President of Tynwald upholds request not to reveal cost of Etio review

Laurence Skelly agrees it'd be 'contrary to public interest'

The President of Tynwald has agreed that a request to reveal the cost of a review of the Island's schools would be contrary to public interest.

It's after the education minister asked not to answer a written question.

Ramsey MHK, Lawrie Hooper, wanted to know the total cost of the validation undertaken by Etio of the Island's schools and education services.

It's been commissioned to produce three publications between October 2023 and July 2026.

The first was published in April and offered a number of recommendations for improvement in all age groups.

At the time, minister Daphne Caine said the report aimed to look at the education system as a whole, rather than naming any specific schools.

However, Mrs Caine submitted a request to the President of Tynwald not to answer the question from Mr Hooper.

She believes revealing the figure could affect future contract talks or harm staff morale.

And that seems to be something President Laurence Skelly agrees with, as he has upheld Mrs Caine's request.

He says he's satisfied that it would be contrary to public interest for the question to be answered.

Mr Hooper has called the decision 'absolutely unbelievable', and says he'll be asking the president for a full explanation.

You can see the full response here.