P&R and ESC working together on new education plans
Revised plans for secondary and further education are being worked up by senior politicians and should be published soon.
In its first major initiative since being elected last month, the new Policy & Resources is aiming to make a joint announcement with Education, Sport & Culture before the end of the month.
Representatives of the two committees are in talks to agree a fresh approach after the States’ decision late last year to reject borrowing to fund a £130m. reorganisation which was focused mainly on a new post-16 campus at Les Ozouets.
‘We absolutely recognise the urgency there is in finding a way forward and giving students, staff, parents and the community some certainty,’ said P&R president Lyndon Trott.
‘We are working now on assessing the viable options and we’ll be engaging with our ESC colleagues in the near future.
‘I’m hopeful we can then, very shortly, provide more information on the next steps.’
It is understood the fresh approach is likely to focus on using reserves, rather than borrowing, to fund one of three options – the full £130m. reorganisation, a less costly redevelopment at Les Ozouets, or a much cheaper maintenance plan to improve the College of Further Education’s current facilities.
If the proposals require a States debate, a policy letter would need to be submitted this week to be debated in late February, or by mid-February for a March debate.
Deputy Trott said on his election to P&R that he would make resolving outstanding education issues one of his priorities. He said he would seek a way to develop new plans that ESC president Deputy Andrea Dudley-Owen and her committee ‘could work with’.
‘I’ve got a pretty good idea I know already what that looks like,’ he said at the time.
‘I think she’s saying “we need to mend the roofs and repair the windows” and then the next States will deal with this from a starting point. If more can be delivered then I will do my best to deliver more, but effectively we’ve got 15 months.’
New members of P&R have since been lobbied by deputies who want more than a medium-term maintenance programme. Some want the full redevelopment of Les Ozouets to go ahead urgently. Others want to see a new Guernsey Institute built there for further education studies, possibly with modifications to reduce capital costs, but the Sixth Form Centre kept at Les Varendes.
One of the latter group, Peter Roffey, said he approached ESC twice just before Christmas to appeal for compromise.
‘We were assured ESC was willing to be flexible. But every suggestion seemed to be met with the response that its plan A was better,’ said Deputy Roffey.
‘Of course, ESC believes in its plan A or it wouldn’t have proposed it in the first place. But I am worried that without the sort of compromise which would knock tens of millions off the price tag nothing is going to be built.
‘That would be letting down our young people very badly. I really urge everyone to seek a sensible compromise solution.’
