§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Education how much money has so far been spent by his Department on the promotion of grant-maintained status,730W including advertisements for the GM Helpline; how much has been budgeted for future expenditure in this same area; and if he will make a statement on the application of the rules on the use of advertising to promote Government policies.
§ Mr. ForthInformation about expenditure on disseminating information about grant-maintained status is circa:
£ Publications (from 1 April 1991) 282,000 Conferences Accommodation 57,000 Specialised support 52,000 Helpline Advertising 200,000 Operation 25,000 Publication costs prior to 1991 and mailing costs, which form only part of a contract, cannot be dissagregated without incurring disproportionate costs.
For the future 10 further conferences are planned at a total cost of circa £136,000. The Helpline is a pilot scheme only. Expenditure on publications in 1993–94 has been planned on the basis of current demand. In issuing information about self-governing status, officials are subject to the guidelines sent to the Society for Education Officers on 3 March 1993 as a proposed code of conduct for local authorities.