Proposed Budget (Government Plan) 2026-2029 (P.70/2025): eighth amendment. Sport addition to Jersey Premium

STATES OF JERSEY

PROPOSED BUDGET (GOVERNMENT PLAN) 2026-2029 (P.70/2025): EIGHTH AMENDMENT

SPORT ADDITION TO JERSEY PREMIUM

Lodged au Greffe on 21st November 2025

by Deputy L.K.F. Stephenson of St. Mary , St. Ouen and St. Peter Earliest date for debate: 8th December 2025

STATES GREFFE

2025  P.70 Amd.(8)

PROPOSED BUDGET (GOVERNMENT PLAN) 2026-2029  (P.70/2025): EIGHTH AMENDMENT

____________

1  PAGE 3, PARAGRAPH (b)(viii) –

After the words "Appendix 2 – Summary Tables 5(i) and 5(ii) of the Report", insert the words –

 ", except that, in Summary Table 5(i) the Head of Expenditure for the Cabinet Office should be reduced by £350,000 and the Head of Expenditure for Education and Lifelong Learning should be increased by £350,000 to support a pilot project for the introduction of an additional sport and Physical Education component within Jersey Premium funding to run in 2026, with the same amount of funding to be made available in 2027".

2  PAGE 4, PARAGRAPH (b)(xii) –

After the words "Appendix to the accompanying Report", insert the words –

", except that, on page 42, Table 9 – Revenue Heads of Expenditure should be amended to reduce the Head of Expenditure for the Cabinet Office by £350,000 for each of 2026 and 2027, and increase the Head of Expenditure for Education and Lifelong by £350,000 for each of 2026 and 2027, to support a pilot project for the introduction of an additional sport and Physical Education component within Jersey Premium funding to run in 2026 and 2027".

 DEPUTY L.K.F. STEPHENSON OF ST. MARY, ST. OUEN AND ST. PETER

Note:  After this amendment, the proposition would read as follows –

THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion

1. In accordance with Article 16 of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019 (the Law) to approve an amendment to the Government Plan 2025 – 2028 (entitled "Budget 2025 – 2028") to a reduction in the 2025 head of expenditure "Grants to States Funds" as included in Table 5(i) Revenue Heads of Expenditure of that Government Plan from £119,821,000 to £69,821,000.
2. To receive the Government Plan 2026 – 2029 (entitled "Budget 2026-2029") specified in Article 9(1) of the Law and specifically –

1. to approve the estimate of total States income to be paid into the Consolidated Fund in 2026 as set out in Appendix 2 – Summary Table 1 to the Report, which is inclusive of the proposed taxation and impôts duties changes outlined in the Government Plan, in line with Article 9(2)(a) of the Law.
2. to refer to their Act dated 24th June 2003 in which they approved that no new user pays' charges be introduced without any such

charge receiving prior in principle approval by the States Assembly and accordingly to approve the introduction of two new charges, to be levied by Health and Care Jersey to promote appropriate use of the  Emergency  Department  and  for  repeated  non-attendance  of outpatient  appointments,  detailed  in  the  section  entitled "Departmental Income Sources" as set out in the Appendix to the accompanying Report.

3. to  approve  the  proposed  Changes  to  Approval  for financing/borrowing for 2026, as shown in Appendix 2 – Summary Table 2 to the Report, which may be obtained by the Minister for Treasury and Resources, as and when required, in line with Article 9 (2)(c) of the Law, of up to those revised approval amounts.
4. to approve the transfers from one States fund to another for 2026 of up to and including the amounts set in Appendix 2 – Summary Table 3 in line with Article 9(2)(b) of the Law.
5. to approve a transfer from the Consolidated Fund to the Stabilisation Fund in 2026 of up to £50 million, subject to a decision of the Minister for Treasury and Resources based on the availability of funds in the Consolidated Fund as at 31st December 2025 in excess of the estimates provided in this plan, or from budgeted underspends identified before 31st December 2026.
6. to approve a transfer from the Consolidated Fund to the Agricultural Loans Fund in 2026 of up to £5 million, subject to a decision of the Minister for Treasury and Resources based on availability of funds in the Consolidated Fund as at 31st December 2025 in excess of estimates  provided  in  this  plan,  or  from  budgeted  underspends identified before 31st December 2026;
7. to approve each major project that is to be started or continued in 2026 and the total cost of each such project and any amendments to the  proposed  total  cost  of  a  major  project  under  a  previously approved Government Plan, in line with Article 9(2)(d), (e) and (f) of the Law and as set out in Appendix 2 – Summary Table 4 to the Report.

viii.  to  approve  the  proposed  amount  to  be  appropriated  from  the

Consolidated Fund for 2026, for each head of expenditure, being gross  expenditure  less  estimated  income  (if  any),  in  line  with Articles 9(2)(g), 10(1) and 10(2) of the Law, and set out in Appendix 2 – Summary Tables 5(i) and (ii) of the Report, except that, in Summary Table 5(i) the Head of Expenditure for the Cabinet Office should be reduced by £350,000 and the Head of Expenditure for Education and Lifelong Learning should be increased by £350,000 to support a pilot project for the introduction of an additional sport and Physical Education component to Jersey Premium funding to run in 2026, with the same amount of funding to be made available in 2027.

9. to approve the estimated income, being estimated gross income less expenditure, that each States trading operation will pay into its trading fund in 2026 in line with Article 9(2)(h) of the Law and set out in Appendix 2 – Summary Table 6 to the Report.
10. to approve the proposed amount to be appropriated from each States trading  operation's  trading  fund  for  2026  for  each  head  of expenditure in line with Article 9(2)(i) of the Law and set out in Appendix 2 – Summary Table 7 to the Report.
11. to approve the estimated income and expenditure proposals for the Climate Emergency Fund for 2026 as set out in Appendix 2 – Summary Table 8 to the Report.
12. to  approve,  in  accordance  with  Article  9(1)  of  the  Law,  the Government  Plan  2026-2029,  as  set  in  the  Appendix  to  the accompanying Report, except that, on page 42, Table 9 should be amended to reduce the Head of Expenditure for the Cabinet Office by £350,000 for each of 2026 and 2027, and to increase the Head of Expenditure for Education and Lifelong by £350,000 for each of 2026 and 2027, to support a pilot project for the introduction of an additional sport and Physical Education component within Jersey Premium funding to run in 2026 and 2027.

REPORT

This amendment seeks to fund a new additional component to the well-established Jersey Premium scheme which would give schools an extra payment per eligible student to spend on sport and physical activity. The sport and PE premium would be implemented as an addition – or extension – to the Jersey Premium, using the same eligibility criteria and governing processes.[1] Schools would have autonomy to spend the money as they see fit, within guidance to be developed by the Children, Young People, Education and Skills Department. Schools would report annually on how the money is spent, its impact and the strategy for its use for the following year in the same way they do for the Jersey Premium. Subject to guidance from the department, the addition could be reported on as part of the annual Jersey Premium statement published by schools – a separate report and further paperwork should not be needed. This approach should mean the introduction is simple and without too much of an increased burden on schools, which I recognise already deal with a large amount of admin.

It is proposed that the addition would be for an initial pilot of two years and targeted at primary schools. A similar pilot approach was taken when the Jersey Premium was introduced and proved successful, allowing the impact of the scheme to be assessed before long-term decisions were made. By prioritising the youngest students first the hope is that healthy habits and attitudes towards sport and physical activity can be encouraged from as early as possible.

While this amendment does not go further than the two year pilot, I would hope that if the addition is proven to be impactful then funding would be proposed in future Budgets to make the scheme permanent and extend it to secondary schools. Consideration could also be given to extending it to all students, as is the case in England with the PE and Sport Premium.[2]

How would it work?

It is proposed that schools would receive £140 per year per eligible student. All States primary schools would also receive base funding of £5,000 a year. This base funding enables schools to plan ahead knowing they will have at least a certain amount of money to spend on projects and ensures those with fewer eligible students can still make an impact. Fee-paying, grant-aided and independent schools, which typically have fewer than 5 eligible pupils, would not receive the base funding payment but would receive payments per students.

The £140 figure is proposed as it represents the current average cost of a term of swimming lessons in Jersey outside of school time – something many families on low incomes cannot currently afford. While schools would be able to choose to use the funding in a variety of ways, including on broad projects which could benefit the whole school as they can with the Jersey Premium, investing it in a focused way to benefit an individual would be an option.

Supplementing the access to swimming lessons already provided to schools with lessons in the private sector outside of the school day for individuals who would benefit could be one such example of this. Other potential options would include broadening the range of sports and physical activities on offer to students, investing in staff training on sport and  physical  activity,  offering  extra-curricular  opportunities,  funding  sports competitions, developing active travel schemes and opportunities – I already know many of our schools have creative and inspiring ideas they would like to pursue in this area.

Jersey Premium data for the 2025/26 academic year is not yet available, as Jersey Premium eligibility cannot be processed until after the September census has been finalised. Funding is allocated in January each year, therefore the numbers will be available in the spring term3. The cost proposed in this amendment is therefore based on the most up-to-date data available, which shows that at the time of the most recent pupil census in spring 2024/2025 there were around 1,665 students eligible for the Jersey Premium. Where schools are recorded as having fewer than 5 eligible pupils due to disclosure controls to avoid identification of any individuals the figure of 5 has been used4. Using those figures the total cost of this amendment would be £348,100.

For context, the additional funding which would be received per school would be as follows:

3 https://statesassembly.je/publications/questions/2025/2025-written-questions/wq-330-359/wq- 341-2025

4 https://statesassembly.je/publications/questions/2025/2025-written-questions/wq-120-149/wq- 147-2025

There is no universally agreed definition for sport' and physical activity' but for the purposes of this amendment I would refer Members to the following extract from A Review of Sport and Physical Activity published by the Government of Jersey in November 2023.

"For the purposes of this report, the terms physical activity' and sport' are based on the language used by the Government of Jersey and Jersey Sport. Neither has a defined terminology of its own, but they can be broadly summed up by the generally accepted terminology:

Physical activity: refers to all movement, including during leisure time and for transport to get to and from places, including the workplace. Popular ways to be active include walking, cycling, active recreation and play - and can be done at any level of skill;

Sport: involves physical exertion and skill, competition or social participation, usually to a set of formal rules and/or structure. Therefore, physical activity' is a broader term than sport', and not all physical activity' is defined as sport'." [3]

That same report also included a recommendation to considering measures which strengthen school sport and PE.

The case for investment

Today in Jersey around 1 in 4 children starting school are overweight or obese. That rises to around 1 in 3 by the time they finish primary school.   [4]Obesity and being overweight are major risk factors for a variety of long-term health conditions, and children who are overweight are more likely to go on to be obese adults.

At the same time demand is increasing for mental health and wellbeing support for young people, pressures of the online world are focusing minds about how best we can support our children to thrive, and the lessons of the pandemic continue to teach us about the importance of being active and social interactions.

Sport and being physically active are widely accepted to be hugely beneficial to individuals and to society more generally, however it is often difficult to quantify the true value.

The net value of health benefits achieved through participation in sport and physical activity in Jersey in 2019 was estimated to be approximately £18.7m, and the total number of disease cases prevented was 7,794.7

The World Health Organization states that "physical activity is good for hearts, bodies and minds" and states: "Regular physical activity can prevent and help manage heart disease, type-2 diabetes, and cancer which cause nearly three quarters of deaths worldwide. Physical activity can also reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, and enhance thinking, learning, and overall well-being".8

Jersey's Population Health Prevention Strategy 2023-2027 launched by the Minister for Health and Social Services in 2023 included an aim to: "Improve opportunities for Islanders to be physically active, with an emphasis on those who face barriers to improving  their  physical  activity".  Meanwhile,  the  Children,  Young  People  and Families' Plan 2024 published by the Minister for Children and Families, Minister for Health and Social Services, Minister for Justice and Home Affairs and Minister for Housing included an aim that all children and young people in Jersey are healthy and happy. Among other things it included "enjoying the best health as they grow up, having spaces and opportunities to play and being able to make healthy lifestyle choices" among its intended outcomes. This amendment speaks to both of those documents and their targets. In addition, Inspiring an Active Jersey 2020-2030 aims to make Jersey a healthier, more productive and fairer society by being one of the most physically active populations in the world".9

Physical activity guidelines from the NHS10 and World Health Organisation11 state that children and young people aged 5 to 18 should aim for at least 60 minutes of moderate or vigorous intensity physical activity per day on every day of the week.

The Jersey Children and Young People Survey 202412 found that just one in five (22%) young people reported being physically active at or above the recommended level. There has been a slight increase in that figure since 2021 and all year groups saw an increase in the proportion of young people meeting the recommended levels of physical activity since 2019, except for year 10 which remained unchanged. However, we are still a long way off a point where all children and young people are being active at the recommended level.

7 Value of Sport Report https://www.gov.je/Government/Pages/StatesReports.aspx?ReportID=5755

8 WHO guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour: at a glance https://www.who.int/europe/publications/i/item/9789240014886#:~:text=For%20health%20an d%20wellbeing%2C%20WHO%20recommends%20at%20least,for%20children%20and%20ad olescents.%20All%20physical%20activity%20counts.

9 Inspiring an Active Jersey 2020-2030 https://statesassembly.je/publications/assembly- reports/2020/r-92-2020

10 NHS physical activity guidelines for children and young people https://www.nhs.uk/live- well/exercise/physical-activity-guidelines-children-and-young-people/

11 WHO guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour https://www.who.int/europe/publications/i/item/9789240014886#:~:text=For%20health%20an d%20wellbeing%2C%20WHO%20recommends%20at%20least,for%20children%20and%20ad olescents.%20All%20physical%20activity%20counts.

12Jersey Children and Young People Survey 2024 https://www.gov.je/SiteCollectionDocuments/Government%20and%20administration/JCYPS% 202024%20report.pdf

There are a number of potential barriers to participation in sport and physical activity which are reflected in the findings of that report and mirror national and international trends more widely – family finances is one of them.

The report shows that children from more deprived backgrounds are less likely to take part in extracurricular school sports. Out of school sport participation levels are also impacted by family finances, the survey found, with only half (47%) of children whose families were "not at all well off" participating at least once a week, compared to over three-quarters (78%) of children whose families were described as very well off. Linked to this, three-quarters (78%) of children attending fee paying schools participated in organised sport out of school, compared to 60% in non-fee paying schools.

While it could legitimately be argued that we should be investing in encouraging all children and young people to be more physically active, at a time when government finances are constrained the evidence supports the case made by this amendment that prioritising support to those on the lowest incomes is a good place to start.

The latest Jersey Funding Formula for Schools, published in March 2025, shows that there is no ring-fenced funding for schools for sport and physical activity.[5] It is included in the curriculum and at primary school is taught in a number of ways by generalist teachers but is not singled out for funding. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the level at which sport and physical education is valued and prioritised varies across schools. This is not a criticism of schools, which it is acknowledged are responsible for teaching an already very busy curriculum, sometimes in challenging environments.

Introducing this addition to the Jersey Premium as proposed would provide ring-fenced funding which would require all schools to consider sport and physical activity to a greater extent than they have to currently, albeit in a way which aims to keep any extra admin and bureaucracy to a minimum and enables spending and focus outside of the school day as well as within it – this can only be a positive thing.

As well as not instead of

This proposal should be seen as an addition to any measures which are already in place to support and encourage children and young people to take part in sport and physical activity, including those which aim to help families on low incomes. Many of those involved with the schemes which do already exist also report that there is a continuing need for further investment in this area.

Jersey Sport launched a Move More Schools Grants programme in 2022 for government-funded primary schools, distributing around £63,000 in 2022-2023, equating to approximately £13 per student. These grants enabled a variety of projects, including new outdoor play facilities, after-school activities, daily runs and a cycling crocodile. Following a review of that project and to create a better link between schools and sports clubs to enable lifelong physical activity, Jersey Sport piloted a new Sporting Schools Programme which distributed £50,000 to eligible sports clubs to deliver programmes in primary schools. Jersey Sport also distribute £16,000 annually in events and travel grants to primary and secondary schools following a request to take on the administration of the Jersey Primary and Secondary Schools Sports Associations. At

primary level, this supports mass  participation events  and at secondary level has supported a combination of events and travel.14

In addition, this year Jersey Sport launched its new Sport Access Programme, with a pot of £40,000 to support young Islanders who have financial barriers to access sport and physical activity. All these schemes are extremely positive and recognise the need to invest in our children and young people in this way. It should be noted, however, that most require schools, families or individuals to apply for funding, which can sometimes be a barrier itself.

It should also be noted that this amendment could indirectly increase investment in local sports clubs, organisations and businesses linked to the sector, which may be contracted by schools to provide goods or services or see an increase in members or business.

Financial and staffing implications

The estimated cost of this amendment would be around £350,000 per year, based on providing a sport and PE addition to the Jersey Premium of £140 per year per eligible primary school pupil and £5,000 base grants to States primary schools.

The Pilot Project Fund included within the Ministerial Office, FOI and CEO service area of the Cabinet Office budget is allocated £615,000 annually in the Budget.15 Money from this fund could be used to pay for the first two years of the sport and PE addition to the Jersey Premium as it would be a pilot project. Any decision to make it a permanent scheme or extend it to further age groups or others would be taken in due course, when future funding would have to be considered. However, the wording of the amendment is such that this funding source is just a suggestion, and ministers could find it elsewhere within the Cabinet Office budget if preferred.

It is considered that any admin of the scheme and design of the guidance could be covered by existing resources within CYPES.

Children's Rights Impact Assessment

14 Inspiring an Active Jersey Update Report and Next Steps https://www.gov.je/SiteCollectionDocuments/Leisure%20and%20entertainment/IAJ%20Updat e%20Report%20FINAL%20Sept%202025.pdf

15 Letter from the Treasury Minister to the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel as part of its Budget review, dated 7 November 2025 https://statesassembly.je/getmedia/66c05223-b6bb- 4b20-b824-71a8053f12ae/2025-11-07-MTR-to-CSSP-Proposed-Budget-2026-2029-Review- %e2%80%93-Written-Questions.pdf?ext=.pdf

[1] Jersey Premium https://www.gov.je/education/schools/childlearning/pages/jerseypremium.aspx

[2] PE and Sport Premium Guidance for Primary Schools https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pe-and-sport-premium-for-primary-schools/pe- and-sport-premium-guidance-for-primary-schools

[3] A Review of Sport and Physical Activity in Jersey https://www.gov.je/sitecollectiondocuments/government%20and%20administration/a%20revie w%20of%20sport%20and%20physical%20activity%20in%20jersey.pdf

[4] Jersey Child Measurement Programme 2024-2025 report published by Public Health Jersey on 10 July 2025

[5] Jersey Funding Formula for Schools 2025 Report https://www.gov.je/SiteCollectionDocuments/Education/Jersey%20Funding%20Formula%20fo r%20Schools%20Report%202025.pdf