Education, Sport & Culture will be asked if any savings can be made within the secondary and post-16 education model at next week’s States’ meeting, as concerns grow following the scrapping of the Les Ozouets rebuild agreement between ESC and RG Falla.
Deputy Gavin St. Pier said “more” questions are now pertinent given the decision to terminate the contract with the builders of the new post-16 campus, who were due to commence construction imminently.
He originally submitted questions just hours before the States announced that alternative contractors for the project would need to be identified and that delays are likely.
Deputy St. Pier wants to know if “revenue savings can be delivered” through the Committees’ model of secondary and post-16 education and what the effect could be “in budgetary terms”.
He also is asking for an update on the timetable for the transformations’ completion and the current capital costs for the entire project.
Deputy Andrea Dudley-Owen, President of the Committee for Education, Sport & Culture, will be answer these Rule 11 questions in the States’ Assembly next Wednesday.
I’m light of news just in that the contract for the secondary development has been pulled, these questions (and more) are pertinent…. https://t.co/ne6DWhGBpf pic.twitter.com/EGPsTC5Aar
— Gavin St Pier (@gavinstpier) December 7, 2022
Pictured: Deputy St. Pier shared his questions on social media yesterday.
"With [Policy & Resources] now proposing hikes in taxation, the community quite reasonably expects government to contain public spending where it can,” said Deputy St. Pier.
“At the recent Scrutiny Management Committee hearing, Deputy Bob Murray [the ex-Vice-President of ESC] spoke again about anticipated 'efficiencies' from ESC's secondary education model. It's time to turn that easy talk into numbers and that's what this question is intended to produce.
"Delays in delivery of capital projects often come with additional costs so it's important we know whether the project is on track or not."
The transformation of secondary and post-16 education is currently on course to be the most expensive capital project this political term, with a budget of over £100m.
Deputy Murray was claimed to be one of the main drivers of the Committee’s education model by one of his fellow Committee members before he was elected to the Policy & Resources Committee.
Deputy Dudley-Owen told BBC Radio Guernsey this morning that “there can be no assumptions” relating to cost and delay implications to the post-16 campus.
States drop education campus contractor
Deputies want more information about possible delays to new education model
New education strategy will not be debated by the States
Union awaits "coherent vision" for post-16 project at Les Ozouets
Post-16 campus a “cultural game-changer”
States commits to new education model
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.