Jersey's events, entertainment and nightclub industry on brink of collapse

Jersey's event, entertainment and nightclub industry is on the brink of collapse.

A group of key players says the government support package is "not fit for purpose" and is calling on Ministers to provide specific help beyond the Payroll Co-funding scheme.

They warn that events such as the Weekender music festival, Liberation Day, the Battle of Flowers and Remembrance Sunday will not be able to go ahead in future if more support does not come soon.

The Jersey Events, Entertainment and Nightclub Stakeholders Group also says without specific support the nightclub venues to open and sporting events will be cancelled.

The industry has largely been closed since March 2020 due to Covid-19 restrictions.

The Stakeholders group says businesses have been suffering detriment levels of over 70% and some at 100% detriment since March 2020 - and that 10 months on, the industry is "still not able to operate at any reasonable levels.

Industry representatives say they met with Ministers in July to ask for support from the government - it was then agreed a financial support package would be worked up.

In October, Ministers approved, in principle, the financial support package - which was blocked by the Treasury Department as it did not see the scheme "as good use of public money".

This decision was overturned by Senator Lyndon Farnham who applied for a ministerial order to take responsibility of the allocation of the funds.

The Government announced the financial support package on Tuesday 5 January 2021 - which the industry has described as "a punitive scheme, due to the unrealistic criteria of applying to it".

The package was open to businesses who fulfilled the following criteria:

  • Have suffered a detriment of 50% to their turnover as a result of public health restrictions

  • Have a minimum turnover of £300,000

  • Are registered for GST purposes

  • Have tried to borrow to support itself, either through commercial lenders, or through the Businesses Disruption Loan Guarantee Scheme

  • Have completed a Jersey Business Health Check

The industry responded by asking the government to remove certain criteria which it feels prevents those in need from applying:

  • The requirement to apply for a loan prior to application.

  • The requirement to be GST registered, or any minimum turnover threshold.

And in doing so, has asked that the following areas are included in the scheme:

  • All fixed costs are covered in the scheme, including depreciation

  • That any fixed costs incurred on an annual basis (not between October and April) can be applied for e.g. an annual insurance premium can be claimed for each month.

  • That the same qualifying criteria for the co-funding is applied to this scheme, including a sliding scale of detriment to include those businesses that have suffered less than 50% detriment in a particular month.

  • That fixed costs are claimable for those businesses who have premises and offices, but also to those who work from their homes

It is not yet clear whether further support will be announced by the government for this industry.