§ Mrs. Ann TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Education how many copies of the GM pack, "Going GM", including, "How to become a GM School", "Experiences During the First Year", "Questions Parents Ask", "Questions Staff Ask" and "Funding Worksheet", have been sent to school heads and governors; and what is the total cost of the information sent, including postage costs.
§ Mr. Robin SquireA composite Department for Education information pack on grant-maintained status was first issued in September 1992. Its contents have varied a little for particular purposes over time. Numbers issued fall into the following categories: 429W
a. circulation of updated publications following the Education Act 1993, to chairmen of governors of all maintained schools in December 1993 (22,531 copies at a total cost of some £63,000, including also DFE Circular 18/93 "Grant-Maintained Schools: Acquisition, Transfer and Governance");b. accompanying invitations to attend the Department's regional "Going GM" conferences, sent to headteachers and chairmen of governors in batches between September 1992 and December 1993 (57,092 copies at an estimated total cost of some £127,000). A further mailing has taken place within the last week of 10,118 invitations with packs; figures on the cost of this mailing are not available yet;c. in response to requests, some of which were from headteachers and governors, between September 1992 and December 1993 (approximately 78,000 copies at an estimated cost of £110,000, exclusive of postage). Since January 1994 the contents of the individual packs have been specifically tailored to the needs of individual enquirers.Cost estimates reflect the variation in pack contents over time.
§ Mrs. Ann TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the total cost of each of the "Going GM" conferences held in Darlington on 3 February, Manchester on 18 February, Newcastle on 4 March and Huddersfield on 14 March; how many school heads and how many governors attended each conference; how many speakers were paid by the Department; and how many civil servants attended in each case.
§ Mr. Robin SquireThe numbers attending and the costs of the Darlington, Manchester, Newcastle and Huddersfield "Going GM" conferences are set out in the table:
Conference Cost12 £ Delegates3 Civil Servants4 Darlington 13,335 94 25 Manchester 15,697 114 10 Newcastle 14,131 77 13 Huddersfield 15,151 102 10 1 Includes venue hire and catering, equipment costs, and pro rata conference support costs (secretariat, production, and conference management), and expenses payments to GM headteachers who spoke at the conferences and who have submitted an expenses claim. 2 Does not include the cost of mailing invitations for these conferences, or related travel and subsistence costs for civil servants. 3 The Department's records do not identify separately headteachers and governors attending "Going GM" conferences. 4 Attendance at a "Going GM" conference is often part of the
Participation in Pre-primary Education(Full and Part-time)by age group,1991 Percentage of age group Age at which Compulsory schooling starts Education Percentage of preprimary provision which is within the private sector 11991 3 to 5 3 to 4 France 6 100 100 12 Germany 6 63 53 1267 United Kingdom34 5 68 52 6 568 553 United States of America 66-8 60 45 137 1 1990 for Germany and 1989 for United States of America. 2 In Germany, some providers of private sector provision receive some public subsidy. 3 Participation rates of those in school at start of calendar year with ages at that point. 4 Age 3 includes some children age 2. 5 1992 data. 6 Varies between states Sources: Table AA: Education Statistics for the United Kingdom, 1993 edition; UNESCO Statistical Year Book 1993.
430Winduction process for Department officials new to grant-maintained schools policy. In particular, most of the civil servants at the Darlington conference were observers.
Each conference was also attended by six head teachers from grant-maintained schools who spoke about their experiences in the GM sector. The Department reimburses head teachers for expenses incurred in speaking at "Going GM" conferences, but does not pay them a fee. To date, the Department has made payments totalling £857 in response to expenses claims from GM head teachers for the four conferences listed. These payments are included in the table.
§ Mrs. Ann TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what is his estimate of the cost of the freephone calls in response to the recent advertisements in the national press on GM status and his most recent figure of the number of calls received.
§ Mr. Robin SquireTo date, more than 1,100 of the responses to the advertising campaign were calls to the freephone number. To disaggregate the cost of these calls from that of other calls received by the Department's GM publications centre would involve disproportionate expense.