Scrutiny president Chris Green said earlier this week that it wanted to see an independent review of Education’s recruitment process following the appointment of Clare Sealy, but it wanted a guarantee of full co-operation and disclosure from ESC and Policy & Resources before committing public money to the inquiry.
Following a letter from Deputy Green, ESC president Matt Fallaize yesterday promised its full co-operation in any inquiry.
But he went on to say that ESC would expect to be able to make representations to Scrutiny ahead of the setting of terms of reference for the inquiry.
‘I am pleased to confirm that, should your committee establish a review or inquiry into the circumstances relating to the above matter, we would fully co-operate and provide information and share our knowledge of the events in a timely and un-redacted way,’ Deputy Fallaize wrote to Deputy Green.
‘In the event that your committee establishes a review or inquiry, my committee trusts that it will be invited to make representations to inform the terms of reference which you will set in due course.’
Deputy Fallaize explained that ESC’s request is to be given the chance to suggest to Scrutiny ‘matters which we hope they will see fit to include in their terms of reference’.
‘It is a question not of limiting, but if anything of expanding, the terms of reference – or at least having an opportunity to make representations to that effect, acknowledging again that the ToR would properly be determined by the body undertaking or commissioning the review.’
This comment was later posted in a tweet by ESC member Deputy Rhian Tooley.
But Deputy Green made it clear that ESC’s request was unacceptable: ‘We will be replying to Deputy Fallaize’s letter in the firmest possible terms,’ he wrote in an email to the Guernsey Press.
‘The final decision on the composition of the terms of reference will be made solely by my committee.
‘This point is non-negotiable.
‘If the commissioning of an independent review is to go ahead, it needs to be on the basis that ESC accept that the final composition of the terms of reference is a matter to be determined by the SMC alone.’
He concluded by saying that Scrutiny would make no further comment in the media until after it had discussed the responses it had received.
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