§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what mechanisms exist for the external verification of the NVQ system in Northern Ireland; how many staff are employed in this matter; and how they are deployed. [33787]
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§ Mr. AncramResponsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Training and Employment Agency under its chief executive, Mr. J. S. Crozier. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from J. S. Crozier to Mr. Tony Worthington, dated 7 July 1995:
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has asked me, as Chief Executive of the Agency, to reply to your question about which mechanisms exist for the external verification fo the NVtion system in Northern Ireland; how many staff are employed in this matter; and how they are deployed.As in England and Wales, the overall responsibility for the quality assurance of the NVQ system in Northern Ireland rests with the National Council or Vocational Qualifications (NCVQ). However, at operational level, NCVQ works with, and through, Awarding Bodies such as BTEC, City & Guilds, RSA etc who are required to have a process by which they can continuously monitor the consistency and quality of the NVQ assessment system and its support structures.Awarding Bodies are responsible for verifying that assessment is carried out systematically, validly and to national standards. This is achieved through the use of External Verifiers appointed by the Awarding Body.Awarding Bodies are required to review the reports of their External Verifiers and to prepare annual consolidated reports which are then made available to NCVQ.Information on the number of staff who are employed in External Verification and how they are deployed is not available to the Agency, but is a matter for each Awarding Body.