleave questioned Renouf on the government's plans [BBC]

Listen to the latest news for Jersey

After hearing the exchange, St Helier Deputy Samantha Gleave told the assembly that in the UK, sewerage charges were included within water bills as standard.

She expressed concerns about the potential impact of any new charge on islanders' water bills.

"Does the minister accept that before any charges are considered, the government needs to really demonstrate that it has got its own house in order and looked at savings it can make before anything else is added to the cost of living?" she asked.

In response, Renouf said it was more expensive to operate a water company in Jersey than in the UK, as "the efficiencies of scale that come from a large area are not available to us".

He continued: "The point, nevertheless, is well made.

"We do need to be very, very careful about where we place the costs of improvements."

Renouf added that whether or not politicians supported the introduction of a separate charge for dealing with waste water, the island needed to invest more in liquid waste.

"The question is where will the money come from, and that is something which I think ministers will be applying themselves to," he concluded.

Last year, the chairman of Jersey's Consumer Council warned a new liquid waste charge could force vulnerable people to not flush the toilet or shower as often.

While no details are yet available, the government's latest budget confirms charges for dealing with other types of waste are also being drawn up by officials, with "detailed design" work due to continue in 2027.

Follow BBC Jersey on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk.

Concern wastewater tax could hit hygiene habits

Tax could fund improvements to drainage network

Sewage system could suffer 'catastrophic failure'

Drainage system 'could delay new builds'

Sewage could boost island water supplies