POLICY COUNCIL members are in the dark over the Education management review it took charge of a year ago. It took responsibility for setting it up after mounting pressure from deputies.
A row has broken out over who is responsible for the slow progress.
On one side is Chief Minister Mike Torode and on the other Deputy Jean Pritchard, who is leading a requete to force the issue.
Deputy Torode told the States on Friday that the council was now pursuing a third option of a two-person team to carry out the review.
Health minister Peter Roffey said he knew a second option - an expert UK academic - had been explored.
‘But it was the first time I realised that it had not come to fruition and the first time I heard a third option was being looked at,’ he said.
‘I do feel a little in the dark, but I think we’re now due to update it at the next Policy Council meeting and I hope we will be brought up to speed with what’s going on.’
It has been placed on the agenda for Monday’s meeting.
He said the council could not now do a U-turn on setting up the review.
‘I’m not in any way looking to pre-empt what the findings will be, but there’s sufficient disquiet about the functioning of the department to see whether or not those fears are justified or erroneous.’
He was disappointed it had taken so long to get the review under way, a sentiment echoed by Housing minister Dave Jones.
Deputy Jones agreed with comments by deputy Education minister Wendy Morgan that it was bad for staff morale to have the threat of a review hanging over them.
He also backed concerns that the man brought over to carry out the review wanted to look only at how things could be improved without investigating what had taken place in the past.
‘I don’t think that’s right,’ said Deputy Jones.
‘In order to get an improved Education Department, you must go back and look at the way things were done previously.’
Deputy Jones said there had been slippage in getting the investigation under way, with matters such as the ‘Fallagate’ hospital clinical block issue and Government Business Plan taking up a huge amount of time.
‘It’s not a good state of affairs. We need to get this review under way.’
There had been concerns about the cost, but Deputy Jones said: ‘We have to look at what it might cost the people of this island if we don’t carry out this review.’
Deputy Sam Maindonald has attended a meeting with Deputy Torode and Deputy Chief Minister Stuart Falla at which the second option - the one-man review - was being explored.
‘I was disappointed to hear that nobody on Education or the majority of the Policy Council seemed to know that there were two people lined up to do the review,’ she said.
‘I question how that could be the best way to try to resolve this issue.’
Deputies Torode and Falla had also not spoken to Deputy Pritchard to say who these people were, said Deputy Maindonald.
‘There’s been no indication of costs and no agreement on the terms of reference. All that should be made known so that everybody is fully informed about what should happen.’
Education minister Martin Ozanne said the department had never stood in the way of a review, but because of his position he had stood to one side when it was being considered.
Article posted on 1st August, 2007 - 12.00am
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