From Deputy James Reed, Minister for Education Sport and Culture.
I FEEL obliged to point out a number of misleading statements in John Henwood’s letter (JEP, 23 June).

My department has indeed been in touch with Mr Henwood regarding staffing levels in the recent past. Contrary to what he suggests, I can confirm that we supplied him with detailed information.

This included a breakdown of teaching and non-teaching staff posts and a rationale for the staffing levels. Separately, I have provided detailed answers to written questions on the subject, identifying staffing levels across the whole department.

To claim, as he has, that the department ‘failed to reveal’ certain information is unhelpful and simply incorrect.

Teachers are, of course, fundamental to our frontline education services. But in a modern system the ‘support staff he cites also have absolutely essential roles to play. If he is in any doubt, he should ask the Island if it would be prepared for its children to forego, for example, special needs teaching assistants, youth workers, careers advisers, librarians, educational psychologists, school secretaries, caretakers and a range of other non-teaching specialists working across sport.

Notwithstanding this, I can assure Mr Henwood that my cost-cutting pencil is sharp. I refute the idea that ESC is generously staffed. All areas are constantly reviewed and have been under intense scrutiny as part of the comprehensive spending review. This will be ongoing.

As recently as April 2010, the management structure across ESC was independently reviewed and the facts contradict the claims made by Mr Henwood.
The report states: ‘In adverse conditions the temptation is to batten down the hatches and wait for better times. There are no signs that ECS is inclined to do so. On the contrary, it has initiated in the past year discussions and changes in anticipation of the growing financial and educational pressures.’

It also cited the Comptroller and Auditor General who said in his report Emerging Issues (2008): ‘In recent years the pressure to achieve efficiency savings, while not reducing the services provided to the Island, has led to a pressure to reduce the number of management and support staff. This has, in some part, been a response to the public pressure to cut the number of bureaucrats. While avoiding unnecessary management positions is laudable, it may produce management teams that do not have the resources necessary to cope with major changes to the structure and scope of the services.

‘The department for Education, Sport and Culture provides an example of this. Partly for reasons of economy and partly for reasons of good educational practice, the department has delegated many management functions (including many financial management functions) to those responsible for its schools and colleges. The central Senior Management Team is small, consisting of the director, a small number of assistant directors and a limited support staff.’

The department has changed considerably over the years and the landscape of education has also changed. The Education department has merged with Sport, Leisure and Recreation, pupil numbers have risen considerably and the public expectations of a modern education service are much higher.

As Minister for Education, Sport and Culture I have a duty to achieve the best value possible from the funds allocated to my department. The proposal to reduce grants to fee-paying schools was one of many challenging savings I was required to make in order to deliver the target set by the Council of Ministers of £11.2 million. With 86% of my budget spent on education, it was inevitable that this area of the service would be affected. I refute Mr Henwood’s suggestion that the agreed solution arrived at with all fee-paying schools is ‘a cop out’ and ‘a painless way of delivering savings’.

A full list of the proposed savings has been published for some considerable time and within the department’s own savings a sum of £750,000 is to be achieved through staff reductions, of which over half has already been delivered.

Overstaffing is an easy accusation to level at any States department but all too often it is unsubstantiated and has no apparent basis in fact. If Mr Henwood can provide examples of overstaffing anywhere in ESC I would be happy to hear from him. If not, it would appear he is simply adding to an outdated stereotype of the public sector that misrepresents a hardworking and dedicated service committed to meeting the needs of the community.