§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of members of the Burnham committee are representatives of his Department.
§ Sir Keith JosephIn addition to the independent chairman, the Burnham Primary and Secondary Committee has 59 members (32 on the teachers' panel and 27 on the management panel) and the Burnham Further Education Committee has 34 members (17 each on the teachers' and management panels). I have two representatives on the management panel of each committee.
§ Mr. Greenwayasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he takes in determining the appropriate weighting of the representation of the teachers' unions on the Burnham committee, to satisfy himself as to the accuracy of their membership figures; whether for this purpose he takes account of the extent to which the total membership figure of a union may include persons who are either students or retired; and if he will make a statement.
§ Sir Keith JosephI have not myself been involved in a review of the membership of the Burnham Primary and Secondary Committee. During the review conducted by my predecessor in 1979–81, the teacher associations were asked to submit membership figures for 31 December 1979 on a common basis, showing the number of fully paid-up members employed by LEAs in England and Wales for the provision of primary or secondary education. This allowed account to be taken of students and retired teachers in membership. I explained my position on reviewing Burnham membership on 19 February, at column847.