§ Dr. IddonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of whether the Government is on target to meet the commitments identified in paragraph 15 on page 4, Appendix 1 on page 28 and in the tat le on page 29 in, Raising standards 1535W and tackling workload: a national agreement, for schools' Remodelling Change Programme; and if he will make a statement. [164458]
§ Mr. MilibandThe Government is committed to sustaining school workforce reforms. The manifesto commitment to 10,000 extra teachers during the life of the Parliament has already been exceeded; and there were 36,000 more support staff in post in January 2003, compared with January 2001. In October 2003, the Secretary of State announced a package of measures that will restore stability to the school funding system, including the introduction of a 4 per cent. minimum per pupil guarantee for schools.
In addition, the National Remodelling Team, working with the Workforce Agreement Monitoring Group and a network of dedicated LEA advisers, has developed advice and support for schools in managing the reforms effectively, including through the provision of training for support staff. Many schools are also currently involved in a tailored change management process.