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Following the decision made by Executive Council in July 2026, the St Helena Government (SHG) is pleased to announce that a new Child Benefit scheme will officially launch on 1 November 2026.
Designed to improve the financial situation of families and directly benefit children, the scheme recognises that investing in early childhood supports healthy development, reduces poverty, and yields long-term benefits for society and economic growth. While operating within SHG’s financial constraints, the scheme targets universality for all resident families with children from birth before they start full-time primary school.
The benefit will provide £15 per week in its first year (with a planned increase to £20 per week in the following year) for each eligible child up until, but not including, their sixth birthday.
The scheme establishes a fixed Child Benefit to support the day-to-day expenses of raising young children on St Helena, such as food, clothing, nappies, transport, and childcare, helping to ease household financial pressures. Rather than acting as an income replacement or an assessment of a family’s poverty gap, it provides a straightforward, reliable weekly entitlement that families can easily plan around. Recognising that giving children a good start benefits the entire island community, the scheme helps shape St Helena’s future while addressing employment barriers such as childcare and transport costs, particularly for single parents and lower-paid workers. While the core entitlement rules are defined by the policy, comprehensive operational guidelines ensure that applications, decisions, payments, changes, reviews, recovery, and records are managed efficiently.
Key Information and Eligibility
- Entitlement is determined on a child-by-child basis. For a family with two eligible children, the support doubles to £30 a week.
- Except for specific technical exclusions, the benefit is not means-tested. Family income, savings, property, and employment status do not affect eligibility. A universal approach within the eligible group avoids complex administrative reassessments, prevents income cut-offs from penalising working families, and ensures lower-paid households receive support regardless of fluctuations in earnings.
- The child must normally live in St Helena (eligibility is based on resident children rather than strict St Helenian status), and the claimant must have primary responsibility for the child’s day-to-day care. Only one person may receive Child Benefit for the same child and week.
- Carers in shared-care arrangements should nominate one person to receive the payment. If an agreement cannot be reached, the Benefits Office will determine eligibility based on the child’s usual home, daily care responsibility, ordinary costs, and relevant legal orders.
- Child Benefit is non-taxable and is fully disregarded when assessing Income-Related Benefit (IRB), meaning families receiving IRB will receive Child Benefit as additional support without an equivalent reduction in their IRB (though a separate application must still be submitted).
- Individuals receiving certain international family supplements or allowances under SHG Technical Cooperation Programme terms (specifically, those receiving a supplement to salary as part of their contract) or their spouse or partner do not qualify, avoiding overlapping family support.
How Payments Work
Payments will normally be made weekly into a verified Bank of St Helena account in the claimant’s name, though cash payments can be arranged where banking access is not possible. Entitlement generally begins from the first week following the later of the application being received or all eligibility conditions being met. To ensure uninterrupted support, temporary absences from St Helena lasting fewer than 90 days will not stop payments, while children away on government-arranged overseas medical referrals are covered separately for the full duration of their treatment.
Claimants are required to promptly notify the Benefits Office of any relevant changes in circumstances, such as shifts in daily care, residence, shared-care arrangements, payment details, or changes affecting Technical Cooperation eligibility.
How to Apply
Applications must be submitted using the official approved form available on the SHG website at https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/app/uploads/2026/10/Child-Benefit-Application-Form.pdf. Alternatively, hard copies are available from the Benefits Office or the Customer Services Centre in Jamestown.
Completed applications, along with required evidence (such as a birth certificate or passport) and payment instructions, can be submitted in writing or via email to the Benefits Office:
gail.beard@sainthelena.gov.sh; joanne.jonas@sainthelena.gov.sh; sharon.wade@sainthelena.gov.sh
Members of the public are kindly requested to telephone the Benefits Office on 22605 to make an appointment. Applicants will receive a written decision outlining the reasons and rules applied. Those who disagree with a decision may request an internal review, normally within 14 days, addressed to the Deputy Financial Secretary.
Chief Minister, Dr Rebecca Cairns-Wicks MBE, added:
“We want St Helena to be a place where families can build their future and children have the opportunity to thrive. Child Benefit is one practical step towards that ambition.
We know that £15 a week will not meet every cost of raising a child. But it is regular support that families can plan around and put towards what their children need, whether that is food, clothing, transport or childcare. We want eligible families to be able to access this support through a clear and straightforward application process.
Giving children a good start matters to us all. Through Child Benefit, Government is helping families with the pressures they face today and investing in the children who will shape our island’s future. This is part of building the fairer, more resilient St Helena we want to see.”
#StHelena #ChildBenefitScheme #AltogetherBetterforChildrenandYoungPeople
The Emergency Planning Department, with support from the St Helena Ambulance Service, is continuing to manage and maintain the Community Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Project. Following the recent installation of four new AEDs, this initiative continues to expand public access to life-saving defibrillators at key locations in every district across St Helena. The project aims to strengthen the island’s ability to respond to cardiac emergencies, and the public are being encouraged to learn where their nearest AED is located.
What is an AED, and when and how are they used?
Defibrillators are devices that send a safe electric shock to the heart to restore a normal heartbeat when someone is not conscious and not breathing (i.e. they are in cardiac arrest).
A defibrillator may also be referred to as a DEFIB, an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) or a PAD (Public Access Defibrillator). Statistics show that if a defibrillator is used on a patient within the first few minutes of cardiac arrest, they have a 60-70% chance of making a full recovery.
The type of AED’s being deployed are designed so that they can be used by anyone, without specialist training. Once turned on they will instruct the user through voice commands on exactly how to use the device safely, for both the patient and the operator.
These particular AED’s will only deliver a lifesaving shock to the patient if it is needed. They can tell if this is the case and will talk the user through what to do, meaning people can use the AED’s with confidence in an emergency situation.
The AED’s will be clearly signposted and will be contained in a bright yellow box which looks similar to the below image.
If you require access to an AED, the code to the cabinet can be requested from the Joint Emergency Services Control Centre when dialling 999.
Where are they located?
AED’s have now been placed in the following locations:
| District | Location |
| Half Tree Hollow | Half Tree Hollow Clinic (Outside of main entrance) |
| Francis Plain | The Pavilion Area (In the Green Shed) |
| Levelwood | Silver Hill Shop |
| Blue Hill | Blue Hill Community Centre |
| Sandy Bay | Bamboo Hedge Shop and SHAPE |
| Rupert’s | Sea Rescue Building (Outside the main entrance) |
| Jamestown | Royal St Helena Police Service (Reception) and the Old Customs Building |
| Longwood | Royal St Helena Police Post (Outside) |
| Alarm Forest | Sunflower Creche |
| St Paul’s | KS1 School (Outside) and the Rosemary Plain Bus Shelter |
| There are also other AED’s located in HM Prison, CCC and the St Helena Airport (Departures Medical Room). | |
The Emergency Planning Department will continue to support the availability and maintenance of community AED’s across St Helena as part of its on-going commitment to public safety and community resilience. Members of the public are encouraged to help raise awareness of these facilities within their communities, ensuring more people know where life-saving equipment can be found when it is needed most.
#StHelena #AED #AltogetherSafer
The St Helena Government (SHG) Roads Section has received questions from members of the public about which roads SHG is responsible for maintaining, how repair work is prioritised, and why some roads receive attention before others. To help the community understand how the island’s road network is managed, SHG is setting out how roads on St Helena are classified, and what the Roads Section’s maintenance budget allows it to do.
Understanding the difference between adopted (Government) and un-adopted (non- Government) roads, and between primary, secondary and tertiary roads, explains how maintenance decisions are made and why SHG’s resources are focused where they are.
There are two categories of roads on St Helena:
- Government (Adopted roads)
- Non-government (Un-adopted roads)
Each of these categories can be broken down further as in Table 1.
Table 1: Categories of Roads
| Government (Adopted roads) | Highway | Primary roads | 34144 | meters |
| Secondary roads | 36581 | meters | ||
| Tertiary roads | 44338 | meters | ||
| Non-Government (Un-adopted roads) | District Private on Crown LandPrivate on Private Land | |||
| Community | ||||
Road Definitions & Classifications
Government (Adopted) Roads
Primary roads serve the main centres of population, the main industrial / commercial areas and a ring road connecting the main areas of the island. These roads are used by the most people and carries the most volume of traffic on island. It is also the highest priority when the reactive maintenance plan is formulated. E.g. Side Path Road, Ladder Hill Road
- Secondary roads serve the various communities distributed around the island as well as areas of industry, commerce and agriculture. These roads are at lower maintenance priority than primary roads. E.g. Evergreen Drive in Half Tree Hollow
Tertiary roads are all other surfaced roads maintained by SHG including roads provided as part of the serviced house plots and serve small clusters of 3 to 6 properties or individual accesses. These roads are at the lowest end of priority when
the reactive maintenance plan is formulated.
Non-Government (Un-adopted) Roads
- District Roads: Roads that provide access to individual parcels of land or specific plots. These are classified legally based on land tenure:
- a) Private on Crown Land: Un-adopted roads situated on Crown land used to access leased or allocated plots.
- b) Private on Private Land: Un-adopted roads situated entirely on privately owned land.
- Community Roads: Un-adopted roads that provide shared access to multiple homes, residential clusters, or community facilities. While these roads are not maintained under SHG’s recurrent maintenance budget, they represent shared neighbourhood access routes used by multiple households. E.g. Sapper Way.
Maintenance Strategy and Resource Allocation
To maximise public safety and road efficiency within the available recurrent annual budget, the SHG Roads Section focuses primary efforts on reactive and emergency maintenance across the 115 km adopted road network. Monthly inspections of all adopted roads are conducted to identify hazards and schedule necessary reactive work, with primary roads taking precedence due to high traffic volumes.
There is currently no recurrent budget for long-term proactive or planned maintenance, nor is there funding to undertake work on un-adopted roads (including private roads on the Crown Estate or private land). Under current recurrent funding levels, the budget only allows for approximately 2.5 to 3 km of reactive maintenance across the entire 115 km adopted network each year.
Capital Projects vs. Recurrent Maintenance
Members of the public may have noticed major road resurfacing works completed across the island last year. Please note that these major resurfacing works were capital improvements funded through the Economic Development Investment Programme (EDIP), rather than SHG’s recurrent annual maintenance budget. Recurrent maintenance funding remains strictly limited to essential reactive and emergency repairs on adopted public roads.
Recurrent Budget Limitations
To maximise public safety and road efficiency within available annual funding, the SHG Roads Section focuses its recurrent resources exclusively on reactive and emergency repairs across the 115 km adopted road network. Monthly inspections of all adopted roads are conducted to identify hazards and schedule necessary reactive work, with primary roads taking precedence due to high traffic volumes.
There is currently no recurrent budget for long-term proactive or planned maintenance, nor is there funding to undertake work on un-adopted roads (including private roads on the Crown Estate or private land). Under current recurrent funding levels, the budget only allows for approximately 2.5 to 3 km of reactive maintenance across the entire 115 km adopted network each year.
#StHelena #StHelenaGovernment #RoadClassification
The Health and Social Care Portfolio will deliver a bowel cancer screening programme for adults aged 50 to 74 this November and December, ahead of a visiting specialist’s arrival in January 2027.
Collect your test kit from your nearest health clinic from November.
Why screening matters
Bowel cancer (also known as colorectal cancer) is cancer found anywhere in the large bowel. It is the third most common cancer worldwide, and in the UK it is the second largest cause of cancer deaths. Several people are diagnosed in St Helena every year.
Screening looks for early signs of disease in people with no symptoms. It aims to find bowel cancer early, when treatment has a good chance of curing it. If it is detected early, more than 9 in 10 people are successfully treated.
How it works
The faecal immunochemical test (FIT) detects tiny amounts of blood in your poo, which can be an early sign of bowel cancer. The test is done at home. If your result is positive, you will be invited to an appointment to discuss next steps. A positive test does not mean you have cancer, but you will likely be offered a colonoscopy to check inside your bowel.
Who should take part
Everyone aged 50 to 74, in line with UK recommendations, as the risk of bowel cancer increases with age.
Collecting a kit
From November, 500 test kits will be available from your nearest health clinic during routine clinic hours. Each kit includes everything you need to collect and return your sample. For more information, see our Bowel Cancer Screening FAQ sheet.
If you have any further questions, please contact the Health Promotion team on Tel: 25949 or healthpromotion@sainthelena.gov.sh.
When to see a doctor
If you have symptoms, do not wait for screening. See a doctor urgently. Symptoms include:
- Changes in bowel habits (softer poo, diarrhoea, constipation, or going more or less often)
- Blood in your poo, red or black
- Feeling you need to poo even after going
- Tummy pain, bloating or a lump
- Unexplained weight loss
See your GP if symptoms last more than three weeks. Ask for an urgent appointment if your poo is black or dark red, or you have bloody diarrhoea. Call 999 or go to the Emergency Department if you are bleeding non-stop or losing a lot of blood (e.g. the toilet water turns red, or you see large clots).
Reducing your risk
You can’t always prevent bowel cancer, but you can lower your risk by eating at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day, staying active, maintaining a healthy weight, quitting smoking, drinking less alcohol, and eating less red and processed meat.
#StHelena #BowelCancer #ScreeningProgrammewww.facebook.com/StHelenaGovt
Following the launch of the public consultation on whether a Stand Alone Victims’ Access to Compensation (SAVAC) scheme should be introduced, the St Helena Government (SHG) has received valuable feedback and questions from members of the public. To support community discussion and address common queries, SHG has published two supplementary information sheets designed to provide further clarity on the proposal (hard copies will be available at the Public Library and Post Office):
SHG re-emphasises that this consultation remains completely open, balanced, and neutral. No decision has been made on whether SAVAC is appropriate for St Helena, and SHG welcomes all views, concerns, and suggested alternatives. To share your views, please click https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/savac for our online survey. Our next district public meeting will take place on Tuesday 20 October at Jamestown Community Centre.
The public consultation will remain open until Tuesday, 20 October 2026. Further details regarding public engagement sessions and response channels will continue to be shared as arrangements are finalised.
#StHelena #SAVAC #PublicConsultation
St Helena Government has published a situational analysis of Housing in St Helena. This working document is now available for public consultation for a period of four weeks from 12 October to 9 November 2026 and can be found at https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/app/uploads/2026/10/Situational-Analysis-Of-Housing-In-St-Helena.pdf.
The document examines the island’s housing needs and the factors affecting availability, suitability, and accessibility to housing, alongside the wider social and economic context influencing housing on St Helena. It aims to provide an evidence base for a clearer understanding of the current housing situation, and to inform decisions on future housing policy development. A quick read summary is provided at the beginning of the document outlining key issues, challenges and preliminary findings.
Comments and views should be sent to Ann.Muir@sainthelena.gov.sh. All comments received by the closing date will be considered, and a summary of consultation responses will be published within 28 days (7 December) after the consultation closes. All responses will be recorded anonymously.
#StHelena #Housing #SituationalAnalysis
The Health and Social Care Portfolio will be delivering a selective influenza vaccination campaign this November to protect our community ahead of the peak flu season in December and January.
About influenza
Influenza, more commonly known as the ‘flu’, is a viral infection of the windpipe and lungs. It causes seasonal outbreaks almost every winter in the UK. Increased travel between the UK and St Helena during our summer months puts our community at risk.
Flu is not the same as a common cold, and it can be very serious. Anyone can catch it, but for some people it may likely lead to severe illness. Flu has contributed to a certain number of deaths each year. It is caused by viruses, and not bacteria, so antibiotics won’t treat it. The best form of protection is vaccination.
Who will be offered a vaccine
The flu vaccination programme will target people at highest risk, but over half of the population of St Helena will be eligible for the free vaccine. Eligible groups include:
- All people aged 65 years or more
- All children aged 2 to 16 years
- All adults and children over 6 months with underlying medical conditions, such as diabetes, heart, lung or kidney disease
- Pregnant women
- People in long-stay residential facilities
To offer further protection to those at-risk, the vaccine is also offered to carers of elderly or disabled people, household contacts of people with weakened immune systems, and all frontline health and social care workers.
Where and when will the vaccine be available
There will be drop-in vaccination clinics operating across the island throughout November. There will also be opportunities to receive the vaccine during routine community health clinics.
The dates, times and locations of the vaccination clinics will be published in due course. In the meantime, all eligible people are invited to register their interest by calling the Health Promotion team on Tel: 25949 or by emailing healthpromotion@sainthelena.gov.sh.
Online registration is also available by scanning the QR code below or by directly accessing the form at: www.surveymonkey.com/r/shflu
For more information, please click the link to our Influenza Vaccination FAQ sheet.
QR Code
#StHelena #FluVaccination #AltogetherHealthier
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) visited St Helena from 21 to 25 September 2026 to help Health and Social Care and partner agencies strengthen the island’s response to a mass casualty incident.
The visit followed the approval of Health and Social Care’s new Mass Casualty Plan, which sets out how the island will respond when the number or needs of casualties exceed available capacity. The plan complements St Helena’s wider Major Incident Response Plan and takes account of the challenges of delivering an emergency response in a small, geographically isolated community.
During the visit, staff took part in familiarisation sessions covering major incident command arrangements, joint working, casualty triage and movement, hospital capacity, communications and recovery.
An operational exercise tested the plan in practice. The programme concluded with Exercise Black Dog, a strategic tabletop exercise involving senior staff and partner agencies.
Exercise Black Dog tested the island’s transition from business-as-usual arrangements to a coordinated major incident and mass casualty response. It considered gold, silver and bronze command arrangements, casualty management, limited clinical resources, communications, multi-agency working and recovery planning.
Emergency Operations Manager, Michael Gaga-Hale, said:
“These workshops followed the development and approval of our new Mass Casualty Plan. We are grateful to UKHSA and SHG’s Emergency Planning Department for helping us develop a plan that reflects the needs and capabilities of the Health and Social Care Portfolio, and for supporting us to test it at both operational and strategic levels. The sessions and exercises were informative and well organised. They highlighted strengths across SHG and identified lessons that will help us further improve the plan and its implementation. I would also like to thank everyone who took part during the week and our partner organisations, including the St Helena Red Cross, for their support and contribution. Effective emergency preparedness depends on agencies working together, and the programme provided a valuable opportunity to strengthen those relationships and our collective response.”
Head of Social Care, Tracy Poole-Nandy, commented: “I found the whole exercise an excellent opportunity to test the updated mass casualty plan from an operational and strategic perspective. The week was really well planned and executed by Anel, Michael, Peter, Lizzy and Grace as part of the ongoing partnership work with the UKHSA. Thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to the overall learning”
Head of National Response Centre, Peter Daividson, commented: “As part of the UKHSA UK Overseas Territories (UKOT) Health Security Programme, we have been working with SHG over the past three years to support the development of health resilience through a range of activities. This has included reviewing past incident responses to identify areas of good practice and where improvements can be made, delivering training, workshops and briefings. We have had the pleasure of working with teams across SHG, at operational, tactical, and strategic levels and with Ministers.
During this visit we have been able to build upon previous work with the Health and Social Care portfolio and SHG’s Emergency Planning Department to develop the Mass Casualty plan by supporting the delivery of mass casualty briefing sessions to SHG colleagues and the Table-Top Exercise Black Dog. During the exercise we examined how well the plan supported multi-agency partners to respond to a simulated scenario that overwhelmed normal operational activity and required implementation of different ways of working. The exercise provided the opportunity for SHG colleagues to consider and review their roles and responsibilities within the plan, set out the response priorities, whilst maintaining service delivery.
It has been a rewarding experience to work with the dedicated team from SHG to support the development of both the Mass Casualty plan and Exercise Black Dog. This has given our team an insight into the unique challenges faced in a small island context and allowed our experience and resource to support SHG’s work, providing external challenge to help strengthen preparedness and response arrangements for future emergencies. The UKOT Health Security Programme is funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Offices’ (FCDO) Resilient Economies Programme”
The programme increased understanding of the new arrangements, tested the plan at operational and strategic levels, and identified priorities for further development.
The Health and Social Care Portfolio extends its thanks to the UKHSA team, the Emergency Planning Department, partner organisations and everyone who participated during the week.
Photos:
Attendees of Exercise Black Dog
Trainers of Exercise Black Dog
Exercise Black Dog
Emergency Planning and Trainers
#StHelena #EmergencyPreparedness #MassCasualtyPlanning
After several years of preparation, the St Helena Government (SHG) is ready to take the next step in modernising the island’s legal system. The implementation of Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) will take effect from 1 November 2026.
An FPN is a formal notice that allows an individual to pay a set financial penalty for a specified offence, avoiding prosecution through the courts.
Implementation of this law forms part of SHG’s ongoing work to modernise the island’s legal system, making it more efficient while ensuring that offences continue to be dealt with fairly and proportionately. FPNs are intended to address low-level offences through a streamlined process, while offering a practical alternative for individuals who commit minor infringements.
Background
SHG enacted legislation in 2020 and in June 2025 enacted regulation to implement FPNs.
Since enactment the public service has been working on developing the administrative infrastructure and capacity to implement.
What happens if you receive a notice
Individuals who receive an FPN will have the opportunity to discharge liability for the offence by paying the prescribed penalty. Payment of an FPN is not an admission of guilt and does not result in a criminal record. In some circumstances, a reduced penalty amount may apply if payment is made within a specified period.
There are several offences prescribed in legislation including guidance on what penalty amount offences may attract an FPN, how notices may be issued, how payments can be made, and the options available to anyone who wishes to challenge a notice.
Public information campaign
Over the coming weeks, SHG will undertake a public information campaign through local newspapers, radio programmes, social media channels and the SHG website to ensure the community is fully aware of the new arrangements, understands why they are being introduced, how they will be implemented and knows what responsibilities and options are available.
SHG recognises that some of the offences covered by the scheme relate to matters that directly affect daily life on the island, including road traffic and environmental enforcement matters. The communications campaign will therefore include targeted engagement with community groups, and the general public to answer questions and provide clear information.
SHG encourages members of the public to engage with the campaign and take the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the new arrangements before they are applied on 1 November 2026.
#StHelena #FixedPenaltyNotice
Following the press release issued by St Helena Government (SHG) on 24 September 2026 regarding the Primary School Reorganisation Project, SHG has decided to pause the building and refurbishment element of the project while further work is undertaken to review the proposed model.
As a result, the Education, Skills, and Employment Portfolio (ESE) is advising the public of temporary changes to the delivery of Lifelong Learning Services (LLS). The changes will make additional space available for Key Stage 2 (KS2) school provision during this period.
Relocation of Services
During this period, St Helena Community College (SHCC), the NVQ Centre and Career Access St Helena (CAS) will relocate to Carnarvon Court, at the lower end of Connect St Helena.
The relocation and consequent limited access to the Education and Learning Centre (ELC) will affect the availability of some SHCC facilities and services.
SHCC Facilities and Bookings
All those who have made existing bookings for SHCC facilities will be contacted. While the temporary arrangements remain in place, new bookings for the following facilities will be available only during the primary school holidays:
- IT Suite
- Main Hall
- VC Room
- Conferencing facilities
To make a booking during the primary school holidays, please contact SHCC by email at shcc.bookings@sainthelena.edu.sh or by telephone on +290 22607.
Examinations
Examinations will continue to be held at the ELC. However, on-demand examinations will be available only during the primary school holidays.
The necessary facilities will remain available for ACCA session-based examinations under special arrangements.
Where required, affected learners will receive further information about examination arrangements directly.
Career Access St Helena
Career Access St Helena (CAS) will relocate to Carnarvon Court.
CAS service users should attend Carnarvon Court, rather than the ELC, to access services. CAS opening hours will remain unchanged. All Sixth Form time books should be delivered to CAS at Carnarvon Court.
NVQ Services
All NVQ learners and service users should attend Carnarvon Court, rather than the ELC, for NVQ-related services and support.
St Helena Research Institute
The St Helena Research Institute (SHRI) will remain at Carnarvon Court and continue to operate from its current location.
To facilitate the relocations, SHCC, the NVQ Centre and CAS will be closed from Monday 19 October to Friday 23 October 2026. Services will reopen at Carnarvon Court on Monday 26 October 2026.
ESE recognises that these temporary arrangements may cause inconvenience to learners, service users and members of the public. However, the changes are necessary to support wider education provision during this period. The arrangements will remain under review while work continues to consider the future model for the Primary School Reorganisation Project.
Further updates will be issued as the arrangements develop.#StHelena #EducationServices #ServiceUpdate #LifelongLearning