HC Deb 10 February 1988 vol 127 cc219-20W
Mr. Straw

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the estimated total cost of the hire of a stand by his Department at the Ideal Home Exhibition, broken down by(a) full cost of officials and inspectors from his Department staffing the stand, (b) hire of stand, (c) publicity and publications and (d) all other costs.

Mr. Kenneth Baker

The cost of hiring the Department of Education and Science stand is a matter of commercial confidentiality between the Department and the organisers. The stand will be manned by volunteers from the

Whole-time equivalent doctors and nursing staff in NHS hospitals
Lanarkshire Health Board
Nursing staff1
Hospital Type of hospital3 Doctors2WTE Qualified In training Unqualified Total
Alexander Type of hospital subject to change4 — 8.0 — — 8.0
Bellefield Mental handicap unit (adult and children) 0.9 28.4 — 48.9 77.3
Bellshill Maternity Non-teaching, non-GP, maternity unit 25.0 143.8 86.0 80.1 309.9

Department and Her Majesty's inspectorate, who will receive time off in lieu for work outside their normal conditioned hours; the extra cost to the Department will be confined to travel and subsistence for some of Her Majesty's inspectorate.

The cost of publications will depend upon their take-up rate during the exhibition; all publications will be supplied from the Department's existing stocks. No publicity costs have been incurred. A 12-screen video wall will be hired at a cost of £25,730. This will be used to display examples of good practice in schools. Other costs of furnishing the stand (furniture, electricity, cleaning and so on) will be in the order of £3,000.

Mr. Straw

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science between what dates he intends to hire a stand at the Ideal Home Exhibition; for what purpose; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Kenneth Baker

My Department will be taking a stand at this year's Ideal Home Exhibition throughout the period when the exhibition is open, that is from 8 March to 4 April inclusive. The main purposes of the display are:

  1. i to inform members of the public about the changes in the composition of school governing bodies following the passage of the Education (No. 2) Act 1986; and to interest parents visiting the exhibition in becoming parent governors of their child's school.
  2. ii. to explain the new examinations (GCSE, AS-levels and CPVE) to parents and prospective employers.
  3. iii. to explain the thinking behind the proposed national curriculum.

Relevant publications about these subjects and other education matters of interest to the public will be available on the stand. It will also show examples of best practice in education and will enable visitors to ask questions about particular aspects of their own or their children's education.

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