§ Valerie DaveyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to the answer of 19 March 2002,Official Report, column 257W, on IT contracts, whether the competition being run by Becta to accredit ICT suppliers for schools will take into account the ease for schools of changing between those suppliers. [50033]
§ John HealeyThe Accredited Service Suppliers initiative will not put in place a framework contract and hence schools will create their own formal contract arrangements with suppliers. However, all Becta accredited NGfL service suppliers will be governed by a code of conduct, which will ensure that suppliers do not impose unreasonable terms and conditions on schools and other educational customers. Part of this code of conduct will cover arrangements for termination of contracts. Rigorous monitoring of accredited supplier performance will be undertaken by Becta and accreditation will be publicly withdrawn from suppliers who do not work within the code of conduct.