§ Mr. Paul MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many school governor vacancies there are in each local education authority area; and if he will make a statement. [105530]
§ Ms Estelle MorrisThe Department does not routinely collect information about school governor vacancies, but is aware from recent and current research that the level of vacancies is higher than desirable.
School governors have a valuable part to play in raising standards in our schools. The new framework for schools has increased the number of governors to approximately 360,000 (compared with 300,000) previously. Finding governors is a local matter, for schools, local education authorities and other appointing bodies. The Department recognises the need to recruit more school governors and is active in supporting local efforts. In particular, the School Governors' One Stop Shop, supported by the Department, is now recruiting governors with business and management skills in the inner city areas covered by the Government's Excellence in Cities initiative. In addition, the Department has produced general recruitment materials, developed with local education authority (LEA) advice, as well as a leaflet produced jointly with the National Governors Council (NGC) which encourages people from ethnic minorities to become governors. The Department is also following up recommendations of the Education and Employment Committee report on the role of school governors, 435W including guidance to encourage LEAs to fill their governor vacancies according to the contribution people can make rather than their political affiliation and to collect information about governor vacancies and make it available.