§ Mr. WarrenTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many officials in his Department at grade 3 and above have, since promotion to the level of grade 3, attended a course(a) specifically on information technology and (b) containing an element of information technology; and what percentage each represents of all the staff in those grades in his Department.
§ Mrs. RumboldThe figures are as follows:
Majesty's inspectorate of schools. This includes portable computers and 175 personal computers used by typists for word processing.
At that date the total number of staff in the Department, including Her Majesty's inspectors and all support staff, was 2,567. The ratio of computer work stations to staff was therefore 1:1.6.
185W
§ Mr. WarrenTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science which Minister in his Department is responsible for day-to-day management of his Department's information technology strategy; and what proportion of his time was spent on this matter in the month up to Friday 13 October.
§ Mr. Alan HowarthThe day-to-day management of the Department's information technology (IT) strategy is the responsibility of officials. I am responsible for oversight of IT matters in the Department. IT is in general so integrated into the Department's business functions that it would involve a disproportionate effort to attempt to apportion specific intervals of my time to this matter.