§ Mr. BarnesTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of his Department's officials involved in the preparation of the parents charter; how many hours this involved; what was the total cost to the taxpayer of(a) the involvement of civil servants, (b) typesetting and printing and (c) circulation; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Robin SquireI refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the right hon. Member for Swansea, West (Mr. Williams) on Friday 14 January 1994 at column280. The revised parents charter will cover many aspects of the organisation and curriculum of schools in England. The involvement of civil servants in the Department in the preparation of the text reflects their ongoing responsibilities for promoting improved educational standards, and cannot be separately quantified.