Middle-income families in Jersey are learning that being too rich for welfare but too poor for comfort is a special kind of government-sanctioned squeeze. Lisa McCabe, a mother of two and owner of a private health screening clinic, says the means-tested 'back to school bonus' - a cash benefit to help buy school supplies - is a 'kick in the teeth' for working parents who earn just above the threshold.

McCabe reports seeing parents daily who are buckling under the cost of raising a family in Jersey, with stress and burnout spreading among people on what were once considered 'very good wages.' The usual suspects are to blame: rising interest rates, the end of mortgage interest tax relief, expensive nursery fees, and the relentless cost of hot lunches and after-school clubs. 'There are some really difficult decisions to be made,' she says, presumably between food and electricity.

Social Security Minister Elaine Millar acknowledges the pilot scheme for the back-to-school bonus needs a review, and that the government is looking at ways to make life more affordable - without, she stresses, raising taxes, which is 'not on anybody's agenda.' She warns that boosting income support might mean everyone else paying more tax, including those already on income support, which is a neat logical trap. McCabe suggests the backlash could have been avoided if the benefit were issued as vouchers instead of cash - because nothing says 'we trust you' like restricting how parents can spend help for their kids.