§ Mr. David ShawTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will make a statement on the work her Department has carried out in the last 12 months in making information about her Department available to the public via the Government world wide web server know as "www. open. gov. uk" and her plans and policies to make additional and new information available electronically on the server in the next 12 months. [34675]
§ Mr. Robin SquireThe then Department for Education created a site on the Government world web server on 24 April 1995 with the launch of "Superhighways for Education" consultation paper on broadband communications. The site had a brief note on the aims and objectives of the then Department for Education. It will shortly carry departmental press notices and the 1994 schools and colleges performance tables. The jobseekers, parents, further education and higher education charters are available on the citizen's charter unit site. In addition, an announcement on the launch of Socrates, the European Community's new education programme, was placed with a UK educational Internet newsgroup. The Department's policy for future use and business potential is under consideration following the recent merger of the Departments for Education and Employment.