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Parents say Jersey is ‘not as family-friendly as it should be’
BBCWith its beautiful beaches, low crime rate and small community, Jersey is often considered an attractive place to raise children.
But parents have told the BBC that high costs and a lack of effective support from politicians and employers mean the island does not cater to families as well as it could.
Mother to a one and three-year-old, Katherine Jauncey said she believed there needed to be a “cultural shift” away from prioritising the social wellbeing of older islanders to focus on parents and children.
The island’s government said it understood families struggled with the high cost of living and it had set up several initiatives “aimed at improving family life in Jersey”.
Mrs Jauncey moved to Jersey with her husband who was born and raised there.
She said some aspects of bringing up her children on the island were “really great”, such as how safe it was and the system of state-supported private schools.
However, she added: “Families and individuals with children are really not prioritised in Jersey culture”.
“There’s a work culture that is unfairly weighted on the side of the employer… and the fact that our culture as an island is very much directed towards the elderly who have a large amount of the voting power.”
She said the island was “focused on the people who are shouting the loudest”, adding that often older people were the ones with the time and energy to do so.
‘Lack of childcare’
Mrs Jauncey said, despite a push to get women in particular back into the workforce, there was a “lack of support for parents with children under five” made worse by a “lack of affordable childcare”.
A report prepared for the government in 2024 found average childcare fees in Jersey were almost 50% higher than in England, while a survey of parents found 95% of those asked thought childcare was too expensive.
The government has announced plans to introduce an additional 15 free hours of nursery care per week for two-year-olds, but there has been concern from parents and nursery staff that it will not be enough.
Family campaigner and mother-of-three Denise Heavey said her own experience of paying nursery fees was “financially crippling”.
“Some months we were paying £2,200 and that was my salary swallowed up,” she said.
She kept working while her children were young but said a lot of parents were “forced out of the workplace because of the high cost of nursery care”.
To remedy this, she said the government needed to think about greater financial support for parents, particularly when returning to work after parental leave.
She added that businesses should also work harder to implement family-friendly policies, such as flexible working arrangements.
Mrs Jauncey has also called for greater statutory rights for working parents, including specific days outside annual leave to look after sick children.
It is not just the cost of childcare that is a cause for concern.
Single mother Karla Divin said the cost of living as a whole was the “most dominant concern” for parents.
In Jersey, prices are continuing to rise with the latest figures showing inflation at 2.8%.
Ms Divin said: “Childcare fees, rent, household bills, food and general expenses often consume an entire monthly wage, leaving little to no disposable income.”
She said this often meant families had to sacrifice experiences that could support a child’s development, such as school trips or extracurricular activities.
“Parents are often forced to prioritise essentials over opportunity,” she said.
Errol Mittoo, a father of four, told the BBC the island had a lot to offer young people but the “cost of bringing up a family was quite high”.
“You do struggle a bit when you’ve got children.”
What is the government doing to help?
In a statement, the government told the BBC it has introduced several measures to make lives better for families in Jersey. These included:
Alongside increased support for the nursery sector, ministers also said they had plans to publish a new play strategy to make sure children could play in all residential areas.
‘Look at solutions’
Outside government, a number of charities and individuals have stepped in to provide support.
Mrs Heavey, for example, has recently launched MentorHood, a community network offering support groups, workshops and meet ups to parents and caregivers in Jersey.
She has set up the group with another mother, Alice Vincenti, to build parents’ confidence and help them be “better performers at work and and be more present parents at home”.
However, she said it was “incredibly frustrating as a parent” that they were having to provide information and help to their peers when the government could make it readily available.
Mrs Heavey said she would like to see politicians making bold choices about childcare and support for parents, considering solutions on a much longer timeline than one political term.
She said this was a necessity given Jersey’s ageing population.
She said: “We can’t just keep saying with every new government that goes in that we’re going to basically start a project and it’s going to stop and then we start again.
“We have such a wonderful island and I think that we can be very, very family-focused, and we can look at solutions to encourage more people to bring their families here too, you know; have more children and to want to stay on the island.”
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The FTSE 100 closed higher on Monday, recouping most of Friday’s hefty falls amid a calmer bond market and as Iran responded to the latest US peace proposal.
The FTSE 100 closed up 128.38 points, 1.3%, at 10,323.75. The FTSE 250 ended up 15.56 points, 0.1%, at 22,611.70, but the AIM All-Share fell 8.72 points, 1.1%, at 800.17.
Iran said it had responded to a new US proposal aimed at ending the war, adding that diplomatic exchanges continue despite Iranian media reports describing Washington’s demands as excessive, AFP reported.
Washington and Tehran have been swapping proposals in an effort to end the conflict, which the US and Israel launched on February 28, but they have held only a single round of talks despite a fragile ceasefire.
“As we announced yesterday, our concerns were conveyed to the American side,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told a news briefing, adding that exchanges were “continuing through the Pakistani mediator”.
Mr Baqaei defended Iran’s demands, including the release of Iranian assets frozen abroad and the lifting of long-standing sanctions.
“The points raised are Iranian demands that have been firmly defended by the Iranian negotiating team in every round of negotiations,” he said.
But with no signs of clear progress, the oil price remained inflated and volatile.
Brent crude for July delivery was trading at 110.80 dollars a barrel on Monday, up compared to 108.83 at the time of the equities close in London on Friday.
After a frantic Friday, the bond markets calmed, while sterling also rebounded as investors weighed the latest political developments.
The yield on UK 10-year gilts traded at 5.14% compared to 5.17% at the same time on Friday.
The pound traded at 1.3397 dollars on Monday afternoon, up from 1.3319 on Friday. Against the euro, sterling firmed to 1.1506 euros from 1.1462 on Friday.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer insisted he would not set out a timetable to leave No 10 as potential leadership challenger Andy Burnham vowed to “change Labour” if he is successful in his effort to return to Parliament.
The Prime Minister said he still wants to lead Labour into the next general election amid calls from within the party to set out a timetable for his exit.
Greater Manchester Mayor Mr Burnham hopes to be Labour’s candidate in the Makerfield by-election, which could provide him with a route back to the Commons to challenge for the party leadership and the keys to Downing Street.
Speaking to broadcasters in London, Sir Keir said he was not going to set out a timetable to stand down if Mr Burnham returns to Westminster.
He added: “I do want to fight the next election. Obviously, I recognise that after the local election results, the elections in Wales and Scotland as well, that the first task is obviously turning things around and making sure that my focus is in the right place.”
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund said growth in the UK economy will be stronger this year than previously thought.
The IMF updated its growth projections a month after warning of a sharp slowdown caused by the global energy shock from the US-Iran war.
The influential financial body said it was now predicting UK gross domestic product to rise by 1% in 2026, higher than the 0.8% growth it was forecasting last month.
Responding to the latest report, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “The IMF upgrading its growth forecasts and backing our fiscal strategy is yet more proof that this Government has the right economic plan.”
In Europe, equity markets on Monday, the Cac 40 in Paris ended up 0.4%, and the Dax 40 in Frankfurt advanced 1.5%.
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.1%, the S&P 500 fell 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.7% lower.
On the FTSE 100, Whitbread closed up 2.3% after Corvex Management urged the Premier Inn owner to put itself up for sale, slamming its recently announced new five-year strategic plan.
In a damning letter to Whitbread management, the New York-based activist hedge fund called the status quo “untenable” and said that the need to pursue “meaningful strategic and structural reform had become unignorable”.
As a result, Corvex, which holds a stake of around 7% in Whitbread, said the only “credible” path to unlocking value at Whitbread is a sale of the company.
Anglo America fell 1.4% as it struck a deal to sell its portfolio of steelmaking coal mines in Australia to Dhilmar for up to 3.88 billion dollars in cash.
The London-based mining house said Dhilmar will pay the FTSE 100-listing 2.3 billion dollars upfront, and the deal has a price-linked earnout of up to 1.58 billion dollars.
Anglo American chief executive officer Duncan Wanblad said: “This agreement represents another major step in the simplification of our portfolio ahead of completing our merger with Teck. Through this transaction, we will complete our exit from steelmaking coal.”
Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, said: “This not only strengthens the balance sheet, ahead of its planned merger with Canada’s Teck Resources, but also keeps it exposed to future strength in coal prices.”
Capita shares rose 8.9% as the London-based outsourcing and business services company said adjusted revenue rose 2.9% on-year in the first four months of 2026, which it said was in line with expectations.
Looking ahead, Capita said it continues to expect a low to mid-single digit revenue climb in Capita Public Service and expects mid-teen revenue growth in its Pension Solutions business.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Centrica, up 7.70p at 196.95p, National Grid, up 43.50p at 1,231.50p, Pearson, up 37.00p at 1,136.50p, Relx, up 81.00p at 2,504.00p, and SSE, up 74.00p at 2,345.00p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were 3i Group, down 128.00p at 2,082.00p, Airtel Africa, down 15.60p at 312.80p, Mondi, down 16.40p at 734.60p, Polar Capital Technology Trust, down 12.50p at 659.00p and Diploma, down 95.00p at 6,625.00p.
Tuesday’s global economic calendar has UK consumer and wholesale inflation figures, eurozone inflation data and the minutes of the last Federal Open Market Committee meeting.
Tuesday’s local corporate calendar has full-year results from business services group DCC, half-year numbers from supplier of specialised technical products and services, Doploma, and electricals retailer Currys.
Lloyds Banking Group is considering phasing out its Halifax brand, a move that could bring an end to the 173-year-old institution.
The Sun reports that bosses are expected to announce the end of Halifax as a standalone brand this summer.
It is understood that no definitive decisions have yet been made about the brand, which granted its first mortgage in 1853.
Should Halifax be phased out, account numbers would remain unchanged, and customers’ automatic protection under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) would be unaffected.
“We regularly look at the role our brands play in supporting our customers,” a spokesperson for Lloyds said.
“Our banking customers can already use any Lloyds, Halifax or Bank of Scotland branch, and see any of their products and services in any of their apps – there are no changes for our customers today.”
The Sun, citing industry insiders, reported that any transition would begin on 1 July when people will no longer be able to open new Halifax accounts online or through the app.
By October, Halifax will stop taking on new customers entirely and existing account holders will be gradually migrated to Lloyds Bank, the reports say.
Lloyds declined to comment on the potential timings for any plans.
Britain’s biggest mortgage lender made changes in 2025 that meant its three brands, Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, could share branches and mobile banking services.
The shake-up meant some customers could access a branch that is closer to their home because they will be able to access face-to-face banking regardless of the brand.
However, the banking giant has also shut hundreds of high street branches over recent years.
It started another round of closures this month, which will see 95 branches shuttered across the three brands by March 2027.
The closures will leave the group with 610 branches in total, of which 306 are Lloyds, 238 Halifax and 66 Bank of Scotland.
Lloyds has said that all employees currently working at the affected branches will be offered alternative roles within the business or at other locations.
Halifax and Lloyds operate in the same market in England and Wales, while Bank of Scotland is the group’s only brand in the country.
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