§ Mr. McNamaraTo 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. WicksWe 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. McNamaraTo 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. WicksThe 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.
811W
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 812W
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. McNamaraTo 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. WicksAll 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. McNamaraTo 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. WicksUnder 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.