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2016.06.14
3.12 Deputy S.Y. Mézec of the Minister for Education regarding proposals to cut his departmental revenue expenditure: [9496]
Will the Minister inform Members whether he has under consideration proposals to cut his departmental revenue expenditure by up to £25 million with the loss of up to 40 posts over the period 2016 to 2019?
Deputy R.G. Bryans of St. Helier (The Minister for Education):
It seems to me that the ground has already been well covered in this discussion this morning and I will not repeat the preamble as asked by Deputy Tadier because it has been said and it is true. It has been extremely well articulated by the Chief Minister, the Minister for Infrastructure and the Minister for Health and Social Services. But the short answer to his question, the answer is no. There are no plans that involve cuts in revenue expenditure of £25 million and there are no confirmed job cuts.
- Deputy S.Y. Mézec :
A supplementary? Could the Minister confirm whether or not his department has in consideration proposals to cut the grants given to Islanders who are studying degrees on-Island?
Deputy R.G. Bryans:
This has already been said before. We have lots of considerations on the table at the moment and we, like every other department, are expected to provide the detail of this when the M.T.F.P. is delivered on 30th June.
Deputy S.Y. Mézec : Was that a yes or a no? The Bailiff :
I think the question was out of order because the question was about posts rather than cuts of grants.
Deputy S.Y. Mézec :
Well no, Sir. The question does very clearly say it is about cuts and expenditure and my question was about a specific cut, whether it is under consideration or not to achieve the cut I have mentioned in my original question.
The Bailiff :
The Minister has answered in any event; you may not like the answer. Deputy Southern .
- Deputy G.P. Southern :
Will the Minister state whether he has under consideration a proposal to reduce newly-qualified teachers' salaries with a saving of around £1 million over this period?
Deputy R.G. Bryans:
Again, the answer is exactly the same, and this has been exhibited by the previous Ministers. We have lots of considerations and we have combined our efficiencies and looked at the Lean strategy that we have employed. We are discussing this and the detail will be given on 30th June when the M.T.F.P. is delivered.
Deputy G.P. Southern :
Has this particular move been under consideration: yes or no? Deputy R.G. Bryans:
I think the Deputy is referring to again the information that was provided to the J.E.P. (Jersey Evening Post), the details of which were incorrect, and I will provide the information in the Medium Term Financial Plan in June.
- Deputy S.Y. Mézec :
I did not get anything close to an adequate answer to my previous one. It is a very simple question. It is: of the measures he is considering to reduce departmental expenditure, is one of them the prospect of reducing the grants to Islanders who are studying degrees or higher education on- Island? That can be answered a simple yes or no. Is it one that is being considered? If it is not, just say so and we can move on to something different.
Deputy R.G. Bryans:
Once again, I have been with the Deputy before where he has produced these yes or no answers. This is not a yes or no question. I have repeated this before. We have lots of considerations, we work very closely with the other departments and at this moment in time all the considerations are on the table until we reach the detail of the M.T.F.P.
Deputy S.Y. Mézec :
So that was a yes then?
The Bailiff :
No, it was not a yes and it was not a no. It was a "wait until the end of June". [Laughter]