§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many copies of(a) "Grant-Maintained Schools: Questions Governors Ask", (b) "Grant-Maintained Schools: Experiences During the First Year", (c) "Grant-Maintained Schools: Experiences of Primary Schools" and (d) "Grant-Maintained Schools: Experiences of Secondary Schools" have been produced since 1988; and what was the total cost for each booklet;
(2) how many copies of (a) "How to Become a Grant-Maintained School", (b) "Grant-Maintained Schools: Questions Parents Ask", (c) "Grant-Maintained Schools: What it Means for Staff" and (d) "Grant-Maintained Schools: Questions Staff Ask" have been produced since 1988; and what was the total cost of each booklet;
(3) how many copies of (a) "Grant-Maintained Schools: Experiences of Former Voluntary Schools", (b) "Going Grant-Maintained with Other Schools: GM Clusters" and (c) "Education into the Next Century", have been produced since 1988; and what has been the total cost for each booklet;
(4) how many folders have been produced for the distribution of material on grant-maintained schools; and what has been the cost since 1988.
§ Mr. Robin SquireThe information requested is set out. With one exception, the publications listed contain factual information on various aspects of grant-maintained status.
Some of these publications are no longer in use and are now out of print. The publication "Education into the 53W Next Century" was a summary of the White Paper "Choice and Diversity: a New Framework for Schools"; it was not primarily about grant-maintained schools.
Publication Approximate number produced Approximate total cost of production £ Questions Governors Ask 90,000 17,000 Experiences During the First year 485,000 243,000 Experiences of Primary Schools 70,000 112,500 Experiences of Secondary Schools 35,000 Experiences of Former Voluntary Schools 35,000 How to Become a Grant-Maintained School (five editions since 1988) 595,000 123,000 Questions Parents Ask 1,588,000 105,000 What it Means for Staff 193,00 12,000 Questions Staff Ask 250,000 197,000 Going GM with other Schools: GM Clusters 13,000 15,500 Education into the Next Century 2,750,000 117,000 Folders 263,000 77,000
§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will list the advertising campaigns her Department has run for grant-maintained status; and, for
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Number Date Location Number of schools invited1 Number of schools represented Number of delegates Cost2 £ 1 16 November 1992 Leeds 6,250 57 95 6,202 2 12 December 1992 Bolton 6,250 93 160 6,873 3 15 January 1993 Sheffield 6,250 120 207 8,164 4 30 January 1993 Manchester 6,250 75 138 7,734 5 10 February 1993 Newcastle 1,645 139 222 8,539 6 11 February 1993 Newcastle 1,645 121 204 8,539 7 15 February 1993 Leicester 3,406 65 108 4,306 8 1 March 1993 Nottingham 3,406 111 197 7,751 9 8 March 1993 Taunton 192 62 90 3,491 10 10 March 1993 Birmingham 3,406 120 202 8,512 11 29 March 1993 Nottingham 3,406 109 176 7,378 12 26 April 1993 Daventry 3,406 45 77 4,150 13 30 April 1993 Haydock 100 35 62 2,858 14 4 May 1993 Maidstone 5,825 122 219 7,894 15 7 May 1993 St. Albans 5,825 109 198 9,772 16 13 May 1993 Heathrow 5,825 111 209 10,077 17 19 May 1993 Sandown 5,825 110 209 8,019 18 27 May 1993 Watford 5,825 106 197 6,876 19 18 June 1993 Bournemouth 3,213 103 180 6,669 20 28 June 1993 Cheltenham 3,213 99 194 6,263 21 13 July 1993 Exeter 3,213 95 173 7,638 22 23 September 1993 Maidstone 5,825 37 72 4,473 23 7 October 1993 Bristol 3,213 56 112 8,908 24 5 November 1993 Cambridge 2,087 90 171 9,240 25 2 December 1993 Cambridge 2,087 107 176 9,156 26 3 February 1994 Darlington 7,164 53 94 5,392 27 18 February 1994 Manchester 7,164 67 114 8,236 28 4 March 1994 Newcastle 7,164 47 77 6,392 29 14 March 1994 Huddersfield 7,164 57 102 7,645 30 27 April 1994 Harrogate 7,164 91 152 10,454 31 28 June 1994 Stratford 5,059 82 141 7,747 32 5 July 1994 Hinckley 5,059 43 63 4,720 33 13 July 1994 Stoke 5,059 22 39 3,859 34 24 September 1994 Warrington 2,100 29 52 4,723 each campaign, if she will list (a) the total cost, (b) the cost of the advertisements, (c) the cost of the advertised telephone service and (d) how many inquiries were received on the advertised numbers.
§ Mr. Robin SquireThere have been two campaigns to advertise sources of factual information on grant-maintained schooling: one to advertise the pilot "GM Helpline" in January 1993, and one in January and February 1994 to advertise the availability of booklets on GM status following the coming into effect of the relevant provision of the Education Act 1993. The costs and number of inquiries are listed.
1993£ 1994£ Total cost 211,000 207,000 Cost of advertisements 200,000 207,000 Cost of telephone service 11,000 — Number of inquiries 2,650 11,544 1 These calls were handled by an existing telephone inquiry line and their cost cannot be disaggregated from the overall figure.
§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will list, in chronological order, the "Going GM" conferences held by her Department on grant-maintained status, giving in each case(a) the date, (b) the location, (c) the number of schools invited, (d) the number of schools represented, (e) the number of representatives attending and (f) the cost.
§ Mr. Robin SquireThe information requested is set out in the table.
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Number Date Location Number of schools invited1 Number of schools represented Number of delegates Cost2 £ 35 27 September 1994 Penrith 669 24 53 3,554 36 1 November 1994 London 2,240 43 78 6,404 37 21 November 1994 Newquay 797 52 107 34,000 Total 252,608 1 The same schools were invited to more than one conference in order to give headteachers and governors more choice over date and location. 2 Costs listed are those attributable to specific conferences. In addition, there are two contracts: one for support services which for the 37 conferences has totalled an estimated £263.623 and one for mailings which has totalled approx. £66,965. Total, £583,196. 3 The costs for Newquay are an estimate pending receipt of the invoice.
§ Mr. BayleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what percentage of(a) grant-maintained and (b) local authority schools have outside toilets.
§ Mr. Robin SquireThis information is not held centrally.
§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what is the basis for the payment of expenses to individuals on her Department's GM speakers list;
(2) what is the total cost of the expenses paid to individuals on her Department's GM speakers' list; how many individuals have been paid such expenses; and how many speaking functions were involved.
§ Mr. Robin SquireGM speakers are volunteer heads, governors and bursars of grant-maintained schools who are reimbursed for expenses incurred in providing factual information about grant-maintained status to interested schools. Payments are made on receipt of proof of expenditure on the following basis
travel to and from a meeting at which they are asked to speak;overnight stay, if this is unavoidable, up to a maximum of £65-(£70 in London);photocopying costs for provision of written material;light refreshments in connection with a visit to their school by representatives of another school (or schools);supply cover, if a GM speaker cannot fulfil teaching commitments because of a relevant engagement, up to a maximum of two days' cover per school per month.Since the GM speakers' list was first established in 1992, approximately £72,000 in expenses has been paid to about 240 speakers. The Department has received claims for over 180 speaking engagements in the current financial year. Records of the numbers of engagements prior to April 1994 are not available.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans she has to ensure that the same standards of financial and managerial control that now apply to local education authority schools will be required for grant-maintained schools.
§ Mr. Robin SquireGrant-maintained schools are already subject to a range of provisions to ensure that the highest possible standards of financial and managerial control apply. These provisions include the requirements of education legislation, school instruments and articles of government and detailed financial management procedures and audit requirements set out in a financial memorandum and other documents. Some provisions apply to GM schools but not to their LEA equivalents. In addition, the Funding Agency for Schools has a duty to carry out value-for-money studies of GM schools.