§ Mr. Cordleasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration has been given to the devising of less costly methods of effectively and efficiently training staff; and whether consideration will now be given to the use of printed material and correspondence courses instead of residential conferences.
§ Mr. ShoreStaff training is provided as a common service for members of the Department of the Environment and the Department of Transport. A continuous effort is made to ensure that the most cost-effective methods are used in the training of staff, including self-instruction in appropriate circumstances.
§ Mr. Cordleasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many staff training conferences have been organised by his Department during each of the last five years; when they were held; and how much each cost in terms of (a) travelling expenses, (b) accommodation expenses and allowances, (c) salaries paid to participants for their time and (d) salaries and fees paid to lecturers and organisers of courses.
§ Mr. ShoreThe full information requested cannot be made available without disproportionate effort and expense.
722Wcentral Government contribution to schemes in the West Midlands to clear derelict land; what has been the acreage involved; and how this compares with the previous six years.
§ Mr. MarksThe table below sets out the expenditure in the West Midlands Region on clearance of derelict land approved by the Department for grant purposes. Details are shown for each year since 1969–1970, together with the acreages involved.
Courses are mounted in a wide variety of subjects. The numbers provided in each of the last five years are as follows:
Travelling expenses, allowances to participants, accommodation expenses and salaries and fees paid to lecturers are all within the appropriate Civil Service regulations.
Year Ending July Number of Courses 1972 … … 1,054 1973 … … 1,403 1974 … … 1,589 1975 … … 1,969 1976 … … 2,217 For statistical purposes, Civil Service training is categorised under the following four headings; induction training, vocational training, management and supervision training, and background training. The share of total training falling within each of these categories is currently induction 8.53 per cent., vocational 60.67 per cent., management and supervision 15.68 per cent., and background 15.12 per cent.
§ Mr. Cordleasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many staff training conferences have been planned by his Department for the foreseeable future; what is the planned subject for discussion at each of them; where they are to be held; and what is the estimated cost of each in terms of (a) travelling allowances, (b) accommodation expenses, (c) 723W salaries and allowances paid to participants for their time and (d) salaries and fees paid to lecturers and course organisers.
§ Mr. ShoreStaff training is provided as a common service for members of the Department of the Environment and the Department of Transport. It is expected that the existing pattern of departmental training will continue subject to the availability of resources and the need for economy in Government expenditure. The cost effectiveness of training programmes is kept under continuous review.