§ Mr. KilfoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what were the costs to the Teacher Training Agency of preparing advice to her Department on the future supply of teachers in each of the last three years. [2956]
§ Mr. ForthIt is not one of the Teacher Training Agency's statutory functions to offer advice to DFEE on the future supply of teachers.
§ Mr. KilfoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what were the costs to the Teacher Training Agency in the last full year for which figures are available of(a) the procedures required for the approval and scrutiny of courses of initial teacher education and (b) the scrutiny and development of criteria and courses of continuing professional development for assistant and head teachers. [2955]
§ Mr. ForthThe Teacher Training Agency is responsible for the accreditation of providers of initial teacher training, a function which replaced individual approval of courses by DFEE in 1995. The Office for Standards in Education is responsible for the inspection of initial teacher training.
In respect of continuing professional development, the TTA maintains a list of registered providers of training under head teachers leadership and management programme, Headlamp; has drawn up standards to underpin the development of the national professional qualification for headship; and is developing at the Secretary of State's request a fuller professional framework with standards and training at other levels. Ofsted is inspecting at TTA's request the training offered by registered Headlamp providers, and has more general functions in respect of the inspection of in-service teacher training.
77WI will ask the chairman of the TTA, Geoffrey Parker, and, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools Chris Woodhead, to write to the hon. Member direct with estimated costings for relevant functions.
§ Mr. GunnellTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what INSET funding was distributed to institutions in(a) 1993–94, (b) 1994–95 and (c) 1995–96; what is available in 1996–97; and what was the cost of administering this funding through (i) Higher Education Funding Council for England and (ii) the Teacher Training Agency during the period concerned. [2500]
§ Mr. ForthFunding for higher education courses for in-service training of teachers, INSET, is calculated and distributed on the basis of academic years. This funding was not separately identified by HEFCE in 1993–94. The amount of recurrent funding allocated for such courses in later years by the HEFCE and TTA is set out in the following table.
It is impossible to identify the cost of administering this funding between 1993–94 and 1995–96 because it formed part of a larger academic subject category; the cost of administering the funding through the TTA in 1996–97 is estimated to be £28,000.
Funding for INSET courses provided by HEFCE and ITA £ million 1994–95 (HEFCE) 24 1995–96 (HEFCE) 25 1996–97 (TTA) 25
§ Mr. GunnellTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much was spent on administration(a) by the Teacher Training Agency in the current year following the transfer of the teacher training responsibilities of the teaching as a career unit, the Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education, and the Department for Education and (b) by the teaching as a career unit, the Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education and the Department for Education in the full year prior to the transfer, separately identifying staff costs in cash and real terms. [2499]
§ Mr. ForthThe amount spent on the administration of functions which were subsequently transferred to the TTA by the teaching as a career unit, the Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education and the Department for Education during 1993–94 is shown in the following table. The total amount spent on administration by the TTA during 1995–96 is also shown in the table. This covers the full range of the TTA's functions under the 1994 Act, which also includes functions transferred from HEFCE and new activities in pursuit of the agency's statutory remit.78W
Running costs for activities transferred to the TTA TASC, CATE and Department1 1993–94 Running costs of which: £1,316,195 Salaries £980,046 FTE Staff 34.8 TTA 1995£6 Running costs of which £2,414,000 Salaries £1,303,000 FTE Staff(average) 42 1 Figures for DFE staff and costs are estimates only, as the functions formed part of the work of a number of teams.
§ Mr. GunnellTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what was spent on(a) staff and (b) administration of the Teacher Training Agency (i) from the date of its inception to the financial year end 1994–95, (ii) from April 1995 to September 1995, (iii) from October 1995 to March 1996 and (iv) from April 1996 to September 1996; and what was the number of full-time equivalent staff employed by the agency on the last day of each period. [2501]
§ Mr. ForthThis is a matter for the Teacher Training Agency. I will ask the chairman of the agency, Geoffrey Parker, to write to the hon. Member direct.
§ Mr. GunnellTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will list the latest figures for graduates(a) applying for and (b) accepted by institutions for training as teachers by secondary schools by subject; and if she will list the equivalent figures for (i) 1994–95 and (ii) 1995–96. [2502]
§ Mr. ForthThe following table shows the number of graduate applications to secondary initial teacher training courses in 1994–95 and 1995–96 and the number of acceptances in 1995–96.
79W
Postgraduate initial teacher training courses England and Wales Secondary 1994–95 Applications 1995–96 Applications Acceptances Mathematics 2,186 1,873 1,257 English 2,819 2,837 1,825 Drama 339 360 225 Science 4,020 3,698 2,377 Biology 1,444 1,347 855 Chemistry 886 799 485 Physics 686 511 317 Geology 70 40 14 Comb/General Sciences 871 932 662 Env/Rural Sciences 63 69 44 Modern Languages 2,706 2,680 1,680 French 1,368 1,413 882 German 455 384 254 Italian 20 11 6 Russian 22 19 6 Spanish 269 251 133 Celtic Languages 59 52 40 Other Modern Languages 513 550 359
Postgraduate initial teacher training courses England and Wales Secondary 1994–95 Applications 1995–96 Applications Acceptances Technology 2,056 1,549 1,007 Design and Technology 1,189 680 456 Information Technology 73 181 106 Business Studies 713 608 386 Home Economics 81 80 59 History 1,984 2,017 885 Geography 1,280 1,297 876 PE 947 1,062 635 Art 352 939 571 Music 646 594 431 RE 741 845 603 Other 920 903 355 Economics 275 322 145 Social Studies 492 442 157 Classics 73 56 37 Outdoor Activity 80 83 16 Total secondary 20,996 20,654 12,727
§ Mr. GunnellTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans she has to market-test the functions of the Teacher Training Agency. [2503]
§ Mr. ForthIt is Government policy that every non-departmental public body should be subject to a comprehensive review at least every five years. This includes a critical examination of the justification for an NDPB on policy grounds, including whether there are other means of providing the desired services, as well as a review of the system of financial and management control. The TTA will be subject to such a review no later than the financial year 1999–2000.
The TTA already contracts out a range of recurrent work costing £1.444 million where this offers better value for money than undertaking the work in-house.