§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what web site her Department maintains on the Internet; what information is provided there; how often it is updated; what is the address; and if she or her Department answers questions and supplies additional information through the Internet. [7565]
§ Mr. Robin SquireThe Department for Education and Employment maintains a web site on the Internet, address http://www.open.gov.uk/dfee/dfeehome.htm. The site is frequently updated and carries a wide range of information pages, including the responsibilities of Ministers, departmental press releases, departmental charters, the 1994 and 1995 school and college performance tables, a guide to the school curriculum, information on nursery education, the national targets for education and training, details for young people and employers on modern apprenticeships and catalogues of careers publications.
The site is also the UK's official site for the encouragement, promotion and development of lifelong learning and will be supporting the 1996 European Year of Lifelong Learning. The Department has an Internet E-mail address—info@dfee.gov.uk. This is sited within the public inquiry unit and it receives and responds to a small but steady stream of general education and employment-related inquiries from home and overseas. Ministers do not use the E-mail for answering inquiries.