§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when the working group on reducing bureaucracy was established; what are its terms of reference; who are its members; and when it is expected to report. [63960]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe Working Group on Reducing the Bureaucratic Burden on Teachers was set up in July 1997.
The Group's terms of reference were to report to Ministers on:
the sources of bureaucratic burdens in schools, including those from central government, local government, national bodies involved with schools and schools own management and administrative practices;ways of reducing those burdens, including:clarifying minimum requirements for complying with legal obligations such as OFSTED inspections;streamlining processes;identifying best practice and how this can best be spread;making best use of information technology;areas where further study is needed to identify improvements.The Members of the Group were:
Peter Owen (chair): Director General for Schools, DfEEDenis Allnut: Director, Analytical Services, DfEENick Sanders: Director, School Curriculum, funding and Teachers, DfEEGwenlian Evans: Deputy General Secretary, Association of Teachers and LecturersNigel de Gruchy: General Secretary, National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women TeachersRowie Shaw: Director of Professional Services, National Association of Head TeachersJohn Bangs: Assistant Secretary, National Union of TeachersDavid Jones: Acting General Secretary, Professional Association of TeachersColin Broomfield: Head of Cheshunt School, Honorary Secretary, Secondary Heads AssociationPat Petch: Chair, National Governors' CouncilJohn Fowler: Local Government AssociationGreg Hill: Education Officer for Information Technology, Metropolitan Borough of SolihullMichael Collier: Chief Executive, Funding Agency for SchoolsJohn Taylor HMI: Inspection Quality Monitoring and Development Team, Office for Standards in Education557WTony Millns: Assistant Chief Executive (Communications), School Curriculum and Assessment AuthorityStephen Hillier: Head of Corporate Management, Teacher Training AgencyColin Muid: Deputy Director, Central IT Unit, Cabinet OfficeGraham Walker: Senior Partner, Arthur AndersenTony Cann CBE: Chairman, Promethean Ltd.The Group's final report to Ministers was published on 16 January 1998, and a copy is in the Library.