To ask the Minister of Education whether he or his officials have given any consideration to the number of compulsory staff redundancies there may be as a result of the new Education Authority.

The Full Business Case (FBC) for the Education Authority did not promise significant reductions in posts in education administration compared to September 2014 staffing levels, as significant reductions had already been made in anticipation of the establishment of ESA. Nevertheless, the new Authority was expected to employ fewer staff in senior and middle management grades than were formerly employed by the five Education and Library Boards. The FBC envisaged a reduction of some 50 posts in these grades over a three-year period. It was anticipated that these remaining reductions would be achieved through voluntary redundancy, retirement and resignation.