§ Mr. WillisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what the cost is of recruitment, training and management of the Threshold Assessment; and what the cost is of delivery of the assessment as a service to schools. [156099]
§ Ms Estelle Morris [holding answer 29 March 2001]The DfEE holds a contract with Cambridge Education Associates for the provision of threshold assessors and external advisers.
The value of the contract in each year of operation is subject to the volume and quality of assessor and adviser activity. The first threshold round will be much larger 837W than in following years because of the large number. We expect the costs to come down significantly in future years.
In the first 18 months of operation we expect the total contract costs to be in the range of £22 million to £24 million. Around half of this relates to adviser provision and half to assessors, and includes start-up and administration costs.
The DfEE also holds a contract with Centre for British Teachers for the training and accreditation of threshold assessors, external advisers and performance management consultants; and the training of headteachers in the introduction of the threshold and new performance management arrangements.
The value of the contract in each year of operation is subject to the volume and quality of the training provided. Costs for the first round of training will be significantly higher, as they include set up costs and cover the vast majority of training required to introduce the new arrangements. Again, we expect costs to come down in future years.
In the first phase of operation we expect the overall cost to be in the range of £12 million to £14 million, including start-up and administration costs.