March 22, 2023

Thank you, Madam President.
I would like to echo my colleague’s point. I am
very pleased to see this initiative. And also, looking at some of the names of the people involved, I can see
some talented and experienced people will be there to
lend their guidance. As you know, I am a firm believer in how can we stimulate the creative people, the people
who bring that energy to our culture? My hope is that
the Government can create the economic situation, the


Bermuda Senate economic growth and vibrancy here that will then create the market and the audience for these people’s
hard wor k.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to speak on this
[Statement ]?
Senator Tucker.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Sorry , a question [on this Statement].

QUESTION 1: CREATIVE CULTURAL LABS

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
Again, just to add to what my colleagues have
already asked. I would just like to know if there are any
initiatives that are used as a foundation in the schools that would springboard and introduce students to these types of workshops and sort of encourage their way forward?
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Robin Tucker.
Would any other Senator care to ask questions
on this Statement?
Senator Dill, you have the floor.

QUESTION 1: CREATIVE CULTURAL LABS

Certainly. Thank you,
Madam President.
And I would just like to congratulate the Ministry of Culture for this initiative because indeed Bermuda
does have quite an extraordinary amount of talent and
I am excited about the new initiatives that are emerging, not just within the Ministry of Culture but als o within
tourism and I am just excited about what the future
holds for Bermuda and for the arts and entertainment
industry. And I want to thank the Minister for the work
that he is doing in that area.

The President: Thank you, Senator Dill.

[Crosstalk]

The President: Would any other Senator want to ask
questions on this Statement?
Hearing none , then it is over to you, Minister.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
While in the last six months since I have been
in this role, and you have heard me say it before, I have
been very pleased to be introduced to this world of creatives. It was something that you kind of go out in the
community and you see individuals in the arts and that is their passion and you can tell their passion from a
mile away. It was not until I was able to sit down with
some of them and have conversations to understand
the great things that they are doing in the community
and [what] they have to offer the community.
So I would not actually agree with Senator
Smith that there are no opportunities in Bermuda. Everyone, no matter what they are doing, feel that there can be more opportunities and everyone is looking for
additional opportunities. But I would like to just point out
that there have been opportunities that were made
available. It is good to see that on a monthly basis
Chewstick has an “Open Mic.” And everyone in society
in this community would know how instrumental the Chewstick Foundation has been.
They have been through some rough times
over the last couple of years. As we know, the unfortu-nate incident that happened at their Hub many years
ago. And then moving into COVID -19 there were some
difficult times. But it is good to see that they have been
resilient. And all of the creatives who are part of that
foundation have been having open mics.
I know that the Department of Culture hosted
and supported one of these C reatives Lives recently at
the Blue Waters Anglers Club for creatives to come and
showcase their talent. The Department of Culture has
also been instrumental in other Creative Lives. You
would have known that a couple of months ago at the Warwick Workmen’s Club we hosted a live band session. So, t here are opportunities that we are continuing
to see.
This Culture Lab series allow s people to network. It has, as I said in the Statement, afforded people
opportunities. We have already had one participant in
one of the classes be hired by the presenter t o actually
work with them. So, these opportunities are actually
coming directly out of this initiative that we have put on.
Other presenters have been reinvigorated to offer more
extensive series or creative workshops. So, we see that
coming from there wil l be more opportunities.
Also, you know, if you follow social media, that
has become a very, very vibrant place for creatives to
showcase what they are doing, and the opportunities
that us, as the consumer, can go to watch and be a part
of these talents.
I know that the Department of Youth, Sport and
Recreation hosted the Sports Awards and it was very important for us to hire a live band, and so that the creatives . . . and that was a five- piece band, the Tino Martinez Quintet. To showcase their talents as to what they
are doing. And if you follow social media you will see that this particular band (and others) is all up and down
the country. I am finding very creative and unique ways to create opportunities for themselves. So I am happy
that we are able to support that. As the summer comes
and we have a bumper crop of cruise ships that are
coming into the Island this year, you will see that these
creatives will be in demand. And I am confident that
268 22 March 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate coming out of some rough times, the creatives will get
opportunities.
I want to again highlight Ms. Shanna Hollis,
who is the new chair of the Bermuda Arts Council. And
the Art s Council is very instrumental in funding these
creatives , especially in the Arts. I would not agree,
again, like I said, with Senator Smi th that there are no
opportunities. Because in this time we have seen that Bermudians are a resilient people, as is our Heritage
Month theme. And I am very confident that opportunities will continue to come their way now.
I think Senator Smith does have much background in creatives and what has happened and I know
that some of the traditional (what do we call it ) ways of
entertainment may be falling by the wayside a little bit. But this is an opportunity for everyone to kind of retool
and that is why we ar e hosting these Creative Culture
Labs, to assist in shifting the direction of what might
have been traditional entertainment of which Mr. Smith
most definitely . . . sorry, Senator Smith, most definitely
would know about, and moving into a more modern way
of how people actually consume entertainment.
So, I hope that answers the question, Madam
President.
The President: Senator Smith has indicated he has a
second question.

QUESTION 2: CREATIVE CULTURAL LABS
Sen. Ben Smith: Yes, thank you, Madam President.
The Minister did allude to my background,
growing up in a creative household, my father being
Hubert Smith, Sr., who not only was an entertainer and a songwriter, but also was the President of the Bermuda musician’s union. So by growing up in a household understanding what entertainment meant to multi-ple households in Bermuda, and seeing that as time
has gone on and as the Minister has put it, it has modernised, what I would say is it has phased out the opportunities for p eople to make money in the arts.
So the problem is, what I was referring to when
I asked about opportunity, is how are these creatives going to make money that allows them to continue to flourish in the arts?
See, there is a difference between the passion
that happens, right? There are a lot people in Bermuda
who are passionate about their art, but they have to find
a way to actually pay the bills. So, a lot of our artists are
having to completely shift what they are doing, moving away from the part that w as passionate in order to survive. So, yes, it is important that we give them all of the
opportunity and guidance, but if there is not going to be
an economic shift that brings customers to Bermuda for
these creatives, then they have to look elsewhere.
Yes, it is helpful for the Government to provide
showcases and opportunities, but a one- off for them to
be able to showcase their talent is significantly different
from an ongoing ability to make money so that they can survive and continue to put their craft forward. That is
the piece , that is the initiative that needs to happen and
there needs to be some plan of how we are going to
provide those opportunities for our creatives so that
they can choose Bermuda to be the place for them to grow and flourish and not have to get on a plane and
find another place that will give them those opportunities.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Smith.
Senator Robinson, you have a question or
comment? You have the floor.
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
I just have a comment and I think I w ant to also
piggy -back a bit off of what the Minister said. He mentioned an example about Workmen’s Club, a place
where some of the creatives can actually showcase
their talent.
And I want to say that, you know, as much as
Senator Smith speaks about the fact that there appears
to be no opp ortunities, I would say that there are many
opportunities and they just need to be tapped into. And so whether or not it be the Workmen’s Clubs, the sports
clubs, the community clubs, and even the churches,
this is a time now where creatives can go to thes e
places and speak to them about teaming up and partnering with them.
You know, I am thinking that summertime is
coming and most of these clubs, community centres, even churches have spaces available for persons to
come and actually showcase their talents . And I think it
is just a matter of partnering and tapping into what we
actually have, and you actually see that there are
places and there are people who will want to gravitate
to this. So, I do not agree that there are not opportunities. We just have to be creative and tap into them.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Minister, you have other questions to respond
to.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you. I would like
to answer. I would like to say this: In today’s society I
actually have a little bit of close connections to individuals who are currently in the entertainment industry and
I would like to point out PinkSand Entertainment who
have for years been putting on what is called a “Made
in Bermuda” series. And it started many years ago, probably just before COVID -19, where it was on Thursday nights one of the biggest draws of the week. And individuals would go over to White ’s Island and the biggest band in the Island, the Wall Street Band (I will give
them a shout out ) was very happy to be part of that series and be given opportunities. And this was not a small band. I’m talking about a 12- to 15- piece band
that were sold out every single Thursday. The Made in


Bermuda Senate Bermuda series continued last year in multiple locations, which was sponsored by the Department Tourism as well as companies like the Corporation of Hamilton.
So there are opportunities . . . and there is another band . . . and I can si t here and give many examples of creatives who are taking advantage of the opportunities that are given and they are, you know, all
over this Island. There is one particular band and I
know they are playing almost every single night at
many different locat ions. They have pop- ups; they have
regular gigs on Saturdays; they have formal nightly dinners.
So for those who want to do it, we are providing
these workshops, like we said, going back to the Culture Labs that we have been talking about. And there is
value in all forms of art. Not just those who wish to sell
their skills. We want to encourage those who want to
make money from those talents as well. And we think
we are doing that. And the Fairmont Southampton, which is going to be coming on line shortly af ter their
renovations, have made a commitment and I am sure
that One Bermuda Alliance knows this, they have made
a commitment to the advancement of arts and entertainment.
So, I would just like to thank the creatives who
have been part of this Creative Cul ture Labs. I would
like to thank the Department of Culture for doing what they can to help enhance these skills. And I look forward to attending some of these entertaining sessions
and I might even take Senator Smith with me.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President : Yes, okay. No other questions? Or
second questions? Then we will move on.
Thank you, Senators and thank you, Minister
Darrell.
We move on with our agenda.

ORDERS OF THE DAY

The President: The next item is the Orders of the Day
and th e resolution into Committee of the whole [Senate]
for further consideration of the Appropriation Act
[2023], together with the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the financial year 2023/24.
Senator Arianna Hodgson, Junior Minister for
Finance, i t is over to you.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I move that the Senate resolve itself into a Committee of the whole for further
consideration of the Appropriation Act 2023, together with the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the financial year 2023/24.

The President: Thank you, Senator Hodgson. I will call on Senator Kiernan Bell, the Vice
Preside nt to take the Chair of the Committee.
Thank you.

Senate in Committee at 10:25 am

[Sen. Kiernan Bell, Chairman]

COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY

APPROPRIATION ACT 202 3

ESTIMATES OF REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE
FOR THE FINAN CIAL YEAR 2023/24

Good morning.
Senators, we are now in Committee of the
Whole [Senate] for further consideration of the Appropriation Act 202 3, together with the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the financial year 202 3/24.
The Ministry under consideration is Education. The
Heads for debate under this Ministry are Head 16,
found on page B -127; Head 17, found on page B -130;
Head 41, found on page B -147. The number of hours
allotted to these heads is three.
The Senator in charge is Government Leader,
Minister Darrell. The start time is 10:25.
Senator, how do you wish to proceed?
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam Chairman, I
move that the Committee do now take under consider-ation Head 16, Ministry of Education Headquarters; Head 17, Department of Education; and Head 41, the
Bermuda College.

Please proceed.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam
Chairman. I will start with Head 16, Ministry of Educa-tion Headquarters.

HEAD 16 —MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
HEADQUARTERS
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam Chairman, to day
I am plea sed to pr esent the budget for the Ministry of
Educ ation, which comprises the Ministry of Educ ation
Headquarter s, Head 1 6; the Depart ment of Educat ion,
Head 17; and the Ber muda College, Head 41.
Madam Chairman, the 2023/ 24 budg et for the
Ministry of Educat ion is $139,847,000 and can be found
on pa ge B-126 of the E stimates of R evenue and E xpenditure for the year 2023 /24. This repres ents an increase of $4,497 ,000 compared to the original 2022 /23
budg et. The curren t account 2023/24 es timated revenue for t he Ministry of Education is $258,000. The Capital Expenditure esti mates for acqui sitions and dev elopment increased fr om $2,270 ,000 to $6,0 85,000 in
2023/24. The number of full -time equivalents for the
270 22 March 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Ministry increased by 36, from 1,034 to 1,070 employees.
Madam Chairman , I commence the budget debate today by detail ing the ex penditure for the Ministry
of Edu cation Headquar ters, Head 16. The mission of
the Ministry Headquarter s, which is f ound on page B127, is, To prov ide st rategic leaders hip and pol icy direction f or education and lifelong learning. The obj ectives of the Ministry Headquarters have been outlined
accordingly on t he same page .
Madam Chairman , the commitment to education reform and changes and transformations in the
public school system continue to be the main priority.
In November we engaged the Education Reform Unit,
the project management office for the education reform
[initiative ]. The Education Reform Unit is staffed by
public officers reassigned from the Department of Education and other ministries , as well as consultants , and
is fully engaged in determining factors such as curriculum, educational philosophy, student policy, pedagogy ,
and staffing training and development with an overall
aim to moderni se and transition to a socially and academically progressive system to ensure a wholesome ,
accessible and equitable education for all children.
Madam Chairman, the Education Reform Unit, led
by Ms . Lisa DeSilva , a former colleague of mine, who
is an educator with over 25 years of experience, is
housed within the new business unit Education Reform,
26140, budgeted by the Ministry Headquarters and involves 26 working groups consisting of the following:
1. Inclusivity and cultural responsiveness;
2. School choice and admissions;
3. School leadership;
4. System leadership;
5. Professional learning, future workforce and capability building;
6. Learning environments;
7. IT strategy;
8. Transportation;
9. Learning partnerships;
10. Persona lised learning capability;
11. Metrics [and KPIs ];
12. Resourcing and budgeting;
13. Education Authority;
14. Communications and Engagement;
15. School Transformation;
16. Overall curriculum, [pedagogy ] and assessment frameworks;
17. S1, Signature Learning Programme;
18. S2 and S3, Signature Learning Programme development;
19. S1, the [new] Signature Learning Programme
development;
20. Parish Primary school curriculum and [learning] experiences development for P1 and P7;
21. Senior School Math;
22. Senior School Science;
23. [Pedagogy ];
24. Graduation; 25. Certification; and
26. Assessment.
Madam Chairman, this extensive listing of
working groups provides insights about the breadth of
work that is required and which is being undertaken for sustainable education reform. This list also indicates
the extent and type of manpower and focused efforts
that are required to transform our schools and the Bermuda Public School System.
Madam Chairman , in September 2022 the first
two S1 signature learning programmes were fully executed at CedarBridge, offering Trades and Professions
and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math
[STEM ]. The Berkeley Institute offer ed Health and Social Care and Financial and Insurance Services. The
Signature School Transformation Teams are actively
engaged and turning their attention to the next programme which is scheduled to open in September
2024 at Sandy s Secondary Middle School . That means
that the school will provide both a middle school and
signature learning programmes simultaneously in that
year.
Madam Chairman, the Education Reform
Unit’s teams are diligently s upporting the implementation of these programmes as well as developing the S2
and S3 curriculum for the existing signature learning programmes . In addition, they are implementing developmental work for the school transformation teams who
are actively preparing for the transition of Purvis Primary and Francis Patton Primary Schools to parish primary schools for Warwick and Hamilton Parish in June
2023. The Unit is also assisting with the logistics of
transitioning students from Clearwater Middle School
and Heron Bay Primary School , both of which will close
at the end of th is school year.
The Ministry is in the final stages of developing
the Master Plan for the education reform infrastructure and development. Details for t he plan will be released
in the near future. Madam Chairman, education reform
also includes the ongoing work to establish an Education Authority. The legislation for the Authority will be
completed in the 2023 legislative year. The History and
Legacy Commi ttee will also be established to commence the scope of work for historical documentation
of past and present schools throughout the I sland.
Madam Chairman, to broaden our outreach in
the community, we continue to embark upon a commu-nications plan that al lows the Ministry to keep our
stakeholders and the general public informed by virtually utilis ing social media platforms. The Ministry of Education currently hosts
1. Education Matters, a radio programme that airs
every two weeks on Wednesdays on Magic
102.7 FM;
2. Education Connection, a weekly information and discussion talk show that airs on the Gov-ernment and MOED’s Facebook and CITV
YouTube channels;


Bermuda Senate 3. Weekly Radio Morning discussions on three
radio stations —Power 95, HOTT 107.5 and
Vibe 103.
Madam Chairman, these programmes are utilised to feed a broad range of information to the public
at large about the many activities, services and programmes relating to education reform, the Bermuda
Teacher Induction Programme, the Adult and Youth Libraries, the Child Development Programme , the Dame
Marjorie Bean Hope Academy and many other initia-tives.
Madam Chairman , on p age B-127 you will see
that the Ministry of Edu cation Headquarter s has been
allocated a budget of $7 ,236,000 for the 2 023/24 fiscal
year. Within Pro gramme 1601, bu siness unit 26000 ,
General Administration, $815,000 will sup port the operational and adm inistrative functions of t he Ministry. Last
year, this business unit included funds for consultants
for education reform. However, a separate bus iness
unit, 26140, has been established for Education Reform.
Madam Chairman , continuing under Programme 1601, business unit 26140, Education Reform
Unit, $4,412,000 operational expenses for the Educa-tion Reform Unit includes $675,200 for general office
operations and supplies , $815,000 for the continuance
of the Learning First Programme, and approximately
$2.92 million for consultants for media and other professional support services for meetings and events,
and professional technical services req uired for systems and school building infrastructure changes that
form part of the education reform. Of the $2.92 million ,
$898,331 is set aside for the Innovation Unit ’s consultant contract and additional funding for anticipated con-sultancy for the next p hase of the reform process.
Madam Chairman , und er Programme 1601,
business unit 26080, a budget of $630,000 has been
allocated for external grants and the Bermuda College
Promise Merit Award Programme, a minor increa se of
$22,000 over 2022/23. Madam Chairman, in awarding
grants to external agencies, the Ministry will continue to support programmes and services which directly help
students improve their academic, social and behavioural skills to achieve success. Madam Chairman , of
the $630,000, [a sum of] $450, 000 has been set aside
to fund the merit-based College Promise Programme.
These fund s are awarded to public school grad uates
with a GPA of 3 .0 or higher to allow them to attend Bermuda College tuition- free.
Madam Chairman , $1,379,000 ha s been s et
aside in b usiness unit 26090 for the adm inistration of
the Ministry’s ann ual Scholarshi ps and Awards Programme. The Ministry will continue to support students
in their pursuit of tertiary -level education. The reduction
of $36,000 is directly related to a one- time grant of
$17,000 for Guardrailing Teaching Standards , and the
balance was repurposed for travel for the Education Reform purposes . Madam Chairman, last year the Ministry received a total of 452 student application submis-sions. This reflected a decrease of 65 applications
compared to the 517 received last year. The last fiscal year the Ministry of Educ ation distributed 64 awards in
total, tw o Bermuda Gov ernment Sc holarshi ps, two NonTraditional Studen t Awards and 49 Further Edu cation
Awards. The Minister’s A wards c omprise d two Minister’s Ac hievement Scholar ships, one Applied Science
Scholarship, one Exceptional S tuden t Award, one T echnical and Vocational Award and six Ber muda College
Book A wards. Madam Chairman , these awards enable
students to obtain the education they may not have had
access to otherwise.
Madam Chairman , on page B-128 the Subj ective Anal ysis of Current Accoun t Estimates are shown
for the Ministry of Educ ation Headq uarters. Line 1 , Salaries , stands at $618,00 0 and show a minimal decrease of $2, 000 when co mpared with 2022/23. The
travel expenditure line i tem of $48,000 increased by
$24,000, while expenditure for grants and contributions
decreased by $13,000. T he full brea kdown of the
$1,975,000 budg eted for gran ts and con tributions can
be found on page C-18 of the B udget Book.
Madam Chairman, the increase in travel expenditure reflects monies budgeted for the annual UK Education World Forum and overseas meetings that have been skipped over the l ast few years due to
COVID -19 restrictions. The increase of $53,000 for materials and supplies is dire ctly related to operations of
the new Education Reform Unit .
Madam Chairman , $4 million has been budgeted for Pr ofessional Services. This reflects a significant increase of $1,394,000. These additional monies
have been allocated to continue the consultancy work for
education reform.
Madam Chairman, on page B-128 the number
of full-time equivalents (or employees) in the Ministry of
Education Headq uarters remained the same as last
year at s ix full-time employees .
Madam Chairman , finally on page B-129, Performance Measur es for the Ministry Headquarter s are
outline d. The targeted outcomes for last year were either achieved or are in the process of being completed
by the end of March this year. I point out that under
Target Outcomes for 2023/24 it is published that one
additional signature programme would be introduced in
2023 —this is incorrect. The information for Output
Measures was submitted before the decision was made to open the third signature [school] programme
in 2024 instead of 2023.
Madam Chairman , the Ministry Team co mprises the Per manent Secretary, our S enior Policy Analyst, the M inistry Comptroller, the S cholarships and
Awards Pr ogramme Manager, a Relief Policy Analyst,
the Administrative Assistant/Accoun ts Officer, and the
Executive Assistant to the Minister and Permanent
Secretary . Madam Chairman, each team member has
272 22 March 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate contributed to the success of the Ministry’s work programmes , and I extend my sincere thanks to the Ministry
Headquarters team and the Education Reform Unit’s team and working groups for their continued support and
diligence.
Thank you, Madam Chairman . This co ncludes
my presen tation of the budge t for the Ministry of Ed ucation Headqua rters.

[Pause]

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Give me one moment,

Certainly.

HEAD 17 —DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam Chairman, I now
present the budget for Head 17, the Department of Education.
Madam Chairman , it was three years ago on
the 13
th of March 2020 that the Royal Gazette published an article stating that the international organi sation, Innovation Unit , Australia , New Zealand, had been
selected to help rebuild the Bermuda public education system. Madam Chairman , that article also included
the statement, “Innovation Unit had ‘emphasized that
Bermudians are the g uardians of the vision for the Bermuda public school sy stem. ’” Madam Chairman , that
remains true today.
Madam Chairman, three years ago the Minister
of Education underscored that we as Bermudians will
take ownership of transforming our public education
system and that Bermudians will design our transformed ed ucation system via consultation with stakeholder groups so that we can create a system that is
right for Bermuda and not something that has just been
transplanted here from somewhere else. Madam Chairman, the work that has been carried out over the past
three years has remained true to what was stated three
years ago.
Madam Chairman, over the past three years
the Ministry of Education has continued to consult and
engage students, parents, young people, school staff,
school leaders, community and business partners, Department of Education Officers , as well as government
departments. Madam Chairman, they have also committed to progressing with education reform in phases. This allows us to learn from the previous phase as we
continue to reform our public educ ation system. All of
Bermuda can be encouraged by this course of development as we head into the Parish Primary School
phase of reform. The establishment of the Education
Reform Unit, as discussed in the budget brief for Head 16 previously, and the full support from the Commissioner and her team at the Department of Education
have been key to the progress of the education reform
agenda. Madam Chairman, as the Ministry has engaged in the work of education reform, they have remained true to the vision of Education for our students
as outlined on page B -130. [And that is,] All students
are educated to lead personally and professionally,
contribute locally and compete globally.
Madam Chairman, now in our third year of education reform, the Ministry is confident that the work
that is being undertaken by its staff, community members and change partners will enable us to achieve the
department’s objectives outlined on page B -130, as follows:
1. increase academic rigour and student engagement;
2. ensure career, college and workforce readi-ness;
3. enhance the quality of teacher practice and system leadership;
4. improve the infrastructure and instructional re-sources; and
5. ensure system success.
Madam Chairman, page B -133 shows that a
total of $114,872,000 has been allocated to the Department of Education for the fiscal year 2023/24. Madam
Chairman, this is $2,544,000 more than for the 2022/23
fiscal year . The main contributing factor for the increase
is the need to fund education reform activities such as
$1,659,000 for the new Parish Primary Schools at
Francis Patton and Purvis Primary for September 2023
and $86 4,000 to bolster the substitute budget.

Programme 1701, Central Administration
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam Chairman, I begin with the analysis of Central Administration, which
can be found on p age B -131. Madam Chairman , monies budgeted for the upcoming year for business unit 27000, General Administration , will cover the costs for
inventory purchases for educational and office supplies
for the school year. Madam Chairman , there was a minor decrease of $23,000 budgeted in expenditure for the fiscal year 2023/24 due to a reduction in COVID -
19-related expenses.
Madam Chairman, business unit 27001 holds
the budget for the Office of the Commissioner and primarily funds the salaries of the Commissioner of Education and two direct reports, the Director of Academics
and the Director of Educational S tandards and Accountability [ESA] . The Commissioner of Education
and direct reports are responsible for the strategic planning; leading, overseeing, monitoring and auditing staff
work ; and holding staff at the department and schools
accountable for carrying out their duties and responsibilities. Madam Chairman, this year a total of $398,000
represents a significant decrease from last year by $631,000. This decrease represents a reallocation of funding for education reform to the newly reformed unit
and expenditure efficiencies.


Bermuda Senate Madam Chairman, the Executive Leadership
Team (ELT) supports the work of education reform
when necessary. Madam Chairman, last year the ELT
contributed to reform efforts by participating in status update meetings with t he Ministry’s change partners ,
reviewing and providing feedback on design briefs and
documents developed by the school s and system
transformation teams , and providing feedback for
Stage Gate Reviews , participating in system conditions
working groups and supporting school transformation
teams and other working groups. One director was reassigned to serve as the Chair of the Governance
Team while simultaneously serving as a member of the
Learning First Programme from its inception until there
was a restructur ing of the Governance Team and the
Learning First Programme.
Madam Chairman, last school year through the
then Learning First Programme there were two transformation teams in place with numerous working
groups who dedicated their efforts to preparing for the
opening of the first Signature Learning Programmes at the Berkeley Institute and CedarBridge Academy .
Madam Chairman, last year senior officers also
served as members of one of the six System Conditions Transformation Teams working to create the enab ling
conditions for school success and to sustain the outputs of education reform. These teams were as follows:
1. Graduation and Credentialing;
2. Curriculum;
3. Teaching and Learning;
4. Partnerships with industry and the community;
5. Partners as educators; and
6. Profes sional learning.
Madam Chairman, Education Department Officers contributed to the co- development of materials to
support the system- wide adoption of a new [pedagogical] framework , Bermuda's Model for Deep Learning , to
guide and support teaching and learni ng in Signature
Learning Programmes [ SLPs ]. Madam Chairman, officers also assisted with the development of an assessment policy and helped to finali se and implement the
processes for forming and developing effective learning
partnerships for SLPs with b usiness, community and
research organi sations, and with government departments.
Other Education Department Officers worked
with our change partners and Innovation Unit , and selected school leaders and staff to co- create the resources and processes required to recruit, credential
and support teachers to deliver Signature Learning Programmes and to develop a new advisory curriculum, as well as statements and criteria [for inclusivity ]
that guided the work of all teams. Madam Chairman,
officers also contributed to the development of new
graduation requirements for the current S1 students, fi-nalising and implementing a learner profile and developing the rubric and procedures for the learner portfolio, a key element in the new graduation requirements. Madam Chai rman, for the 2022/23 academic
year, five school transformation teams are in place in
addition to numerous other working groups which are
carrying out work to progress, transform and redesign
the Bermuda Public School System [ BPSS ] for Bermuda’s children. There will also be System Condition
Teams in place. Madam Chairman, the five school
transformation teams include teams for the following:
1. The Berkeley Institute;
2. CedarBridge Academy;
3. Francis Patton Primary;
4. Purvis Primary; and
5. The new signature school for Hospitality and Tourism and Educational Services that will
open at the Sandys Secondary Middle School
site in September 2024.
Madam Chairman, in addition there are many
department and school staff serving on over 20 working
groups, and other staff carrying out work in support of
these school transformation teams, systems conditions
teams and working groups. Madam Chairman, the Office of the Commissioner also funds a communications consultant. The department has developed a comprehensive framework for systematic, interactive and authentic communication and engagement, and at the
heart of this framework is the strategic communication
plan underpinned by research and evaluation.
Madam Chairman, school communities will be
invited to support the department’s communication priorities and objectives while developing strategic communication plans for their needs. Madam Chairman,
some elements of the framework are already in place,
and a series of workshops this academic year will build capacity and orientate school leaders and key personnel to the framework before full implementation.
Madam Chairman, the department continues
to maintain three newsletters to keep our stakeholder groups informed:
1. The Scoop;
2. BPS Matters ; and
3. The Link Express .
Madam Chairman, a total of 97 newsletters
were sent out for 2021/22, and newsletter audiences
are given the opportunity to communicate directly with
the Commissioner’s office through mini -surveys and a
link to the BPSS Family Feedback [ Form ]. A fou rth
newsletter is to be added this academic year called
Best Practice , a vehicle for t eacher leaders. Madam
Chairman, the BPSS Family Feedback Form remains open for all stakeholders 24/7, including members of
the general public , to submit questions, comments,
suggestions and complaints. Over the last year there
have been 72 such submissions, considerably down from its inaugural year.
Madam Chairman, the department also developed a social media programme. A new social media
takeover programme has met with considerable success and is now in its second term of implementation.
274 22 March 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Each school has an opportunity to celebrate their students, staff, and programmes or school at least twice a
term on the [district ] Facebook and Instagram pag es.
Madam Chairman, the communications consultant is
also a member of the education reform Communications and Engagement Working Group. This is to ensure that the Department and Education Reform Unit
[ERU ] work is coordinated and aligned with the messaging sent out by the Department of Education to parents and BPSS staff.
Madam Chairman, business unit 27030, Human Resources, has been allocated a total of $715,000
to fund the salaries of technical and administrative staff,
expenses to advertise and recruit staff and monies for
annual long service awards to teachers. There is an in-crease of $215,000 over the fiscal year [2022/23] due
to an increase in the cost of Long Service Awards.
Madam Chairman, 2023/24 funding for business unit 27031, Staff Development , decreased minimally from the previous year’s budget to $672,000.
These funds will be used to fund training and professional learning to enhance the skills and competencies
of our teachers, educational staff, school leaders and
Department of Education st aff.
Madam Chairman, the department’s educators
have engaged in professional learning focused on
changes that have come as a result of education re-form. In June 2022 in preparation for this school year
our pre- , primary and middle schools, Dame [Margorie
Bean Hope] and Success Academy Robert’s Avenue
participated in Professional Learning Activities that afforded them the opportunity to take a deep dive into the
following:
1. High Impact Teaching Strategies ;
2. The BPSS LEGIT Pedagogical Model ;
3. The BPSS LEGIT Lesson Plan;
4. The BPSS LEGIT Action Learning Framework.
Madam Chairman , school principals also engaged staff around these practices throughout the year
on designated site- based professional learning days.
Madam Chairman, coordinated by the Education Reform teams and Innovation Unit, the S chool
Transformation Teams [STT s] for Francis Patton Primary, Purvis Primary and the Signature School for Hos-pitality and Tourism and Educational Services participated in the following [ Professional ] Learning Activities
in June 2022:
1. Design Mindsets;
2. User Research and Introduction to Synthesis;
3. Insight Generation;
4. Case for Change;
5. Vision for Learning;
6. Mapping Existing Practice;
7. Curriculum, [Pedagogy ] and Assessment;
8. Technology;
9. Time and Space;
10. Culture, Relationships and Professional Learning; and
11. Educators of the Future. Madam Chairman, in June 2022, amongst
other activities , senior schools, which were doing the
final preparations for the opening of the [ first] signature
learnin g programmes at The Berkeley Institute and CedarBridge Academy, participated in:
1. pacing guides;
2. layering appropriate assessments; and
3. identifying experiential opportunities across S1.
Madam Chairman, it is also important to note
that the process of school redesign is structured so that
staff who are members of S ystem Transformation
Teams and Working Groups learn, grow and develop
as a result of the professional learning activities and the
work that is being carried out. Madam Chairman, the
learning and dev elopment of capabilities is incorporated into the structure of the school redesign process.
Madam Chairman, there have also been system-wide professional learning activities throughout the
year focused on the Cambridge curriculum, subject -
based professional learning of encore subjects of personali sed professional learning for Student Services
staff. Madam Chairman, a workshop was also held in
October 2021 with Dr. Yeap Ban Har , one of the world ’s
leading experts in professional development for teach-ers in Singapore Mathematics , and again in October
2022. Madam Chairman, a Math Teacher Certification
Programme was also launched this school year [ along ]
with a professional learning programme for Teacher
Leaders across our primary and middle schools.
Madam Chairman, substitute teachers also
participate in site- based and system- wide professional
development activities throughout the year, in addition
to participating in an onboarding and orientation session at the start of the school year.
Madam Chairman, business unit 27090, Educational Standards and Accountability , has oversight
for 18 primary schools, four middle schools, two senior
secondary schools and one special school. This team
comprises three assistant directors who supervise
school principals to ensure effective leadership. Educational Standards and Accountability work is essential
for the growth and development of school leaders and
for school improvement .
Madam Chairman, over the past year Educational Standards and Accountability [ESA] assistant directors continued to support school principals.
Madam Chairman, following several iterations
of the blueprint designs, the School Transformation
Teams are progressing toward the implementation
phase of Parish Primary Schools.
During this phase of the school transformation
process, the School Transformation Teams [STTs] will
focus on considerations for the logistical components such as staffing, t raining, equipment and curriculum.
Also included in this phase of the transformation process are Stage Gate Reviews. During the Stage Gate
Reviews, the STTs present the prototypes of their blueprint statements to the Education Reform Governance


Bermuda Senate Committee [to determine what ] ethical, legal, political,
fiscal and regulatory processes need to be taken into
consideration and addressed and also to stress test the
desirability, feasibility and viability of blueprints. Madam
Chairman, the School Transformation Teams are still in
this phase of the transformation process.
Madam Chairman, the 2020/21 budget for
business unit 27095, Attendance, was transferred into business unit 27090 to fund the salaries of four school
attendance officers and a school registration a nd attendance coordinator. Madam Chairman , the funds allocated to this business unit 27090 are $645,000, with
a small increase of $2,000 over last year’s budget.
Madam Chairman, substitute teachers ensure
the continuity of teaching, learning, services and programmes when teachers or other school staff are sick
or on leave. A total of $3,640,000 has been allocated
for business unit 27160, Substitutes. This is an increase by $864,000 to cover the costs for substitutes ,
including the provision of allocated substitutes for all
school levels, substitutes for teachers engaged in the work of education reform and substitutes who are assigned for teacher absences throughout the year.
Madam Chairman, the overall budget for the
Central Administration programme is $6, 743,000 for
the 2023/24 fiscal year, which is $407,000 higher than the previous year’s budget due primarily to the increase
in funding for substitutes.

Programme 1701— Student Services
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam Chairman, Programme 1701, Student Services, facilitates the provision of 13 essential programmes that directly provide
services to meet the diverse needs of our students who
have been identified as having exceptionalities or spe-cial needs. Business unit 27061, Behaviour Manage-ment, funds behaviour therapists for preschools and
primary schools as well as one education officer for be-haviour management. In addition, the funding covers
our two Alternative Education Programmes, which facilitate suitable alternative education environments and
services for students with behavioural challenges. This business unit’s 2023/24 budget is $1,292,000.
Madam Chairman, business unit 27062 funds
the operational costs of Success Academy Robert’s
Avenue. These costs include costs for [bespoke] training and for the rental of equipment such as photocopiers and printers, office and educational supplies.
Madam Chairman, business unit 27063 includes our school psychologists who address student
needs for the areas of academics, behaviour and mental health. Madam Chairman, school psychologists are
engaged in and are a valuable resource for schools in
relation to the MTSS (multi -tiered system of support)
process, a system priority. Madam Chairman , MTSS, is
a multi- tiered system of support. Madam Chairman,
through the MTSS process, a school -based [multi] disciplinary team meets weekly or bi -monthly to discuss the needs of students and to suggest interventions and
resources to address concerns.
Madam Chairman , I am pleased to report that
as of September 2022 the department has a full complement of school psychologists. Madam Chairman, I
am also pleased to report that our school psychologists
have integrated technology into [psychoeducational ]
assessments through the use of Q -Interactive software
which is enabling them to conduct assessments in a
more efficient and cost -effective manner. Madam
Chairman, in the new fiscal year school psychologists
will continue to manage their assessment referrals and
provide consultation to school staff to ensure the delivery of services before and after [ psychoeducational ] assessments. Madam Chairman, the 2023/24 budget for
business unit 27063, School Psychologists, is
$930,000, with a minimal decrease from last year.
Madam Chairman, $304,000 is budgeted for
business unit 27064, Adapted Physical Education. The
Adapted Physical Education (APE) Programme is a developmentally appropriate physical education programme which provides students on IEPs (individual
education plans) with physical education services to
meet their uniq ue needs. Madam Chairman, three specialist male teachers deliver the Adapted PE Pro-gramme for the Bermuda Public School System. These
teachers provide services to students with diverse physical needs by providing the adaptive support necessary to enable students to be included in their respective schools’ regular physical education programmes.
Madam Chairman, this specialist te am also organises the annual Department of Education Adapted Physical Education National Track and Field Invitational. This Invitational includes students from Primary
1 to Senior 4 who have special physical needs and receive adapted physical education ser vices, as well as
former students who have transitioned out of the Ber-muda Public School System and are presently at the
K. Margaret Carter Centre and other facilities. Madam
Chairman, feedback from this event being reinstated in 2021/22 was very positive (so basically it came back)
and we will now revert to holding this event annually
with COVID -19 restrictions now removed.
Madam Chairman, $289,000 is budgeted for
business unit 27065, the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Programme, which employs specialist teachers who provide students with academic instruction. These teachers collaborate with classroom teachers to ensure that
teaching and learning are effective and that students’
needs are met. Madam Chairman, the monies budgeted for this business unit are for salaries, resources
and materials, hearing aids and equipment, professional development and consultant audiology services.
Madam Chairman, teachers of the deaf and hard of hearing are preparing for the expansion of the teaching of sign language at the middle and [senior ] school levels. The teachers are also designating time to collabo276 22 March 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate rate with paraprofessionals, before and after their sessions that are held with students, with the aim of educating administrative staff on the specific needs of persons who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Madam Chairman, the Vision business unit,
27066, has been allocated a budget of $106,000. Students with visual impairments have unique educational
needs. In order to meet their unique needs, students
must have specialised service s, books and materials in
appropriate media, including braille, as well as specialised equipment and technology to ensure equal access
to the core and specialised curricula and to enable
them to function and compete with their peers in school
most effectiv ely and , ultimately , in society.
Madam Chairman, our students maintained a
garden and shared the produce with school staff and
neighbours. In addition, one student completed a job
shadowing programme at the Port Royal Golf Club,
which led to subsequent summer employment at
Ocean View Golf Course.
Madam Chairman, the department’s teacher of
the visually impaired is also assisting with developing
Dame Marjorie Bean Hope Academy's community support programme.
Madam Chairman, the business unit 27071,
Office Support, has been allocated a budget of $641,000. This business unit serves as the secretariat
for the Student Services Section and funds the salaries
of one Assistant Director of Student Services, two administrative assis tants, and four learning support teachers.
Madam Chairman, the Counselling Programme, business unit 27072, is a Comprehensive,
Developmental School Counselling Programme [CDSCP] based on an international model, with four
components: Classroom Guidance/Cor e Curriculum;
Individual Planning; Responsive Services; and System
Support. The Comprehensive, Developmental School
Counselling Programme has an integral part to play in
supporting students’ academic, personal, social, emotional and career success with a f ocus on providing and
supporting a myriad of protective factors for all students
and coordinating services with other school professionals and community service providers.
Madam Chairman, research has supported the
position that transformed school counsel ling programmes are preventive, developmental and inte-grated within the school’s educational mission and led
by school counsellors who utilise their many talents and
skills. Madam Chairman, this business unit funds the
salary of an Education Officer for Co unselling, 16
school counsellors who [service] pre- and primary
school students, nine school counsellors who [ service ]
middle school students and one alternative school counsellor. Madam Chairman, $3,037,000 has been
budgeted for this business unit.
Madam Chairman, business unit 27074, Learning Support, funds three Education Officers for Special
Education and Learning Support, in addition to 37 learning support teachers who provide special education services at the department’s pre-school, primary
and midd le schools; Dame Marjorie Bean Hope Academy; and for our trauma- responsive programmes at our
primary, middle and senior Success Academies. This
funding also includes assessment materials to ensure
the appropriate diagnosis of students with special educatio n needs.
Madam Chairman, professional development
has continued to ensure that the school team process
is in alignment with the response to intervention pro-cess, a component of the multi -tiered system of support
(MTSS) framework. Madam Chairman, learning support teachers have been provided with ongoing profes-sional training on the school team process.
Madam Chairman, ongoing professional development has also continued for our para- educators on
how to support students’ learning, behavioural and personal goals. Under the guidance of the Curriculum and
Assessment Division, education officers completed all
access arrangements and exemption requests for
schools that were required for the administering of the
Cambridge Checkpoint assessments exams. Access
arrangements may include the provision of more time for students to take exams —for example, those who
have dyslexia or ADHD. Madam Chairman, this business unit increased by $23,000 for much- needed learning support services.
Madam Chairman, business unit 27076, Early
Childhood Education, has been allocated $114,000 and reflects the funding for the salary of the Education
Officer for Early Childhood Education.
Madam Chairman, the budget for business unit
27079, Paraprofessionals, increased by $54,000 with a budg et allocation of $7,642,000. This business unit provides for the delivery of paraprofessional and educational therapist assistant services for our students with
diverse learning needs.
Madam Chairman, the business unit 27083,
Autism Spectrum Disorder [or ASD], is allocated
$681,000 to fund salaries for teachers and those
paraprofessionals who serve students with autism
within the ASD programmes at three primary schools,
one middle school and one senior school. Madam
Chairman, current projections indicate t hat we will need
to increase the ASD offerings over the next few years
at the primary level. In the past couple of years we have had students who have participated in blended programmes where they join their peers in identified classes with the intention of transitioning them into the gen-eral education classes with or without support. During
the 2022/23 school year, five students are participating
in such programmes. As our need for additional ASD
classes increases, we need to consider and create additional functional skills classes at the primary level.
Madam Chairman, business unit 27084, Alternative Education, funds Success Academy [ Robert’s
Avenue, ] the alternative support programme for middle


Bermuda Senate and senior -level students. Currently, Success Academy Robert’s Avenue services five students, three senior school students and two middle school students ,
with the goal of assisting them in acquiring replacement behaviours that will lead to reintegration into the main-stream middle school environment, or transition to senior school, or GED preparation or Penn Foster programming. Madam Chairman, short -term respite support for middle school students remains in place. There has also been a recent request for placement of students on out-of-school suspensio ns, to attend Success
Academy. A separate programme inclusive of location
and operational costs is being explored to address
these specific needs.
Madam Chairman, this business unit also
funds students who are in alternative education programmes across t he Island. There are currently eight
students in alternative placements —one male at Impact Mentoring Academy, one male at Christian Lighthouse Academy, and the Learning Centre [TLC] has two females and four male s.
Madam Chairman, the Adult Education schoo l
has just begun the resumption of services. We have
two males slated to attend and another two students
awaiting placement. This will take the alternative place-ment population to 12 students (10 males and 2 females).
Madam Chairman, educational therapist s, educational therapist assistants and other members of the
Multi -Tiered System o f Support School Teams continue
to provide tier 1, tier 2 and tier 3 support for students
who have behavioural challenges. This support is
1. daily tracking schedules;
2. developing individual crisis management plans;
3. implementing behaviour intervention strate-gies; and
4. developing functional behaviour plans and
[anti-]behaviour intervention plans.
Unfortunately, tier 3 behaviours at the primary
level continue to increase.
Madam Chairman, we are pleased that partnerships have been strengthened [with supporting]
agencies such as the Department of Child and Family
Services (DCFS), Child and Adolescent Services
(CAS), Probation Services and the Department of
Health. One example of this is reflected in the monthly
meetings of the High- Risk Intervention Committee,
where mutual clients and their specific unique needs
are discussed and support is actioned. We continue to work with the educational therapists at CAS, which has
helped bridge t he gap with the continuity of services we
provide students.
Madam Chairman, ETs (educational therapists) and ETAs (educational therapist assistants) have
continued to incorporate the FBA (Functional Behav-iour Assessments) to BIP (Behaviour Intervention
Plans) specialist training to produce FBAs and BIPs across all levels. These are created for all tier 3 stu-dents. There are presently 33 students who require tier
3 support. Madam Chairman , for the 2023/24 year, ETs
and ETAs will increase the level of support they provide to classroom teachers and will work to improve the planning and monitoring of student progress.
Madam Chairman, Kickboard was piloted in
eight of our school environments. Kickboard is a total
end-to-end behaviour solution that helps distr icts and
schools drive climate and culture initiatives. This enables educators to input and analy se the full range of
student behaviours and interactions in real -time.
Madam Chairman, the Student Services Section provides an extensive range of educational services for our students with exceptionalities. The total
budget allocation for this business unit for the 2023/24
fiscal year is $20,660,000.

Programme 1703—Finance and Corporate
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam Chairman, continuing on page B -131, Finance and Corporate Services, business unit 27002, funds staff in the Finance
Administration Section with a budget of $762,000. This
team includes a department comptroller, trainee departmental comptroller, financial services manager, a
payments supervisor, a salaries supervisor, a salaries
clerk, three accounts clerks and a messenger. This
section is responsible for providing
1. financial advice to senior management;
2. cost-effective, responsive financial services;
3. procurement and contracting services; and
4. corporate planning solutions to management,
employees and schools.
Under the direction of the department’s c omptroller, the team coordinates the payment of salaries for over 1,000 educat ors and department staff, pays all
suppliers and vendors for goods and services purchased, [and organi ses the collection of ] receivables.
During the past year the c omptroller has contributed to
the efforts of education reform by providing financial reports for the Education Reform Unit Budgeting and Resourcing Working Group.
Madam Chairman, Office Accommodation ,
business unit 27003, has a budget of $1,080,000 that
funds the salary of the office receptionist and covers
the costs for the annual rent, office maintenance, electricity and communication costs for the department’s
physical offices at 44 Church Street. Additional funding of $127,000 has been provided for office spaces for the
IT, Facilities and Student Services Teams to be located
together.
Busine ss unit 27040, Educational Stores, was
allocated a budget of $720,000, which supports the salaries for six staff and other expenditures such as rent,
inventory freight costs, and gas and diesel. The Stores
section provides centrali sed purchasing, inventory
management and distribution services to all public
278 22 March 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate schools, Bermuda College, and other government departments such as the Department of Youth , Sport and
Recreation.
Madam Chairman, business unit 27041,
School Transport ation, is allocated a budget of
$438,000 and funds the salaries of three bus drivers
and a bus attendant to safely transport students who
attend Dame Marjorie Bean Hope Academy and for
students in ASD programmes in other schools. Two
groundsmen who maintain school sports fields and one
labour, transport and safety officer are also funded from this budget. This budget enables transport services for
our most vulnerable population of children.
Madam Chairman , business unit 27042 , Building, Grounds and Equipment, is budge ted at
$1,334,000, a decrease of $139,000. These funds enable the facilities manager to provide planned, preventive and daily maintenance to all public school buildings, grounds and equipment ensuring a healthy, safe
learning environment. This includes the monthly
maintenance of all life safety equipment (fire alarm), elevator inspections, burglar alarm systems, drinking water [fountains ], water tank cleaning and many other services. Additionally, this budget funds manned security
services at all middle schools for the safety of our students and staff.
Madam Chairman, funding for the 2023/24 will
be used for the following :
1. Francis Patton Primary and Purvis Primary to
open in [September ] 2023. Dedicated work has
been carried out for education reform and will
continue to be carried out [ to] advance our education reform agenda [and to achieve the vision] for learning for children.
2. Enhancements in the Education Department
schools’ infrastructure. Removal of asbestos
vinyl flooring, upgraded with environmentally friendly, non- wax, non- skid flooring.
3. Enhancements to the Department of Education’s bell systems. Removal of analogue systems, upgraded to digital systems with battery backup, programmed for school breaks and
automatic changeover as it rela tes to daylight
savings.
4. Enhancements to the Education Department’s
schools’ air conditioning systems. T he installation of ultraviolet lights that kill mould spores,
viruses, bacteria and fungus.
5. Playground upgrades. The installation of two American Disabi lities Act compliant playgrounds, ensuring equal access and benefit for
all students.
6. Fire alarm upgrades. Replacing non- addressable systems with fully addressable systems to
allow the d epartment to monitor and [address ]
emergencies efficiently, with the ability to identify the precise location of any and all alarms.
7. Security camera upgrades. Installation of LED
infrared camera systems that give us the ability to monitor our schools 24/7, day and night. All
events can be stored in case of malicious
events allowing data to be retrieved by law enforcement on request.
Madam Chairman, the budget priorities for this
business unit for 2023/24 include
• ensuring all maintenance tasks for Francis Patton Primary and Purvis Primary are carried out
by the desired timelines;
• ensuring facilities staff continue to train at Bermuda College and supporting all team members with enrolling and participating with supplementing the requirements as it relates to
safety and healthy, environmentally safe cleaning products;
• addres sing all health and safety requests as a
matter of priority; and
• carrying out cleanliness inspections throughout
public schools to have all schools consistently
maintained at a high level of cleanliness
throughout the school year.
Madam Chairman, the final business unit ,
27050, Information Technology , is funded for
$2,603,000. This business unit funds the salaries of an
IT manager, a computer services officer, a management systems officer, and technical and assistant technical officers. Madam Chairman, Department of Education’s IT Section is accountable for defining an d delivering IT strategy and capabilities for the Ministry [ MOE ],
Department of Education [DOE ], and the Bermuda
Public School System [BPSS ].
Madam Chairman, the IT Section is responsible for providing the following IT s ervices:
• design, plan, implement and maintain the computing infrastructure supporting education initi-atives, student learning and instruction, and
business applications;
• metrics for managing IT effectiveness;
• ensuring service levels and operational processes are in place to meet Key Performance
[Indices (KPIs) ];
• maintaining oversight of all IT projects;
• comprehensive enterprise information;
• enterprise- wide disaster;
• enforcing IT policies and procedures; and
• reviewing, recommending, and overseeing all
vendors and managing [ service ] agreements
for telecommunications, IT services and equip-ment.
Madam Chairman, the IT Section achieved the
following in the last fiscal year:
• Chromebooks;
• Enhancements to the telephone system;
• Data Centre Server Environment;
• Wi-Fi enhancements in pre- schools, primary
and middle schools;
• Laptops were configured and distributed to BPSS user communities;


Bermuda Senate • Signature Learning Programme Application
[Project] implementation; and
• Implementation of Enhanced IT security services and IT security awareness training and
implementation of online services.
Madam Chairman, the IT priorities for 2023/24
include [the following] :
• continuing IT support for Education Reform
Unit (ERU), Parish Primary Schools and the
Signature Learning Programmes;
• start up the transformation of IT support personnel from break/fix to providing education
solution support;
• continue distributing Chromebooks to students
and laptops;
• mature IT operations processes;
• mature the use and configuration of Pow-erSchool Ecosystem;
• upgrade of Data Centre core- switching platform;
• upgrade of Remote Access Services with the
implementation of the Enterprise backup solution.
Madam Chairman, in summary , the Finance
and Corporate Section provides key services and support to our public schools and has been allocated
$6,937,000 for the 2023/24 fiscal year.

Programme 1704— Pre-Schools

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam Chairman, I now
turn to page B -132, item line 1704 , which is the programme for our 10 pre- schools. The 2023/24 budget for
all pre-school s is $4,751,000, of which 93 per cent
funds salaries. Seven per cent of the budget is used for
resources, training and development , and operational
costs such as electricity, part -time cleaners, phones,
office equipment rental and drinking water.
Madam Chairman, this cohort of pre-school
students have lived more of their life in the COVID -19
pandemic world with many regulations and restrictions
that would not have been if not for the pandemic. Much
of the focus for pre- schoolers entering this year has
been on social –emotional development and self -regulation now that they are free to play with each other and
engage in group learning. Preschool leaders and
teachers have been working to re- create inquiry learning environments and learning experiences. Preschoolers learn through investigation and exploration
facilitated by studying various topics. Teachers also
balance student -led learning and teacher -facilitated
learning with intentional teaching in Math, Literacy and
Language. Teachers observe student progress and
document that progress across a continuum which is
appropriate for their stage and age of development.

Programme 1705— Primary Schools
Sen. the Hon. O wen Darrell: Madam Chairman, continuing on p age B -132, programme 1705, Primary
Schools , has a budget allocation of $29,692,000 allocated for the operational costs of the department’s 18
primary schools. Madam Chairman, the increase of
$1.5 million over the previous year is due to the anticipated increases in Francis Patton of $918,000 and Purvis Primary s chools of $741,000, both of which will
open in September 2023 as parish primary schools.
Madam Chairman, I would like to thank and
commend the co- leads and members of the School
Transformation Teams for Francis Patton Primary and
Purvis Primary, Department of Education Officers and
Education Reform Unit staff for all of their hard work in
preparing for the opening of these two parish primary
schools in September of this year .

Programme 1706— Special Schools
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam Chairman, continuing on p age B -132, programme 1706, business unit
27120, Dame Marjorie Bean Hope Academy [Dame]
provides dedicated services to students who have severe to profound and multiple challenges , and therefore
special needs. The main focus of the programme at
Dame is to provide students with enriching education
and development support, to increase student independence and to help them achieve their ultimate potential. Madam Chairman, a total of $659,000 has been
allocated for D ame, an increase of $42,000 over the
last fiscal year.

Programme 1707— Middle Schools

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam Chairman, we
now turn to page B -133 for programme 1707, Middle
Schools. T he total 2023/24 budget allocation for the operation of our four middle schools is $14,838,000 with
a minor increase of $140,000.

Programme 1708— Senior Schools
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam Chairman, continuing on page B -133, programme 1708 refers to our
senior secondary schools , the Berkeley Institute and
CedarBridge Academy. Madam Chairman, each senior
school is provided with an annual grant for the operational management of their respective school and the
school curriculum. F or the fiscal year 2023/24, the CedarBridge Academy’s funding increased by $287,000
and the budget for Berkeley Institute remains the same.
Madam Chairman, s tudents at the senior level continue
to benefit from a diverse local and international curricula and programmes which prepare them for post -secondary education, training and careers. Students also
have the opportunity to take advanced- level courses
and participate in dual enrolment programmes at the Bermuda College.
280 22 March 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Madam Chairman , I pause to commend and
applaud the b oards, teachers and staff and School
Transformation Teams of the Berkeley Institute and
CedarBridge Acade my for their commitment and dedicated efforts to ensure the opening of Bermuda’s first
two senior schools with the Signature Learning Programme.
Madam Chairman , the s ignature Learning
Pathways include:
The Berkeley Institute—
• Health and Social Care Signature;
• Financial and Insurance Services.
CedarBridge Academy —
• Animal/Vet Sciences, Computer Science, and
Technologies; and
• Trades and Professions.

Programme 1709—Curriculum Assessment

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam Chairman, staying on page B -133, programme 1709, Curriculum Assessment funds Cambridge International Curriculum, City & Guilds, Penn Foster, System- Wide Reading Assessment, the Career Pathways, Dual Enrolment and all curricular resource deliverables. The Department of
Education pays an annual fee to Cambridge International for the curriculum and for p rimary 6 and m iddle 3
students to sit the annual Checkpoint diagnostic assessment, along with the International General Certificate Secondary Education (IGCSE) examinations required to obtain the Bermuda School Diploma [or BSD].
Madam Chairman, we are now in our 10
th year
of administering Cambridge assessments and examinations. All Cambridge assessments, inclusive of r eading assessments, are funded from business unit 27020,
Assessment & Evaluation. The allocated budget for the
continued and effective delivery of assessment and
evaluation is the sum total of $350,000.
Madam Chairman, curriculum resources, professional development/training for Mathematics interventi ons, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, Foreign Language, the Arts, ICT, and Physical Education
and Health curricular deliverables are funded from
business unit 27520.
Madam Chairman, the Education Officer for
Foreign Languages laid the groundwork f or presenting
foreign languages in p re-schools this year. An online
platform called “ Little Pim ” was selected, and the teaching has started by teachers in three pre-schools: Warwick, Southampton and Lagoon Park. Students will be
exposed to two languages: S panish and Portuguese.
The Foreign Language Officer is also working with the
curriculum team for P1 and P7 for the parish primary
schools. This entails attending the weekly meetings at
both Francis Patton and Purvis Primary Schools and
assisting with feedb ack and suggestions.
Madam Chairman, the Acting Education Officer for the Arts will continue with the STEM and Edu-cational Services Signature Learning Programmes, de-veloping well -articulated fine arts pathways that are culturally relevant, practical and meaningful. A key priority
for the arts will be to continue enhancing teacher practice and system leadership through content -specific
professional learning opportunities, community partnerships and contracted curriculum leader positions for
music and visual arts.
The Acting Education Officer for Information
Computer Technology has delivered and/or organi sed
schools with Schoology Learning Management System
professional development for P1 to senior schoolteachers. Also, the Acting Education Officer is a mem ber of
the Francis Patton Parish Primary School Transformation Team, which meets bi -weekly and works on designing and prototyping the Longtail Academy. This
prototype provides opportunities for teachers and students to experience additional support in Read ing and
Math, and to engage in Art and Sporting activities.
The Education Officer for Math has ensured
that all primary and senior school students have access
to the Method Math site. In September 2022 five primary schools, three middle schools and two senior
schools were given access to MyiMaths , a pilot programme . The rationale behind MyiMaths is that [it] uses
the new Cambridge curriculum and embeds the math
mastery approach in its teaching.
Madam Chairman , the implementation of access to the online platforms Raz -Plus and Vocabulary
A–Z for all p rimary school students in the Bermuda
Public School System [ BPSS ] is an intervention tool in
the middle schools.
Madam Chairman, the Education Officer for
Physical Education [PE] and Health has provided the
following professional development for teachers:
1. Interactive Health System Fitness Assess-ment;
2. The SPARK physical education assessment
app;
3. Two-day cricket workshop for all PE teachers
run in conjunction with the BCB [Bermuda
Cricket Board]. ;
4. Two-day golf workshop for all PE teachers in
conjunction with the Bermuda Golf Association;
5. Adaptive PE Awareness; and
6. Assessment in physical education.
Madam Chairman, the following PE initiatives
are underway in our schools:
• Pilot programme for SPARK PE;
• Pilot programme using heartrate monitors;
• IHT Spirit System (fitness assessment); and
• Digital Curriculum for HealthSmart and SPARK
PE Curriculum.
[The Acting ] Educa tion Officer for Social Studies introduced a project -based learning initiative for two
teacher certification cohorts. This officer also assisted
P2 teachers with meeting the needs of students who


Bermuda Senate transitioned from P1 CCK [ Creative Curriculum for Kindergart en] classrooms using the following activities:
1. Summer research for Primary 2 unit construction;
2. Delivered professional development to relevant P2 teachers; and
3. Organised the Early Years resources.
Madam Chairman, the Education Officer for
Social Studies a lso contributed to education reform efforts by helping to develop the curricula for Signature Learning Programmes.
Madam Chairman, business unit 27524, College & Career Pathway s, has been budgeted with
$434, 000. Madam Chairman, this business unit funds
the Employability Skills Programme, the Nursing C ertification and the Dual Enrolment Programme at Ber-muda College. This cost centre is also funded to cover the cost of the leadership management of two College
and Career Pathways Officers.
Madam Chairman , in 2023/24 we will be supporting Student Services with the alternative education
path for the first Girl’s College and Career Pathways.
The Education Officer for Certification and College and
Career Pathways has reported that the graduation rate
for the 2021/ 22 academic school year was 91 per cent.
Additionally, nine students completed and received the
Penn Foster High School Diploma at the end of the
2021 /22 school year, and nine of twelve students who
enrolled in the Nursing Assistant P rogramme at Bermuda College achieved the Nursing Assistant Certifi-cate. And 93 per cent , or 212 students out of the 299
who registered for the City & Guilds employability skills
course passed the class.

Programme 1712— Early Childhood Education

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam Chairman, on
page B -133, this section includes Early Childhood Education (ECE), Early Childhood Special Education and
Early Childhood Education Quality Assurance. The
main focus is on the continued transformation of early
childhood education through closer alignment with developmentally appropriate practices and inquiry -based
learning.
Madam Chairman, when consider ing the transformation of the learning experience in P1, school redesign has led to one of the schools prototyping class
“hubs .” These hubs support an ethos of joyful learning
(my son would love that) through meeting students where they are in development and learning. This approach to early education reduces stress on the student
and gives teachers permission to think critically and
creatively in regard to planning and facilitating learning.
Personalised learning experiences will result in building strong foundations and minimi sing gaps across the P1
to P3 learning and development. Progress is measured
based on learners meeting objectives based on [ECE
standards ] across the continuum. In this way teachers and schools account for a year’s worth of learning for a
year’s work of schooling.
Madam Chairman, Special Education, in the
form of Early Intervention, has focused on providing
learning support and other services identified through the MTSS process for pre -school and early primary.
The educatio n officer working in this section has been
coaching preschool teacher leaders to fidelity in using SEE- KS (Social Emotional Engagement —Knowledge
and Skills). This teacher -to-teacher coaching model
supports teacher leaders in coaching fellow teachers in meeting individual pre-school er needs using SEE -KS.
Madam Chairman, the outcomes are outstanding, and we are seeing pre- school ers mainstreamed after one term in the Growing Connections class. Pre -
schooler gains are attributed to class size, teacher
training and expertise, and para support.
Madam Chairman, given the transformation in
Early Childhood Education, the department is pleased
to have added a Quality Assurance Officer to first en-sure that Safety and Health certifications are maintained in all pre- school s. Second, to ensure best practices across early childhood education beyond safety
and health, especially as it relates to COVID -19 protocols. Foundational to inquiry education is the learning
environment, often referred to as the third teacher . Preschools have been working to the learning environment
to reflect the inquiry model. Hence, the Quality Assurance Officer has been working with pre- school s to ensure the fidelity of learning environments inclusive of indoor and outdoor learning spaces.
Mada m Chairman, Early Childhood Education
has launched the Basics Learning Network in partnership with the Department of Health. The Early Childhood Policy Paper: A Bright Start for a Brilliant Future
advocates for cross -ministry and agency collaboration
to pr omote community messaging and resources
around what is proven to be essential for young children from birth through age eight and to have a strong
foundation in life. Strong foundations are built through
nurturing relationships and meaningful experiences.
The Basics brings families and the community together to give our children a strong start in life. We are using
the Five Basic Principles. These principles are as follows:
1. Maximise Love, Manage Stress;
2. Talk, Sing and Point;
3. Count, Group and Compare;
4. Explore through Movement and Play; and
5. Read and Discuss Stories.
Madam Chairman, business unit 27175, the
Child Development Programme [ CDP ], currently funds
the salaries of the dedicated CDP staff and programmes. Th is team works diligently to maintain its accreditation status and engages in quarterly perfor-mance quality improvement sessions. Madam Chairman, the Coordinator for the Child Development Pro-gramme has been leading out in work for the Bermuda
282 22 March 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate National Standards Committee [BNSC ] Reaccreditation. The reaccreditation process has been similar to
applying for first -time accreditation.
Madam Chairman, some of the highlights of
the Child Development Programme in 2022/23 have in-cluded cros s-ministry collaboration and community
partnerships. The Nurturing Our Nation campaign, led
by the Ministry for Social Development and Seniors, af-forded the Child Development Programme the opportunity to participate in livestreamed panel discussions,
focus groups and the Parenting Exp o. The Parent ing
Expo allowed parents and carers to meet many of the
programme’s service providers and gain first -hand
knowledge about CDP services. Some parents were
even able to sign up their children for the universal developmental screening.
Madam Chairman , the Child Development Programme responded to the increasing interest of fathers
to access services and support by facilitating the Fathers ’ Focus Group. The curriculum for the six -week series was created by CDP specifically for fathers. The
purpose of the group was for fathers to find mutual support amongst each other whilst gaining knowledge of CDP as well as services offered to support them. The
fathers reflect on their parenting relationship with their
children while considering ways in which to strengthen
these relationships. The series was well attended and
is planned to be repeated.
Madam Chairman, the Child Development Programme anticipates engaging in onboarding new hires
and the establishment of the Early Intervention [EI] Service, formerl y the Portage Programme. The Early Intervention Service is designed for Bermuda’s using a range of early intervention best practices. It will be
staffed by the Early Intervention Supervisor with three
Early Intervention Specialists.
Madam Chairman, I now refer you to page B -
134, the Subjective Analysis of Current Account Estimates for the Department of Education. This page provides an aggregate of the detailed in -line expenditures
previously mentioned. The variances of significance for the categories are as follows:
Salaries increased and wages decreased by
$4,287,000, or 6 per cent , and $1,101,000, 23 per cent,
respectively . So they went up by 6 per cent and then
wages decreased by 23 percent, mainly due to the addition of substitutes and personnel for the signature learning schools of Francis Patton and Purvis .
Other personnel costs increased by $215,000,
or 93 per cent, reflecting the actual expenditure for long
service awards .
Training costs went up by 12 per cent, or 4 per
cent higher, while Transport decreased by $10,000, or
16 per cent, over the prior fiscal year.
Travel costs decreased by $2,000, or 4 per
cent, over the pri or fiscal year. Communication costs decreased by $66,000,
or 9 per cent, in part reflecting the completion of a number of projects linked to Information Technology Support.
Professional services decreased by $943,000,
or 31 per cent, due to a reallocation of funds for Education Reform for the newly reform unit and expenditure
efficiencies.
Rental costs increased by $75,00 0, or 8 per
cent, for office spaces for the IT, Facilities and Student
Services teams to be located together, while repair and
maintenance costs decreased by $164,000 , or 8 per
cent, due to a decrease in COVID -19-related expenses .
Energy costs decreased by $213,000 , or
15 per cent, with the prior fiscal year due to expected
efficiencies at Clearwater Middle School and Heron Bay Primary .
Materials and Supplies expenditure is
$146,000, or 8 per cent higher due to expenditures related to the signature learning fo r Frances Patton and
Purvis Primary.
Grants and Contributions increased by
$336,000, and those funds have been allocated to sup-port the school redesign and system transformation
work for CedarBridge Academy.
Madam Chairman, pages B -135 and B -136,
show there are 1,070 full- time employee posts, an additional 36 posts compared to 2022/23. The majority of
these relate to increases in substitutes and for the signature learning schools of Francis Patton and Purvis
Primary. The department will continue to monitor and
review the number of FTEs ensuring both efficiency and effectiveness in staff resources.
Madam Chairman, pages B -137 and B-140 list
the Performance Measures for the Department of Education. These measures reflect the priority areas which
will be m onitored and for which staff at schools and the
department will be held accountable during the year.
Madam Chairman, I thank the Department of
Education and school staff for all efforts undertaken for education reform and general operations over the past
year and look forward to the achievements and outcomes for education reform over the 2023/24 fiscal
year that will move us closer to our vision for learning for Bermuda’s children.
Madam Chairman, this concludes my presentation on Head 17, the Department of Education. I will now move on to the Budget Estimates for Head 41 .

Thank you, Minister Darrell. I just want
to let you know that you are about half -way through
your allotted three hours. There is about an hour and a half remaining, approximately.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam
Chairman.



Bermuda Senate HEAD 41 —BERMUDA COLLEGE

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam Chairman, the
Bermuda College’s mission is, To provide the commu-nity with innovative programmes, training, support ser-vices and access to partnerships that lead to local and
global success. This d emonstrates its commitment to
the success of its diverse student body by offering
transfer programmes leading to success at the university level; offering professional and technical training
leading to success in the workforce, and preparatory programmes l eading to the success in the classroom.
As the only post -secondary institution on the Island,
Bermuda College also realises its significant role in the economic recovery and growth agenda of the Government and the Island as a whole.
Madam Chairman, as fou nd on page B -147,
the College receives an annual grant from the Ministry
of Education and the allocation for the financial year
2023/24 is $14,653,901 which is the same amount reported in last year’s budget brief. However, it should be noted that the Minis try was able to provide an additional
grant in the amount of $200,000 during the 2022/23 fiscal year to assist the Bermuda College. The Ministry
has also allocated a capital grant of $75,000 of the over $3,000,000 requested by the College for much- needed
capital upgrades to its ageing campus.
Madam Chairman, Dr. Duranda Greene is the
President of the Bermuda College which is governed
by a Board of Governors. The Chair of the Board is Mr.
Jerome Reid. Other members of the Board are:
• Mr. Nasir Wade, Deputy C hair
• Ms. Whitney Butterfield
• Mrs. Cherie Dill
• Mr. Thomas Christopher Famous, JP, MP
• Mr. Frank “Chip” Gillis
• Mrs. Branwyn Smith- King, and
• Mrs. Charmaine Tucker.

Ex-officio Members are:
• The Honourable Randolph Horton (Chairman
of the Honorary Fellow s)
• Ms. Jasmine Smith (Permanent Secretary for
Education)
• Ms. Karmeta Hendrickson (Support Staff representative)
• Miss Daque Davis (Student Representative)
• Ms. Necheeka Trott (Faculty Representative)

Madam Chairman, Bermuda College, is an accredited insti tution with the New England Commission
on Higher Education and continues to be the most economical choice for Bermudians and residents on their
journey to attain post -secondary education. It not only
offers great value for money when compared to the first two years of any four -year institution in the United Kingdom, North America or the Caribbean, but it also offers innovative education and training, quality instruction and unparalleled student support.
Madam Chairman, the major highlight for the
College t his [fiscal] year was the opening of its new
Athene Career Development Centre in April 2022, representing the first new development on the campus
since 1996. The Centre is home to the
• Aspen Innovation Lab
• Athora Division of Professional & Career Education [APACE]
• Athora Computer Lab
• Catalina Classroom
Madam Chairman, in the fall of 2022 the College introduced several new courses to its offerings including Insurance Operations, Managing Evolving
Risks, Business An alytics, Business Spanish and Intercultural Communication, Integrating Research into Evi-denced- Based Practice in Healthcare, Integrated Marketing Best Practices, and Advanced [Google] Analytics. While new programmes offered by its Athora Professional and C ontinuing Education (APACE) division
included the Long- term Care Certification, Intellectual
Disabilities Aide Certificate, Google Analytics Certificate, and the Coaching Foundation Certificate in partnership with the International Coaching and Leadership
Institute.
Madam Chairman, the Dual Enrolment Programme, a partnership between Bermuda College and the Department of Education, continues to be a suc-cess, with 56 participating in the programme during this
past year. It should also be noted that at its May 2022
Commencement, seven dual enrolment students graduated from Bermuda College before earning their high
school diplomas.
Madam Chairman, as Bermuda College fulfils
its mission of providing its student with access to part-nerships that lead to local and g lobal success, 12 students of excellence were accepted into the Phi Theta Kappa Honour Society College this past year. These
students join 43 others who have been inducted since
2019 when the Bermuda College’s Beta Chi Upsilon
Chapter was established.
Mada m Chairman, Bermuda College continued to do its part to not only educate its students but
also to educate and inform the community at large
through various events organised throughout the year. This year’s events included: a two- part lecture series
entitle d “Murder in Paradise” addressing the serious
plight of gun violence amongst our young Black males.
In partnership with BEST [Bermuda Environmental
Sustainability Taskforce], Bermuda College hosted
monthly Eco Lunch and Learns. Additionally, as part of the College’s Annual Roche Science Week, a public
lecture entitled “The Brain and Healthy Ageing” was
held with Bermudian Dr. Eve De Rosa, Dean of Faculty
at Cornell University. During her very informative lecture, she explored her research into the cognitive abilities of our brains as we age. In January, Bermuda Col284 22 March 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate lege partnered with the American Psychological Association (APA), who held its Board Retreat in Bermuda
and offered three free workshops for local psychologists and Bermuda College students. Bermuda College
also continues to offer its very popular special topics in insurance course entitled Foundations of Bermuda’s International Re- Insurance Sector, sponsored by ABIR.
Madam Chairman, in June, Bermuda College,
in partnership with the Coco Reef Resort , hosted approximately 60 overseas guests for the annual Dyslexia
Foundation Conference in its newly renovated Athene
Lecture Theatre. This was the first time the Foundation
had partnered with any college or university, and by all
accounts, it was a great success. The College is looking forward to hosting similar conferences as a way to
increase its revenue.
Madam Chairman, last month, the Bermuda
College Company of Honorary Fellows inducted two
new Fellows, Mr. Peter Hardy and Mr. Larry
Mussenden. Both were honoured and celebrated for
their significant contributions to this community and be-yond in their respective fields.
Madam Chairman, supporting output
measures for the College’s [activities] this past year are as follows:
In May 2022, Bermuda College held its first in -
person graduation since the pandemic, graduating 93 students who received their associate degrees, diplo-mas and certificates, with one student earning two [associate] degrees. The College also graduated its first
student with its Associat e in Science in Pre- Med (a dual
enrolment student) and its first graduate with its Associate in Arts in Foreign Language. The breakdown of
graduates by Divisions was as follows:
• Arts & Science —36 graduates
• Business —29 graduates
• Hospitality —6 graduates
• Technical Education—16 graduates
• Nursing & Allied Health— 7 graduates
Additionally, another nine students graduated
from its partner institutions —six from Mount Saint Vincent University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business
Administration and three from Miami University with a
Master’s Degree in Special Education.
Madam Chairman, in May 2022, the Athora
Professional and [Career] Education [APACE] Division
awarded 250 professional designations and workforce
development certificates that included 10 public high
school students who received their Certificate in Nursing Assistants as part of the Department of Education’s dual enrolment programme with the College, and 72
high school students who earned the City & Guilds Certificate in Employability Skills.
The breakdow n of the professional designations and workforce development certificates earned is
as follows:
• American Management Association Certificate
in General Management —3
• AMA Certificate in Human Resources —4 • Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) D iploma in Financial and Management
Accounting Level 2 —2
• ACCA Diploma in Financial and Management Accounting Level 4 —1
• ACCA Designation— 1
• Building Owners and Managers Institute
(BOMI) —4
• Certificate in Basic Horticulture (Level 1) —29
• Certificate in Basic Horticulture (Level 2) —9
• Certificate in Bartending —30
• Certificate for Nursing Assistants —16
• Emergency Medical Technician— 2
• Endeavour Maritime Springboard Programme—11
• International Compliance Association (ICA)
Certificate [in Anti Money Laundering] —1
• ICA Certificate in Compliance—3
• ICA Certificate in Financial Crime Prevention —
1
• ICA International Advanced Certificate in Reg-ulatory Compliance —2
• ICA Advanced Certificate in Anti Money Laundering—2
• ICA Specialist Certificate in Anti -Corruption —1
• ICA Speci alist Certificate in Financial Crime
Risk and New Technology —1
• ICA Specialist Certificate in Money Laundering
Risk in Correspondent Banking— 1
• World Instructor Training School (WITS) Personal Training Certification —3
For the online programmes we have
• Bookkeeping Certificate —13
• Certificate in Accounting and Finance for Non-Financial Managers —4
• Certificate in Business Writing—3
• Certificate in Data Analysis —2
• Certificate in Mastering Microsoft Excel —1
• Certificate in Leadership Development —1
• Certificate in Online Teaching—1
• Certificate in Project Management —1
• Certificate in Teaching Adults —3
• Certificate in Web Design —1
• Coding Certificate —1
• Entrepreneurship Certificate—1
• Grammar Refresher Certificate—[ 2]
• Management Certificate—2
• Managing Remote Workers Certificate —1
• SQL Certificate— 3
• Supervisory and Leadership Certificate—1

Madam Chairman, in the fall of 2022 the Bermuda College enrolled 583 students in its academic divisions. There were also 486 students serviced through
APACE during the same period.
Madam Chairman, in 2022 Bermuda College
received $14,903,900, or 78 per cent of its operating


Bermuda Senate budget from its Government grant. Bermuda College
also received a special grant in the amount of $300,000
to assist students in financial need with their tuition in
both the academic and APACE Divisions during the 2022/23 academic year. The Ministry also provided an additional $200,000 for operating expenses and
$175,000 in capital funding.
Madam Chairman, Bermuda College’s budgeted revenue of $4,[633],636 from other sources included:
Student tuition and fees for credit courses;
• PACE revenue;
• bookstore revenue;
• testing centre revenue; and
• rental income, including the Coco Reef Resort.
This amount and the Government grant made
up a total revenue figure for the 2022/23 budget year of
$19,837,536.
Madam Chairman, during this period, salaries
and benefits accounted for $13,234,917, or 69.0 per
cent of the budget. This represents a 0.75 per cent increase in salaries when compared to 2021/22.
Madam Chairman, Bermud a College’s annual
IT expenditures included $20,710 on augmented reality and virtual reality products to provide students with vir-tual hands -on experiences via simulation activities. The
College continues to replace high- priority hardware and
infrastructur e items identified as near the end of their
useful life, including switches, servers, cabling, telephone systems and other computer hardware items. In
addition to the Government grant, Bermuda College is thankful for the support of corporate donors who donated $125,425 to the Bermuda College Foundation to
assist in updating the College’s IT infrastructure during
the 2022/23 fiscal year.
In addition, Bermuda College also received donations totalling $243,071 for equipment to support its
programmes: Chubb, for electric and hybrid trainers for
its automotive programme; Oakley Capital Investments
for its aquaponics lab; and Centennial Foundation for
additional simulators for its nursing lab. Unfortunately,
due to supply chain issues that have delayed the equipment’s arrival on the Island, the equipment will be introduced into the programmes during the next academic
year.
Madam Chairman, as part of the College’s
commitment to providing a safe and healthy environ-ment for its students and employees, it spent $464,00 0
on improvements to its physical plant and routine
cleaning and maintenance contracts. This included initial deposits for repairs to its Library roof and refurbishing the Faculty Centre elevator. These works will be completed during the next fiscal year.
Bermuda College is projected to spend
$395,000 on insurance and $1,031,000 on electricity and other utilities during the 2022/23 fiscal year. To decrease its electricity costs, the College replaced all its
interior lights with LED lights and installed panels on two buildings on campus during this past year with funding provided through the Bermuda College Foundation. The cost savings are due to be realised in the
next fiscal period.
Madam Chairman, a total of $29,832 in financial assistance was allocated to students enrolled in the
academic divisions who demonstrated a financial need
from the College operating budget. This amount was
supplemented with the additional $300,000 from the
Government mentioned previously and another
$164,388 from donations received by the Bermuda College Foundation. Additionally, students received $113,848 of scholarships from private donors. A total of
455 awards were granted to 315 students over the
course of the 2022/23 academic year.
Madam Chairman, later this month the College
will host a representative from the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing [ACEN] for an initial site visit as the first step in the accreditation process for
its nursing programme. The College has also established a Planning Committee to organ ise a series of
events to form part of its 50
th anniversary celebrations
that will take place during the 2024/25 academic year.
Madam Chairman, salaries continue to form
the majority of the Bermuda College’s budgeted expenses, and the College continues to review its operations, seeking ways to decrease its labour costs while
still providing quality education to its students.
Delivering Success, Bermuda College’s current strategic plan, is the blueprint to steer the College
towards its 50th anniversary in 2024. As the plan ends
in 2024, $50,000 will be set aside for the development
of the next five- year plan over the next fiscal year.
As part of the Government’s agenda, Bermuda
College will utilise the $300,000 tuition grant to assist
students with financial needs in the academic and
APACE divisions. That is $300,000, Madam Chairman,
of Government support. A comparative number of stu-dents is anticipated to be assisted with the 2023/24
grant.
Madam Chairman, Bermuda College will continue to work with the Department of Education to provide college courses to qualified students through its
Dual Enrolment programme as part of the new signature learning programmes introduced into the Bermuda Public School System curriculum. The College will continue to for ge alliances with professional credentialing
and accrediting agencies for workforce development
and professional certifications, such as the Association
of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Building
Owners and Managers Institute [BOMI] for building owners and managers; City & Guilds for the applied sciences; Global Knowledge for information technology,
International Compliance Association [ICA], Association of Certified Anti -Money Laundering Specialists
[ACAMS] and KIXKO for compliance of local profes-sional bodies.
Madam Chairman, during the upcoming year,
the College will implement a prior learning assessment
programme to allow students to earn college credit for
286 22 March 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate learning gained outside of a traditional academic environment. It will also develop an entrepreneurship
course as part of its associate in business programme
and complement its technical education programmes.
Bermuda College will also continue to expand its artic-ulation agreements with higher education institutions in
the United Kingdom and t hroughout North America to
ensure a seamless transition for Bermuda College
graduates who wish to pursue additional education at
three- and four -year institutions.
Madam Chairman, over the next year, Bermuda College will continue to work on establishing a
complete and accurate database of its alumni, including those from its three [previous] institutions, the Bermuda Technical Institute, the Academic Six Form Centre and the Bermuda Hotel and Catering College as it
prepares for its 50
th anniversary celebrati ons.
Madam Chairman, during the next fiscal year,
the College will review its per credit tuition rate which
has not been reviewed since 2018. As part of the review, it will also seek ways to increase its financial aid
to ensure that no student in Bermuda i s denied access
to Bermuda College due to finances. I am going to read
that line again. As part of the review, it will also seek
ways to increase its financial aid to ensure that no student in Bermuda is denied access to Bermuda College
due to finances.
Madam Chairman (you will be happy to hear
this one), as I close I wish to thank the Board, executive, administration, faculty, and staff of Bermuda College for their work throughout the year.
Thank you, Madam Chairman. This concludes
the budget on Head 41, the Bermuda College, and my overall presentation of the 2023/24 Budget for the Ministry of Education.

Thank you, Minister.
We have approximately one hour and 15
[minutes] remaining for debate. We will need to break for lunch during that period. So, I am looking at the Senators, but I would propose to continue now, but would
look to break for lunch at approximately 12:30, 12:45. I
see nods, 12:30? Okay. Thank you.
Are there any Senators who would wish to
speak?
Senator Smith.

Sen. Ben Sm ith: Thank you, Madam Chairman.
Firstly, I would like to thank the Minister for
providing the brief this morning and giving a really thor-ough overview of the Ministry of Education and some
of the reforms that I know that most of the population
has been v ery keen to get information on.
I think it is important that I take this opportunity
to thank all of the educators in Bermuda who have a
very important role to guide our young people towards a future that has some anxiety I think from most people’s standpoint (at this point) what the job market will
look like and knowing that having a strong education foundation is what is going to help them as they move
forward. So, thank you to all of the teachers who give
the time and their resources in order to provide the
guidance to our students and to all the administrators
who support those teachers. I think it is important that
we thank all of them for the hard work that they do.
Madam Chairman, as we go through a reform
of education, we will say things like tryi ng to make
things work better, try to make things more efficient,
and as we are going to through this transition, we need
to make sure that we are not making our students and
our educators feel as if they are failing. We are trying to
make things better because it is a necessity to make
things better. And that is a balancing act that I believe
all Senators here will try to make sure that as we are
moving toward progress, these are . . . what we are
dealing with is not a widget that is created in a factory.
These are children. These are our students and the future of our country. And all citizens of Bermuda look at
education as a priority and look at this as probably the
most important Ministry in our country because this is what the foundation will be for our future.
So, with that, Madam Chairman, I will start with
Head 16 on page B -127. Under 26000, General Administration, I will note that the Minister pointed out that
there is a significant reduction under General Admin-istration because a lot of those resources will be moved
to the Educational Reform Unit. I was wondering if the
Minister would be able to provide us with a little more
detail of what will be done in General Administration
that is left behind once we take a lot of those resources
out and move i t to the reform unit? There is $815,000
that is left from a budget that was $3,610,000. So if we could just get some details of exactly what functions will
continue to happen under General Administration now
that we have had this transition.
Still on page B-127, looking at 26080, the
Grants to external bodies. If the Minister could give us
some details of the . . . I know he mentioned some of
the things that are going to happen with these grants to
external bodies, but if he could give us a little more detail, specifically to these grants and what the expected
outcome will be for providing these grants. That will be helpful; thank you.
Madam Chairman, 26090, Scholarships and
Awards, I know the Minister will remember last year at
this time we had quite a long discussion on the scholarships and the support that is needed for a lot of our young people who are looking to further education, not
just locally, but also when trying to go overseas. At the
time in that discussion we figured that the demand for
funding was significantly higher than the amount the
Government was able to provide. But in saying that, there has been a $36,000 reduction from that debate
that we had last year. So, knowing that we were not
able to give the resources to the young people who
need to further their education, I am just wondering if the Minister can speak to the fact that we were not able
to find further support for them in this upcoming budget.


Bermuda Senate We also had a discussion last year about several of the private scholarships that go unclaimed year
after year and whether there had been an opportunity
for the Government to reach out to the private scholarships providers and work on a collaborative effort to try access the funding that obviously is needed for our
young people to go oversea s. The price of tertiary education has continued to expand year after year. And
knowing that we have an issue in Bermuda presently
not having the financial backing of our students, it is
important that we figure out ways to be able to support them so that they can get the tertiary education, knowing that in the future that all of us see coming without
that they will not be able to access the jobs that will be
provided in the future.
So, if the Minister can give us an update on
whether that collaboration was able to happen over the last year and whether there is any progress towards
trying to access some of that private financial backing
for scholarships that goes unclaimed year after year.
Madam Chairman, 26140, the Education Reform Unit, obviously, has been one of the major changes in this budget. And moving toward what we
will be seeing and we started to see, so in the first year
we have seen the addition of the signature schools and we will be seeing the implementation of the parish primary schools, I was wondering if the Minister would be
able to give us an update on where we are with the Ed-ucation Authority and how long it will take to transition
from this education reform to an Education Authority?
And seeing what the cost is for the Education
Reform Unit at $4,412,000 whether we can have an expectation that this will be a similar figure for the Education Authority when it is implemented and whether there has been any analysis of what the cost will be of the
Education Authority going forward, how many members will be needed and what the remuneration will be for each of those people who will be needed to form the
Education Authority.
Madam Chairman, on page B -128, under Professional Services, I believe that in this particular area
the Minister said that some of this was going to be the
contract that we have with the overseas firm moving toward our reform of education. I know that there has been quite a bit of talk around the continuation of this
contract. How long will we need to continue this contract? So obviously with this upcoming year, it is the
support toward moving the first two of our parish primary schools, but as this is a process that will be ongoing for quite some time, and it is being done step by step, I am wondering if the Minister is able to give us
an idea of whether this is a contract that will have to be
renewed again in the upcoming year and what we think
the desired outcome will be each time that we have to
renew this contract so that we have the expertise to
help us along with this t ransition?
And then, once we go through the transition,
will we need to continue the contract so that we can
have an analysis of how the implementation has worked and whether we have reached the desired outcome in the change to the new and improved educat ion
system?
Madam Chairman, I am going to look at page
B-129 under the Performance Measures. One of the
major pieces that was discussed was how we are communicating with the stakeholders and making sure that
everybody has been brought along with this proc ess.
And I will say that the Ministry has done an effective job of having both the media presence and the social media presence and trying to get information from the pub-lic. My question is really around the communication
with our teachers.
Madam Chairman, a lot of times, specifically
within the Ministry of Education, our teachers are not
able or not comfortable with speaking out when they do
not agree with the changes that are happening. So, has there been a way for the Ministry to actually engage
with th e teachers that allows them to feel comfortable
expressing how they feel if the changes that are being
presented to them are not what they think should be
happening? I know this is a difficult portion of this, but
sometimes that communication that we think we are
giving is one entity speaking to or at another entity, where the communication has to be both sides. And at
one point this led to a vote of no confidence. So, I think
it is important that we know whether that communication has improved and whether the teachers are feeling
that they are actually being engaged in this process.
So, when there are meetings for engagement,
are these meetings happening during the school day? Or are they having opportunities to have these meetings at times where teachers are going to be available and that they are going to feel that their input is va lued?
Madam Chairman, at this time those are the
questions that I have on this first head. I don’t know whether the Minister would like to start to answer those
or maybe there are others who have questions that
come under this head while we are getting c lose to the
lunch time.

Yes, I see that there are other questions.
Thank you, Minister.
Senator Wight.

Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam Chairman. I
would like to thank the Minister for the brief which I thought was very good.
I have got nothing specific to any one business
head or business unit, but I do have one high- level
question relating to the value for money. How does Government determine whether the $140 million spent
on education is being used wisely?
288 22 March 2023 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda Senate As I look at the Education Ministry, to me there
are two elements. Number one, are our children being
educated to meet the demands of education in 2023? And will their education enable them to succeed in their careers? And [number two], are we spending the $140 million allocated to education wisely and efficiently?
So, with the first objective, and as I look at the
$4.4 million allocated to Education Reform, I guess what I would like to see and understand more is to sort of obtain progress reports on the outcomes as to how . . . you know, to me, education reform must be done to
improve the grades of our students. Yet, I am not understanding whether our students’ grades are improving as a result of the three years thus far of education
reform. So, I guess that is one comment which to me was probably the most important performance metrics. You know, is all this reform resulting in higher grades and the ability of our students to achieve their career
goals through Bermuda education?
Secondly, in terms of the cost of our education,
I am certainly no expert on this, but as I review the cost
of the public school system compared to the private school system, for example, I looked at the Cl earwater
School, as just one school amongst many in the school system, and in last year the average cost for each stu-dent was roughly $40,000 for each of the 71 students in the school, with a ratio of staff to student of one staff member for each 2.5 students. Which just sounded high to me.
So, I guess all this sort of preamble and narrative just to ask the one question, how will Government access their own performance in terms of the value for money and the improvement that we will see through education reform for the $140 million funds allocated to this Ministry in the coming year?
Thank you, Madam Chairman.

My math isn’t as bad as I thought it
was. We have an hour remaining, so let’s break for lunch now and I w ill see y ou all back her e at t wo
o’clock. T hank y ou.
Proceedings in C ommittee suspended at 1 2:26 pm
Proceedings in C ommittee r esumed a t 2:00 p m
[Sen. Kiernan Bell, C hairman]
COMMITTEE OF SU PPLY
ESTIMATES OF R EVENUE AND EXPENDITURE
FOR 2023 /24
[Continuing]
The C hairman: Good af ternoon, ev erybody. W elcome
back f rom lunch.
Minister D arrell, have you had an opportunity
to gather a ny ans wers ov er the lunch br eak?
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam Chairman, I
would just like to start by going over a few of the questions that were asked in the beginning now. Just for
clarification, were they all from Head 16?
[Inaudible interjection]
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: They all were from Head
16. Okay. So I will start from backwards and go up.
One of the questions is, How would the Government measure education reform? How would Government measure education reform? Transforming an
education system across a whole country is complex. It
is going to be a multi-y ear journey to achieve an ambitious vis ion for learning that we have all set ourselves .
Madam Chairman, as part of the work of the Education
Reform Unit, collaboration with key stakeholders and
communities is underway in order to track changes and
progres s the reform ov er time.
This inc ludes the development of an initial set
of meas ures, of performance of the learner, the educator, the school and the system lev els. Of course, one
view of this is to be able to make assessments like
value for money. But it is also critical to cons ider what
some refer to as the social return on investment, or the
value that will be created through a reformed public education sy stem whic h is completely different than that
of private school systems due to the comprehensive
nature of public schools.
Now, Madam Chairman, that is an easy argument that a lot of people like to mak e. And a lot of people like to make these comparisons for different reasons. And I am not going to get into the reasons why
some will get into a debate over private sc hool and public school. I will proudly say, Madam Chairman, that my
two children are products of the public education sys -

B ermuda Senate tem. And it is a debate that I do not get into. And I respectfully ask my friends when we are talking, I said, That’s a debate that I will not have. And they say, No,
no, no! But what are you thinking? I say, We’re not doing this. As a former educator, as a parent of students and out of respect for students and friends of mine who
have entrusted the private school with their students’
education, it is a debate that I do not feel brings much value, the debate. So I am not going to get into much of that debate in this.
But I can tell you that I am happy with all of the
teachers whom my children have. I am happy with the
way that the education system is going. If I have questions, I ask my colleagues, I ask some of the individuals in the Education Reform Unit who have been former colleagues to explain it to me. And I am very happy with where education reform is going. So if individuals have
been to these public meetings, if they have read the
publications that are going out, [that] is a measure of
the reform that is going on. I know people who are part of these Learning Transformation Teams are really ex-cited. And you get out into the public as to where things are going with this reform.
So another lens that we can look through, and
[a way] we must view performance measures, is how they can support reflection and learning that informs further iterations of the education reform efforts. So the
highest performing systems in the world are those that continue to learn and continue to improve. So I do not
think that we could just take one snapshot and say,
Well, how do we measure education reform? I s it working? Is it going according to plan? It is the kind of sys-tem that the Bermuda Education System is trying to get to. It is one where we continuously are learning and continuing to make adjustments to our education system.
Now, someone asked if we could compare the
costs between public and private. And again this is difficult to do. Regardless of how many students there are, the curriculum must be taught and this is true in public
and private schools. If there are 70 students in a private
school, the cost per student will be just as high.
I think somebody asked about the Education
Authority. So where are we with the Education Author-ity? The Education Authority is still being developed. They continue to meet with key stakeholders. And
these meetings and these discussions are ongoing.
Private scholarships that go unclaimed. I know
this was a question from Senator Smith. Does Government reach out to collaborate? And I think there were some similar discussions and questions on this last year. And it is tricky. I mean, you would know that some
of these scholarships are very specific as to whom they give their funds to, why they gave them.
Some scholarships go for —you know, if you
are going to be a special doctor and there is no one looking to be that particular type of doctor, it is hard for me to go to that organisation and say, Well, if you give
a scholarship for orthopaedics and I think that some of that unclaimed money should go to someone who wants to be an electrician. I am not sure that govern-ment is going to get into the business of that type of
collaboration.
But I tell you this. The Government does engage with some external organisations who have given
grants. But we do not actually get intimately involved in
the processes of whom they give their money to and why they give their money or not.
But what we can continue to do in our schools
and our public education system is to continue to en-courage students through, I think it is a publication that
goes out. I know the guidance counsellors are ver y
keen on making their students aware of how they can
apply for some of these funds. And I know. I mean, I have talked to some parents. And it is kind of like they get revved up. They are like, You know, I’ve got every single scholarship that’s available. We’ve written letters
and we’ve done this, that and the other. But I will tell
you this: There also is just as much disappointment in
the community when you may get a student who ap-plies for multiple scholarships and multiple different in-dustries or multiple different scholarship providers. And
they are unsuccessful.
So, you know, like I said, it is difficult for government to get into whom scholarship committees give
their funds to and why. But I am sure that there are some applicants who are unsuccessful, and they also would wish that some of that unpaid money was given
to them. So this is a slippery slope that I am not sure
the government wants to get into the business of.
So what are the expected outcomes of providing grants? Opportunities for persons to access further education. And the performance measures for that are actually on page B -129.
I think there was a question about a $36,000
deduction in grant scholarships. I think I covered that one in the brief.
How much will the Education Authority cost?
As I said before, it is still being developed, and they are
meeting with key stakeholders.
So another question here. How do you know
that the education system is successful? We know that
if we are getting value for money if the system is being successful for students in terms of investment and ca-reers.
What evidence is there that the system is being
reformed? I think that was Senator Wight.
Was that your question?
Sen. John Wight: Yes. How do we determine success
for our students in the public school system? Thank
you.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: All right. As a nation we
know that we need to make investments in public education. And there cannot be any argument that we can-not afford to do so. The investment in the system will
take time to reap benefits for all students. It is being
290 22 March 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate phased in over time. Evidence will be demonstrated in
student outcomes including performance assessments, graduation rates, socio- emotional wellness and
career readiness.
And I would like to take this opportunity, and I
think I said this in another debate, Madam Chairman,
that there is a difference between a government recognising that there is a problem and doing nothing about
it, and a government that recognises that there are
problems and gaps and doing all that we can to change
that. And that is why you will see that in the Progressive
Labour Party’s platform in 2017 this was the number -
one platform initiative to get rid of middle schools, to
phase them out, not just get rid of them one time, but
to phase out middle sc hools and to reform the public
education system.
And I would like to tell this story in answering
the question, Madam Chairman. I said, in my discussions with my friends who have children who are starting the education system, they ask very specific questions. And it is actually really, really nice to see that.
You may just hear this as noise if you do not have a
student who is in the system or they are doing Paget
Primary School and you say, Well, you know, that’s in
Hamilton Parish and Warwick Purvis. If those two are
doing it, and you say, Well, my child is actually in
Smith’s Parish. That doesn’t really have anything to do
with me so I’m not really paying attention to that.
And I was talking to a friend the other day, and
he said, well, he is right now in the process of signing up his daughter to go to primary school. And he just said, Well, we’re thinking about sending her to school
A. (I will not call any names of the schoo ls.) And I said,
Well, you know, you look at the plan. You do know that in a few years that particular school is going to close. It
may not be this year, it may not be next year. But that’s not one of the parish primary schools. He said, Well,
what does that mean?
I said, Well, what that means is if you’ve been
paying attention to the reform efforts, what that means
is that you probably might want to consider starting her
in the school that’s actually going to transform into the
parish primary school because in doing so they are going to get maybe the curriculum and everything is going to be kind of put into place for P1 to P8 instead of having to say, well, when we get three years down the road
and then [you] have to uproot and put her into a different school.
So we talk about how do we know that it is being successful? If I can actually have those conversa-tions and I can actually say, Well, I can see the vision
of this plan actually unfolding in front of us, I think this
is success. And I would like to give kudos and congrats to the individuals who are working hard to transform this
system.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Madam Chairman, can I just ask
a very quick question just in relation—
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: I am answering my question, Madam Chairman. I am still answering Senator Wight’s question.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Oh, I beg your pardon. I thought
you were finished.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: So going back to Senator
Wight and his question, I think it is fair to say that we did and we have seen for a l ong time that we may not
have been getting value for money in education. But we
are using this time and we can see steps now that each
year that goes [by] we are definitely going to see [that
value]. In your world, Senator Wight, it would be a further return on investment.
Thank you, Madam Chairman.

Thank you.
Senator Tucker.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes, thank you.
So just a very quick question as it relates to
success. I just want to know if there is any intent to
share the actual outcomes wi th the public in terms of
the successes of the schools and their transformation?
Because again if the test scores are going to be evidence of the success of the programmes, then is there any intent for the public to actually have that information? Thank you, Madam Chairman.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Absolutely, Madam
Chairman. I do not see why not.

Minister Darrell, I think the first question that was posed by Senator Smith remains outstanding. That was the question about the General Administration staff left under Head 16, line item 2600.

Sen. Ben Smith: Thank you, Madam Chairman.
Yes, I will just go back to my first question,
which was regarding once the majority of the funding
has been moved to the reform unit if the Minister can give us a breakdown of how the remaining funds will be
used and what the role will be going forward?
Madam Chairman, can I now move to further
questions?
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Yes. I would suggest and
ask, Madam Chairman, if you would allow Senator
Smith to move to—I guess you are going to the next
head?

Sen. Ben Smith: Yes.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: I will get [the answer to]
that question that he has asked back. But if we are go-ing to move now to Head—

Sen. Ben Smith: Seventeen.


Bermuda Senate The Chairman: Please proceed.

Sen. Ben Smith: Thank you, Madam Chairman.
I would like to move on to Head 17, Department
of Education on page B -131. The first one being under
cost centre 27001, which is the Office of the Commissioner. And I will pose a question because I do not think
it was answered in the first head when I brought it up.
This is the Office of the Commissioner. So considering
how important this particular role is as the overseer of
this reform project that we are going through, consider-ing that the commissioner had a vote of no- confidence,
whether the Minister can give us an update on what that
relationship is today? And what progress has been
made toward improving that relationship?
Moving on to [cost centre] 27090, still on the
same page, so Education Standards and Account, I believe that this is where the school attendance has been
moved to. Would it be possible for the Minister to provide us a breakdown of the number of students who
were not attending school at each level, primary, mid-dle and senior school, and whether there has been a
programme put in place to get these students to return
to school and t o catch up with the work that they would
have missed when they were not attending school?
Then cost centre 27160, Substitutes. So I think
we all know that there has been a significant increase
in the funding, and it was that we were bringing substi-tutes i nto the schools, and we need to increase the
number of substitute teachers. I am wondering if the Minister can give us a breakdown on the number of teachers who are absent from the schools and whether
in some cases these are long- term absentees? Because as you bring in substitute teachers, there is obviously going to be an interruption between what the
student normally has with their day -to-day teacher and
now having a substitute teacher in.
So if there is an issue that is creating the need
for more substi tute teachers, it would be important for
us to know what is causing that. Is this an issue with
teachers being stressed out and needing to take time
away from school? Is this a health issue? In the past
we have had issues with mould in schools. What are
we seeing that is creating this need to increase the substitute teachers in the schools at a significant cost?
Moving on to programme 1702, Student Services, the section on [cost centre] 27061, Behaviour Management, I believe that all of us would have seen
some of the headlines that have happened over the last
year with some of the fights and some of the anti -social
behaviour that has happened in our schools. We have
also had quite a bit of attention come from National Security speaking to the fact that a lot of our young people
as young as nine years old are being brought into the
gang lifestyle.
I am wondering if the Minister would be able to
give us some details on how education is coming up with their plan of how to deal with the antisocial behav-iour that they are seeing in our young people and spe-cifically what education is doing to prevent our young
people from being brought into the gang lifestyle? I
think it would be important for the country to know from
an education standpoint when our students are going
to school that (1) they are safe; and (2) there is an environment that is going to prevent them from being encouraged to join quite a negative lifestyle.
In [cost centre] 27063, School Psychology, I
note that the Minister said that we are now at the full
complement of school psychologists. Would the Minister be able to tell us whether there has been an increased need and usage of the school psychologists
over the last year? I know that we have just recently
come out of COVID -19 which would have creat ed a further need that we would not have been preparing for.
But I would also ask whether the school psychologists are made available to our teachers considering that I believe that some of the transitions that are
happening, and potentially some of the c hanges that
the teachers are hearing about in the press which could involve their jobs, is creating anxiety. And I am wondering if I can connect those two questions with the fact
that we need more substitute teachers? [This] potentially means that there ar e some mental health issues
going on in our schools, and what are we doing to make
sure that we are giving the support to our teachers as well as our students?
On [cost centre] 27079, Paraprofessionals, the
budget for this line item is $7,642,000. Can the Minister
just give for the population kind of an oversight of what
a paraprofessional does, what the expertise is of the
individuals who take on this role? What is the certifica-tion that is necessary? It is important that we have an
understanding of this particular field because as we
move toward a situation where several schools are going to close and you are going to have to move your
staffing from one school to another, it would be important to know whether all of those jobs are going to
be available in the future. And if this is an important job
today, is this going to be a function that will continue? So as the reform goes on, will we still need the same
amount of support from the paraprofessionals?
Madam Chairman, cost centre 27084, Autism.
This is a very specific area that I have had several conversations with parents over the last year who are frustrated with the ability to get support for children with autism. And it starts right from the beginning in the assessment and testing phase, and getting t o the point
where what is wrong with their child can be identified.
And then finding the support that is necessary to make
sure that at the end of this we get a positive result toward helping this student to move through the system.
I am wondering if the Minister can give us a little clarification on how this is being dealt with? It was
mentioned in the brief that they realise that there is going to be further need in the future, meaning that they
are probably seeing more students who are going to
need thi s support. So if the students whom we have
292 22 March 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate presently, if their parents are not feeling the level of
support that is necessary, what are we going to do not
just this year but going forward to increase that support
so that these parents can feel less anxious about how
they will cope with the education of their children?
Madam Chairman, the cost centre 27042,
Building Grounds and Equipment. I am just wondering if the Minister can give us a little information around, is
there the ability to go to schools and actually see at the
beginning of the year whether the schools are suitable
for opening? How often are they getting assessed throughout the year? And have we found anymore issues with mould in our schools that would be causing
health issues? Specifically, do we have any schools
that have been identified that have the mould issue? Do we have any children who have taken sick because
of the mould issue? Do we have any teachers who have taken sick because of mould issues?
It would be important for us to know bec ause in
the past we have had to close a school for this issue. And as we get ready to finish this school year and then be looking to open up in September, it would be important for us to have the details of whether our schools
are up to the standard so that we do not have sick
schools.
Madam Chairman, [cost centre] 27050, IT support. I think it has been very good the amount of pro-gress that has been made to make sure that all of the schools have Internet. I guess the question that I would
have for the Mini ster is, Do we have reliable Internet?
Do we have Internet that is available to the schools
when they need it? I am asking this question because I
have heard from teachers that this is not always the
case. I am also asking whether the computers and lap-tops that are provided to the teachers in order for them
to do their job, whether those are of the standard that allows them to be reliable and to be used when it is necessary to use them? So if the Minister can give an
update on what that looks like?
So, Madam Chairman, from page B -132
through B -133, we see that information that is laid out
specifically for the cost for each school. I think it is important that at this point we realise that there is a lot of
detail that you need to find out in order to get to the
answer that Senator Wight was putting forward, which
is value for money. I understand that the Minister gave
the answer because that is the political answer. We
have heard several times the comparison between
public education and private education.
It is not about just comparing that because one
side has certain students and the other side has a dif-ferent set of students, which is what the narrative has
been presented as. In Bermuda we pay taxes in order
to cover —
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Point of order, Madam
Chairman.

Proceed.

Sen. Ben Smith: What I was about to speak to is the
public of Bermuda pay taxes, and those taxes are in order to pay for $100 million investment in our public
education. And many of our citizens are having to make the choice— it is not all, including the Minister —are having to make the choice to invest in private education
because they do not feel that the public education system is reliable for them to have their child go through
the system and get to the end result that they are looking for.
If tha t was not the case, we would not see that
over the last year more students have moved from the
public education system to the private education system. So this is not just simply us trying to compare ap-ples to oranges; this is the reality that people are opting
out because this transition, this reform is going to take
a long time. And while that is happening, there are students who are still going through the system. So I bring
that up to say we have schools that will be transitioning
to parish primary schools. And it is Francis Patton and it will be Purvis Primary. You will note that there is an
increase in the budget for these two schools. And I am
gathering that this increase is because they will be adding year 7.
So if the Minister can give us a breakdo wn of
the cost of adding Primary 7 to those schools because
at present it looks that the number of increase is
$918,000 for Francis Patton and $741,000 for Purvis
Primary. But I would also like to highlight that when you
look at Clearwater Middle School, w e are still estimating in 2023/24 at $2,469,000, although the Minister said this school was closing. Then you have Heron Bay, which is 27450, and it looks like they are at $1,148,000,
and they are also closing.
The Minister at another point mentions that the
energy bill (and that is on page B -134) will be reduced
by $213,000, and the reason was that those two
schools were closing. So if the Minister can explain to
us why the energy bill is going down, but the cost of
those schools is remaining at the same level? That
would be important for us to know.
But further to that point, as we look at a school
that potentially does not have a full complement of students, I ask the Minister, it would be important for us to
have a breakdown in the book that explains h ow many
students are in each of these schools, along with how


Bermuda Senate many students are in each of these classes? So that
we have a proper analysis of how much a school is
costing, how many teachers are in each of those classes, how many paraprofessionals are in e ach class?
What is in the office staff? What is in the janitorial services? What the breakdown of those costs are.
And the reason that you would want that information is so that when you close a school, the Govern-ment would then be able to explain to us how we are
not only going to fold the students into a different
school, but how are we going to move that number of staff into another school? Because as we move forward
if we are going to be looking at closing close to 50 per
cent of the schools, you would think that there would be
a significant reduction in the budget number for the
country’s education system. Because what has happened is, as the Minister pointed out, we had a school that had a very low number of students, but we were
paying a significant amount of money to have that
school open. And Senator Wight pointed out that it was
close to $40,000 per student.
When Senator Wight asked the question about
value for money, the question that I would ask is, If you
have a school that has a lower number of students, you
would expect that those students have a higher amount of attention because there are fewer students for the
attention to have to be distracted by. So would the Minister be able to tell us whether we saw improved grades in these schools that had fewer students? And if that
was not the case, whether there has been an analysis on why that was not happening. And is that something to do with the curriculum that was being taught? Is that
something to do with the training of the teachers? Is
there information that has been provided for why that
situation did not improve considering that we had such
low numbers in certain schools?

Thank you, Madam
Chairman.
Let me see what stories I can pull up. You
know, my father used to always say, They can take
your money. They can take your things. But they cannot take your education. And he was born in 1927, so
that was his mind- set. And I know that Senator Darrell
referred to Senator Wight’s green- eye-shade type of
questions, and I have these green- eye-shade type of
questions about value.
But the reality is that our country is jammed up
with money or lack of money. I would be curious what the Minister would think would be the appropriate
benchmark for us to use for our schools if we were to
look around globally, both for performances and on the financial part, because the reality is that we have to pay
money for these things. The reason I ask is I pulled up some statistics as you know I am wont to do, Madam
Chairman. In the OECD, in 2017 primary schools are
around US$9,000 per person, and secondary $10,500.
Now I know we would apply some Bermuda factor on
that and some inflation. So my first question would be,
What would the Minister feel would be the appropriate
benchmarks? What region or area or jurisdiction should
we be comparing ourselves to to monitor our performance?
Then I did have a question specifically on page
B-131, [cost centre] 27050, IT support. We did hear
about the Chromebooks. I was a little conf used because we have heard about those in the Throne
Speech and some other areas. And I probably need
some correction here. But my recollection is that those
are actually a private donation to the public school system. So could the Minister confirm that my recollection
is correct or incorrect?
That is it for now. Thank you, Madam Chairman.

Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Over to you, Minister Darrell.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam Chairman, l will
see if I can go through these.
So the first question that was asked by Senator Smith was, Once the majority of the funding has
been moved to the Reform Unit, how would the remaining funds be used? There are other functions within the
Ministry of Education Headquarters that will still be [in
operation] including finance scholarship, administration, policy and grants. Therefore, there will continue to
be funds in the Ministry of Education Headquarters
budget.
Another question from S enator Smith was,
Considering how important this role is as overseer of
the reform project, and considering the CEO (that is the
Commissioner of Education) has had a vote of no- confidence, what is the relationship today? So as I said in
the brief ––and this young lady is a former colleague of
mine. I mean, 20 years ago we started teaching together —not Ms. [Kalmar] Richards. I am talking about
Ms. Lisa De Silva is now overseeing the reform project.
And she is of the Education Reform Unit. So that is
where the education reform (I just want to correct that)
is actually being overseen and being led. It is being led
by Ms. Lisa De Silva. I tell you, we had some good
times when I started teaching at CedarBridge about 20,
more than 20 years ago.
But in regard to th e other part of the question
that was mentioned by Senator Smith, the relationship
between the Commissioner of Education and the Bermuda Union of Teachers, I cannot speak to where that
294 22 March 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate is at this time. But what I can say, just like Ms. Richards,
who was my first-ever boss. And I heard the Senator
say that she was his teacher at one point. The Com-missioner of Education is a consummate professional.
She is a lady of high moral standards and integrity. And no matter what is going on as far as professional votes
of no- confidence and the like, I can say hand over heart
that she continues to work with and engage with the
Bermuda Union of Teachers as her job requires. So
that is as far as I can say about that and the character
of Ms. Kalmar Richards, who is the Commissioner of Education.
Senator Smith asked the question about attendance and a breakdown of the number of students who did not attend and whether there has been a programme in place to get students in place and catch up
on the work that they were missing while they were not
attending school. We have a beautiful system in the Department of Education that is called PowerSchool. And
this is what all of the attendance officers use for the
data. This is our student management system. I wish I could extract those reports as we speak, but it needs to
be extracted by the school. Therefore, a report would
have to be pulled and collated. And in the purposes of
answering this question, I will not be able to get the data, the specific data of how many students have
missed school, why they have missed school, which
school they were at. I will not be able to get that at this
time.
There is a significant increase—this is another
question from Senator Smith. There is a significant in-crease in the number of substitutes. He is asking me to
give a breakdown of the number of teachers who have been absent and where there have been long- term absentees. The system is in transition. We need to ensure
that young people have continuity of learning. So longer -term substitutes are bei ng placed in the schools
in transition to allow for teachers to be involved in the
code sign process. The substitutes are longer -term
substitutes, and they work collaboratively with classroom teachers to ensure relationships are sustained
and the impact of learning is minimised by lessening
the destruction as much as possible, noting that the system is in transition.
Substitutes are also used to backfill teachers
working on education reform. So just because you see
an increase of substitutes, it does not n ecessarily mean
that more teachers are out sick. It does not mean that
teachers are suffering additional levels of burnout. I am
not saying that this does not happen. But do not auto-matically feel that the increase in substitutes is that.
Many substitutes are coming in, like I said, to cover for
teachers who are actually working on reforming this education system.
Behaviour management. I have got a lot to say
on this and a lot of questions were asked around the behaviour management. And the question basically
was, How is education coming up with or how are we dealing with the antisocial behaviour and the gang life-style? I would first like to say that I know some individuals who are working in education, and they work . . . I
know my neighbour is a guidance counsellor. And there are often different strategies that he is doing. I know individuals who work at the alternative school, which is
called Success Academy. And they often speak on
some of the strategies that they are using to deal with
the antisocial be haviour.
But one of the main aims of education reform
is the development of a restorative and inclusive sys-tem. This is not because the school system is the reason for the current state of society, but it can be. And
let us focus on part of the solution. Much work is underway to focus on social -emotional learning in all phases
of schooling. But we need to acknowledge that this is a journey, and it is going to be a long- term one. This Government recognises that [long- term factor] in some of
the other Minist ry initiatives that are being put in place
to curb this anti -gang lifestyle.
Healing the intergenerational trauma that exists on this Island is everyone’s responsibility. And the level of healing required will only be achieved if we work
together. But if we want to get to some specifics, some
of the specifics that are being taken up by educators
who are working in these alternative fields is having
parents shadow students upon their return from out -ofschool suspensions. I know CedarBridge Academy has
created co- curricular groups weekly to build positive
rapport between students, staff and the community.
Schools have created alternative learning environments within the schools to foster learning environments that cater to the needs of each learner so that they can be successful, Madam Chairman.
Some schools are working on incorporating,
through education reform, concepts around personalised, flexible schedules, virtual reality and “ maker
spaces .” It is a new term that has come up in education
where you go i nto a specific space and you make that
space where it is conducive to the type of learning and
outcomes that you are looking for. These will be used
to be innovative with the students’ learning so that they
can be more engaged. It will be used to better meet
teachers’ needs of all learners and their teachers.
And all of this is all part of the behaviour management that Senator Smith asked about. This will create environments where students will want to be more
engaged in school, create positive relationshi ps between school staff, students and parents. We are also
working on the importance of teaching social skills and
soft skills so that students can better self -regulate and
deal with their emotions as well as conflict resolution.
And when I was an educator , one of these things is that
as you build these relationships as an educator with
parents, you bring in parents to play a more instrumental role in their child’s education and work as a team to
make this behaviour more socially appropriate. [We
are] worki ng on professional development for character
development of both staff and students and how we can


Bermuda Senate use these, you know, advisory periods and other periods in classes to build a positive school climate.
So all of these are examples, Madam Chairman, of the behaviour management techniques that are
actually taking place amongst the department and at different schools to help deal with some of the antisocial behaviours that we have traditionally seen.
The other question, Has there been an increased need for sc hool psychologists over the last
year? Are school psychologists made available to
teachers? Historically the need for support services al-ways extends and exceeds the [availability of those
services]. Sometimes some people will say, Well, you
can never have enough. There are wait times. But
school psychologists do their very best. School psychologists are trained to support and assess students,
not teachers in this case. The department has made provisions and will continue to assist teachers and
other staff members with support. You know that the
Bermuda Government has an EAP (Employee Assistance Programme) and the like. And so yes. Also, you would have seen that some unions, I
know that the Bermuda Public Service Union, I want to
give t hem a shout -out here, have actually taken, and I
know the public service and the Bermuda Government
have taken a stronger look and a direct look at mental
health in the workplace. So although our school psychologists, as I am answering the question, are specif-ically trained to deal with students in our schools, I
would say that staff members are getting support. They
will continue to get support. And I am glad to see that this has become a more focal point of awareness
amongst the leaders in education and all throughout
government.
Paraprofessionals, paras as they are specifically referred to or typically referred to, the Senator asked for an overview on what a paraprofessional does and what expertise and certification is necessary. So
just by the key definition, a paraprofessional is kind of
another teacher in the classroom who assists teachers
to support students who have special education or additional needs. And these could be a wide variety of
needs. These may include learning differences or disabilitie s such as hearing, vision, autism spectrum disorder.
They must be registered, and we are talking
about the paraprofessionals. They must actually be registered by the Bermuda Educators Council, which is
known as the BEC. They must have an associate’s degree or equivalent qualification. And depending on the students and programmes being supported,
paraprofessionals are trained [to be] specialised. For
example, vision, hearing, autism spectrum disorder.
And in my experience from being an educator, you will
see that some paraprofessionals will actually follow us,
the specific individual throughout their time throughout
the education system. So they will start with them in P1.
If those services are still needed, they will move with them to middle school, and they will move with them to high school if needed.
So there are some colleagues whom I have
had when I was an educator. And I ask them, when I
see them on the street I am like, Well, where are you
now? And they will say, Well, I’m with a specific child at
this particular school. And some paraprofessional,
para- educators they call them, have skills that are different than the others. So sometimes there is a young
man in class who needs to focus and needs a male figure. They will pair him up with a male who has specific
skills in that area. You know, someone who has training
in vision or other stuff, they will move them along. So
they are very, very important. And I want to point that
out. The paras, para- educators, paraprofessionals,
however you want to call th em, are actually a very, very
integral part of any child’s education journey if they are needed.
ASD [Autism Spectrum Disorder ] parents —I do
not know where this came from. I guess this is a ques-tion that parents are frustrated with getting assessments and support for their child. They get a positive
result to help move. Can the Minister give an update on
how this is being dealt with? I guess this was on —
Was this the part where you talked about parents have to make choices as to which school they
send their kids to?
[Inaudible interjection]
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Let me read the answer.
I have got the answer. I am not sure I understand the question. But I will give you the answer.
The Ministry encourages parents of young children to reach out directly to the Child Development Programme which can aid parents on supportive pathways
for their child. The Child Development Programme is
part of the Early Childhood Section of the Department
of Education. This section covers the early years and
include s preschool. There is an integrated process to
provide early identification and transition support for
students and identify, where appropriate, enrolment in the year’s ASD programme which is aptly named Growing Connections. Programmes will be expanded to support increasing numbers and needs.
Building grounds and equipment. Are schools
assessed for building? Do we have schools with mould issues, and are there teachers who have been out sick
with mould? As I tell everyone, I have friends who come
to Bermuda and I am sure we have all experienced this.
It depends on what house you are in. Anywhere you go
in Bermuda may have mould issues depending on what
you define “issues” as. There is an existing maintenance programme for all of our schools, and it is assessed on a regular basis. There is also an existing
system where principals and custodians are responsible for reviewing and inspecting and making requests
for repairs and additional maintenance.
296 22 March 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate So I cannot sit here and say that all of our
schools are mould- free. But I think the massive problems of mould that you have seen more recently at the
location that we recently shut for a bit, and years back
if we go way back to CedarBridge, it had a mould prob-lem years ago. We have learned from those. And
maintenanc e issues have improved especially even
further. If you want to take some sort of positive out of
COVID -19, everybody became an expert on how to
clean spaces through COVID -19. I have never seen
people clean and wipe down stuff as much in the last couple of years that we have.
IT support, do we have reliable Internet? I
mean, on any given day and for any factors, I mean, you can ask me at my house if I have reliable Internet.
It depends on what day of the week it is. But we in Bermuda have challenges based on the type of buildings that we are in. We have different locations. IT [support]
is vigilant regarding the areas of weakness, and investment continues to strengthen the Wi -Fi.
Do teachers have updated laptops? Teacher
laptops are purchased on a rotating basis based on their lifespan.
What will be the cost to add a P7? This varies.
For example, Francis Patton will have one stream of
students, Purvis will have two. And developing the new
features of the parish primary school, the transformation team have been examining four key dimensions
of value:
1. Desirability —Is this, the new model, beneficial?
2. Feasibility —Can we deliver it or what do we
need to deliver it?
3. Viability —Is it affordable or value for money?
4. Impact —Is it going to generate the outcomes
our youn g people need and deserve?
Also, the cost of the budget is not only for P7,
but it is developmental work also for P1. So there is
more than just P7 that is going into these schools. I
know the way you look at it and you say, Well, they’re
adding a P7. But we were also adding—not adding, but
new students are coming into P1. So we will have some
developmental work there as well.
Clearwater and Heron Bay still have budgets
even though they are closing and the energy is going down. Most of the school staff in that figure that you see
is actually in salaries. Upwards of 90 [per cent] to
95 per cent of that number that you see in salaries. So
first the schools will remain in place for the remainder
of the year. Therefore, they will need a budget from April to th e end of August. And then no permanent staff
will be made redundant. Therefore, the salaries of that
staff will follow them in this budget year to their new
school. So that explains those budget line items.
What would be the appropriate benchmark of
our s chools internationally? It is very, very tricky, and
we do not want to start going down this road. I mean,
everybody does it. We have done it for 20- plus years
[when] I was in education, trying to compare students straight from different data. This work has been under-taken, and it sits with the Resource and Budgeting
Working Group of education reform. However, the most
important thing to note is that a completely redesigned
funding model is required. Student -centred funding
models are the models used by sys tems that focus on
both performance and equity. Student -centred funding
is based on a weighted student formula that helps en-sure more funding is allocated to students with the
more expensive educational needs. This is the way forward for Bermuda.
IT support, we did hear about Chromebooks,
and we have heard about those in the Throne Speech,
[that it was a] private donation. Just to clarify for Senator De Couto, some of the Chromebooks were donated.
But additional ones have been bought from IT, and they will still require IT support to be set up.
And I know I have three minutes, I think, remaining, Madam Chairman, or two?

You have three minutes remaining.
And by my tally, I believe you have gone through all of the questions. But I look out at the Senators.
Are all questions responded to?

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Well, there was one. And
I was trying to give my honourable colleagues from the
Opposition a chance to fire away some more. But I
mean, I have the data for the schools and the total enrolment. And I mean, we have got some primary
schools as low as 63, individuals. I am not going to go
through this entire list. We have got the highest number. I mean, so it goes from 172 is kind of the highest enrolment of a primary school. I am just giving you a
comparison. Enrolment of 172 is for high. You have got
another primary school that is 159 total enrolment. And
then you have got a primary school that, like I said, is
59. You have got 59 individuals.
So we do have, to answer this question, t he
data on every school from preschool, primary school,
middle school up to high school, as well as the alternative locations. We do have the data of enrolment, and
these are being used to justify the decisions that are
being made as well.

Senator Smith, you have one minute.

Sen. Ben Smith: Thank you, and thank you to the Minister for giving the information he was able to give.
I would just like to finish off by looking at some
of the performance measures and just quickly going
through some of them because this is one of the reasons why the questions come up.
When you look at the student passing IGCSE
for English and math in the high schools, and the fore-cast was 55 per cent in English, 45 per cent in math
and 30 per cent in science, it mak es you question what
our target is. I know that this is going to be a long- term
process. But these are the students whom we would be


Bermuda Senate wanting to go off to college. And these are the students
who will soon be employees. So if we are not getting
the levels th at are needed from our students, we are
continuing to create a problem that the rest of the coun-try will have to continue to deal with. So this is critical that we get to an answer and fix this situation as quickly
as we can.

Thank you, Senator Bell.
We will now move into consideration of the
Ministry of Economy and Labour. The heads for debate
under this Ministry are Head 44 for the Ministry Headquarters, which can be found at page B -171; Head 14,
Department of Statistics, which can be found on page
B-174; and Head 94, the Department of Economic Development, which can be found at page B -192. The
number of hours allocated to these heads is three. It is
now two minutes after three, so we will finish at 6:02 or
before. The Senator in charge is Senator Robinson.
Senator, how would you wish to proceed?
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I would like to move that the Committee take
under consideration Head 44, followed by Head 14 and then Head 94.

Thank you, Senator. Please proceed.

MINISTRY OF ECONOMY AND LABOUR

HEAD 44 —MINISTRY OF ECONOMY AND
LABOUR HEADQUARTERS
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you.
So I am going to begin with Head 44, Ministry
of Economy and Labour Headquarters.
Members of the Senate, I am pleased to present the current account estimates for Head 44, which comprises the Ministry of Economy and Labour Headquarters, the Labour Relations Section and the Immigration Appeal Tribunal. These estimates can be found
on pages B -170 through B -173, and page C -13 of the
Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure Book.

The Ministry Mission and Mandate

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Mr. Chairman, the mission of
the Ministry of Economy and Labour is To drive economic growth and job creation. The mandate, Mr.
Chairman, of the Ministry of Economy and Labour consists of the Departments of Workforce Development,
Financial Assistance, Immigration, Statistics and Economic Development. The Ministry Headquarters will
continue with the oversight of multiple policy and legislative initiatives including changes to immigration policy
and law, financial assistance reform and the development of a minimum wage to be followed by the living
wage.
The Department of Financial Assistance will
implement legislative and policy changes in support of
financial assistance reform, including allowing recipients to retain $2,500 of child support payments received and accept gifts of up to $2,500. Additionally,
recipients will benefit from the implementation of personal employment plans, among other policy changes.
The Department of Immigration will continue to
revise immigration policies in an effort to increase economic activity on the Isla nd, including revisions to the
current Work Permit Policy 2017.
The Department of Workforce Development
will continue to implement the jobs and reemployment
strategy by sponsoring training, apprenticeship programmes, internships and scholarships and will implement the Youth Employment Strategy. The department
will continue to liaise and coordinate with industry
stakeholders to develop and launch training in partnership with the industry.
The Department of Statistics will provide accessible, quality data t hat align with best practices in
order to facilitate a culture of evidence- based decisionmaking for policies and programmes.
The Economic Development Department will
continue to provide a wide range of services, education and training to drive economic diversification and
growth, and to promote Bermuda as the optimal jurisdiction for business across various industries. The department will continue to provide the annual grants for
the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation (BEDC) and the Bermuda Business Development
Agency (BDA).
In 2022/23 the Alien Land Licence Programme
earned the government over $5,900,000 in revenue.
This is reflective of 49 landholding charges received
and 151 land licence applications approved.
The Labour Relations Section will c ontinue
working with the Wage Commission and the Ministry on
298 22 March 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate the development of a minimum wage, to be followed by
a living wage.

Headquarters Mission and Role

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Mr. Chairman, the Ministry of
Economy and Labour Headquarters’ mission is To establish effective policy that helps foster economic growth and the expansion of jobs. In order to accomplish this mission, the Ministry will :
1. continue to implement comprehensive immi-gration reform by providing oversight of process improvements, polic y and legislative
changes, and IT system upgrades and enhancement s;
2. provide oversight of financial assistance reform including policy and legislative changes and operational enhancement s;
3. provide oversight of the Department of Workforce Development for the reemployment and
reintegration job strategy;
4. provide oversight of the Department of Statis-tics to ensure that the department improves the
understanding and use of statistical data and
information;
5. provide oversight for the Economic Development Department in order to advance sustainable growth , development and diversification of
Bermuda’s economy ; and
6. provide oversight of the Labour Relations Sec-tion which is responsible for the development of a minimum wage to be followed by a living
wage.
Now I will turn to the various cost centres. Cost
centre 54060, the Ministry of Economy and Labour Administration. Mr. Chairman , the budget allocated for the
Ministry of Economy and Labour Administration can be found on page B -171 of the Budget Book and is
$847,000. This provides for the staffing of the Ministry
of Economy and Labour Headquarters in order to enable the Ministry to fulfil its mandate.
The Ministry of Economy and Labour Headquarters has the critical task of bringing together six departments that are integral to the economic recovery, growth of jobs and improved employment conditions in
Bermuda. The Ministry Headquarters currently operates with an interim group of staff. Work is underway to
fill these positions on a permanent basis . Successful
implementation of the initiatives and the execution of the Throne Speech initiatives moving forward require that Headquarters be staffed with sufficient established
posts and calibre personnel in the Ministry Headquarters.
It is estimated that the Ministry will cost approximately $ 715,298 per annum in salary expenses, of
which $213,393 will be used for payment of special advisors to the Ministry of Economy and Labour. Headquarters will utilise approximately $132, 061 in administrative expenses. Cost centre 54200, the Labour Relations Section. Mr. Chairman, the budget allocated for the Labour
Relations Section is $ 1,172,000. This represents an increase of $426,000, or 15 per cent, over the budget allocated for fiscal year 2022/23. These funds have been allocated for the conversion of the section into the Department of Labour. The additional cost represents
50 per cent of the cost to set up the new department,
which will occur during the 2023/24 fiscal period.
Currently, t he section oversees cert ification
and decertification of unions in the workplace and manages labour disputes in both unionised and nonunionised environments. This section also promotes dispute
resolution and prevention , and the management of employee engagement by offering a vari ety of training and
workshop opportunities. The section offers a range of
free and unbiased services to employers and employ-ees, from consultations on employment situations to
managing a complaint or a labour dispute, through to
settlement or to referral f or disposition by the Employment and Labour Relations Tribunal.
The section is also responsible for the administration of the Bermuda Labour Code which consists of
the Employment Act 2000 and the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 2021. It should be
noted that both pieces of legislation underwent a thorough review, and significant changes were brought
about on the 1
st of June 2021 that strengthened the
rights and obligations of employees and employers in
the workplace.
Mr. Chairman, the Ministry and the Labour Advisory Council (LAC) are currently looking at the current
operation of the recent amendments to the Employment Act 2000 and are considering the following areas for improvement:
1. clarification of vacation leave entitlement;
2. a requir ement for employers to notify the Ministry where there will be mass terminations of
more than 20 persons at a time;
3. clarification relating to what does not constitute
a break in the layoff period and the prohibiting
of employers from taking advantage of layoff
provisions in the Employment Act 2000;
4. ensuring equal pay for equal work;
5. ensuring the fair and adequate pay of employ-ees who receive tips and gratuities;
6. providing for the Labour Relations Section to
conduct workplace inspections; and
7. increase in wage protections and preventing wage theft by employers .
The Ministry and the Labour Advisory Council
will also be considering the drafting of guidance surrounding the employment relationship as it relates to
independent contractors to ensure that persons ar e not
being incorrectly classified.
I now turn to c ost centre 54210, Immigration
Appeal Tribunal. Mr. Chairman, the budget allocated
for the Immigration Appeal Tribunal is $25,000 for remuneration of Tribunal Member fees. The Immigration


Bermuda Senate Appeal Tribunal w as established under the Bermuda
Immigration and Protection Act 1956 (the principal Act)
and the Bermuda Immigration and Protection (Appeal)
Rules 2013.
Where a person is aggrieved by any decision
of the Minister in respect of which an appeal is expressly allowed by any provision of the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 1956, he may, subject to the
succeeding provisions, within seven days of the service
of any notice upon him communicating that decision to
him, appeal to the Immigration Appeal Tribunal by no-tice in writing addressed to the clerk of the Immigration
Appeal Tribunal.
For the purposes of conducting a hearing, the
Immigration Appeal Tribunal has all the powers of a
court of summary [jurisdiction] in relation to the summoning of witnesses, their examination on oath or oth-erwise and compelling the production of any document
or thing relevant to the subject matter of the proceedings.
The Immigration Appeal Tribunal is aided by a
clerk who is assigned by the Permanent Secretary. The process for an appellant to apply to the Immigration Appeal Tribunal is as follows: (1) an appellant has from
within seven days to file a notice of appeal with the
clerk; (2) appellants will have both a direction and substantive hearing; and (3) having the hearing, all parties
are notified of the Tribunal’s ruling which may be pub-lished on the Immigration Appeal Tribunal webpage on
the government portal.
The Bermuda Constitution Order 1968, the
Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 1956 together
with its related po licies, rules and regulations and the
Bermuda Immigration and Protection (Appeal) Rules
2013 govern the establishment of the Immigration Appeal Tribunal and its duties.
Additionally, legislation that also administers
the Immigration Appeal Tribunal are the British Nationality Act and the Accord between the Governments of
Bermuda and Portugal. The Board shall consist of a
pool of not less than nine members, nor more than fourteen members appointed by the Minister.

Total Funding

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Mr. C hairman, the total operational funding for the Ministry of Economy and Labour
Headquarters for the coming year is $2,044,000. Mr.
Chairman, Capital Funding for a photocopier for Financial Assistance has been approved for the Ministry of Economy and Labour Headquarters for 2023/24 on
page C -13 of the Budget Book.

Personnel

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Mr. Chairman, the Ministry of
Economy and Labour Headquarters will be seeking to
replace the current interim group of staff with the following full -time equivalents (or as we know, FTEs): 1. Ministry Financial Controller , filled ;
2. Policy Analyst , new ;
3. Policy & Project Coordinator , new ;
4. Business Analyst , new ; and
5. Office Manager , filled .
The Labour Relations Section currently has an
establishment of six full -time equivalents, which consist
of the following positions:
1. Labour Relations Manager;
2. Labour Relations Officers (there are four); and
3. Administrative Assistant.
The additional staff required to form the Department of Labour consists of the following:
1. Direc tor;
2. Policy Analyst;
3. Labour Inspector (there are three); and
4. Tribunal Administrative Assistant.

Output Measures and Objectives

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Mr. Chairman, during the
2022 /23 budget year to date the breakdown of the activity is as follows: There w ere 565 labour dispute inquiries lodged with the Labour Relations Section of which 465 were consultations; 70 were complaints filed
pursuant to the Employment Act 2000; and 20 were
grievances reported pursuant to the now repealed Labour Relations Act 1975, Trade Union Act 1965 and the
Labour Disputes Act 1992, or under the Trade Union
and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 2021.
Further, Mr. Chairman, a breakdown of the
complaints filed and investigated by the Labour Relations Officers were as follows: 44 terminations; 26 out-standing wages; and 20 complaints regarding constructive dismissal, layoff, vacation pay, redundancy, reduced work week/overtime, union decertification, Collective Bargaining Agreement procedures and union
certifications.
The results of the Tribunal are as follows:
Seven ruled in favour of the complainants; six ruled in
favour of the respondents; one is awaiting decision;
and eighteen are waiting to be heard.

Major Achievements in 2020/2021

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Mr. Chairman, during the past
year the Labour Relations Section has executed a
number of initiatives of national importance, including
the enactment of the amendments to the Employment Act 2000 and the Trade Union and Labour Relations
(Consolidation) Act 2021.
Despite the various spikes in COVID -19 cases,
which led to the temporary closure of some government
offices, the Labour Relations Section remained operational and was able to adequately service its clients.
Mr. Chairman, the Immigration Appeal Tribunal
started the year with a minor backlog in appeals and
spent the year ensuring all appeals were addressed.
The results of the Immigration Appeal Tribunal are as
300 22 March 2023 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda Senate follows: Eighteen appeals processed during the period
the 1st of April 2020 through the 31st of January 2022;
nine appeals were heard by an Immigration Appeal Tri-bunal panel; and zero appeals are outstanding as of 31 January 2022.
The difference between the appeals processed
and heard is due to appeals being withdrawn for vari-ous reasons.
Maj
or Achievements 2021/2022
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Mr. Chairman, during the past
18 months since the creation of the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Economy and Labour has executed a number of initiatives of national importance, including
1.extending the Supplemental UnemploymentBenefit fund. To date, 172 persons have satis-fied the criteria for receipt of the benefit at a total cost of $2,422, 774;
2.providing over 400 Bermudians with information on the various services, programmesand initiatives in response to the Minister’s appeal for unemployed Bermudians through the
Department of Workforce Development;
3.expanding financial assistance benefits for an
additional two years to over 100 individuals
and families;
4.tabling the Wage Commission’s Report;
5.undertaking stakeholder feedback on the Government’s consultation paper for a proposed
unemployment insurance fund;
6. developing a roadmap for the implementatio
n
of
an unemployment insurance scheme;
7.implementing the Economic Investment Certif-icate and Residential Certific ate Policy;
8.implementing the one- year Work from Bermuda policy;
9.increasing visitor stays to a total of 180 days;
10.implementing the mixed- status family legislation;
11. removing the requirements for an affidavit of
domicile for children born to Bermudian par-ents while overseas;
12.amending the eligibility requirements for Per-manent Resident’s Certificates;
13.implementing the personal employment plan
initiative designed to help financial assistance
recipients to secure employment;
14.implementing phase 1 of the two- phased National Reemployment Strategy aimed at reduc-ing unemployment;
15.implementing the graduate training programme;
16.providing a total of $350,000 in scholarships to
support 43 Bermudians to attend local educa-tional programmes and overseas tertiary edu-cation;17. continuing the College Summer Jobs programme with 75 participants and the highschool jobs programme with 55 participants;
18.legislating the Trade Union and Labour Rela-tions (Consolidation) Act 2021;
19. placing a moratorium for new work permits on
41 additional occupations ; and
20. enhanc ing scrutiny of work permit applications .
The Ministry of Economy and Labour and the
Labour Relations Section were involved in a number of
labour -related disputes during the 202 2/23 financial
year. Notably, disputes concerning the Bermuda I ndustrial Union and the Department of Public Transport, the Bermuda Industrial Union and SAL Ltd. resulted in a return to work and a resumption of services.
In closing for this head, Mr. Chairman, I would
like to take this opportunity to thank the heads of de-partments and their staff, along with the staff at the Ministry of Economy and Labour Headquarters. I thank
them for providing excellent service to the people of Bermuda. Their professionalism and dedication have been unwavering and very much appreciated.
This concludes my reading of Head 44, Ministry of Economy and Labour Headquarters budget brief 2023/24.

Thank you, Senator.
Please proceed with the next head. Thank you.
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I will now be reading Head 14, Department of
Statistics, found on pages B- 174 through B- 176 of the
Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure.
HEAD 14 —DEPARTMENT OF STATISTICS
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Mr. Chairman, it gives me
great pleasure to present the budget for Head 14, the Department of Statistics. And as I said, it is found on pages B -174 through B -176 of the Budget Book.
Mi
ssion and Objectives
Sen. Leslie Robinson: The mission of the department
is To produce and provide statistical information f or
data- driven decision- making for Bermuda. The department seeks to fulfil its mandate by delivering quality data that align with international standards and best practices to facilitate a culture of evidence- based decision-making for policies and programm es.
As such, the Department of Statistics objectives are as follows:
1.improve ease of accessibility to statistical dat
a
and
information for the people of Bermu da
t
hrough innovative digital tools using leadi ng
dat
a techniques;
2.adop t current international st atistical methodologies, standards and best practices in th e


Bermuda Senate collection, compilation and production of statistics;
3. operate a transparent and citizen- centric department by improving the understanding and
use of statistical data and information; and
4. develop the talent needed to sustain a highperforming department.

Expenditure Overview
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Mr. Chairman, the total current
expenditure of the Department of Statistics (found on
page B -174) is estimated to be $2,360,000 for fiscal
year 2023/24. This budget is $189,000 more than the
2022/23 budget allocation, reflecting a 9 per cent increase.
Mr. Chairman, the increase in the department’s
budget is attributable primarily to the launch of the
2023/24 Household Income and Expenditure Survey
(or as the acronym is, HIES). The cost is reflected in
business unit 24055, Census and Surveys Unit, and was last conducted in Bermuda in 2013. The objective
of this survey is to obtain household income and expenditure data for a broad range of consumer goods
and services purchased by households. These include residents’ expenditures on food, beverages, clothing,
furniture, motor vehicles, travel, medical, household
and personal services. Information on householders’ demographic characteristics and their employment status, income and ownership of consumer durables will
also be collected. The data and information from the survey will be used to do the following:
a. revise the basket of goods and services for the consumer price index, which measures the annual rate of inflation;
b. develop new benchmark values for household consumption for use in estimating the annual growth of the economy or gross domestic
product; and
c. assess the level of economic well -being for
households in Bermuda.
Mr. Chairman, the Subjective Analysis of Current Account Estimates of the Department of Statistics is found on page B -175. Please allow me to highlight
the material object code increases and decreases. And
I am looking now as [it is] presented at the top of page
B-175.
The budget for Salaries, which is line item 1,
decreased by $97,000, or 5 per cent. This reduction is
attributed to the difference in pay scales between persons leaving at senior pay scales and persons entering
at lower pay scales.
Training, line item 4. There has bee n an increase of $7,000, or 70 per cent, in the funds allocated
for local and overseas training and development to
build statistical capacity.
Travel, line item 5, increased by $16,000, or
229 per cent as a result of overseas training opportunities, works hops and meetings resuming. Advertising and Promotion, line item 7, increased by $7,000, or 140 per cent, due to the publicity
campaign associated with the upcoming Household Income and Expenditure Survey.
Professional Services, line item 8, increased
by $184,000 and zero per cent difference. This increase is attributed to anticipated professional ser-vices.
Repair and Maintenance, line item 9, increased
by $17,000, or 12 per cent. This increase is attributed
to anticipated rental increases.
Energy, line item 11, increased by $6,000, or
12 per cent.
Materials and Supplies, line item 12, increased
by $10,000, or 18 per cent, to cover the expense of purchasing supplies for the upcoming Household Income
and Expenditure Survey.

Capital Expenditure
Sen. Le slie Robinson: In accordance with page C -13,
the Department of Statistics had a capital expenditure of $17,000 for the year 2022/23, which was used to purchase laptops for the upcoming Household Income and
Expenditure Survey. There has been no capital funding
provided for year 2023/24.

Manpower

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Mr. Chairman, as seen on
page B -175, Employee Numbers, there is a total of 21
full-time equivalents (FTEs) in 2023/24, which is unchanged from year 2022/23 FTE estimates. Recruitment is currently underway for two statistical officers
and one assistant statistician.

Performance Measures

Sen. Leslie Robinson: The Department of Statistics
Performance Measures are found on page B -176 of the
Budget Book. This is what we achieved in 2021/22:
Mr. Chairman, business unit 24015, Administration:
Indicator 1, Improve accessibility to statistical
data through innovati ve digital [technology]. The target
for 2021/22 was growth of social media presence by
25 per cent. The actual outcome for 2021/22 was that
we achieved an increased number of followers on social media by 89 per cent.
Indicator 2, Number of courses taken by the
staff in recognised training in statistical methodologies and best practices. The target for 2021/22 was that
there would be 23 courses taken. The actual outcome
for 2021/22 is that we achieved 28 courses taken by
the staff.
Now I turn to business unit 24020, Core Statistics and Publications.
Indicator 1, Email and electronic devices for
the collection of Consumer Price Index price data be
302 22 March 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate used. The target for 2021/22 was collection rate of
50 per cent electronically. And the actual outcome for
the year 2021/22 is that the target was achieved. Collection rate is 50 per cent electronically.
Indicator 2, Scope of economic statistics increased to production account estimates by institutional sector; Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by income approach esti mates; household final consumption expenditure using the Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose. The target for this
particular one for 2021/22 was that GDP by income ap-proach estimate be published. Actual outcome for year
2021/22 is that this target was achieved, GDP income
approach estimates published.
Business unit 24025, Core Annual Surveys.
Indicator 1, Data quality assessment framework (or DQAF) for National Accounts to be completed.
The target for 2021/22, complete one DQAF. The actual outcome for 2021/22, this was achieved. One
DQAF was completed.
Indicator 2, Economic Activity Survey. The target for 2021/22 was response rate 85 per cent. The actual outcome 2021/22, this was not achieved. Response rate was only 81 per cent.
Indicator 3, Balance of payments, survey data
on trade between special purpose entities and non- residents aligned with the Balance of Payments Manual
(BPM) version 6. Target for the year 2021/22, response
rates 85 per cent to survey. Actual outcome for
2021/22, we actually achieved 93 per cent response
rates to survey.
Indicator 4 for this particular business unit,
electronic devices for field data collection during La-bour Force Surveys. The target for 2021/22 was 100 per cent of data collection. The actu al outcome for
2021/22, data was collected via electronic devices pro-cessed but not released due to the low response rate to a telephone survey. Field work suspended, unfortunately, due to COVID -19.
Business unit 24055, Census and Survey Research.
Indica tor 1, National Household Income and
Expenditure Survey from July to March data collected
via electronic devices. The target was 80 per cent. Response rate, annual outcome for the 2021/22 year, this
was actually postponed due to COVID -19.
Indicator 2, Int ernational Trade Statistics processed on a monthly basis for use in the production of key economic indicators such as the Gross Domestic
Product and Balance of Payments. The target for 2021/22 was 12. Actual outcome for 2021/22 was
achieved because the dat a are now being processed
monthly.
The performance measures for 2022/23 for
each business unit are indicated as follows:
Business unit 24015, Administration.
Indicator 1, Improve accessibility to statistical
data through innovative digital tools. Our target for 2022/23 was to increase the number of followers on so-cial media by 15 per cent.

Very good, Senator. Thank you.
Please proceed.

Sen. Leslie Robinson: So business unit 24015. I have
just mentioned the first indicator for 2022/23. I am now going on to Indicator 2.
Indicator 2, Number of courses taken by staff
in recognised training in statistical methodologies and
best practices. The target for year 2022/23 was 20.
Business unit 24020, Core Statistics and Publication.
Indicator 1, Email and tablet devices for the collection of consumer price index price data used. The
target for 2022/23, collection rate to be 50 per cent
electronically.
Indicator 2, Scope of economic statistics increased to production account estimates by institutional sector, GDP by income approach estimates,
household final consumption expenditure using the
classification of individual consumption according to
purpose. The target for 2022/23 is t hat we will reach
100 per cent.
Business unit 24025, Core Annual Surveys.
Indicator 1, The Data Quality Assessment
Framework (DQAF) for national accounts completed.
Target for 2022/23 is to achieve 60 per cent of the five
components of the DQAF.
Indicat or 2, Economic activity survey and balance of payments survey data on trade between special purpose entities and non- residents aligned with the
Balance of Payments Manual (BPM) version 6. The target for 2022/23, response rates to surveys to be 85 per
cent.
Indicator 3, Electronic devices for field data collection during labour force surveys. The target for 2022/23 is 100 per cent of data collection.
Business unit 24055, Census and Survey Research.


Bermuda Senate Indicator 1, National Household Income Expenditure Survey from data collection via electronic devices. The target for this one for 2022/23 we are actually postponing until 2023/24 and preparations are underway.
Indicator 2, which is international trade statistics processed on a monthly basis for use in the production of key economic indicators such as the gross
domestic product and balance of payments. The target for 2022/23, data to be processed on a monthly basis.

Major Achievements
Sen. Leslie Robinson: One major achievement for the
department was the trans fer of the International Trade
Database from Microsoft Access to a structured query
language database. This was a collaborative effort be-tween the Department of Statistics and the Department
of Information and Digital Technology. After building
the databas e, the international trade data was migrated
successfully to the new system. The new database is a
marked improvement over the old database, as it is
more efficient and manageable.
Another achievement for the department was
the expansion of the Balance of Payments & International Investment Position publication to include a new table on integrated international investment position.
This table expands the integrated international invest-ment position to include the flows of transaction and
other changes betw een quarterly reports.

Plans for the Upcoming Year

Sen. Leslie Robinson: The department will produce
the following core publications in the upcoming year,
2023/24:
Monthly publications: Retail Sales Index and
Consumer Price Index;
Quarterly publications: Balance of Payments
and International Investments Position, as well as
Gross Domestic Product by Expenditure;
Semi -annually publication: Labour Force Survey Report .
Finally, there are a number of annual reports:
1. Bermuda Digest of Statistics;
2. Bermuda Job Market Employment Briefs;
3. Employment Survey Tabulations Set;
4. Annual Gross Domestic Product;
5. Information, Communication and Technology
Profile;
6. Environmental Statist ics Compendium; and
7. Tourism Satellite Account Report.
Mr. Chairman, the department will continue to
conduct the following surveys:
• Monthly Retail Sales Survey;
• Monthly Consumer Price Index Survey;
• Quarterly Hotel Gross Receipts Survey;
• Quarterly Construct ion Survey; • Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Survey ;
• Annual Employment Survey;
• Annual Economic Activity Survey ;
• Spring and Fall 2023 Labour Force Survey; and
• 2023/24 Household Income and Expenditure Survey.
Mr. Chairman, the depar tment conducts
ad hoc surveys, provides survey samples and un dertakes in- depth research and analysis of data. In addition, the department provides statistical advice and pro-fessional consultancy in the collection, processing and
analysis of data for govern ment departments.
Mr. Chairman, the department will engage in
activities such as processing and providing trade sta-tistics, fulfilling statistical data requests from local and international organisations, and making presentations
to internal and external stakeholders.
Mr. Chairman, at the request of the Director of
Statistics, the Management Consulting Section conducted a review of the department’s organisational
structure and recommended improvements to the or-ganisation’s operational efficiency. During t he coming
year the Department of Statistics will strive toward im-plementing these recommendations.
Mr. Chairman, let me take this opportunity to
acknowledge and thank the hard- working staff of the
Department of Statistics led by the Director, Ms.
Melinda Williams, and her team of statisticians and the
support staff for their continued commitment.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This now concludes
my budget presentation for Head 14.

Thank you, Senator.
You can now proceed as you wish for Head 94.

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I am now going to proceed with Head 94, Economic Development Department. Also as another sec-tion to this Head 94, it will be the Bermuda Business
Development Agency. And then I will conclude with the
final section in this head, which is the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation. So the first one that I am going to be reading is the Economic Development Department itself, and it is found on pages B -192
through B -195, and C -19 of the Estimates of Revenue
and Expenditure.

HEAD 94 —ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
DEPARTMENT

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Mr. Chairman, I will now present the estimates of expenditure and revenue for
Head 94, the Economic Development Department (as
we will call it, EDD) which as I said can be f ound on
pages B -192 to B -195 and C -19 of the Budget Book.
The subjective analysis for the EDD is found on page
B-193. It shows that the total expenditure for the EDD
304 22 March 2023 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda Senate is estimated to be $8,394,000 for 2023/24, which represents an increase of $699,000 over last year’s budget. It is of note that this increase is attributed to an increased budgetary allocation to the Business Devel-opment Agency. It is also of note that both the EDD and the Economic Development Corporation have had reduced budgetary allocations for the coming fiscal year.
In terms of revenues, which are shown on page
B-194, the EDD is expected to generate up to
$6,500,000 in revenues related to both land acquisitio
n
f
ees and to the Incentives for Job Makers Programme
combined.
Now turning to page B- 192 I note that the mission of Head 94, the EDD, is To advance the sustainable growth, development and diversification of Ber-muda’s economy. Since its creation in April 2020, the
EDD has been focused on identifying opportunities that would stimulate the growth, development and diversification of Bermuda’s economy. That work is not limited
to bringing to our shores economic stimuli such as for-eign investment. Beyond just that, the work of the de-partment includes working with stakeholders, both in-ternal and external to government, to examine the various facets of our jurisdiction. It aims to facilitate their work together to ensure that the jurisdiction is welcom-ing to foreign investment in different ways, not just thanks to the Island’s fortuitously advantageous geo-graphical location, but also thanks to the legal and reg-ulatory framework, its workforce and its infrastructure.
Mr. Chairman, in the coming year, the department plans to continue its work as it aims to achieve its mission. It will do so by
a.Facilitating , creating and implementing policies to support the Economic Recovery Pl
an
(
the ERP);
b.positioning Bermuda as an ideal test marketfor innovative product and industry develop-ment in collaboration with stakeholders;
c.analysing innovative developments in trendsfor research and stakeholder engagement;
d.identifying the jurisdiction’s market fit, clearlycommunicating its message and driving op-portunities that lead to economic activity;
e.processing various land licences and Incen-tives for Job Makers applications in a timely,efficient and professional manner;
f.facilitating opportunities for technology, edu-cation, mentoring and training, and supportinge-entrepreneurship; and
g.creating a more attractive regulatory environ-ment for business and enhanced communi cation between the Government of Bermuda a
nd
t
he private sector.
Mr. Chairman, I will now briefly go over the
work of each of the EDD’s various divisions and what each plan to achieve over the next fiscal period. How-ever, before I go in that direction, allow me to note that the department’s budget includes the annual operating
budget of two distinct quangos, the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation (BEDC) and the Bermuda
Business Development Agency (the BDA).
For year 2023/24, the BEDC’s operating grant
is $2,239,000, while the BDA’s is $4,320,000 as per page C -19. Both quangos are highly active and focused
on separate but complementary aspects of economic
development. Both also fall in natural alignment with
the EDD, which supports both their management and their operation.
Mr. Chairman, the EDD’s Concierge and Engagement Services Division provides concierge ser-vices to Bermuda’s inbound investors by streamlining
and expediting government processes. It also provides
companies wishing to establish a meaningful presence in Bermuda with services along several lines such as facilitating meetings with government officials, regula-tors and other stakeholders. In addition, the division closely works with the public authorities such as the Department of Immigration, the Department of Social Insurance, the Office of the Tax Commissioner and the Registrar of Companies. This ensures that companies who are relocating to the Island from overseas are duly registered and in good standing with the Government.
More widely speaking, the division advises on
applicable policies and initiatives aimed at attracting and sustaining international business, provides guid-ance and immigration strategy, ensures the expedited processing of regulatory applications and arranges for the expedited arrivals processing for certain business
visitors. In doing so, the EDD’s Concierge and Engage-ment Services Division’s aim is to add value to Ber-muda’s proposition. It helps smooth the transition from
business prospects to meaningful investors by, for in-stance, shortening the amount of time it takes for new businesses to start operating in Bermuda and, as a result, allowing for faster job creation and revenue generation.
May I note that while performing its duties the
EDD’s Concierge and Engagement Services Division
pays particular attention to job creation trends as reported by the new businesses which it assists. For year 2022/23, it reports that companies that it assisted dur-ing the year created 156 jobs on the Island, 68 of which
were filled by Bermudians. In year 2021/22 these fig-ures amounted to the creation of 141 jobs, 25 of which were filled by Bermudians. So, when comparing these
data, the number of jobs created increased by 10.6 per
cent and the number of these jobs filled by Bermudians
grew by 172.0 per cent.
Mr. Chairman, the EDD’s Research and Legislative Support Division is focused on activities related
to international business, including legislative reform
and working in partnership with and in support of the
Bermuda Business Development Agency. To maintain the Island’s competitiveness and its reputation as a leader in the offshore business community, Bermuda must continue to monitor its legal framework and, when necessary, take swift yet thoughtful steps to am end
current legislation or adopt new legislation. Working


Bermuda Senate with internal and external stakeholders, the EDD’s Research and Legislative Support Division therefore assists in advancing new policies and legislative initiatives to help improve Bermuda’s long- standing regard
as a jurisdiction of choice for international business.
Initiatives progressed by the Research and
Legislative Support Division are targeted at meeting market demands through comprehensive and carefully
tailored policies related to corporate products and service offerings. These policies are integrated into what is already a robust yet flexible regime designed to meet the needs of even the most sophisticated businesses.
To accomplish this, the division works with various entities including th e following:
a) government ministries and departments;
b) the Bermuda Monetary Authority;
c) the BDA and its industry groups;
d) the Joint Select Committee on Private Bills;
and
e) other members of the private sector.
Mr. Chairman, in 2022/23 the EDD’s Research
and Legi slative Support Division worked with these
stakeholders to coordinate the internal consultation process and lead the Government’s position to the
Joint Select Committee for Private Bills and to provide ongoing support to several other important legislative
initiatives in the facilitation through the drafting process of updated legislation governing intellectual property and the production of other legislative proposals regarding family offices.
Mr. Chairman, the EDD’s Research and Legislative Support Divis ion through the Ministry of Economy
and Labour assisted with the modernisation of the legislative framework governing [intellectual] property rights. This initiative includes collaboration with the
Ministry of Tourism and the Cabinet Office, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Registry General. The objective of this legislative initiative is to make legislation
governing trademarks, patents, registered designs and
copyrights more fully aligned with the United Kingdom
and with global standards and best prac tices. Petitions
for an updated IP legislative framework have come
from both the Registry General and industry practitioners, particularly following the advent of the FinTech leg-islation and economic substance requirements to allow
Bermuda to better compet e for the business.
There is broad support for new government
measures to address this issue and wide agreement that its initiatives will demand much time and collaborative effort amongst relevant ministries. Consistent with the recommendations of both th e Registry General and
the task force, overhauls of both the Trade Marks Act
1974 and the Patents and Designs Act 1930 are currently in progress. Updates to the Copyrights and Designs Act 2004 will also be completed.
Mr. Chairman, it is anticipated that u pdated
legislation and regulations governing intellectual prop-erty will be tabled before this Senate in the upcoming
fiscal year. Once the legislative updates are in place, Bermuda will be better suited to attract more companies to register their intellect ual property rights in Bermuda. Increased registrations from global market par-ticipants, increased government revenues, updated
and more efficient administrative practices and pro-cesses, and access to well -established case law in the
United [Kingdom] are all benefits that are anticipated
from this modernisation initiative.
Mr. Chairman, in 2022/23 the EDD’s Research
and Legislative Support Division through the Ministry of
Economy and Labour assisted with formulating policy recommendations to continue to st rengthen product offerings and pursue viable opportunities to stimulate and
diversify the economy, including growing the private
wealth management sector by focusing on activities of
family offices. The initiative has involved collaboration
with the Cabine t Office and the Ministry of Finance
through the Registrar of Companies, the Bermuda
Monetary Authority, the Bermuda Business Development Agency and industry representatives of the private and trust industry.
Mr. Chairman, Bermuda’s investment environment offers several advantages for businesses competing in the global market. This includes the ease of access to investors in capital markets in New York,
London and Europe, and well -defined and well -regulated regulatory framework that is attractive to intern ational clientele. With a heavy focus on private wealth management, family offices manage key areas of family assets such as real estate holdings and other investments, tax matters and estate management. Family offices also serve as the central hub for a f amily’s legacy,
governance and succession; and they often support the
education and development of family members, coordinate communication and resolve issues within the family enterprise.
Mr. Chairman, while the focus of this initiative
was initially int ended to offer solutions and incentives
for family offices, the Government is also looking to
seize the opportunity to implement changes that would
be helpful to various types of businesses and that may
encourage greater use of existing products.
Mr. Chai rman, in the upcoming fiscal year the
EDD will assist in the completion of ongoing legislative
initiatives and projects. At a minimum, this will include completion of legislative changes related to the family
office initiative as well as updates to the law s governing
intellectual property, as I previously mentioned.
Mr. Chairman, Bermuda’s investment in digital
assets is showing steady progress. Having established
the Digital Asset Business Act (DABA) framework in
2018, Bermuda has been gradually attractin g companies, building experience in navigating the risks of this innovative new space and refining its regime. This
strategy is bearing fruit, as Bermuda has developed a
reputation for a clear, well -thought -out approach to the
industry that differs from many other jurisdictions at-tempting to build industries in this new and changing
space.
306 22 March 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Bermuda now has 16 licensed digital asset
businesses, with six of those licences having been issued in 2022. Early indications are that 2023 will be a
strong year of growth with more companies getting licences, as Bermuda has become more attractive to those players seeking to differentiate themselves
through strong regulatory oversight. And I repeat:
strong regulatory oversight. In parallel, Bermuda has
seen strong growth in the digital asset insurance business through the innovative insurer regime introduced in 2019. We now have eight licensed insurers working with digital assets, four of whom were licensed in the
year 2022. This includes what may be the world’s first
licensed insurer for digital asset life insurance.
As businesses get established and grow, we
have seen corresponding job growth. Importantly, the
commitment to Bermudian job growth by the industry is promising and welcomed. Companies such as Relm Insurance and Bittrex Global (Bermuda) have strongly invested in all -Bermudian staffing of 13 and 6 employees,
respectively. The impact of a strong commitment to
Bermudian hiring cannot be [overstated], as today Bermudians are receiving training and experience that will
be invaluable as the industry grows.
Digital assets are an innovative and dynamic
new space. The rapid pace of innovation means it is not
possible to simply hire experienced industry people
from other jurisdictions. It necessitates investment in the training and development of talent. It is encouraging
to see strong investment in the training of Bermudians and to recognise that these individuals are getting in on the ground floor and will likely be the future leaders of
the local and global digital as sets industry.
In the coming fiscal year the EDD’s Office of
FinTech will continue to work closely with stakeholders
in the Bermuda Monetary Authority and the Bermuda
BDA [Business Development Agency] to promote Ber-muda’s story in order to attract busines ses seeking a
clear and well -thought -out approach to regulation in
this space. It will also continue supporting the industry
to drive innovation and experimentation by DABA -licensed entities in the local market.
The EDD’s Education and Training Programme, which I will expand on shortly during this
presentation, will also be prioritised as we develop Bermudian talent and expand the number of Bermudians
building businesses and entering the workplace in the
FinTech and digital asset space. Bermuda’s approach
is to build a strong reputation in the digital asset space
and to make itself attractive to those who actively seek to be regulated by an experienced, thoughtful and competent regulator. The industry continues to develop
strong momentum with an increasing number of companies getting licences. Those licences translate into
growing businesses as companies get established.
And as those companies grow, they have demon-strated commitment to investing in and hiring Bermudians. It is this commitment to creating opp ortunities for Bermudians that explains why Bermuda remains com-mitted to the future of this industry and why it looks forward to continuing to build on the momentum that it has
achieved so far.
Mr. Chairman, the EDD’s Business Services
Division is focused squarely on advancing various economic development projects. In this post -pandemic era,
the department continues to encourage investment in
the local economy. In doing so, it solidifies relationships
with inbound interest as guided by the Economic Recover y Plan, the ERP.
Mr. Chairman, the Alien Land Licence Programme, pursuant to the Economic Development Act
1968 and as detailed in Part VI of the Bermuda Immigration [and Protection] Act 1956, aims to protect land
in Bermuda for ownership of persons who possess Bermudian status by
a) requiring persons to have licences to hold or
acquire land in Bermuda and preventing them
from appropriating it;
b) requiring trustees to have licences to hold or acquire land in Bermuda for the benefit of restricted persons and prev enting them from appropriating it; and
c) preventing corporations from acquiring or holding land in Bermuda unless they do so in accordance with legislation.
The Alien Land Licence Programme includes
applications by restricted persons to hold or acquire
land in Bermuda, to let their Bermudian properties, to
take a mortgage or charge on land and to apply for deferral certificates. In 2022/23 the Alien Land Licence
Programme earned the government over $5,900,000 in revenues. This is reflective of 49 land- holding charges
received and 151 land licence applications received. In
total, 151 applications were approved as follows:
• 79 land licence applications to acquire land;
• 31 short -term rental applications;
• 23 permission to let applications;
• 10 deferral certificate applications;
• five permissions in principle to let;
• one application to provide financial assistance;
• two Financial Assistance applications.
The EDD remains committed to processing alien land licence applications in a timely manner and is
committed to working with the Bermuda real estate
market to ensure that the process remains efficient.
Mr. Chairman, through the Incentives for Job
Makers programme, companies can apply to obtain the
concession of having their senior executives, who are
responsible for the continued presence of jobs for Ber-mudians in Bermuda, exempt from needing a work permit. Successful applicants are exempt from needing a
work permit, and their family is accordingly granted permission to reside with them. In 2022/23, the Inc entives
for Job Makers programme earned the government
$360,000 in revenues, reflecting 18 successful exemption applications. That is on par with the revenue


Bermuda Senate earned in the previous fiscal year. The EDD will continue to process Incentives for Job Makers’ ap plications
as they are received and is determined to streamline the process to improve the processing time of each application.
Mr. Chairman, in 2022/23 the EDD engaged in
an aggressive social media campaign that launched its
presence on multiple platforms including LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook. It used them to complement its
appearances in the local conventional media, but also
to further introduce the EDD team to the public that it serves to publicise its activities, to advertise its events
and to communicate the numerous times that the department caused Bermuda to be highlighted in international publications like The European, the World Commerce Review and the Climate Change Review . The
EDD also communicated its message to the local reader by strengt hening its presence in local publications such as Visit Bermuda, the Bermuda Business
Review, Your Future Magazine and others.
In terms of its communications efforts, the EDD
also used social media to demystify basic FinTech definitions and concepts and t o familiarise its public with
trusted and recommended industry sources of information through its own FinTech- focused podcast, titled
FinTech Fridays, which is available on most podcasting
apps including Spotify, and also on YouTube. The podcast aims to demystify FinTech, its core concepts and its importance for Bermuda, including its impacts on the
local economy and on our daily conversations about it.
Increasing the public’s awareness of and familiarity with FinTech will lay the foundation for a knowledge able workforce and for a confident and comfortable inno-vator and end user.
In its first season, the first episode of FinTech
Fridays introduced the Office of FinTech team and gave a general overview of the Island’s FinTech sector. The remaining episodes f ocused on young Bermudians
who are making their mark in the industry, including Ka-ree Luna, founder of Unda de Wave, who discussed
non-fungible tokens (NFTs); Kevin Richards of Bermuda Asset Management, who talked about Bermuda's FinTech ecosystem and how tech companies are
working together to grow the economic activity in Bermuda using FinTech; and last but not least the speakers who made a direct impact on hundreds of high
schoolers at the EDD’s annual Tech Education Day included:
• Charissa Ball, Counsel at Carey Olson Ber-muda;
• ConnecTech founder and CEO Coral Wells
and Zär'a Cardell;
• Richard Augustus; and
• Stephanie Smellie.
Mr. Chairman, may I recall to the attention of
this Honourable Chamber the mission of the EDD,
which is, To advance the sustainable growth, development and diversification of Bermuda’s economy. In careful and thoughtful support of that, the EDD’s Com-munications, Education and Compliance Division
works to develop a sustained, informed, skilled and
connected talent pool for Bermuda. Its p urpose is to
propel the jurisdiction as it works to consolidate its position as a global leader in tech and FinTech. And it is
carrying out this task with the department’s triple focus
in mind: (1) economic diversification and development;
(2) revenue generation; and (3) job creation. This triplefocus requires the active and deliberate inclusion of all
who are willing and able to join this effort. It is impera-tive that as many Bermudians as possible be invited to
take part in and benefit from the growth of the new economic sectors that are coming on board.
To that effect, over the past period the EDD
continued to strengthen and implement its education
and training programme. It encourages inbound inter-est to participate in nurturing the skilled workforce t hat
is required to flourish and contribute to the economy.
The plan builds on the following cornerstones:
a) theoretical education;
b) practical on- the-job learning; and
c) active mentorship straight from industry.
May I note that the EDD’s Education and Training P rogramme, which launched in the summer of 2022
with a focus on tech and FinTech, saw 13 Bermudians
complete a rigorous eight -week syllabus that required
them to attend weekly virtual classes, complete various assignments, deliver a final project and attend networking sessions hosted by leaders in the local FinTech industry, oftentimes at the C -Suite level. This was the result of a close collaboration between the Government of Bermuda, through the EDD, with ViableEdu and NEXT, the Island’s first digital asse t industry association.
In addition to providing multiple yearly learning
and networking opportunities, the EDD’s FinTech Education and Training Programme demands that the EDD
support and host events that are aimed at the Bermuda
public in order to [achieve the following]:
a) Share information and arrange for subject -matter experts to speak directly to the Bermudabased learner and consumer, which takes
place in formal training sessions as well as during events like the annual Tech Education Day
and the Reverse Pitch, both of which are
geared specifically toward Bermuda’s students and which the EDD organises every year. The
EDD also supports tech and FinTech education opportunities such as the Bermuda Tech
Summit and the International Tech Summit.
b) Celebrate the Bermuda- based entrepreneurs
who continue to innovate and lead the charge
locally and foster an ecosystem that is supportive of e- entrepreneurship. This is achieved with
such flagship events as the TechAwards,
which the EDD organises every year, and the
Rocket Pitch, a Global Entrepreneurship Week
event that the EDD sponsors annually.
308 22 March 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate c) Nurture an environment where industry leaders
are easy to reach, and provide realistic role
models, mentors and innovative employers.
This is carefully planned by the E DD and
achieved in a systematic and organic way,
peppered throughout the year by providing ample opportunity for meetings and networking to
occur naturally at various organised events.
The EDD also supported the efforts of other
parties who are equally as passionate about informing
the youth about innovative tech. These organisations,
which were supported by the EDD, include [the following]:
• ConnecTech Coding, who took the 23- personstrong Bermuda Team to Switzerland to com-pete in the First Global internat ional robotics
competition.
• Bermuda Island Games, who organises regular boot camps to instruct Bermuda’s youth
about game development and design. In
2022/23 it was oversubscribed. It offered the
training opportunity to 40 students in total,
which at the ti me exceeded the camp’s maximum capacity.
• The Technology Leadership Forum which, as it
does every year, provided enriching opportunities to six interns with the aim of accommodating the growing need for qualified Bermudians
in the ICT field.
This coming ye ar the EDD will continue to operate in innovative ways to strengthen ties with innovative local tech educators and employers as it implements its Education and Training Programme for the
benefit of Bermuda’s employment market.
Mr. Chairman, the EDD’s Communications,
Education and Compliance Division also works to raise awareness on the work of the EDD as well as, most importantly, publicising Bermuda’s work as it established itself as a global leader in FinTech as well as an
ideal test market for innovation. In doing so, the EDD is
utilising several media to show how Bermuda is nurturing a diverse FinTech ecosystem where everyone has
a role to play, as well as how it is developing a sustained, informed and skilled workforce that has the right
knowledge, the right experience and the right network.
It is of note that the jurisdiction not only aims to
build a skilled labour force, it also aims to nurture a
community of knowledgeable end users. Both groups
must be comfortable with, for instance, FinTech as a
new sector of the economy so that they may readily en-gage it by joining its workforce and/or by partaking of
its products and services. And the EDD, using social
media as well as conventional media, is communicating
that message locally and internationally. And so in ad-dition to its regular publications, both locally and overseas, over the past year the EDD’s Communications,
Education and Compliance Division launched an aggressive social media campaign that almost quadrupled its communications output. Mr. Chairman, the third arm of the EDD’s Communications, Education and Compliance Division focuses on compliance on both ends —internally for the
EDD as a government department and externally as it works with clients who are contracted to do business with the gov ernment. Compliance in this instance is
along two lines, first ensuring that actions, processes
and procedures are in accordance with the Personal
Information Protection Act 2016 (PIPA); as well as with
the Government’s Security Policy, which takes into
consideration among other things data protection and
cybersecurity.
Mr. Chairman, last but not least, the E -Commerce Advisory Board (the ECAB) is a statutory board created under the Electronic Transactions Act 1999
(the ETA) to advise the Minister responsib le for e- commerce. The board comes into effect upon publication in
the official Gazette . With secretarial support from the
EDD and for this coming fiscal year, the ECAB contin-ues to focus on updating and modernising the ETA
along three distinct lines
a) Elect ronic Transactions Act 1999, general updates and amendments;
b) Standard for electronic transactions; and
c) ETA harmonisation with the Personal Information Protection Act 2016 (PIPA).
Mr. Chairman, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people who have worked hard during a difficult year, but yet a successful year. The team representing the EDD assisted with breathing life back into
our economy. Thank you to all of the staff for your assistance.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my presentation
of Head 94, the Economic Development Department. I now turn to the next section of Head 94, the Bermuda
Business Development Agency, which can be found on
page C -19 of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure [Budget Book].

Thank you, Senator, please continue.

Bermuda Business Development Agency
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I will now speak about the Bermuda Business
Development Agency, or the BDA, its activities over the
past year and what it has planned for the next year.
Celebrating its 10
th anniversary this year, the BDA was
founded on the 1st of April 2013 when Business Bermuda merged with the Insurance Development Council
to act as an independent public/private partnership that
encourages inward direct investment and gr owth for
Bermuda.
The BDA’s purpose is t o promote and protect,
in collaboration with government and the private sector,
sustainable and equitable economic growth, diversifi-cation and prosperity in Bermuda. The BDA’s vision is
to be an energetic, committed and sustainable resource for Bermuda locally and internationally. And the

B ermuda Senate BDA’s mission, in service of its vision and purpose, is,
To facilitate and lead efforts to promote Bermuda and
consistently deliver outstanding value to its stakehold-ers. The BDA is recognised as one of Bermuda's best
outward- reaching arms to grow and diversify our economy. This is because of its deliberately unique ability to
get in front of overseas business makers, reminding
them about the Island’s key attributes and setting it apart in an increasingly competitive global market-place.
Mr. Chairman, last year was a watershed year
for the BDA. As the world cautiously re- opened after a
two-year forced travel hiatus, the BDA organised no
less than five separate business development mis sions
to the United States. I was fortunate, as were others, to attend two missions. The first included the RIMS RISK-WORLD event, Climate Risk Finance Road Show along with the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance, and the Minister of Economy and Labour, and
the second to the BDA’s New York City executive fo-rum. The BDA, as led by the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance, attended Consensus [2022] in Austin, Texas, after which the BDA attended both InsureTech Connect and Innsure.
On the other side of the Atlantic, a BDA delegation led by the Honourable Premier and Minister of
Finance, and industry stakeholders, engaged with lead-ing global capital allocators, law firms, wealth manag-ers and tech incubators in London specifically to discuss Bermuda’s aspirations to develop and grow new
FinTech and climate risk finance economic pillars. After an absence of over three years, the BDA was excited to return to Canada in 2022, organising 10 targeted business development meetings with risk and insur-ance, private equity, legal services and technology
firms.
In terms of the Asian market, following a webinar with the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance for the Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, the BDA sent a business development
mission to Singapore where over 20 meetings were
held with several quality service providers including law firms, high -net-worth services, FinTech and asset management providers. Immediately following the promo-tion of Bermuda as a climate risk finance capital from COP27, the BDA and industry stakeholders participated in a Bermuda private client/high- net-worth services delegation.
Mr. Chairman, on the Island the BDA is also
the key first point of contact for the Government’s Eco-nomic Investment Certificate (EIC) initi ative which in
2022 attracted [$]369 million indirect investment, comprising $111 million in real estate and $258 million invested in new and existing businesses. For the next fis-cal period the BDA aims to pursue targeted business development opportunities across five key industries,
strategically aligned with the Bermuda Government’s Economic Recovery Plan to create economic growth, expand business and increase inward investment. The five key industries are
a)Risk and Insurance Solutions, with a particularfocus on climate risk finance;
b)High-Net-Worth Services (i.e., trusts, private
clients and family offices);
c)Asset Management (this includes funds, insur-ance- linked securities and private equity);
d)Technology with a particular focus on FinancialTechnology (i.e., FinTech or digital asset busi-nesses), Insurance Tech (or InsurTech); and fi-nally,
e)Infrastructure (which includes hotel develop-ment, subsea cables, space/satellites, renew-able energy and the blue economy).
Allow me to speak to how these activities directly relate to economic growth here locally.
a)They all support economic diversification by
creating new jobs in industry.
b)They all support expanding Bermuda’s population by boosting the working population.
c)They often support sustainability/green recov-ery policies and/or regulatory frameworks for
technological innovation as outlined in the Economic Recovery Plan.
In terms of business development, marketin
g
and pr
omotion around these five key industries, the
BDA organised and/or participated in the following climate risk finance initiatives in 2022: The BDA presented the first -ever Bermuda Climate Webinar on February 3, 2022. This was followed by organising a Climate Risk Finance Road Show to Silicon Valley on April
13, 2022. Then on May 24 the BDA presented its inaugural Bermuda Climate Summit drawing over 150 at-tendees to Rosewood Bermuda, 70 from overseas, to
discuss wide -ranging climate issues including the science of climate change, the regulatory needs of green
investors and Bermuda’s leadership role in t his new
area.
The BDA’s media partnership with Bermuda
Re+ILS [insurance- linked securities] created 15 post -
summit articles and positive mentions. In connection with the Bermuda Climate Summit, the BDA released the first -ever ESG [Environmental, Social and Governance] in Bermuda Report with Oxbow Partners. The re-port was released on May 24 with an accompanying
webinar airing on July 19. On October 12, the BDA assisted with organising an ESG luncheon in Hamilton with KBRA [Kroll Bond Rating Agency]. Finally , from
November 9 to 15, the BDA attended COP27 in Egypt, partnering with Hub Culture to hold a targeted Bermuda luncheon, along with business development meetings
with asset management leaders, entrepreneurs, tech
innovators and NGOs [non- governmental organisations] interested in financing mechanisms to build cli-mate resiliency.
Mr. Chairman, the BDA supported Bermuda’s
globally significant risk and insurance solutions industry
in the following ways in 2022: On February 28, the BDA
310 22 March 2023 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda Senate spoke on a special edition of the official podcast of
RIMS, the Risk and Insurance Management Society, entitled Bermuda Opportunities in 2022. From March 14 to 16 the BDA presented the inaugural Ber-muda Risk Summit, attracting 350 delegates to the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club, including nearly 100
business travellers.
The BDA’s media partnership with The Insurer,
an industry publication with 22,500 subscribers, reach-ing an audience of 45,000 across 300 [businesses] and 70 countries, generated 13 positive videos and articles. From April 11 to 12 the BDA organised Bermuda’s participation at RIMS’ RISKWORLD conference in San Francisco. This was followed by [sponsoring] and speaking at the Bermuda Healthcare Forum from April 27 and 28, participating in Bermuda Finance’s ILS
and life roundtables in June, and travelling to and pre-senting at the Florida Insurance Council summer symposium from July 26 through 28.
In Q3 [third quarter] 2022, the BDA [sponsored]
the Bermuda Captive Conference from September 12
to 14 and the Bermuda Insurers and Long- Term Insurers and Reinsurers [BILTIR] annual event on Septem-ber 20. This was followed by the BDA attending the InsureTech Connect event in Las Vegas from September
20 to 22, where BDA moderated a panel and partici-pated in 30 business development meetings; and the Innsure event in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Octo-ber 6, where several targeted business development
meetings were held.
Back at home the BDA sponsored the ILS Convergence event from October 12 to 14, NetDiligence
event on 17 November and the InsuranceERM [insurance enterprise risk management] event on Novem-ber 22. Finally, given the important ties between the
Bermuda and Florida risk markets, the BDA organised a webinar with Florida’s Speaker of the House immedi-ately following a special session of the State Legisla-ture on insurance on December 20.
Mr. Chairman, the BDA continued to develop
Bermuda’s technology sector in 2022 by partnering with Bermuda’s new FinTech industry association, NEXT Bermuda and the EDD to advance Bermuda’s national technology strategy and form partnerships with newly formed technology incubators and startups on the Island. The BDA’s Technology Legal and Regulatory Subcommittee also continued to work with both
regulators and industry throughout the year to identify opportunities for growth and benefits of Bermuda’s ex-isting digital asset business framework.
Additionally, the BDA continued to ensure Bermuda had a presence in the global tech space and
hosted several FinTech roundtable events at our New
York [City ] executive forum in May, generating positive
coverage by Bloomberg, which has 62,700,000 global monthly unique visitors; the Wall Street Journal, which
has 83,500,000 monthly unique visitors; as well as the Financial Times and Think Advisor . The BDA also attended Consensus in Austin, Texas, in June and FinTech Islands in Barbados from October 3 through 8.
The BDA also collaborated on the production
of Bermuda Tech Week, in particular by organising the week’s signature event, the fourth annual Bermuda
Tech Summit, developed in partnership with EDD and
NEXT Bermuda. Held between October 26 through 28,
the event attracted over 300 delegates, nearly 80 from overseas, to the Hamilton Princess and Beach Club and provided an immediate economic impact including lodging, transportation, food and beverage, retail and
recreation of $557,000 supporting 115 local jobs.
Beyond these short -term impacts, long- term
economic impacts included an opinion piece by Mi-chael Casey, Chief Content Officer, CoinDesk, being featured on CoinDesk’s website, which has 7 million
unique views, and social media, 2,900,000 followers on
Twitter, and two money reimagined podcasts (19,000
downloads and over 2,800,000 views as of January 2023). Other long- term impacts of Bermuda’s Tech
Summit in clude enabling overseas [innovators] to meet
all of the major players in Bermuda’s tech ecosystem
and the requisite service providers.
Mr. Chairman, throughout 2022 the BDA
worked to shape Bermuda's High- Net-Worth (HNW)
Services product offering and legislative framework via
monthly trust and private client advising group meet-ings. The BDA also played an important role in attracting the return of the first in- person HNW Services
events in Bermuda since 2019. The BDA co- sponsored
the sold- out Private Client Exchange Bermuda 2022
event, which brought 50 of the world’s top lawyers to
the St. Regis Bermuda Resort, from June 28 to 29. The BDA was an associate sponsor of Transcontinental
Trust: Bermuda 2022, attracting 200 delegates at the
Hamilton Princess & Beach Club from June 29 to July 1. And the BDA sponsored the Institution of Private
Investors’ (IPI) three- day Campden Wealth summer forum, attracting about 70 delegates to the St. Regis from
July 10 to 12.
In addition, the BDA continued to work closely
with STEP Bermuda in 2022, participating in the in- person STEP Bermuda conference in November, as well
as hosting STEP webinars throughout 2022. Govern-ment’s EIC [Economic Investment Certificate] initiative
was a hot topic of conversation at the numerous business development missions organised by the BDA in
2022, including London, Toronto, Singapore, Lake Como and other HNW in- person events such as STEP
Bermuda, Campden Wealth and Legal Week.
Mr. Chairman, in terms of developing Bermuda’s asset management industry, the BDA’s Busi-ness Development Committee remained active in this space bringing several roundtables to the New York [City] executive forum in May 2022. In 2022, major groundwork was laid to hold the first in -person asset
management event in Bermuda in several years. This


Bermuda Senate new annual in- person asset management event is looking to be organised adjacent to the annual ILS Convergence event. Stay tuned for more details.
In terms of infrastructure, which includes hotel
development, space and satellites, and subsea cables, in June the BDA conducted a fact -finding mission to the
Caribbean Association of Investment Production Agencies (CAIPA) in Jamaica. Following this visit, we were
invited to participate in a pitch presentation at the
Saudi –Caribbean Investment Forum for representatives of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, private banks, investors and hotel developers, held in the Dominican Republic in July 2022. Space, satellites and
subsea cables were al so featured in Bermuda’s Tech
Summit panels; the BDA continues to develop leads in this area.
In addition to social media, the BDA also produced several key communications and marketing
pieces in 2022, including creating a Conservation Central video as part of new ESG Factor webpages and
creating special BDA business cards to give to leads at business development missions. These cards also link
to the BDA’s Invest in Bermuda brochure, as well as
the BDA’s EIC, FinTech and Climate Risk Finance
pages. The BD A assisted with the production of the
Bermuda Business Review 2022/23 publication, placed
advertisements and editorials in the World Commerce
Review publication and in partnership with EDD provided articles to the Climate Change Review publication.
The BD A also placed advertisements in the International Chamber of Commerce [ICC] Trade for
Prosperity publication, provided articles and advertisements in The European and placed advertisements in
Captive Review, Captive International, and Bermuda:Re+ILS . In terms of what lies ahead this year, the
BDA, in partnership with its industry stakeholders, will hold its second annual Bermuda Risk Summit. The inaugural edition of this event, which I was pleased to attend in 2022, created long- term business development
growth potential in the form of insurance and reinsur-ance deal -making opportunities around the event in
front of an extremely important June 1 renewal season.
It also created immediate short -term economic impacts
by attracting nearly 100 business traveller s to Bermuda
and supporting 200 jobs, mostly in the hospitality sector.
In addition to the Bermuda Risk Summit, the
BDA will also hold its second Bermuda Climate Summit
and the Bermuda Tech Summit, both of which have similar long - and short -term economic impacts for the
climate risk finance and technology industries, respectively. I hasten to add that the Bermuda Tech Summit
is part of Bermuda Tech Week and is supported by the
EDD.
Relating to overseas missions, last week the
Minister was pleased to accompany the BDA and sev-eral industry stakeholders on the BDA’s Legal Week
Private Client Forum Americas event. This event was attended by High- Net-Worth Services lawyers from the
US, UK and Europe and is part of the BDA’s focus on
the Latin American market.
As part of its continued work to sustain and
grow Bermuda’s risk and insurance and technology in-dustries, the BDA will hold Bermuda business development receptions at the world’s largest FinTech event,
Consensus, in Austin, Texas, followed afterward by attending the world’s largest event for risk management
professionals, which is RIMS’ RISKWORLD in Atlanta, Georgia. For the remainder of the year, the BDA will organise several other overseas missions in key markets. It will also continue to promote Bermuda as the
world’s climate risk finance capital by attending the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference
(COP28).
Mr. Chairman, as I conclude my remarks about
the BDA, I think it is important to give those listening
today here and at home a few concrete examples of
how all of the aforementioned relates to actual economic growth in Bermuda, as well as how the two entities, the EDD and BDA, each use their unique skill sets
and connections to work hand in hand for the betterment of Bermuda.
What follows are excerpts from the soon- to-bepublished BDA End of Year Report 2022:
“A client reached out to the BDA for assistance
in getting a Class 4 reinsurer set up in Bermuda. The
company was looking for guidance and support as they
had a limited timeframe to s et up. The BDA assisted
the client with a quick introduction to the EDD Government concierge service. The company was later incorporated in December 2022 and is currently working on establishing its presence in Bermuda in time for a Q12023 launch.”
“The BDA’s concierge staff assisted a company headquartered in the US with a referral to a local realtor to assist in finding real estate for a company that
they were looking to set up in Bermuda. The US company also needed solutions for shipping and storage of
IT infrastructure to support their move, which the BDA
referred to local companies. The US company was also
in need of immigration, social insurance and tax commissioner services, which led to the BDA handing off to
the government concierge service. Foll owing this, in
March a local company was incorporated in Bermuda,
an office was secured in Hamilton and five new roles
were advertised locally and filled.”
“Dan Thomson, CMO of InsurAce said, ‘We did
not know what to expect from the Bermuda Tech Sum-mit, but we have been blown away by the incredible
hospitality and innovation shown by local government,
businesses and individuals. InsurAce has been looking
for a regulatory framework that fits with our future vision, and we are delighted to be exploring the opportunity to build our business in Bermuda. We cannot wait
to come back.’”
Mr. Chairman, I would like to once again take
this opportunity to thank the people who have made a
312 22 March 2023 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda Senate difficult year a successful one. The staff and volunteers
representing the BDA have worked tirelessly to assist
with breathing life back into our economy. Thank you to all of the teams for your assistance.
This ends the reading for Head 94 the Bermuda Business Development Agency Section.

Please proceed, Senator. Thank you.
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you.
So this is Head 94 Bermuda Economic Development Corporation, and it is found on page C -19 of
the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure.
Bermuda Economic Development Corporation
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Mr. Chairman, it now gives me
great pleasure to present the budget for the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation [BEDC], a quango
presently under the Ministry of Economy and Labour,
found on page C -19 of the Budget Book.
BED
C’s Remit
Sen. Leslie Robi nson: BEDC remit is currently responsible for overseeing the operations of the Eco-nomic Empowerment Zones (EEZs), for providing fi-nancial support and technical advice to small and me-dium -sized businesses, for managing the operations of
outside vendor markets, and for managing vendors and
issuing vending licences. The organisation’s key objective remains to assist the government in encouraging economic growth for Bermuda’s local small and me-dium -sized businesses.
2023
/24 Projected Revenue and
Expenditure Ov erview
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Mr. Chairman, the BEDC
Board of Directors approved total operating expendi-ture for salaries, rent, overhead, services and pro-grammes, estimated at $6,200,000 for fiscal year
2023/24. In addition to the operating expenditure, t he
board of directors has approved setting aside
$2,675,000 for capital investment projects and initia-tives aligned with the Government’s Economic Recov-ery Plan and economic development goals. Mr. Chair-man, the BEDC’s estimated combined operating and
capit al expenditure for fiscal year 2023/24 totals $8,875,000 and represents a decreased budget of
4.78 per cent, or $445,347 compared to the revised
2022/23 budget of $9,323,347.
For fiscal year 2023/24, BEDC will receive an
operating grant from the Economic Development De-partment in the amount of $2,238,752, as per page C -
19 of the Budget Book consistent with the grant pro-vided to BEDC in fiscal year 2022/23. The 2023/24 budget comprises the government grant, carryover funds from the 2022/23 budget, revenues from prod-ucts and services, sponsorship for events and pro-grammes, and realised investment funds.
2022
/23 Revenue and Expenditure Overview
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Mr. Chairman, for this current
fiscal year 2022/23, BEDC received a grant from the Economic Development Department in the amount of
$2,238,752 for general operations and annual BEDC
programmes. In addition, balances from grants for the Uptown Development Authority initiative and the Fish-ing Cooperative initiative in the amounts of [$974,176] and $120,000, respectively, were carried over from fiscal year 2021/22 to continue to progress these projects
in 2022/23.
Additionally, a balance of $4,776,163 from the
supplementary grant that the Ministry of Finance pro-vided BEDC during fiscal year 2020/21 to directly sup-port local small and medium- sized businesses impacted by COVID -19 was carried over into fiscal year
2022/23. Businesses continued to require funding sup-port due to the devastating impact of the coronavirus, which was provided through the range of BEDC’s COVID -19 Business Sustainability and Continuity
Funding products.
Funding applications have slowed down, since
the loosening and eventual ending of COVID -19 public
health restrictions in 2022 have enabled businesses to reopen and start to recover, however, providing advi-sory services and support remains high. In 2022, BEDC
approved 29 funding applications totalling $871,410, of
which $145,000 has been deployed in 2023 thus far.
As of February 2023, BEDC has approved a
total of [343] applications deploying $6,442,838 in fi-nancial support under the COVID -19 programme since
April 2020 consisting of the following:
a)$3,244,971 in loans;
b)$1,806,020 in grants; and
c)$1,391,847 in guarantees.Fifty-four per cent, or $6.4 million of the $12
million grant has been disbursed thus far to local small
and medium- sized enterprises [SMEs] in a range of
funding products, and BEDC currently has applications in process.
BEDC will continue to develop new products
that continue to support local small and medium- sized
enterprises (the SMEs). Products under development to assist local SMEs are as follows:


Bermuda Senate • guarantees for facilitating purchase of commercial buildings within the EEZs;
• increased direct micro loan lending levels up to
$70,000 loans;
• professional services grants for businesses to
access needed accountancy, legal, website, ecommerce and marketing services; and
• innovation grants to support the development of innovative busi ness concepts.
BEDC knows that there will continue to be demand in fiscal year 2023/24 as the impacts of COVID -
19 remain within Bermuda’s economy and businesses
require continued long- term funding support. [Funding
in the amount of] $1.1 million has been allocated in
2023/24 for direct funding to assist local small and medium -sized enterprises.

Capital Expenditure

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Mr. Chairman, BEDC completed capital works on its three Economic Empowerment Zones (EEZs) Incubator Hubs in 2022. In the
Somerset Economic Empowerment Zone (SEEZ), the
EEZ Incubator Hub is located at Forth House, 68 Somerset Road, Sandys, in the prominent location of the former Il Palio restaurant space.
In the St. George’s Economic Empowerment
Zone (SGEEZ) capital works are being completed on the EEZ Incubator Hub located on the top floor of the
St. George’s Post Office at 11 Water Street, Town of
St. George’s, part of the former police station.
In the North East Hamilton Economic Empowerment Zone (NEHEEZ) capital works are being com-pleted on the EEZ Incubator Hub and Uptown Develop-ment Authority offices located in the Donald French
Building, 19 Elliot Street, City of Hamilton, in the former Bermuda Sun location.
COVID -19 had delayed the completion of the
hubs, but all were opened in June 2022 for those accepted in the Enterprise Bermuda Incubator programme with successful open houses held in September 2022. The Somerset Hub can accommodate up to
six businesses, the St. George’s Hub can accommodate up to seven businesses, and the NE Hamilton Hub
can accommodate up to twelve businesses, providing
physical support for 25 start -ups.
A revised budget of $185,000 was allocated in
fiscal year 2022/23 for infrastructure and capital works associated with developing the three incubator spaces
across the Island.
Building off of the success of the Enterprise
Bermuda Incubator (EBI) originally started in BEDC’s
main office, these Incubator Hubs will ensure entrepreneurs get beyond the idea stage and start to bring their
businesses to fruition while regenerating the EEZs.
Each location will not only be used to conduct client
meetings and facilitate community engagement, but
also to expand on the incubator programme. BEDC has partnered with the world- ranked Accelerator Centre, a tech acc elerator located in Waterloo, Canada, to offer
curriculum, mentorship and opportunities to start -ups in
the incubator programme.
Funding of $45,000 was earmarked for infrastructure costs to build an accessible Wi -Fi network
within the North East Hamilton EEZ in the second half
of fiscal year 2022/23 as one of several initiatives to
attract and enhance the visitor and resident experience
within the zone. Economic development tools such as
accessible Wi -Fi in public urban areas are commonplace in many jurisd ictions around the world. This project was put on hold in fiscal year 2022/23 to focus on
progressing the Economic Recovery Plan priority projects, and the project will be advanced in fiscal year
2023/24 with a budget allocation of $90,000.
Mr. Chairman, as mentioned earlier, under the
projected 2023/24 budget, BEDC has set aside $2,675,000 for major capital investment projects and
initiatives aligned with the Government’s Economic Recovery Plan (ERP) and economic development goals.
Specifically, these projects are investment in the development of the Vertical Farm project to facilitate food security, lower food costs, develop farm co- ops and create jobs in a new evolving area of the agriculture indus-try, as well as investment in the Approved Residential
Schemes project facilitating foreign direct investment in
the construction of residential developments and purchase of residential units within the Economic Empowerment Zones, thereby increasing the residential population within the city and the other zones.
Lastly, progress has been made on the plan for
the Fisheries Development Centre (FDC). PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) was contracted in fiscal year 2022/23 to assist BEDC with financial modelling for the
business plan. The goal is that the draft business plan
is reviewed by BEDC’s board before March 31 and next
action steps will progress steadily shortly after, subject
to the majority of the Island’s fishers committing to participate within the FDC cooperative.

BEDC’s Manpower
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Mr. Ch airman, for all that it
achieves, BEDC is a relatively small organisation. In 2022/23 BEDC’s board approved the conversion of four temporary one- year posts to permanent posts. As
such, BEDC currently has a staffing complement of 18
full-time posts as follows:
• one executive director;
• one executive administrative officer;
• one director of micro, small, and medium enterprise;
• three micro, small, and medium enterprise officers;
• one loan portfolio management officer;
• one director of economic and cooperative development;
• one economic and cooperative development
officer;
314 22 March 2023 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda Senate •one economic and cooperative development
projects officer;
•one director of communication and develop-ment;
•one communication and development officer;
•one assistant communication and develop-ment officer;
•one director of finance, data and administra-tion;
•one business data and policy analyst;
•one operations and office manager;
•one client services officer; and
•one administrative assistant.
There are currently two vacant posts actively being recruited.
2022
/23 Outcomes
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Mr. Chairman, 2022/23 also
continued to be an extremely busy year for the Corpo-ration given the overriding goals to assist as many businesses as possible due to the ongoing impact of
COVID -19 on local businesses, and to tangibly progress the eight Economic Recovery Projects allocated to the Corporation. I would like to share some of BEDC’s major achievements over the past year. Key
achievements were as follows:
Entrepreneurship Financing: As mentioned
earlier, as a direct result of the Finance Ministry’s grant
funds provided in fiscal year 2020/21 and the carryover of those funds into last year and this fiscal year, BEDC has approved 343 funding applications since April
2020. The breakdown of the $6,442,838 deployed is as
follows:
•133 COVID -19 BSCF micro loans/grants —
$2,678,364;
•Two COVID- 19 BSCF micro loans —$70,000;
•86 general/debt consolidation micro loans —
$1,782,039;
•Six general loan guarantees —$709,096;
•13 COVID -19 BSC F loan guarantees —
$530,751;
•Four COVID -19 BSCF guaranteed overdrafts —$152,000; and
•99 COVID -19 BSCF emergency grants —
$520,588.
Multiple applications are still actively being processed by BEDC’s Micro, Small, and Medium Enter-prise (MSME) Unit for all funding types. Although March 31, 2023, will bring BEDC’s three- year COVID -
19 funding products to an end, BEDC will continue to
support the Island’s SMEs through new and evolving
funding products aimed at growing the Island’s local businesses.
Entrepreneurship Advisory Services: In 2022,
BEDC held 755 one- on-one advisory meetings with entrepreneurs and still surpassed the numbers held in
2019 of 610 pre- pandemic. The increase in advisory meetings held continues to be a direct response to
meeting the COVID -19 impacted needs of businesses.
In 2022, sixty -one per cent, or 457, were new clients to
BEDC, reflecting the outreach BEDC has conducted in order to reach businesses who would not ordinarily be a client of BEDC. Business owners needed to have advice and support coming out of the pandemic. The
MSME Unit, BEDC’s frontline business support and de-velopment section, held the majority of the advisory meetings, assisting 588 clients in 2022.
In addition to processing funding applications
and providing business advice, the MSME Unit managed to hold 75 meetings with external stakeholders in
2022, ranging from EEZ initiatives to vendor markets catalysation, through to business group advocacy and everything in between.
Entrepreneurship Catalyser: The entrepreneurial spirit prevailed in 2022/23 although there was
an understandable contraction in start -ups due to the
lingering economic impacts of COVID -19. In 2022,
there were 10 new businesses that took advantage of
both the New Start -ups Payroll Tax Relief and the EEZ
Payroll Tax Relief, resulting in 27 new jobs brought to
the market. Likewise, the resilience of micro- entrepreneurs and vendors was visible with people seeking a
vending licence. As such, 67 vending licences were ap-proved in 2022. Thirty -three, or 49 per cent, of the applications were new applicants in 2022, indicating con-fidence and a desire to jump into the entrepreneurial
landscape through testing new products or concepts.
Entrepreneurship Education: Entrepreneurs
continued to commit to building their knowledge of entrepreneurship post -pandemic. It was important for
BEDC to continue providing educational support includ-ing our multi -week workshops that provide guidance at
various stages of business development including idea validation, st art-up and financial literacy. This year we
decided to host the multi- week workshops once a year
instead of twice a year. We continued to supplement the multi -week courses with a variety of webinars and
seminars that cover topics that focus on industry -specific information and general business development guidance. In the 2022/23 fiscal year, 681 entrepreneurs committed to sharpening their skills by registering for the BEDC’s multi -week courses, seminars and webinars.
Post-pandemic, it has been important for the
BEDC to return to in- person events in this fiscal year.
As a result, we hosted a total of 45 events, of which 34 were in- person. By contrast, 100 per cent of our events
and courses were hosted virtually in the previous fiscal year.
Youth Entrepreneurship: The BEDC continues
to partner with the community, providing a valuable re-source of information about entrepreneurship and how young people should consider it as a viable career op-tion. In addition to running its own programmes, the BEDC team participated in other events throughout the
year including entrepreneurship presentations to local


Bermuda Senate schools, career fairs and bespoke youth events. This
had a direct impact on hundreds of students and young
people in Bermuda.
Summer Student Entrepreneurship Programme [SSEP]. The fifth Annual SSEP for students
between ages 14 and 25 was held for eight weeks from
July 4 to August 29. The programme promotes a culture of enterprise and entrepreneurship as a viable career option and inspires young people in the local community to learn and succeed through enterprise. During this fiscal year, seven students completed the pro-gramme, and to date 48 young entrepreneurs have
built businesses bringing 48 jobs to the market. The
SSEP students received start -up funds, training and
mentorship to establish businesses that earned reve-nues over an eight -week period, resulting in these
young people getting valuable life skills and developing
an entrepreneurial mind- set while generating thousands of dollars in sales.
Youth Pitch. The Youth Pitch is an annual competition created to inspire young people to develop and pitch a business idea. Since its start, the competition
has helped 62 students pitch ideas, and some have
gone on to start their businesses. During this fiscal
year, two young people were selected as finalists in the Rocket Pitch Finals held during Global Entrepreneurship Week. The top prize was awarded to Oseah Douglas for her business Smart Snaxx, a business focused on providing healthy snacks in bulk to schools and
shops. Twelve -year-old Summer Student Entrepreneurship Programme graduate, Aaron Lugo, Jr., took
home the second- place prize for Lugo’s Mighty Mower
lawn service business.
Entrepreneurship Networking and Promotion.

It is almost 5:25. You have been
speaking for two hours and 25 minutes straight. You have just over 35 minutes left. So if it is possible to al-low sufficient time for Senators to ask questions that
would be very much appreciated for all, including those
in the listening audience.
Please proceed. Thank you.

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Okay. I will just . . . looking
here to summarise . . . I will just very quickly summarise
the rest of my points, Mr. Chairman, if that is okay.

That would be great, Senator. Thank
you.
Sen. Leslie Robinson: So, we had the entrepreneurship networking and promotion initiative, and then for general entrepreneur development we have the Enterprise Bermuda Incubator initiative, the Enterprise Bermuda Accelerator initiative, and then Entrepreneurship
Communication and Outreach we had . . . oh, sorry,
they actively pushed its brand and the programmes it
offers to the public and its stakeholders through a variety of resources including the www.bedc.bm website,
local radio show, Mind Your Business (MYB) which airs
on Ocean 89 on Thursdays.
Then the Economic Empowerment Zones
(EEZs). There was Business Outreach, there was the Uptown Development Authority, the Approved Residential Schemes. And then under Economic and Cooperative Dev elopment there was the Fisheries Development Centre, Cooperative Legislation, Co- op Public
Relations, Underutilised Commercial Kitchens for Community Users.
I will just close with a couple of comments on
the 2023/24 year focus.

2023/24 Focus

Sen. Lesl ie Robinson: Although much progress has
been made in ensuring new products and services are
developed to continue to facilitate entrepreneurship
and new business formation on the Island, with the lasting negative impact of the global pandemic on local businesses the Government continues to be desirous
of BEDC’s focusing on key projects and initiatives in
2023[/24], and these are just some of them:
• Virtual Market
• Agricultural Cooperatives
• Fisheries Development Centre
• Underutilised Commercial Kitchens for Com-munity Users
• Cooperative Legislation
• Cooperative Educational Seminars and Workshops
• Co-op Economic Development Opportunities
• Southeast Hamilton EEZ Extension
• Uptown Accessible Wi -Fi
• Annual Business Registration
In closing, Mr. Chairman, businesses create
jobs, and jobs employ people, thereby growing our
economy. In fiscal year 2023/24, the Bermuda Eco-nomic Development Corporation will continue to enhance its products and services to provide further opportunities for Bermuda’s local micro, small and medium -sized businesses with the goal of facilitating economic growth and empowerment in this sector.
BEDC is grateful for the support the Bermuda
Government has shown over the years in supporting
and growing the Corp oration’s remit for developing a
strong, viable, local small and medium entrepreneurial
and business ecosystem. SMEs are the lifeblood of any
economy, and without sustainable local businesses
within the mix of enterprise on the Island, Bermuda’s people, cu lture and economy would be markedly challenged. It is therefore vital that BEDC receives the
316 22 March 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate budgetary support it requires to continue fostering economic stability and growth in Bermuda’s local entrepreneurs.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That concludes all
of the readings for Head 94.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I will start with some questions that relate to the
BEDC brief and, therefore, I guess we would access
them via the capital grant item. My first question is, How much money has been spent to date on the vertical
farming initiative, and with who and how has it been
spent?
My next question would be similarly with respect to the fish processing plant initiative and a follow up on that would be . . . the Senator did mention that
proceeding with that or not would depend on how many
fishermen had signed up for it. I'd like to know if they have any indication how many fishermen would like to
be working with the fish processing plant.

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Senator De Couto, can I just
ask you . . . you mentioned about how many fisher
men. What was your initial question on this issue?

How much money has
been spent to date on that project, with whom or which
business and for what purpose?
I have a question on the FinTech unit. Now,
that wasn’t called out as a line item but we were notified yesterday that this has now been moved f rom the Cabinet Office to Economic Development. I would like to know what the costs and headcount are for that unit.
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Cost and headcount?

Would any other Senator care to speak
on this?
Senator Kiernan Bell.

Sen. Kie rnan Bell: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
My question concerns Head 44, on page B -
173, the Ministry of Economy and Labour HQ. It is a
matter near and dear to my life and heart, which is the
Immigration Appeal Tribunal. My question relates to the performance measures for the IAT, and why publication
of the Immigration Appeal Tribunal is not a performance measure for the Ministry HQ.
For the benefit of the listening public, the Immigration Appeal Tribunal is a very busy tribunal and I ap-plaud the Chair and the vice Chair, as is reported, for
eliminating the backlog of appeals. As a former vice
Chair and Chair of the Immigration Appeal Tribunal myself I know how much work is involved. This is an exceptionally busy tribunal whose decisions affect the
lives of individuals and families, and its work is important.
Given the importance of the tribunal’s decisions and the Immigration Appeal Tribunal Rules con-template publication of decisions, I query why those decisions have not been published since 2015. I know th at
2016 and 2017 decisions were ready for publication when I transitioned off of the tribunal and they still have yet to be published. I suppose my second question is
why have those decisions not been published?
At the end of the day, what I would say is that
there is a public interest in the publication of these
types of decisions. This promotes transparency, accountability and consistency in the legal system. By
making tribunal decisions publicly available, parties involved in similar cases can gain insi ght into the reasoning and outcomes of previous cases which helps them
to make more informed decisions and increases the
predictability of legal outcomes. Additionally, publishing
decisions can serve as a form of feedback to the tribunal itself, enabling i t to identify and correct itself in any


Bermuda Senate inconsistencies or errors in its decision- making processes. And finally, the public availability of tribunal decisions like this promotes the principle of open justice
which helps to build public trust in the legal s ystem, the
tribunal itself, and ensures that justice is seen to be
done.
So that is the reason I am asking these questions today. Thank you.