§ Mr. MaudeTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list(a) the title and subject, (b) the total cost to his Department and (c) the commissioned author or organisation of each external report commissioned by his Department in each year since 1997. [103715]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeFull details of the external research commissioned by the Department between 1997 and 2001 are presented in the Department's Annual Report on Research (1997, 1998 and 1999) and Report of the DIES Research Conference 2001. Copies are available in the House of Commons Library. Details for 2002–2003 have also been placed in the Library.
Information for 2002–2003 includes ongoing projects. Results from these projects will not yet be publicly available. Results of the Department's externally commissioned work are routinely published in line with the requirements of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
In addition to its research programme, the Department commissions a wide variety of external experts and independent bodies to help officials and 375W others deliver its objectives. These include study materials for teachers, good practice guides and discussion papers. Information on these is not held centrally and therefore cannot be supplied on the grounds of disproportionate cost.