Education Minister escapes 'detention' in defeated vote of censure

Wednesday 15 February 2017

Jersey’s Education Minister has escaped being put in official ‘detention’ after a vote of censure brought against him was dismissed by 40 votes against four.

Brought by Deputy Geoff Southern, a former teacher, the motion accused Deputy Rod Bryans of providing misleading information to justify shaving £8,000 off newly qualified teacher (NQT) salaries.

He argued that the Minister had claimed that Jersey NQTs earn £16,000 more on average than their UK counterparts by comparing the highest possible Jersey starting salary (£38,296) with England and Wales’ lowest (£22,244) to calculate the 70% difference.

Pictured: An extract from Deputy Southern's Vote of Censure report.

“I do not bring this motion of censure lightly. I think it represents a practice increasingly going on in this chamber where partial part answers are given, which lead to poor decision-making on behalf of the States,” Deputy Southern commented in his opening speech.

His appeals to “openness” were backed by Deputy Mike Higgins, who drew a comparison with President Trump’s “alternative facts” and Deputy Montfort Tadier, who lamented the, “…general malaise with this assembly and with politics” caused by politicians’, “…opaque answers, which do not address the underlying issues.”

Deputy Bryans clarified his position, stating that he was, “…no longer looking at savings of £8,000 per teacher. “

“After consultation with the unions, we are now proposing a simple change: to start using levels one and two in our pay scales again. This will still mean our new teachers, in future, start on £33,900 not £38,000 - still well above their friends in England. In fact, still above inner London, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Wales, Scotland and the rest of the UK.

“We still value teachers. We are still paying them more. We recognise how important they are, that this measure will make a saving, and enable us to fund more nursery places, more higher education, and more resources in our schools.

“To be clear, we are not dropping NQT pay below the UK level. We are not cutting the pay of any existing teacher.”

Pictured: Deputy Geoff Southern, who lodged the proposition.

Deputy Andrew Lewis supported Deputy Bryans, maintaining that he should be, “…applauded, not censured” for his work in the Education Department.

“Having money spent well, wisely, well-directed…is essential in order to make sure our frontline services are sustained. That is exactly what the Minister is doing. That is what he should be applauded for, not vilified for it.”

Deputy Sam Mézec nonetheless described the proposed cuts, as “…the intentional degredation of what is a noble profession” but was rebuked by Chief Minister Ian Gorst for criticising the cuts, rather than focusing the Vote of Censure at hand.

“This rapidly has become a debate not about the information that the Minister supplied to this assembly. The information was available, and it’s turned into a debate into whether the measure itself was an appropriate measure,” he said.

The vote was subsequently defeated 40-4. Deputies Southern, Higgins, Mézec and Tadier voted in favour, while Senator Sarah Ferguson abstained.

The proposition to censure the Education Minister has been rejected: 4 votes for, 40 votes against and 1 abstention.

— States Assembly (@StatesAssembly) February 14, 2017