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On 21 January 2025, Executive Council approved the Financial Services Regulation Policy 2025. The Financial Services Regulation Policy aims to modernise selected parts of our financial services regulatory framework. It is driven by the Sustainable Economic Development Strategy (SEDS) 2023-2033, as well as SHG’s Vision and Strategy.

The SEDS states that “SHG has identified that St Helena’s financial services laws and regulations require reform and modernisation in order to encourage competition within the sector and support economic growth. There are substantial gaps in current legislation. SHG’s objective is to enhance the financial services landscape by removing barriers to entry, while working toward compliance with international best practice and recommendations.” It notes that comprehensive reform and updates to existing financial services laws and regulations are required in order for St Helena to achieve its development goals.

The Financial Services Regulation Policy 2025 has four key objectives:

• Enhance the attractiveness of St Helena as a place to do business
• Strengthen consumer protection
• Reinforce governance standards
• Improve the effectiveness of our regulatory framework

The objectives are all inter-related. In particular, success in making St Helena a commercially attractive destination for financial services businesses in turn requires a more modern regulatory framework to cope with the needs and expectations of new businesses, especially overseas owned or managed businesses which choose to establish a presence in St Helena. In addition, the regulatory architecture helps to fulfill the customers’ needs of improved consumer protection measures and high-level service standards, in turn increasing the confidence and accountability within the financial service sector.

Minister Mark Brooks commented:

“The Financial Services Regulation Policy 2025 is an essential step towards improving the financial services landscape. The policy’s specific aim is to modernise SHG’s financial sector, which includes broadening the access to services and products for residents and investors. With regulations and policies in place to enable smooth, safe investment in financial services, this policy supports an enabling environment that allows people and businesses to thrive. The improved framework is designed to attract new firms to establish themselves in St Helena, positioning the island as a strategic base for delivering financial services to global customers. This aligns with the government’s broader vision of becoming ‘Altogether Wealthier’ by fostering a thriving financial services sector while upholding the highest standards of international regulatory compliance.”

Should members of the public wish to provide feedback on the policy, please contact Economic Development Portfolio Assistant, Alexandria Thomas, via email through alexandria.thomas@sainthelena.gov.sh.

This policy is now available on the Public Information, Reports and Policies page of the SHG website at https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Financial-Services-Regulation-Policy-2025.pdf.  

#StHelena #FinancialServicesRegulations #EconomicDevelopment

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Minister Jeffrey Ellick will depart the island on Saturday, 22 March 2025 to attend a Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Small Branches Workshop on ‘Strong and Independent Parliaments in Small Jurisdictions’. This workshop will take place from 01 to 03 April 2025 in the Isle of Man.

In addition to the workshop, Minister Ellick will also be undertaking visits and meetings with various government departments and parliamentarians in the UK. These meetings are related to ongoing business within the Safety, Security and Home Affairs (SSHA) Portfolio.

Minister Ellick is expected to return on Saturday, 12 April 2025.

During the Minister’s absence, Minister Christine Scipio will serve as the primary point of contact for matters pertaining to SSHA Portfolio and can be contacted via email at Christine.scipio@sainthelena.gov.sh.

#StHelena #ElectedMembers #CPAWorkshop

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The Education, Skills and Employment Portfolio (ESE) has been working with stakeholders to review our primary school structure. A critical priority is to shape our primary provision to meet the educational needs of our children. Currently, we have a number of challenges in our primary school provision, including a declining number of children living on St Helena, a shortage of qualified teachers, an increasing need for support for our students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs, and concerning educational outcomes.

The review of our primary school provision was informed by extensive public consultation, including input from leaders and staff within the ESE Portfolio, a wide range of education data, input from key local stakeholders, and contributions by external experts, which has resulted in a series of essential reports. The ESE Portfolio expresses its sincere gratitude to parents, staff, the wider community and external experts from Hampshire Local Authority (HLA) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) for their monumental support throughout this educational journey of change.

After careful consideration of the evidence and the clear views of parents and the broader community, demonstrating their strong support for improved education provision the following decision has been taken.

 As of September 2026, St Helena will operate a brand new primary school structure.  Our primary school provision will be offered from two school sites only, comprising of:

• A Key Stage 1 school that will cater for Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), which include Nursery and Reception  and Years 1 and 2 students, which will operate on the existing Harford School site, and
• A Key Stage Two school, which will cater for Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 students which will operate from the existing St Paul’s School site.

SHG is determined that the needs of pupils, staff and parents are central to the transition process, which will commence in April 2025, with the aim of opening our two new schools at the beginning of the new school year in September 2026. This lead-in time provides us with a generous 17-month window to honour the rich contributions our existing three schools – Harford, St Paul’s and Pilling – have made to our island community. This timeframe will also support our preparations to open our two new schools, on existing school sites.  The new structure and ways of operating will recognise and take the positive aspects of the existing schools, whilst recognising that there are some significant areas of improvement that we can make through the new approach.

There is still much work to be done over the next year to transition to these new arrangements. We recognise that the thought of change can bring concern and worry and therefore, we will work closely with our staff during this transition.  Emphasis will be placed on training, development and support for our existing staff.  This will ensure our staff and school leaders feel confident and ready for the implementation of the new arrangements, which bring with them potential benefits that will, over time, significantly improve education standards for our young people.

Other practical considerations include:

• As part of this process, school leaders will be working in partnership with the students to secure new names for our two new schools.
• The ESE will be working with our school bus providers to secure updated transport routes that are best suited to our new school arrangements. 
• Through the Economic Development Investment Programme (EDIP), the two primary schools will undergo phased facility upgrades.
• Working in partnership with our secondary school will continue to be a key priority, to secure the Council of British International Schools (COBIS) standards, our recently approved education standards framework.

This decision has been made to initiate a much needed educational journey that will bring opportunities for improvement, which support a determination in the community to improve educational outcomes for our primary children.

We seek your continued support in prioritising the needs of children and young people as central to community decisions. Education is, an engine of change, and is fundamentally at the heart of St Helena’s future journey.

#StHelena #EducationReview #AltogetherBetterForChildrenAndYoungPeople

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On 18 February 2025, the Environment, Natural Resources and Planning Portfolio (ENRP) received a consignment of 1000 Dekalb-Amberlink breed day-old chicks to replenish the island’s layers for egg production. The import was necessary to meet existing orders for chicks that were not fulfilled through the first batch imported in 2023. 

In compliance with biosecurity requirements, the chicks have undergone a four-week period of quarantine and will be released for sale to egg producers on Wednesday, 19 March 2025.

In line with current policy, priority for provision of chicks has been given to commercial producers, in order to complete their orders.  All smallholders who requested 10 or more chicks will receive their full requirement. The chicks will be sold at £3.00 per chick, with ENRP applying a 50% subsidy per chick to cover the costs associated with importation and quarantine. Such actions are aimed at improving our self-sufficiency in local fresh egg supply for the community and to encourage local production so that the community has reasonable access to local supplies of fresh produce.

There still remains a small number of producers who will not receive any chicks via this consignment. Consideration is being given to a further import of day-old-chicks later this year to supply the small number of orders that remain, and to invite further applications. Availability of chicks from our supplier, seasonality, and on-island feed supply considerations, will inform a date for this future import. ENRP will contact those applicants concerned.

The public will be notified via an advert in the newspaper and on radio when a further opportunity for applications for chicks can be made to ENRP.

#StHelena #LocalEggProduction #AltogetherWealthier

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Waste Management Services, in partnership with the St Helena National Trust (SHNT) and Zoological Society of London (ZSL), as part of the South Atlantic Plastic’s Project, is pleased to announce the winners of their recent competition to design a recycling superhero for St Helena.

The competition, aimed at primary-aged school children on the island, inspired some fantastic and creative entries. After careful consideration, the judging panel has selected the following winners:

• 1^st Place – Hari Stead, Pilling Primary
• 2^nd Place – Autumn Benjamin, St Paul’s Primary
• 3^rd Place – Emma Jacobs, Harford Primary

We extend congratulations to Hari Stead, Autumn Benjamin, and Emma Jacobs for their imaginative designs.

The announcement of today’s winners coincides with Global Recycling Day celebrated annually on 18 March. This annual event serves as a powerful reminder of the critical role recycling plays in safeguarding our planet’s resources and fostering a sustainable future. By empowering our youth to become advocates for recycling, we are investing in a healthier and more environmentally conscious St Helena.

The winning designs will play a key role in promoting recycling awareness on St Helena. A final superhero design has been created, incorporating elements from all three winning entries, and will be used in upcoming campaigns.

We would like to thank all the learners who participated in the competition, their schools, and our partners, SHNT and ZSL, for making this initiative a success.

Photos

1^st Place Winner: Hari Stead’s design of a ‘Wirebird Warrior’

2^nd Place Winner: Autumn Benjamin’s ‘Ms Ebony’

3^rd Place Winner: Emma Jacobs’ “I Recycle, What’s your Super Power?”

The final design created by Waste Management Services, incorporating elements from all three of the winning designs.

#StHelena #RecyclingHeroes #GlobalRecyclingDay

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