THE Department of Education and Children has said it would be "counterproductive" to raise the cost of hiring education buildings out of hours – despite the fact that they are currently running at a loss of £31,800.
55 government owned buildings are used by educational, youth, sports, music and cultural groups out of hours. This brings in £89,800 per year for the department however the department spends £121,600 in staffing costs.
Minister for the Department of Education and Children (DEC) Eddie Teare MHK said the department must look at new measures to encourage more people to use the buildings and facilities without raising the cost of hire.
Initially, as a large number of the lettings are to DEC run youth projects and Isle of Man College run external classes, the department will train DEC staff who are present at sessions to act as keyholders. This will reduce the pressure on the staff who currently undertake these duties.
Mr Teare said:"We are reviewing ways in which we can manage the costs of renting out our facilities to make them more affordable and encourage wider use. I am also mindful that the advice of the Public Health Directorate is that physical and sporting activities should be encouraged and I would like to work with that medical advice in mind.
"It would be counterproductive to the many users of DEC buildings to raise charges and, under this proposal, we can maximise the use of our buildings and continue to provide accessible, affordable and well-equipped meeting places for youth, educational, sports, music and cultural organisations.
"It is hoped that this proposal will be a template for organisations that are not related to the DEC to have designated keyholders for some of the sports and recreational facilities in our buildings.
"If the experiment is successful then I anticipate it will be rolled out across our lettings leading to a reduction in our costs and helping to manage our expenses more effectively for the benefit of our customers."
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