Jersey budget proposes five more free nursery hours for two- to three-year-olds

Jersey's government has proposed increasing free nursery care for two- to three-year-olds from 15 to 20 hours a week in its 2027–2030 budget. The extra five hours are part of a package aimed at easing costs for families, but the change requires approval by States members, who are due to debate and vote on the budget in December.

The proposal was reported on 29 September by BBC Jersey political reporter Ammar Ebrahim. His account does not give a start date for the additional hours or specify whether the existing scheme's eligibility rules would apply unchanged. Families therefore have a proposed weekly entitlement, rather than a confirmed date or final set of terms on which to plan childcare.

How the existing scheme works

The Government of Jersey announced its Childcare Funding Scheme for children aged two to three in December 2025, saying it would begin in January 2026. Its published description called the scheme universal, with no working, income or residency conditions. The government estimated that approximately 700 families would benefit during 2026.

Under the scheme described in that announcement, parents pay a registered provider, such as a private nursery or childminder, before claiming reimbursement with proof of purchase. The government said payments would be made in arrears in up to three instalments. It also said additional help was available for families receiving Income Support, while the Jersey Child Care Trust could assist parents unable to pay childcare costs in advance.

The government's earlier scheme details said eligible children must have turned three after 1 September 2025. They also described separate support for children aged three to four through up to 30 free nursery hours a week during term time, and up to 12 weekly hours for two- to three-year-olds with developmental needs through the Jersey Child Care Trust's Best Start Plus programme. These provisions provide context for the new proposal but do not settle its final rules.

Wider support for families

The nursery proposal sits alongside other measures in the budget that the BBC said are intended to address living costs. They include raising the parental grant from £887.25 to £1,800 for families with a newborn or an adopted child. The package also proposes a £250 payment in 2027 for each school-aged child in low- to middle-income households and extending free school meals to secondary pupils covered by Jersey Premium funding.

Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham, in a budget foreword quoted by the BBC, said housing, childcare and everyday living costs continued to put pressure on family budgets. He said businesses were also facing higher costs and stronger competition. Those pressures frame the government's choice to direct several of its proposed measures toward families with children.

Treasury Minister Alan Maclean told the BBC he hoped the measures would help islanders, describing them as ‘a step in the right direction’. He acknowledged that more needed to be done and said the government had sought to target the resources available to people most in need. The BBC also reported that the pension would be increased by 4.7% and that the community cost bonus was intended to help some people outside families who sit just above income thresholds.

Budget pressures and the December vote

The proposals come as Jersey faces a wider debate over spending and revenue. The BBC reported that the island's Fiscal Policy Panel had previously warned that government spending exceeded income. Maclean called the new budget a transitional one and told the BBC that structural changes would be needed in the 2028–2030 budget period to make public finances sustainable over the longer term.

Health remains a major part of that spending picture. Its planned allocation would rise from £381 million in 2026 to £406 million, an increase of £25 million, according to the BBC. Maclean described it as the largest spending department by a significant margin and said the government needed detailed analysis to ensure the money produced the intended results for islanders.

Maclean also told the BBC that revenue from the Pillar Two corporation tax rules would be directed toward building the new acute hospital at Overdale. In his account, using that revenue would reduce the need to borrow more or draw further on reserves. The claim is the minister's explanation of the budget approach, rather than a completed funding outcome.

States members' December debate and vote will determine whether the budget proceeds. Until then, the additional nursery hours and the other new family measures remain proposals. The published reporting establishes the proposed rise to 20 hours a week, while the timetable and detailed conditions for that increase remain to be set out.