§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is his estimate of total departmental expenditure on computer-related current and capital work for(a) 1995–96, (b) 1996–97, (c) 1997–98, (d) 1998–99 and (e) 1999–00; and if he will make a statement. [11385]
§ Dr. HowellsNot all computer-related expenditure is separately identified. Identified expenditure and plans for expenditure include:
IT, but the Further Education Funding Council has announced two initiatives this year: through the QUILT programme of staff development the FEFC will contribute £1.9 million over the five-year period from February 1997. For networking and other technical developments broadly recommended by the Higginson committee, the FEFC will contribute £575,000 over three years from October 1997. The Higher Education Funding Council for England gives higher education institutions a block grant for both recurrent and capital purposes; it is for it to decide how much to spend on computer-related current and capital work. However, the HEFCE has also provided specific grants on computer-related current and capital 129W work of over £100 million in the three years ending 1997–98. There is also computer-related expenditure in training and enterprise council programmes and careers libraries, but this is not separately identified.
The Department is currently undergoing a comprehensive review of all its spending, and plans for future years may therefore change as a result of its findings.