Families earning just above £80,000 could fall through the gaps in proposed financial support, a care charity has warned as it called for scrutiny of a potential “cliff edge” in eligibility.
Family Nursing & Home Care urged consideration of whether gradually reducing the proposed £250 Family Support Payment as earnings rise would be fairer than an abrupt cut-off.
In a submission on the proposed Budget 2027, the charity welcomed the payment – but warned that working and middle-income households above support thresholds were still struggling with living costs.
“There is particularly good reason to investigate the ‘cliff edge’: whether eligibility changes abruptly at £80,000 or whether some form of taper would provide a fairer response to household circumstances,” it said.
The response, from chief executive Rosemarie Finley and child and family services operational lead Michelle Reddington, cautioned against judging whether the £80,000 household-income threshold was too high or too low without considering families’ circumstances.
One-off payments cannot on their own address the structural affordability pressures affecting Jersey families
Family Nursing & Home Care
Housing and childcare bills, the number of dependent children and the money left after essential costs all needed to be considered.
“Two households with the same gross income can have very different financial circumstances,” they said.
Family Nursing & Home Care said the £250 payment could help with school expenses, food, clothing, transport and energy, particularly for households with several school-age children. However, its ability to tackle continuing costs would be limited.
Families potentially missing out included those just above the income threshold, parents with babies or pre-school children who would not benefit from a school-age payment, and newcomers who did not qualify for benefits.
“Housing, childcare and everyday living costs can leave working families with relatively little disposable income, including households which fall outside established eligibility criteria,” the submission said.
Single parents, households facing debt or sudden income losses, and families with high housing or childcare costs could also remain vulnerable.
The charity strongly supported the proposed doubling of the Parental Grant to £1,800, intended to help around 700 families annually with the immediate costs of birth or adoption.
However, it also called for longer-term support to sustain family incomes during maternity and paternity leave.
Family Nursing & Home Care acknowledged wider government measures, including increased subsidised nursery provision, a proposed extension of free school meals and higher child and childcare tax allowances.
But it warned: “One-off payments cannot on their own address the structural affordability pressures affecting Jersey families.”
Longer-term action on childcare, food and housing costs, alongside help before problems escalated, was needed to address the underlying causes of hardship, it said.
