§ Mr. WillisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the(a) estimated (i) capital and (ii) revenue cost of establishing and (b) projected staffing establishment of each local arm of the Learning and Skills Council in England for each of the next three years. [119254]
§ Mr. Wicks(a) Estimates of the capital and revenue costs of establishing each local Council are not available as these will depend on the outcome of individual negotiations in each area to secure premises and to establish teams of staff. We estimate the total transitional costs of moving to the new arrangements to be some £60 million to £65 million over the next two years (2000–02). Overall, we estimate that the new arrangements will from 2001–02 produce savings in administration of at least £50 million per year compared with the current position.
(b) Projections of the staff numbers in each local Council for each of the next three years are not available since these matters will be determined by the Learning and Skills Council itself when it comes into being. However, for planning purposes we estimate that local Councils will on average have 80–90 staff.