§ Mr. YeoTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the full-time equivalent headcount of the(a) Union Learning Fund, (b) Implementation Review 1387W Unit, including secondees, (c) National Remodelling Team, (d) Office for Standards in Education, (e) UK Education and Research Networking Association and (f) Universities and Colleges Information Systems Association was in each year since 1997; and how much funding was allocated to each body in each year. [178209]
§ Mr. Ivan LewisThe Union Learning Fund (ULF) is a source of funding to help trade unions use their influence with employers, employees and others to encourage greater take up of learning at work and boost their own capacity as learning organisations. It was set up in 1998 and administered by the Department for Education and Skills until March 2003. From April 2003 the Learning and Skills Council has been responsible for the administration of the Fund. As ULF is a source of funding rather than a unit or body, there are no figures relating to full-time equivalent headcount. The Department's annual expenditure on ULF was £2 million in 1998–99, £3.1 million in 1999–2000, £3.9 million in 2000–01, £6.3 million in 2001–02 and £7.4 million in 2002–03. Estimated expenditure for 2003–04 is £12.1 million and the budget allocation for 2004–05 is £14.2 million.
The Implementation Review Unit was established in April 2003 with a remit to cut red tape and reduce bureaucracy in schools. The Unit has 12 panel members, each serving school staff, who work for the IRU an average 22 days per year. In 2003–04 the Unit was also served by a secretariat comprising three civil servants employed by the Department, working 0.5, 0.8 and 0.8 of the full-time equivalent, and two seconded advisers working for 20 and 50 days per year. Staffing figures for 2004–05 will be the same with the addition of another civil servant at 0.5 of the full-time equivalent. Estimated expenditure by the Unit in 2003–04 is £348,000 and its budget for 2004–05 is £500,000.
The National Remodelling Team is an integral part of the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) and we are unable to provide separate figures for the Remodelling Team. Staffing and funding figures for the NCSL as a whole, covering the full range of activities undertaken by the College to support the training and development of school leaders are set out as follows.
Total as at 31 March: Staff numbers 2001 18 2002 77 2003 131 2004 224
Grant-in-aid budget £ million 2000–01 0 2001–02 27.8 2002–03 60.0 2003–04 79.8 2004–05 90.2 The information requested on the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) is set out as follows.
1388W
Net resource departmental expenditure limit (DEL) (£ million)
Stuff employed (FTE)
1997–98 150.3 5611 1998–99 110.5 5741 1999–2000 86.4 559.4 2000–01 104.1 495.3 2001–02 155.2 581.3 2002–03 197.5 2374.8 2003–04 208.5 2600.3 2004–05 213 2572 2005–06 218.8 2572 1 FTE figures are not available for these periods; as such this figure represents headcount. The information requested on the UK Education and Research Networking Association is set out as follows:
£ Period end: FTE headcount Grants from JISC March 1997 46 9,553,000 March 1998 49 14,527,985 March 1999 53 15,281,086 March 2000 55 10,756,821 July 2001 71 49,849,664 July 2002 83 30,176,608 July 2003 84 26,722,465 Notes: 1. Public funding for UK Education and Research Networking Association (UKERNA) is channelled through the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) which is funded by all the UK higher and further education funding councils. 2. The allocated budget for UKERNA for 2003–04 (running until July 2004) is £27,470,000. The Universities and Colleges Information Systems Association (UCISA) aims to promote excellence in the application of information systems and services in support of teaching, learning, research and administration in higher and further education. It is a private body and receives no direct Government funding. We do not have information on its full-time equivalent headcount figures.