§ Mrs. BrowningTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what role school governors will play in(a) the new Implementation Review Unit and (b) the Monitoring Group; and if he will make a statement. [125427]
§ Mr. Miliband[holding answer 14 July 2003]: We are proposing to set up termly meetings between the panel of the new Implementation Review Unit (IRU) and governor organisations The IRU is also keen to hear from individual school governors on particular workload burdens they would most like tackled and any constructive time-saving examples from their school that could be used more widely. Governors will be notified of IRU contact details in the September "Governors" newsletter.
Earlier this year I met with representatives of the National Governors' Council and the National Association of Governors and Managers to discuss how best to ensure that school governing bodies are fully involved in the implementation of the National Agreement and the work of the Workforce Agreement Monitoring Group (WAMG).
685WFollowing these discussions, my Department has set up a regular forum between governors' representatives and the WAMG. The first took place on 27 June; a further one-day seminar was held on 21 July. One of the outcomes will be the development and distribution of specific materials for school governors to help them contribute to workforce reform.