More guidance for parents claiming back money from the government’s childcare funding scheme is needed, the head of the Jersey Child Care Trust (JCCT) has said.

In February, the government said parents of a child eligible from January to August 2026 could apply for up to £4,180, and parents of children eligible for a full school year from the 1 September 2026 would be able to apply for up to £6,270.

But some families have had problems claiming money back from the States after being told they had provided ‘invalid receipts’ for childcare.

JCCT CEO Fiona Vacher said as it was a pilot scheme, it was likely problems would be discovered.

She said: “We understand that there have been some cases through our contacts with parents and I think that’s around parents submitting bills rather than receipts.

“We knew there would be difficulties and I know the government is just responding to that.”

Vacher said the government could provide “a bit more information for parents about how they and what they submit”.

Deputy Catherine Curtis, the Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning, said 537 applications had been approved for 409 families with £1.4m paid out since the scheme began.

She added that no formal complaints had been recorded but that feedback was “being reviewed to enable continuous improvement”.

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A popular garlic powder sold at Dollarama stores across Canada is being recalled due to potential microbial contamination, health officials announced this week.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) issued the recall Wednesday for Heavenly Spices garlic powder sold at Dollarama stores nationwide.

The product is being recalled because it may be contaminated with Bacillus cereus, a bacterium that can cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and watery diarrhea, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

“Do not use, sell, serve or distribute the affected product,” the CFIA said in its recall notice.

TAYLOR FARMS PREPARING RECALL, DENIES BRANDED SALADS TIED TO OUTBREAK

The agency classified the recall as a Class 2 event, meaning there is a moderate risk that consuming the product could cause short-term or non-life-threatening health effects.

A Dollarama spokesperson told CTVNews.ca on Friday that customers who purchased the product should throw it away.

“Customers can also contact Dollarama Customer Service directly for a $2.00 e-gift card as a replacement,” the spokesperson said.

The recalled garlic powder was sold in 70-gram containers in stores and online.

GENERAL MILLS PULLS MORE THAN 735,000 PILLSBURY ROLLS FROM SHELVES OVER POSSIBLE GLASS CONTAMINATION

According to the FDA, symptoms of Bacillus cereus infection typically last between 24 and 48 hours. The bacterium is commonly found in meat, stews, gravies, vanilla sauce, and cooked rice that has been improperly refrigerated or left at room temperature.

The garlic powder is the latest food product to be pulled from store shelves.

Earlier this week, the FDA announced that General Mills was recalling more than 735,000 packages of Pillsbury bread products over concerns they may contain glass.

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Bloomberg News also reported that fresh produce supplier Taylor Farms is preparing a recall tied to ingredients linked to a multistate Cyclospora outbreak, though the company has said its branded salad products are not associated with the illnesses.

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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha’s Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

Gold rose on Friday butwas on track for its biggest weekly loss in six as escalating U.S.-Iran tensions drove energy prices higher, fuelling inflation fears and reinforcing expectations of U.S. interest rate hikes. Spot gold was ‌up 1% at $4,011.29 ⁠per ⁠ounce by 2:20 p.m. EDT (1820 GMT). Prices touched their lowest level since June 30 earlier in the session and were down around 2.6% so far for the week. U.S. gold futures for August delivery settled 0.7% higher at $4,018.80.

The U.S. dollar rose for a second straight session, making bullion more expensive for overseas buyers. “The main drivers of the selloff in gold have been a stronger U.S. dollar and higher global inflation fears, which have sent global interest ⁠rates higher,” ‌said Chris Gaffney, president of world markets at EverBank. The U.S.escalated its renewed bombing campaign on Iran, hitting bridges and an airport. Tehran responded with strikes ⁠on U.S. bases across the Middle East. Brent crude oil prices were up around 16% for the week following the attacks.

Bullion has fallen about 25% since the U.S.-backed war with Iran began in late February, pressured by expectations that war-driven inflation could keep interest rates higher for longer.

While gold is seen as a hedge against inflation, higher rates typically weigh on the non-yielding metal. “Recent data have decreased the probability of a rate hike at the next FOMC meeting, but global interest rates ‌continue to climb and the recent increase in oil prices could drive the Federal Reserve to take a more hawkish stance on U.S. interest rate policy,” Gaffney said. Traders see about a ⁠58% chance of a U.S. interest rate hike in September, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. On Thursday, Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson suggested he would be open to raising rates if there was no near-term improvement in inflation.

However, “gold’s share in private portfolios remains low, and recent geopolitical developments, including Iran and broader tensions, may accelerate diversification beyond central banks to private investors,” Goldman Sachs said in a note. Spot silver rose 1% to $56.06, platinum dropped 1.4% to $1,595.64, and palladium was steady at $1,249.63. All three metals were headed for weekly losses.

Oil prices climbed more than 4% to their highest in more than a month on Friday after the U.S. and Iran stepped up attacks across the Gulf, with shipping threatened by a potential Red Sea closure on top of the restricted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude futures settled $3.87, or 4.59%, higher to $88.10 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures rose $3.54, or 4.48%, at $82.49. Both were at their highest since mid-June.

For ‌the week, both ⁠benchmarks gained ⁠about 16%, with Brent on track for a third consecutive weekly gain and WTI set for its second.

The two foes expanded fighting on Friday, with the U.S. striking bridges and an airport in Iran and Tehran hitting a power and desalination plant in Kuwait. Iran said it launched more strikes on U.S. facilities in the Middle East, including the first direct attack in Syria, after a sixth straight night of U.S. strikes on Iranian military facilities.

“The market is reacting to the increasing hostilities between Iran and the ⁠United States ‌that have culminated this week with nightly attacks on Iranian infrastructure and retaliation by Iran on its neighbors’ infrastructure,” said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. “If more tankers come ⁠under fire and become damaged, we’re going to see oil prices continue to move up as shipowners simply refuse to enter the Persian Gulf.”

The collapsed truce between the U.S. and Iran has resulted in a sharp decline in oil flows in the strait as Iran targets vessels transiting through it. Before the Iran war, about 20% of global oil supplies flowed through the waterway. Iran has pressed the Houthis to close the Red Sea route if the U.S. attacks Iran’s power infrastructure.
“Given that so much of Saudi Arabia’s exports have been redirected to the ‌port of Yanbu via the East-West Pipeline to avoid Hormuz, any such development is a threat indeed,” Tamas Varga, analyst at PVM Oil Associates, wrote in a note. Saudi Arabia has diverted more than 70% of its ⁠normal daily crude exports to the Red Sea port of Yanbu since the beginning of the war. Shipments from Yanbu averaged 4 million barrels per day in recent weeks, up from around 973,000 bpd in the same period last year.

Qatar’s defence ministry said its armed forces thwarted an Iranian missile attack early on Friday and the interior ministry said a child was wounded by shrapnel resulting from interception operations.

In a different conflict zone, Ukraine’s military said it struck a Russian oil refinery in the Yaroslavl region on Thursday.

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