HC Deb 26 October 1999 vol 336 cc810-2W
Mr. McNamara

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what discussions he has had with the Chairman of the TECs regarding their contribution to a legal fighting fund to challenge the Governments' proposals on the use of their reserves and assets when they are wound up. [95413]

Mr. Wicks

We are aware that the TEC National Council (TNC) has been taking legal advice on behalf of TECs. Officials and the Department's legal advisers have met the TNC on a without prejudice basis to discuss the legal aspects and implications around the termination of the Licence. We have also made it absolutely clear to TEC Chairmen and Boards that we expect TECs to work with us to ensure a smooth transition to the new arrangements and that resources are used effectively and efficiently for the benefit of learners, businesses and local communities.

Mr. McNamara

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the reserves and assets of each TEC indicating those moneys which came from(a) public and (b) private sources. [95414]

Mr. Wicks

The following table sets out the reserves of each TEC in England based upon information drawn from the companies' audited statutory accounts for 1998–99. The table splits the reserves into those which TECs believe attributable to funds derived from payments made by the Secretaries of State and those attributable to funds from other sources. Reserves include all assets less any liabilities of TECs. We are currently discussing with TECs the basis on which non attributable reserves have been calculated.

Split of TEC reserves 1998–99
£
TECs Attributable to SoS Attributable to other Total reserves
Hampshire 6,156,000 6,156,000
Wight 1,040,094 1,040,094
Kent 4,364,691 1,079 4,363,612
Milton Keynes 1,372,558 303,262 1,675,820
Heart of England 1,902,407 361,068 2,263,475
Surrey 2,022,318 740,914 2,763,232
Sussex 4,578,000 199,000 4,777,000
Thames Valley 6,808,754 265,010 7,073,764
South East Total 28,244,822 1,868,175 30,112,997
AZTEC 3,299,489 3,299,489
FOCUS 3,830,000 1,316,000 5,146,000
LeTEC 5,215,737 795,472 6,011,209
North London 1,786,468 804,977 2,591,445

Split of TEC reserves 1998–99
£
TECs Attributable to SoS Attributable to other Total reserves
North West London 2,691,411 137,608 2,829,019
SOLOTEC1 3,971,000 886,000 4,857,000
West London 3,085,429 207,000 3,292,429
London Total 23,879,534 4,147,057 28,026,591
WESTEC1 4,213,000 10,000 4,223,000
Prosper 6,298,000 6,298,000
Dorset 3,141,418 3,141,418
Gloucester 1,806,252 1,092,191 2,898,443
Somerset 2,877,938 76,965 2,954,903
Wiltshire 2,650,552 2,650,552
South West Total 20,987,160 1,179,156 22,166,316
Birmingham 6,440,000 2,548,000 8,988,000
Cov/War 1,545,060 2,029,898 3,574,958
Dudley 2,159,637 84,000 2,243,637
HAWTEC 1,334,449 1,478,014 2,812,463
Sandwell 1,872,568 276,500 2,149,068
Shropshire 2,910,359 1,161,773 4,072,132
Staffordshire 4,773,000 224,000 4,997,000
Walsall 1,075,097 200,000 1,275,097
Wolverhampton 1,611,000 124,000 1,735,000
West Midlands Total 23,721,170 8,126,185 31,847,355
Greater Nottingham 3,573,000 788,000 4,361,000
Leicester 2,509,113 638,834 3,147,947
Lincoln 1,083,140 2,281,073 3,364,213
Northamptonshire 4,736,401 4,736,401
North Derby 1,157,063 420,001 1,577,064
North Nottingham 2,228,163 2,228,163
South Derby 3,322,000 861,000 4,183,000
East Midlands Total 18,608,880 4,988,908 23,597,788
Bedford 790,696 527,536 1,318,232
Cambs TEC 1,285,874 1,285,874
Essex 8,090,000 355,000 8,445,000
Greater Peterborough 1,993,335 47,000 2,040,335
Hertfordshire 5,695,000 421,000 6,116,000
Nor/Wav 3,524,000 181,000 3,705,000
Suffolk 3,890,815 3,890,815
Eastern Total 25,269,720 1,531,536 26,801,256
Barnsley/Doncaster 6,653,000 102,000 6,755,000
Bradford 2,148,861 2,148,861
Cardles/Kirkles 1,395,743 1,395,743
Humber 6,069,427 6,069,427
Leeds 4,513,167 4,513,167
North Yorkshire 6,207,000 6,207,000
Rotherham 2,457,875 322,386 2,780,261
Sheffield 2,874,000 168,000 3,042,000
Wakefield 889,830 106,542 996,372
Yorkshire and Humberside Total 33,208,903 698,928 33,907,831
Bolton/Bury1 2,802,363 580,132 3,382,495
Manchester 6,891,000 2,540,132 9,431,132
Wigan 1,103,385 489,988 1,593,373
Oldham 1,364,670 214,927 1,579,597
Rochdale 1,713,582 378,740 2,092,322
South and East Cheshire 3,418,445 1,371,785 4,790,230
Stockport 2,592,458 2,592,458
Cumbria 1,582,954 780,752 2,309,706
ELTEC 2,349,000 673,000 3,022,000
LAWTEC 6,292,364 6,292,364

Split of TEC reserves 1998–99
£
TECs Attributable to SoS Attributable to other Total reserves
North and Mid Cheshire 2,727,169 2,727,169
CEWTEC 2,257,557 162,686 2,420,243
Mersey 5,973,222 592,745 6,565,967
St. Helens 1,299,384 82,291 1,381,675
North West Total 42,313,553 7,867,178 50,180,731
County Durham 4,956,661 4,956,661
Northumberland 4,423,000 1,644,000 6,067,000
Tees Valley 8,427,000 8,427,000
Tyneside 3,940,000 330,000 4,270,000
Sunderland 6,101,434 66,445 6,167,879
North East Total 27,848,095 2,040,445 29,888,540
Grand Total 244,081,837 32,447,568 276,529,405
1 Audited accounts are unavailable for 1998–99 and therefore we have used consolidated 1998–99 draft statutory accounts.

Mr. McNamara

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps his Department is taking to monitor the use of reserves and assets of TECs in the period leading to their being wound up. [95415]

Mr. Wicks

All TECs were sent a formal notification on 13 July 1999 that their Licences would terminate on 25 March 2001. Since then, in accordance with the terms of the Licence, TECs have been required to inform Government Offices of any proposed new commitments or expenditure and must comply with all reasonable requests either to provide information or to limit expenditure. In addition, Government Offices receive regular information from TECs on their financial position and continue to monitor their financial and audit systems.

Mr. McNamara

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will ensure that funds commercially generated by TECs from money originally from public sources returns to the public sector. [95416]

Mr. Wicks

Under the terms of the Licence, any funds derived from payments made by the Secretaries of State for Education and Employment, for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, and for Trade and Industry will return to the relevant Secretaries of State on termination of the Licence. The Secretaries of State will determine their use to ensure that Government priorities and commitments are met.

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