§ Mr. Moynihanasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what statistical information and controls are available to him as to the total number of staff employed in the Inner London education authority; and if he will make a statement.
§ Sir Keith JosephInformation is collected annually from all LEAs as to the numbers of teachers, and quarterly through the Joint Manpower Watch from all local authorities—including the ILEA separately—as to total full-time and part-time employees. The ILEA also publish in its annual capital and revenue estimates details of the number of posts in the authority.
As to controls, the new ILEA would fall within the scope of the provisions of clause 80 of the Local Government Bill. These are intended to give Ministers the necessary powers to forestall any expansion in bureaucracy, and to ensure that services are efficiently and effectively provided, when the new authorities proposed in the Bill come into being. They are essentially a transitional measure, intended to promote the efficiency of the new structures when they are established. In the case of the ILEA, however, an administrative structure is already in existence; and the authority will not be facing the prospect of rate limitation for the first time. In the circumstances, therefore, the Government would not at present propose to apply the controls to the new ILEA. It should be clearly understood, however, that if there are indications that decisions taken by the ILEA will have implications for manpower that are not in accordance with the objectives of economy, efficiency and effectiveness, regulations under clause 80 will be made. The content of any such regulations would depend on the circumstances they were intended to meet.