§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what progress has been made in the allocation of education support grant funding to local education authorities in England and Wales for the development of management information systems in further education colleges.
Mr. JacksonBetween 1985–86 and 1989–90 education support grant allocations to local education authorities in England for the development of computerised management information systems in further education colleges supported £12–5 million expenditure. Commitments for 1990–91, 1991–92 and 1992–93 support a further £21 million.
Allocation of education support grant funding for local education authorities in Wales is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will give details of his Department's role on the question of quality assurance relating to management information systems development.
Mr. JacksonWith local education authorities, the Department is responsible for monitoring and evaluating the use of education support grants to support expenditure on computerised management information systems (CMIS) in further education colleges. This is achieved by means of annual progress reports from LEAs, national surveys of developments in colleges, the observations of Her Majesty's inspectorate and studies by consultants. The Department is also in contact with the major suppliers of CMIS software to discuss their products.