Good governance report delayed

Tuesday 09 June 2020

A good governance review of the Education, Sport & Culture Committee has been "interrupted" by the Covid-19 pandemic, answers to a 'Freedom of Information' request have revealed.

Since early last year, an independent reviewer has been looking into governance standards around States committees.

So far reviews have been published for Health & Social Care, Home Affairs and Policy & Resources, with Home's proving especially critical and divisive. 

Pictured: Deputy Neil Inder wanted to know why the governance review into ESC had not been published. 

Education, Sport & Culture was the next committee in line to be reviewed. The committee has repeatedly made the headlines over the last 18 months with allegations that the Committee's President interfered in the recruitment process for a Head of Curriculum and Standards, and challenges to its plans for transforming secondary education. 

In response to an Access to Public Information Request from Deputy Neil Inder, Policy & Resources cited the corona virus pandemic as the reason why that review is yet to surface. 

"The Good Governance Review into the Committee for Education, Sport & Culture is yet to be finalised and this work has been interrupted by the urgent need to respond to the corona virus pandemic in the first part of this year," the Committee responded. 

We are just putting the finishing touches to our review on the Code of practice on access to public information review.

— Christopher Green (@deputycgreen) June 4, 2020

Pictured: The Scrutiny Management Committee received written and verbal evidence earlier this year about the effectiveness of the current Access to Public Information Code of Practice.

"The Committee does intend for this review to be completed and published, as has been the case with the similar reviews carried out into the Committee for Health & Social Care, the Committee for Home Affairs and the Policy & Resources Committee, but it cannot at the stage give a definitive date for when this will be possible as the Covid-19 response continues to take priority."

Pictured top: The Education, Sport & Culture Committee.