Day 123 – More Government Cuts

Taken from the Guardian on Saturday 29th August.

The government is preparing to cut spending on its flagship academy programme, with schools’ sponsors told to expect a reduction in funding for each new academy school as soon as next year.

Academy leaders have been told to brace themselves for tighter spending from 2010 in the first admission that the government is preparing to reduce its spending in some areas of education.

Every day we hear more stories about future cuts in government spending on schools. It is inconceivable that Building Schools for the Future funding will be left untouched by the financial chaos the country is now in.

What is more worrying for Bedford Borough though, is that the BSF money only covers the 7 upper schools & Lincroft 11-16. The transformation of the 50 or so lower schools to primary schools are being funded out of thin air, in a feat of prestidigitation…

…or rather from the schools’ own budgets, as revealed by Cllr Headley during the summer holidays…more on this tomorrow…

Day 120 – As Time Goes By

A long time ago (in prehistoric days so our children tell us), SMS was told at school that a fair comparison involved apples on both sides of an equation, rather than apples and pears, or apples and avocados (both of which were employed by the non-consultation document).

However, there is another issue (for which I’ll struggle to find a fruity analogy sadly – any suggestions very welcome via a comment). The problem is of grade inflation over the years.

Without wishing to denigrate the efforts of all those hardworking GCSE candidates out there (especially ones sometime known by initials only and you know who you are) grades mean different things in different years.

Generally, Government pressure means that every year more candidates get higher grades than before, as was evidenced yesterday.

Add to this that the Government changes how it assesses “success” at GCSE every so often, and it becomes very difficult to decide whether the current crop of pupils have done brilliantly and better than previous generations, or whether the exams or marking schemes just got easier. And every August, journalists take one side or another – Boris Johnson wrote a very clever piece on this last Sunday.

Educational statisticians know that it is nigh on impossible to compare different cohorts of pupils – yet this is what our local bureaucrats have tried to do with their comparisons of KS1 and KS4 statistics – and make very strong conclusions that three-tier is to blame.

What nonsense. They must think the voting public is stupid. Well soon we will find out what voters really think.

Day 119 – Farewell Frank

Today is Frank Branston’s funeral and memorial service.

In the past week, this blog has been deliberately quieter than usual out of respect for Frank’s family and friends, many of whom are in opposition to SMS on the school structures issue.

Today we ask you to think of Frank and to celebrate all the good things he did for Bedford during his lifetime.

Day 116 – Underdogs

Everyone loves an underdog.

Maybe it started with the puny David lining up against the seemingly invincible Goliath? A bloodbath seemed the only logical conclusion, until David revealed his superior weaponry, but I’m sure all the cheers were for David right from the start.

It must be part of human nature, to support the plucky loser, the spirited campaign which must be doomed to failure. Except when it doesn’t fail. Like when Burnley beat Manchester United or England regain the Ashes (hurrah!).

When SMS began (over that now infamous glass or two of wine) both of us felt that we would lose but that we were going to fight anyway, backs to the walls, until the proverbial larger lady had voiced her last note. How could we compete with the might of Bedford’s bureaucracy, the political will of important local politicians, with the manipulation of public opinion that was taking place?

A lot of words have been written on this blog since then, thirty thousand hits have been recorded, with nine thousand signatures on our paper petition and 1100 on our online petition. We have been out on the streets judging public opinion, talked to parents in all parts of Bedford Borough, established communications with the media, engaged with local politicians, and fought for the right to be heard.

We have won a lot of battles; we may still lose the war. But we all still have the stomach for a fight, and that is what we shall continue to do.

Day 113 – TINA

In the days of swingeing Conservative cuts to public services after Labour had wrecked the public finances….and no, we’re talking the past not the future here…back in the 80s. You know the sort of country we lived in, with rising unemployment, the threat of terrorism, England losing at cricket…oh well, plus ca change…

In those days, there was an acronym Margaret Thatcher used with seemingly alarming regularity – TINA – There Is No Alternative (it referred to the neoliberalist economic policies of free markets, free trade and capitalist globalisation, apparently, but thank goodness this blog doesn’t have to debate neoliberalism).

SMS has heard that phrase (TINA, not neoliberalism!) behind many of the public pronouncements of the bureaucrats and manipulators who still believe in the dogma of two-tier. It is actually a shrill and desperate form of intellectual argument, indicating that these people have run out of ideas and this must be the only way forward.

Rubbish.

To persuade yourselves that you are right and the overwhelming majority of people in Bedford are wrong is a sign that power has changed you; that you have descended from the young, fresh-thinking visionary, to the world-weary cynic.

It happens to all leaders eventually of whichever political hue and is certainly true in the business world or indeed any other organisation as well. That is why power corrupts and leaders inevitably fall either on their own swords or by the hand of others.

There is an alternative in Bedford. The alternative is to enhance and develop the much-loved three-tier education system, to build new schools where they are needed and to refurbish existing schools with facilities fit for the next 50 years. This is both educationally sound and financially prudent. That is why SMS calls for:

Evolution not Revolution

Day 112 – The Future

Yesterday it was announced that Frank Branston will have a family funeral next Thursday (August 27th) followed by a memorial service at 4:30 at Bedford Corn Exchange.

SMS understands that the date for the election of a new Mayor will not be announced until after the funeral and that it is likely that this will be somewhere between mid-October and early November.

The School Organisation Review has been suspended until the new Mayor has been elected, although the bureaucrats will continue to work on the report…presumably they will be preparing two versions now…

Now is not the time to discuss the implications of all of this, so we would ask contributors not to post comments about the future election. Any such comments will be removed (and would be the first time that we have had to remove unsuitable material).

Day 111 – Nelson and the Ashes of Bedford School Sport

In England, the score 111 is called a “Nelson” (aye aye eye I think it comes from) and is regarded as unlucky for a batsman. One umpire (David Shepherd?) even used to dance a jig at square leg when a batsman or team was on that particular figure in a superstitious attempt to induce good luck. The Aussies have the same issue with 87 (13 short of a century).

All England can hope for in the next few days is that Australian batsmen get stuck on lower scores than 87 or 111…13 would do it for me…or preferably a duck…eleven of them…

Unfortunately we are likely to see the Ashes of England cricket once more returned to their current home…

Of course, should the decision be made to go two-tier, Years 5 and 6 will not experience as much sport (including cricket) within school. Primary schools have an impoverished curriculum compared to middle schools in this respect…something to do with a lack of specialist teaching and fewer male teachers perchance?

This doesn’t show up in test results because you can’t measure it easily- which also explains why parents understand what is important more than bureaucrats in air-conditioned offices reading the latest gradgrind production figures from schools.

The Ashes of Bedford School Sport ? Very possibly I’m afraid…

Day 110 – Polls and Votes

When is a vote not a vote? When you lose it, that’s when…

Martin Fletcher’s Hastingsbury poll was taken down yesterday and, whilst SMS has ridiculed this in the past for very good reasons (it allowed multiple voting from the same computer), it did show 71.1% of votes in favour of retaining three-tier education, a figure broadly in line with our experiences of campaigning on the streets of Bedford on this issue.

SMS wonders whether the public “vote” during the recent consultation process was for three-tier? It always has been in every authority that has ever conducted this type of review and was strongly in favour of retention in 2006. Considering the strength of feeling SMS has encountered, the vote would lack authenticity and not have the “ring of truth” about it should it be in favour of two-tier.

This is why, should the “vote” be in the other direction, SMS will work tirelessly to discover if there has been any unusual or misleading voting patterns in order to sway councillors’ opinions on this.

Interesting things, votes…every one counts…except when you lose…

Day 109 – The Start of the (Political) Football Season

Yesterday, Michael Gove (the Shadow Education Spokesman) had a lot of media coverage as he put forward some of the Conservative Party’s visions for education.

Many in Education must have felt their heart sink – not at the prospect of a change in Government (although for some that may be true) but at education being used as a political football yet again.

Both main parties realise that education is close to many voters’ hearts; that it is (relatively) easy to do something to for a Government, and that nobody will be able to prove whether the reforms have worked or not because (and this is crucial) the Government controls or at least influences strongly the assessment measures.

Here we go again. A new Government would mean wholesale changes in assessment, just at the time that schools are facing a massive expansion of post-16 education as this becomes compulsory and changes in post-14 education come online.

A change in assessment (by awarding different value to different GCSE or A-level subjects) would mean that Bedford would need to re-examine its results relative to the national average – and who knows what will come out of that. Importantly, schools would then need to redesign the focus of their curriculum if they wished to maximise their points scoring under the new system.

Amidst all this change in curriculum and assessment, Bedford Borough are proposing a huge chaotic switch to a different system of schooling, one that actually doesn’t fit the 14-19 curriculum very well ! It does indeed beggar belief that we will waste public resources in this way during a world recession.

Here is a link to Michael Gove’s BBC interview – SMS will leave it to their contributors today to discuss the implications of the detail.

Day 106 (ii) – Frank Branston

Frank Branston, who died today, was a man who served the people of Bedford for many years as an opinion former, journalist, local businessman and entrepreneur, and politician.

Whilst this blog did not agree with Frank’s opinions on the schools debate, and many robust conversations in print were had on this subject, this is the time to remember the positive contribution he made to Bedford.

We should also be mindful that Frank has family and friends who will grieve for him, and that they should be allowed space and time to do just that, although inevitably this will be difficult for them in the coming weeks.

So, raise a glass to celebrate the life of a man who was indeed larger than life, and remember Frank’s good points – for that is something that everyone deserves at the end of their time on this earth.

This blog will also be closed for a day or two as a mark of respect.

Day 106 – The Irony of “Luddites vs Fantasists”

One very interesting aspect of the two-tier lobby’s campaign is their enthusiasm to have SMS portrayed as opposed to change and therefore stuck in the past – Luddites who don’t want these new-fangled ideas brought in – romantics remembering falsely a golden age of education in Bedford.

Of course, intelligent readers of this blog (all of you of course !) will see that as an attempt to discredit the people not the arguments, and indeed, once debate is reduced to this level, then intellectual engagement has been lost.

The Luddites were a group of textile workers who opposed progression during the Industrial Revolution often by destroying mechanised looms. They did this because they believed their jobs and way of life would be under threat.

Schools systems are not the same as mechanisation of industrial processes. Many different systems of education exist around the world and nobody agrees on what is best.

What is generally accepted is that change within a child’s education is disruptive and that the more change and disruption there is, the more likely that child is to have an impoverished education. Stability is critical. So why create chaos for a generation of children by this change then?

Ironically, the two-change lobby believe that the current system is too disruptive, involving two changes of school not one – never mind the alternative view that two well-managed transitions can be better than one harsh move – never mind that there is no evidence that one transition is better than two in terms of narrow results – never mind that no recent upper school Ofsted reports indicate issues with transition.

So, again ironically, SMS would say that those who believe (based on no evidence whatsoever) that two-tier will produce a step-change in education in Bedford Borough, are fantasists, dreamers, believers in future perfect.

But listen to the arguments being put forward, not the positions of the people who say them (especially when they have vested interests), nor when they make personal attacks on others…(which of course just adds to the irony of today’s blog)

Educationally this is wrong; financially this is terrible; oppose the change

Day 105 – Better Late Than Never

An evening edition of the blog today…it was just too nice a day to sit around on a computer…

…and just a simple one today:

How many of those that are proposing a switch to two tier education have children who will be affected by the decision?

How many of those with school aged children (younger than Year 9 now) have them educated privately or in neighbouring counties?

It’s very easy to make decisions that affect other people’s children negatively and your own careers or positions positively…

Day 104 – Teacher Training & Recruitment

This blog has pondered on teacher training and recruitment before and wonders how much weight our councillors will put on this entirely spurious argument.

To clarify and reiterate, a good middle school is a vibrant melting pot of ideas from primary and secondary practice which allows those practitioners to learn from each other and apply the best of both worlds.

Teacher training is often disjointed, with secondary courses concentrating on KS3 and KS4 without much consideration of what goes before (or after in some cases). Primary courses, on the other hand have many skills and competencies to teach and, whilst specialisms exist, they are very much a minority component.

When primary-trained and secondary-trained teachers come together there is a dynamic and creative mix with an age-range of pupils that is ready to learn without a great deal of the emotional baggage that comes later in their school careers.

That is precisely why independent prep schools all over the country are so popular, and why middle years education exists in so many countries in the world, albeit in so many varied forms.

There is also the myth that teachers are more difficult to recruit in Bedford that other places owing to our “antiquated” school system. Well, apart from there being no evidence for this apart from the assertions of the same old tiny band of vocal and influential two-tier supporters, teachers rarely move huge distances geographically unless promotions are in the offing.

Most teachers teach in areas in which they were brought up, or were trained, or where their partners jobs took them. Once they live in an area, they look for an appropriate job. In Bedfordshire, primary specialists therefore make a decision whether to teach early years in a small lower school or try something different at a larger middle school. Secondary specialists essentially choose between educating children or training adolescents for the outside world.

Leadership opportunites abound in middle schools and are suitable for a wider range of candidates than lower or upper schools. Prep school headmasters for instance are often taken from the ranks of “housemasters” from senior independent schools. Middle school heads could quite easily have been heads of KS3 at large secondary schools.

These issues are red herrings which councillors should be aware of before they vote on this issue. The educational arguments just do not add up. Rather like the finances in fact.

Day 103 – Government & Schools

Whilst we are changing school system, and filling our teachers, managers and bureaucrats’ time with all the major planning and execution necessary…do you think tthat central government will stop issuing education edicts, alterations to the curriculum, circulars, guidance notes…?

Of course they won’t…

They might even ditch the whole National Curriculum…who knows?

And while our teachers are struggling to cope with the demands of change management, what will happen to their focus on the examination groups in Years 10-13? Do you think they might be distracted from their main role?

Yes, so do we. And maybe that is one of the reasons why results have plummeted in Northampton after the change in 2005.

One of the most sensible comments of the whole campaign from a retired governor who said “One of the things that teachers and pupils need is a period of stability”. Then they will have the time to make things work.

Indeed – change can be good – but not when it is this ill-thought through both educationally and financially.

The more we look into this, the more the whole thing is a complete nonsense.

Day 102 – The State of the Nation

Opening up the Sunday newspaper yesterday revealed a tale of doom and gloom.

The Conservatives, should they gain power next May or June) are considering raising VAT to 20% because they can’t identify sufficient cuts in spending to even attempt to balance the country’s books.

The Conservatives. Raising taxes. As an election promise.

Blimey. It is bad isn’t it. The country is in such a woeful financial state, that the unthinkable is happening.

Unfortunately, that is precisely what may happen in the immediate aftermath of a mid-2010 election – the unthinkable. Public spending will be uder immense pressure and already-promised funds will be being cut. Remember, BSF is not guaranteed, but “allocated” from future Government spending plans, should funds be available.

It doesn’t matter what PfS say; it doesn’t matter what the DCSF say. What really matters is if their political bosses decide to make swingeing cuts.

If SMS were gamblers, we’d put money on just that – cuts, cuts, cuts. And then, our school system change will start to look distinctly dodgy; yesterday’s plan; going off; a bit whiffy.

This is an impending disaster that we only hope that councillors can foresee – otherwise they will be responsible for financial chaos in Bedford Borough after their first major decision as a Unitary Authority.</em

Day 101 – Wasting Public Money

A sunny day in Bedford yesterday as SMS collected more signatures in the sun. There were many others out there too – including the Borough’s official Bedford Bypass petition, which some of us signed.

The Borough had obviously spent a lot of money on their stand and associated literature and were paying the staff manning it overtime. A bit like SMS then…lol.

It was interesting that there were quite a few opponents to the Borough’s bypass who were quite vocal about issue such as environmentalism, building roads through green fields, discouraging car use etc.

However, the Borough still uses public money to fund a petition…

Not sure we agree with public money being used in this way, although personally we might agree with the cause and be prepared to sign…

Sounds a bit like spending £60K plus officials’ time (which is very expensive and likely to be at least as much again) on the flawed non-consultation exercise…which may end up with the imposition of a system change that the majority certainly doesn’t want.

What a waste of public money

Day 100: Finance: A Summary

Today, for reference, SMS links to the main Financial arguments we have used so far, in reverse order…starting from the most recent…

The State of the Nation

The Reply from PfS

A Financial Scandal Unfolding

A Financial Conundrum

BSF & PfS

Councillors’ Financial Responsibilities

Council Tax Set To Soar

Wasting Public Money

The Money Game

The Pot of Gold

The Real Cost of BSF

Readiness to Deliver

You Have Won the Lottery

2+2=5

BSF Funding – Is it a Fantasy?

Money, Money, Money

Day 99 – The Reply from PfS

Day 89 of this blog detailed a letter sent by SMS to Partnership for Schools (PfS) – the quango that doles out the ever-diminishing Pot of Gold that is BSF money. The full reply is given below but is summarised here:

As of today, Bedford Borough, according to PfS, has funding which is simply “earmarked”.

Also, and very worryingly for everyone who is relying on the BSF funding for secondary schools…as PfS say…

“It remains possible, however, for Government to change policy at any point. In other words, no absolute assurance can ever be given on whether a programme will commence to its ultimate end.”

Quite.

And who believes this money will be available in full after the next election?

————————————————————————-

Sent: Wednesday, July 29, 2009 4:16 PM
Subject: Re: BSF bid for Bedford Borough

Thank you for your email. We will respond to your two questions separately:

1. Would you kindly advise me how this unequivical commitment will actually express itself – e.g. a simple letter from PfS restating this or perhaps a legally binding contract that ensures the funds will not disappear after the expected change of Government next May/June or something else.

Partnerships for Schools operates a detailed process for evaluating and approving (once all criteria have been met) each local authority’s (LA) BSF proposals. The first formal stage, following entry to the programme, is to produce a Strategy for Change that sets out the LA’s education vision and estates strategy for all the secondary schools in its area.

An Outline Business Case (OBC) is subsequently produced, reviewed and approved once all issues have been met. At this point an approval letter is issued to the LA, which sets out a commitment in principle to fund the project, subject to submission of a Final Business Case (FBC) at the conclusion of the procurement process to find the delivery partner (the Local Education Partnership) that will deliver the original BSF vision and strategy.

Approval of the FBC, and the subsequent issue of a Promissory Note, is the final step in releasing funding to the LA for its BSF programme, but the approval of an OBC is representative of an approval to go out to procure and is taken as the formal approval for the LA’s proposals, subject to confirmation in the FBC that nothing material has changed, and if it has that there is sufficient justification for this.

Funding is, however, committed in principle for the group of schools specified as having entered the BSF programme after a Remit meeting (this is the stage Bedford Borough is currently at), but not finally confirmed until the steps outlined above have been achieved. This describes the process as it exists at present, and there is no indication that it will change before or after a general election, but obviously Partnerships for Schools, as a delivery agency, does not have any remit over policy decision, current or future.

2. I understand you operate a 6 stage process with each LEA – pre-engagement, strategy for change,outline business case, procurement, financial close,operational lep. Would Bedford Borough need to be past a certain stage in this process to ensure that funds were not cut part way through the building programme?

As set out above, this is usually assumed to be at OBC (the end of the ‘preparatory work’ the Mayor referred to above). It remains possible, however, for Government to change policy at any point. In other words, no absolute assurance can ever be given on whether a programme will commence to its ultimate end, but that is irrespective of the current political context and timetable for future elections.

I hope this information helps.

It certainly does, it certainly does…

Day 98 – A Financial Scandal Unfolding

SMS has always recognised that the proposed lower-primary change is woefully underfunded. Our position has always been that this has not been properly costed, that estimates by others with knowledge of educational buildings projects are getting on for double the highest estimate from the Borough, and that council taxes will have to rise or services will be cut.

Today in the Times & Citizen, Michael Headley reveals that the source of any borrowing to fund the lower-primary change will not be the overall council budget.

Phew. That’s alright then. No rise in council tax and no services cut.

Ah…not quite. The money has to come from somewhere. And that somewhere is the Dedicated Schools Grant, which is the money allocated to pay for everything that schools provide – teachers, support staff, resources – you know, the things that make a school run properly.

Anyway, this brilliant plan means that if the Borough’s estimate of £30M borrowing is correct, then this equates to a 2% cut in funding for the overall budget. Potentially for 25 years. If they’ve got their sums right.

And if they haven’t got their sums right, then schools will lose even more money potentially…because the financial principle has now been established.

Every lower school should look at this and decide how they are going to save this money, because if they can’t, then why are any of them supporting this damaging proposal?

Day 97 – Standards

Yesterday the educational news story of the day was a drop in standards at KS2. Apparently, the results dropped by about 1% since last year.

Let’s all panic then. The teachers have got worse at teaching. The pupils are less clever than last year. The sun is going to fall out of the sky.

Or maybe the tests were just different. The marking more rigorous, or just standardised differently.

The analysis of educational results is not simple and there isn’t a consensus amongst educational statisticians, apart from that it keeps them in careers.

So when the consultation document produced a page of statistics purporting to show it was ‘obvious’ that standards were worse than other ‘comparable’ areas, we should all be deeply sceptical.

And when the consultation document indicates that it is obvious that our schools structure is responsible for this, be highly suspicious.

Beware simple solutions to complex problems.

The reality is that all schools have unique problems which can be tackled mainly by the provision of resources and leadership. Creative solutions exist for nearly all educational problems but this requires transformational leadership and resources targeted at real need. Our educational bureaucrats obviously do not possess this.

Day 96 – Educational Underspend in Bedford

In Bedfordshire during 2008-9 we spent £3,961 per pupil on education; the national average is £187 (sorry £197) per pupil higher and we are £79 per pupil behind our statistical neighbours.

It is self-evident that the more money is available per pupil, then the higher the quality of educational provision is possible, as long as of course this money was given direct to schools rather than spent on bureaucracy.

To put this in context, in a school of 400 pupils (a nice human-sized middle school for example), this would provide about £80K extra. This might be 2 teachers’ worth. Meaning that other teachers could be freed to concentrate on liaison with lower and upper schools – that troublesome transition that Ofsted hasn’t seemed to have identified in any reports…or it could provide extra Learning Support Assistants, or help provide extra subject specialists, or funding for visits, or books, or computers, or…

Oh well, perhaps the nanny-state knows best after all. Maybe schools don’t need that money. Maybe it would be wasted on schools.

Maybe we need to ask local government why we are underspending on our children?

POSTSCRIPT: In 2009-10 in Bedford Borough, the underspend was £220 per pupil – even greater – and that is another £8K for that average middle school. Astonishing.

Day 95 – A Financial Conundrum

First of all, everyone associated with this campaign wishes Frank Branston a speedy recovery from his two operations after an aortic aneurysm.

We met on Wednesday afternoon in his office to “clear the air” and he appeared in good form. Nobody knows when ill-health will strike and perhaps we should all be thankful for this above all else.

Today’s blog is extracted from Frank’s blog of July 12th when the decision-making process was discussed. One of his respondents (“A Governor”, who does post here occasionally as well in a balanced way) discussed in some detail the difference between the upper-secondary funding plan versus the lower-primary funding, from their experience of a schools building project.

The estimate of the lower-primary switch that “A Governor” comes up with is nearly double the highest figure the education officials have come up with…

To put this in context, Frank had mentioned that the BSF money had already been allocated.

From “A Governor”
We could debate the positive feeling the word “allocated” creates, but whether one’s preference is for significant change or incremental change, it is actually the funding of the move from lower to primary that is the biggest financial concern with the proposal.

As you say, £340m spread between 8 secondary schools is a well funded programme. However, the other piece of this jigsaw is the maybe £45m that needs to fund turning 50-odd lower schools into primaries.

I will reiterate that, because of its huge significance – £340m spread across 8 secondary schools and £45m spread across 50 primary schools.

By definition, move two year groups from middle schools to uppers (secondaries) and retaining two year groups from middles to lowers (primaries) means that broadly the same number of additional children will need to be accommodated at both ends of this transition. Most people would accept that secondaries are more expensive because of their requirement for specialist facilities and so would expect a larger proportion of funding to go to secondaries – but, hey, come on there is a massive disparity in the Borough’s assumptions. I will say again, £340m between 8 schools and just £45m between 50 schools – the numbers are just not comparable.

Looking at this objectively we have figures produced for the new Biddenham loop schools where Mike Berrill has needed to propose two solutions; 3-tier and 2-tier and the difference between a 3-tier lower and a 2-tier primary is £2.7m. This £2.7m difference between lower and primary is for 2-form entry.

My school is in the slightly unusual position that we have architectural drawings for how we would accommodate a change to 2-tier primary. We have 1/2-form entry and the build cost of the change is around 800k.

Comparing Mike Berrill’s figure with our figure demonstrates quite a good correlation between the costs of moving from 3-tier lower to 2-tier primary at around £1.4m per 1-form entry.

In the consultation document we end up with (roughly) 75-form entry across the Borough or around £100-110m to transform all lowers to primaries.

All of the above assumes full permanent accommodation for children as I understand is the plan. The above also doesn’t take into account any overhead incurred by working through a LEP (the NAO’s view seems to be that there is overhead, rather than savings in the experience todate).

As I stated at the beginning, we could debate a preference for incremental rather than massive change but the numbers are deeply worrying whatever your view.

Day 94 – A Day Off

Everyone deserves a day off, and so does your blog writer – so SMS have blogged off for the day. Back tomorrow…