Teaching hearings cost criticised

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Disciplinary hearings for teachers in Wales are significantly more expensive than similar hearings in England and Scotland

By Colette Hume
BBC Wales education correspondent

A teachers' watchdog has come under fire after it was revealed that it costs an average of £17,400 to hold a disciplinary hearing in Wales.

This makes it more expensive for the General Teaching Council for Wales (GTCW) to discipline a teacher than other parts of the UK.

The National Union of Teachers (NUT) said the figure was "extortionate".

But the GTCW said hearings were important and could determine a teacher's future.

The National Union of Teachers (NUT) criticised the GTCW for holding many hearings in some of Wales' most expensive hotels and refusing to employ its own in-house solicitors.

But the GTCW said they needed to be held in suitable venues with the appropriate legal and professional staff.

Cardiff's Park Hotel, and the city's Holland House are just two of the venues which have been used by the council.

We do believe for these very important decisions people need to be treated in a suitable fashion Mal Davies, GTCW chair

The General Teaching Council for England said the average cost of a case is £9,118, in Scotland the figure is between £5,000 and £13,000. Northern Ireland is in the process of establishing its own watchdog.

The NUT's leader in Wales David Evans said: "Any hearing that's costing between £17,400 and 18,000 for what is invariably a one day hearing is unacceptable.

"We need to look at where these costs are coming from, what is the cost of the legal advisors, the professional advisors who are presenting the case on behalf of the GTCW and whether or not there is a better, cheaper alternative an of course venue hire is a significant cost."

The GTCW has rejected claims that its hearings are too costly and in some cases unnecessary.

Mal Davies, a Cardiff head teacher and chair of the GTCW, says the costs compare favourably with the rest of the UK.

I think the unions would be very concerned if we were treating their members so poorly on such an important occasion - a couple of rooms in county hall just wouldn't do Mal Davies, GTCW chair

"These are important decisions that are being made. It is about the livelihood of a teacher and they need to be done with due care, and of course the decisions that are made are challengeable in the High Court so we need to get them right - and indeed we have got them right."

He also denies claims by the NUT that the hearings could be held in more cost-effective surroundings than city hotels.

"I think the unions would be very concerned if we were treating their members so poorly on such an important occasion - a couple of rooms in county hall just wouldn't do.

"We need to have a room for the hearing, we need for witnesses to be kept separate from the defence witnesses, the other witnesses.

"There's a public gallery, there needs to be rooms for the panel to withdraw to take legal advice and that facility isn't available everywhere. We do believe for these very important decisions people need to be treated in a suitable fashion. "

Since 2001 when the GTCW the number of teachers being disciplined in some way has grown from two in 2003/4 to 12 for the year 2008/9.

External lawyers

Recently the Welsh Assembly Government agreed to increase the registration fee paid to the GTCW - in part to reflect what was described as "the significant increase in the number of disciplinary cases that the council considers".

The GTCW has the power to suspend or even remove teachers from the register - effectively ending their careers.

It says with 38,000 registered teachers in Wales the number of disciplinary hearings is very small - 0.08% are referred to the watchdog.

Local authorities, the police, parents and schools are referring cases to the GTCW which they then investigate before making a decision to go to a full disciplinary hearing.

But the NUT says it could save money by cutting the number of hearings and employing their own in-house legal team - rather than using the services of external lawyers.

Mr Davies said: "The NUT has a different stance about how we get out legal advice, we believe it's the most cost-effective way of doing it, they believe we could employ a solicitor.

'Scrapped'

"It's been confirmed to us that the cost of a solicitor to us - they talking about a very junior solicitor who would not manage the level of seriousness and importance of these cases.

"We believe we are conducting these appropriately in the best interest of the public and we have to keep that in mind."

This attack by one of the country's biggest teaching unions comes after the NASUWT union called for the GTCW to be scrapped and merged with the English watchdog.