§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what estimate she has made of the savings from increasing the length of the inspection cycle from four to six years; and if she will reinvest those savings in local advice services to back up Office for Standards in Education inspection; [39923]
(2) what estimate she has made of the savings from focusing secondary school inspections after September 1997 on English, mathematics and science and up to four additional subjects only; and if she will reinvest those savings in local inspection and advice services to back up Ofsted inspections. [39924]
§ Mr. Robin SquireMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has accepted Her Majesty's chief inspector's recommendation that all school inspections should be on the basis of the existing framework for inspection, covering all national curriculum subjects. Some schools will be inspected more frequently and some less frequently than at present, and the total volume of inspections in any given year is therefore likely to be of a similar order as at present. Hence, it is unlikely that significant savings will arise. Provision for Ofsted will continue to be reviewed annually as part of the public expenditure survey.