Gateshead City Technology College

HC Deb 15 June 1989 vol 154 cc489-91W

Mr. Clelland

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many tenders were received for the development of the Gateshead city technology college; and what were the various tender prices submitted.

Mrs. Rumbold

Five tenders were received. Prices ranged from £6,730,000 to £7,245,000. The price offered by Laing Northern was the lowest, and its design proposals were considered to be the most appropriate of those submitted.

Mr. Clelland

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science in the light of the contribution from public funds towards the development costs of the Gateshead city technology college(a) who will own the buildings, (b) who will own the land which constitutes the site once the project is completed and (c) to whom the assets will revert should the school fail to open or close at some future date.

Mrs. Rumbold

The Tyneside city technology college trust will own the land and buildings. The funding Research Council. The following table shows, for each of the last 10 years, the grant in aid to the MRC, the amount of that spent on specific programmes of AIDS research, and the grant in aid to the MRC as a percentage of the total science budget:

agreement between my right hon. Friend and each individual CTC will specify the conditions under which repayment will be made to him in the event that the school should close.

Mr. Clelland

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science on what date John Laing plc became a sponsor of the Gateshead city technology college.

Mrs. Rumbold

John Laing announced its sponsorship of the CTC in Gateshead in October 1988.

Mr. Clelland

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what elements of the national curriculum the Gateshead city technology college will be obliged to adopt.

Mrs. Rumbold

As a condition of grant, all CTCs will be bound to offer the full national curriculum including assessment arrangements throughout the compulsory years of education.

Mr. Clelland

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what investigations were made into possible inner-city sites for the Gateshead city technology college.

Mrs. Rumbold

Investigations were made into other sites in Tyne and Wear, but none was found to be suitable.

Mr. Clelland

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the total contribution of the CTC Trust to the development of the Gateshead city technology college to date; for what specific purposes such money has been allocated; and what further advances are planned.

Mrs. Rumbold

The CTC Trust has not itself contributed financially to the development of the Gateshead CTC. It was, however, involved in the negotiations for the acquisition of the site.

Mr. Clelland

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of the Gateshead city technology college roll must be drawn from the inner-city area in order for the college to comply with the aims and objectives of Her Majesty's Government's policy to develop city technology colleges.

Mrs. Rumbold

The catchment area for the Gateshead CTC is not yet finalised, but it will be drawn so as to include surrounding areas of deprivation, and every effort will be made to ensure that as high a proportion of children as possible come from those areas.

Mr. Clelland

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what were the opening and closing dates for the submission of tenders for the development of the Gateshead city technology college; and what date the tender from Laing Northern was received; and who had access to the tenders submitted prior to the closing date.

Mrs. Rumbold

The date for submission of tenders was 12 May. All tenders, including the tender from Laing Northern, were received under sealed cover on that day. They were opened, stamped, and their contents formally recorded, in the presence of five witnesses. I do not know of any person who had access to the tenders before submission. The DES, and the sponsors (other than John Laing plc), and the members of the panel had no such access.

Mr. Clelland

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science which of the sponsors of the Gateshead city technology college were involved in the decision to award the development contract to Laing Northern.

Mrs. Rumbold

The decision upon the award of the development contract was made by an evaluation panel composed of Mr. Peter Vardy, as the principal sponsor, the chief architect of Argyll plc, the chief architect of the DES, the project director, and three independent assessors nominated by my Department. John Laing plc was not represented on the panel and had no part whatsoever in the decision.