Ministers accept Scrutinys’ criticism of CICRA split

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Senator Lyndon Farnham. Photo: ROB CURRIE. (31864895)

Economic Development Minister Lyndon Farnham has formally responded to a report by the Economic and International Affairs Review Group on the separation of competition and regulatory authorities from the Channel Islands, known as CICRA.

Senator Farnham said he accepts the findings of the expert groups regarding the lack of consultation with key stakeholders and has agreed to conduct a review of the decision to separate the regulators of Jersey and Guernsey.

Although the panel called for a review to be completed within 18 months of the July 2020 split, Senator Farnham said he felt three years was a more realistic time frame for it.

Ministers also accepted a recommendation regarding Chief Minister John Le Fondrs’ decision to transfer legislative responsibility for competition policy to the Department of Economic Development in July 2020, six months after the transfer of political responsibility.

The ministerial response stated: The political and legislative responsibilities should ideally have been transferred together and it is regrettable that this was not the case in this case.

The pan-island approach to competition regulation lasted ten years after the creation of CICRA in 2010.

Although the two islands again have separate bodies, the panel asked the Jersey Competition and Regulatory Authority to release annual details of its collaboration with its Guernsey counterparts, a recommendation Senator Farnham endorsed.

Concluding his response, Senator Farnham said: The ministerial team will continue to work with the JCRA, which is now better able to fulfill its important role of ensuring that practices harmful to competition in Jersey be repressed to finish.

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