Guernsey politician says she will lead on childcare

Deputy Kazantseva-Miller wants more and better childcare

A Guernsey politician said she would lead an "evidence-building" exercise to support the case for better childcare.

Deputy Sasha Kazantseva-Miller, economic development committee member, said a policy could feature free or subsidised childcare.

The goal would be to support parents back into work, she said.

She said it was also about "achieving the educational and social outcomes that the government wants".

In October 2023, Deputy Sasha Kazantseva-Miller and Deputy Heidi Soulsby said they wanted the States to look at the costs and benefits of providing more financial support to parents.

At the time, the charity Bright Beginnings said more money would be a step in the right direction but more staff were also needed to meet demand for childcare places.

Deputy Kazantseva-Miller says childcare policy will be discussed

This month, Deputy Kazantseva-Miller added: "I would like to look at the existing childcare sector and some of the barriers [that exist] and concerns I've had since meeting with the industry over the last few months.

Evidence base

"Whether it will look like subsidised, free, part-funded or another combination of options such as a voucher system, it's something we have to look into."

She said they had to "build the evidence base" to support policy development because it would "cost money".

She said any policy change would require the support of committees in Jersey.

Other goals for 2024 included developing an "economic strategy and vision for Guernsey", she added.