§ Mr. BradyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which learning and skills councils(a) have and (b) do not have a member representing schools with sixth forms. [80989]
§ Margaret HodgeSince April 2002 the LSC has been responsible for the funding of school sixth forms. In the Secretary of State's Grant Letter for 2002–03 we asked the LSC to widen council representation from the schools sector. Since then the LSC has been actively recruiting school teachers and head teachers and will continue to do so. Currently there are 19 local LSCs with teachers or head teachers of schools with sixth forms on their local councils.
92WThese are: Kent and Medway; Berkshire; Milton Keynes; Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire; Surrey; Bedfordshire; Cambridgeshire; Essex; Hertfordshire; Norfolk; Suffolk; County Durham; North Yorkshire; Greater Merseyside; Coventry and Warwickshire; Gloucestershire; West of England; London South; Northamptonshire; and Derbyshire. Three more local LSCs have head teachers of schools which do not have sixth forms.
In addition the LSC is the process of recruiting a head teacher of a school with a sixth form to its national council.
Further experience of schools' matters is brought by those local council members who come from local authorities and local education authorities (30 local councils have Directors of Education/Chief Education Officers, 40 local councils have elected members and 46 local councils have members with other local authority backgrounds). In addition 40 local LSCs have members who are school governors.