Is the business tunnel concept being abused?

Permitting business travellers in to undertake on-island work is a loss of revenue to the island when there are local companies capable of carrying out this work. At the same time, Guernsey building surveyors are effectively barred from undertaking work either in the UK or Jersey, due to the requirement to quarantine on return at the end of a day of work.

So the States are preventing local businesses from generating income and taxes for the island, while permitting others into the island to undertake work that could be undertaken by local surveyors. This policy creates a negative double hit to income tax and social insurance revenue. Was that really the intention of the business tunnel concept or is it being abused?

We all appreciate the efforts that the CCA made at the beginning and the quick control they got over the pandemic, but now risks have to be balanced and positive steps made to energise our economy.

Jersey has demonstrated over the last few weeks that a test on arrival does not result in loss of control.

Yes, they have detected cases, 16 since the beginning of August, but the number of active cases bounces along at a low level with people recovering. Dr Brink, in a recent radio interview, stated that the virus will likely be around for decades and we would need to learn to live with it. Keeping our borders effectively closed by prohibitively long quarantine is not dealing with it, it is like locking the doors to your house, putting your fingers in your ears and hoping the problem will go away. But it won’t. Yes, we are all safe, but it is not acknowledging the reality that Covid is not going away and we need to find safe solutions to achieve Phase 6a where borders are opened, but controlled. Opening our borders with Jersey, which has a very low infection rate, along with testing, would seem a logical and cautious first step, being low risk and enabling trialling and testing of procedures, before further opening up of borders to the UK where a greater number of people are likely to travel.

PAUL WATTS

Address withheld.