§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people are employed by the standards and effectiveness unit; and what its budget was for each year since 1997. [3122]
§ Mr. Ivan Lewis[holding answer 9 July 2001]: The SEU is responsible for taking forward key parts of the Government's agenda for raising standards in schools. Created in 1997, the unit's remit has expanded with the development of new policies. The unit has led on strategies for literacy and numeracy, for intervention in failing schools and LEAs, and for key stage 3. It is also responsible for new policies such as city academies, excellence in cities, education action zones and beacon schools. It has taken on responsibility for specialist schools and city technology colleges, and more recently, for dealings with local education authorities on a day-to-day basis across a wide range of the Department's business.
The unit is staffed with a mix of civil servants, and education advisers appointed from outside with recent experience of education.
At the end of May 2001, the total number of staff in the unit was 275. The running cost budget for the unit for each year since 1997 was as follows:
£ million 1997–98 2.4 1998–99 4.8 1999–2000 6.4 2000–01 8.1 2001–02 10.6