Cameron cautioned after leak of notes
THE deputy who shared a document with other States members which revealed that teachers were strongly opposed to new plans for secondary education has been cautioned – the lowest level of sanction – by the deputies’ Code of Conduct panel.
The panel found that Andy Cameron, a member of Education, Sport & Culture, did breach the rules when he forwarded the notes of a meeting between the committee and Grammar School staff to 13 other deputies.
However, it ruled that the breach was ‘minor’, and allegations that he had undermined the public’s confidence in the integrity of the States, and acted without respect and courtesy, were all dismissed.
The panel’s report concluded that Deputy Cameron’s actions were naive and showed his inexperience rather than being malicious.
‘He should have thought through the consequences before sending the email,’ the panel said.
‘However, given that the notes were not marked as confidential, nothing specific had been said to indicate that they were, and that they had already been shared with a large number of people, stakeholders, we regard this as a minor breach of the provisions of the code.’
The document at the heart of the dispute was the notes from a so-called ‘engagement session’ with Grammar staff in April.
It revealed that the staff felt ignored and they believed that ESC’s proposed model would not work.
In particular they thought the model would exacerbate recruitment and retention, lower educational outcomes, degrade pastoral care, reduce curriculum choices, and waste tens of millions pounds.
After Deputy Cameron shared the notes, a third party forwarded them to the Guernsey Press and they were published.
The five other members of ESC – Deputies Andrea Dudley-Owen, Bob Murray, Sue Aldwell, Sam Haskins and non-voting member Advocate Jason Green – lodged the complaint against their colleague.
They asserted he had breached three sections of the Code of Conduct, but the panel ruled that Deputy Cameron had broken only one section which related to confidentiality.
The panel agreed with the complainants that the notes fell within the definition of confidential, although it added that they should have been marked as such ‘so that their status was clear’.
Complaints made on other grounds were dismissed as having no foundation.
‘Numerous people had already seen the notes before Deputy Cameron shared them with the 13 deputies. The public would expect their elected representatives to discuss policy proposals with their colleagues in advance of their being finalised.’
Deputy Cameron has accepted the caution, which means the matter is officially regarded as closed.
‘I was acting in the best interests of the voting public’
