The Education Minister has again defended her department’s refusal to reveal how much taxpayers are paying for external reviews of the island’s schools.
During Keys today, MHK Lawrie Hooper suggested the contract is likely worth between £150,000 and £250,000 a year based on figures published by the UK government.
Minister Daphne Caine argued that disclosing the figure could harm future tender processes.
“The department firmly believes that the cost of the current contract is commercially sensitive information and its release is not in the public interest,” she said.
“Disclosure would likely prejudice the economy and commercial interests, including the department’s ability to obtain the best financial outcomes from a tender process.”
‘Nonsense’
Mr Hooper, however, dismissed the reasoning as “a load of nonsense,” pointing out that the UK government publishes similar contract details for the same provider.
“If I can do that calculation, so can their competitors, so can anybody in this room who’s capable of using a computer,” he said.
Does the Minister think that, in light of this information being routinely made available by the UK, the arguments for commercial confidentiality are somewhat spurious?”
Lawrie Hooper
Mrs Caine responded by emphasising the live nature of the contract. “It’s not about the current cost, but the implications it would have on any future tendering process,” she said.
“If the cost is released, this would provide an indication to all businesses who tender for similar projects in future, and would therefore likely impact the department’s ability to obtain the best value for money.”
Jason Moorhouse questioned whether the department had consulted the contractor about releasing the data.
Mrs Caine confirmed the company had been approached following an FOI request and preferred the figure remain confidential.
Procurement
Chris Thomas pressed further, asking if Treasury agreed with the department’s interpretation of procurement standards. Caine said she could not speak for Treasury but defended her officers’ diligence in handling the matter.
Tim Glover was scathing in his criticism, calling the justification “absolute nonsense.”
He challenged Mrs Caine’s offer to share the figure confidentially with the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), asking, “How is that maintaining public confidence?”
Caine replied, “They are the Public Accounts Committee having oversight of government expenditure… It is not in the best interests of the island to have a figure public that then limits the bids, limits the choices, potentially reduces the commercial competitiveness.”
Kate Lord-Brennan suggested a compromise: “Just provide a range, literally anything.” Caine said she would consider it but reiterated her concerns about commercial sensitivity.
Mr Hooper further demanded evidence to support Mrs Caine’s claim that publishing contract prices harms future tenders.
However she responded: “If this is to be the standard practice for the Isle of Man, that every contract’s value is published, then I think that is a change of direction.”
The Minister’s offer to brief the PAC confidentially remains on the table, but for now, the cost of the school reviews stays under wraps.
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