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Public Consultation

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the public consultations undertaken by her Department since June 2001, stating in each case the (a) number of respondents and (b) percentage of those specifically consulted who responded. [60141]

Estelle Morris: A table showing the public consultations undertaken by my Department since June 2001 follows as requested. The number of respondents to each consultation is also listed. Information on the percentage of those specifically consulted who subsequently responded is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Start date	Title of consultation	Number of responses
26 June 2001	Professional Duties of Advanced Skills Teachers	32
24 July 2001	Employment of Teachers who have successfully completed their course of teacher training but have not passed their skills test	10
11 June 2001	Teachers' Professional Development—Standards Framework Consultation	53
11 June 2001	Teachers' Professional Development Division—Development Portfolio Consultation	20
9 July 2001	Extending the Use of Parenting Orders	120
30 July 2001	Draft Regulations Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 as Amended by the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001	202
31 August 2001	Registration and Monitoring of Independent Schools	422
18 September 2001	Consultation on targets for English and mathematics at Key Stage 20 in 2004	206
8 October 2001	City Academies: Arrangements for Pupils with SEN and Disabilities	37
5 October 2001	Expert support for the development of Foundation Stage Practice	166
1 September 2001	White Paper: Consultation on School Admissions	480
1 September 2001	White Paper: Consultation on Exclusion Appeal Panels	220
1 September 2001	White Paper: The Way Forward—A modernised Framework for School Governance	4,385
1 September 2001	Better Beginnings—Improving quality and increasing provision in early years education and child care	315
11 June 2001	Guidance on Producing a Portfolio	49
27 June 2001	Education Development Plans from 2002—draft guidance	85
23 November 2001	Teachers' Pay Reform—Performance Pay Progression Grant	70
6 November 2001	Teaching Fellowship Scheme (Excellence Fellowship Awards)	67
2 November 2001	Consultation on Proposals arising from the Treasury Review of Ill Health Retirement	78
24 September 2001	16–19 Organisation—Organisation and Inspection	332
5 September 2001	Schools White Paper: Achieving Success	73
12 October 2001	Modernisation of Higher Education Student Support	70
25 November 2001	Building a Strategy for Children and Young People—Children's Consultation	518
25 November 2001	Building a Strategy for Children and Young People—Young People's Consultation	643
25 November 2001	Building a Strategy for Children and Young People—Adults	253
18 December 2001	Review of Arts and Humanities Research Funding	117
19 December 2001	Review of Learning Partnerships	138
26 June 2001	July European Commission Memorandum on Lifelong Learning	250
14 January 2002	Accessible Schools: Planning to increase access to schools for disabled pupils	144
30 January 2002	Quinquennial Review of Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA)	151
25 February 2002	The Adult Common Basic Data Set	43
24 January 2002	Revised Guidance on Exclusions from School—Draft for Consultation	206
18 February 2002	National Centre for Excellence in Science Teaching	329
4 February 2002	Raising Standards—Training and Development for Leaders and Managers	217
15 March 2002	School Workforce Remodelling Agenda	68
12 February 2002	14–19: Extending Opportunities, Raising Standards	1,049
12 February 2002	14–19: Extending Opportunities, Raising Standards Summary	2,618
27 February 2002	Early Years and Childcare Regulations	259
14 March 2002	Investors In Children	272
19 March 2002	Publication of School and College Performance Tables in 2002	195

10 Jun 2002 : Column 1045W

Anglo-Italian Meetings

Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills on how many occasions in the last six months members of her Department have met their Italian counterparts; and what subjects were discussed. [56895]

Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 16 May 2002]: My officials regularly meet their Italian counterparts at a range of EU fora covering education, lifelong learning and youth.

Equal Treatment

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the women's organisations which have been consulted over the proposed legislation by her Department during the 2000–01 and 2001–02 Sessions; and if their responses have been published. [58184]

Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 22 May 2002]: My Department is keen to include all interested parties in developing policies that affect them. Information on informal consultation is not held centrally. However, the women's organisations which have been formally consulted in writing by this Department since 2000 are as follows:

Women's National Commission


British International Women Graduates


Women in Journalism


National Alliance of Women's Organisations


Royal College of Midwives


Bolton Metro's Corporate Women's Group


National Council of Women of GB.

Individual responses are not published but, in accordance with the Cabinet Office Code of Practice on Written Consultation, are generally made available to anyone who asks for them.

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she has established a baseline for policy appraisals against which to measure progress on equal treatment; and what progress has been achieved. [58182]

Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 22 May 2002]: Our approach to ensure progress on equal treatment is to ensure that equality becomes part and parcel of every element of policy, programme and service delivery.

10 Jun 2002 : Column 1046W

Our recent mainstreaming review indicated that while we have good equality practices in some areas of the organisation, we could do more in the policy processes to support this. As a result, we have further developed this approach by encouraging all our policy makers to "mainstream" equal opportunities into all programmes and policies. To this end, we have developed a webtool to help them build equality considerations into their work from the outset. The "Fairway" webtool also includes good practice examples showing how some policy teams have taken this forward. Other "equality" measures included:

Embedding equality into our staff appraisal process;


Equality processing our business planning and our end of year reviews with the permanent secretary;


We regularly discuss equality and diversity issues with the senior members of the board and regular meetings between the senior equality adviser and the permanent secretary;


A yearly Staff survey which has a specific chapter dedicated to equality and diversity issues.

An example of these actions is that our Connexions Partnerships are required in their business plans to state how they will ensure that personal advisers come from a diversity of backgrounds. The Connexions Service National Unit monitors the diversity of each partnership's personal adviser work force, including gender and ethnicity.

We publicise all this through our internal communications system and our external DfES website (if appropriate).

Effective mainstreaming requires policy developers to work in consultation and partnership with organisations representing minority and disadvantaged groups, using research, monitoring and evaluation to understand customer needs and the impact their policies are having on them.

We will continue to address this and measure our progress.

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the subject of each gender impact assessment drawn up by her Department since June 1997, indicating in each case whether the outcome has been (a) put out to consultation and (b) published. [58183]

Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 22 May 2002]: In 1998, in consultation with the Home Office and the former Department for Education and Employment, the Cabinet Office issued Policy Appraisal for Equal Treatment

10 Jun 2002 : Column 1047W

(PAET) guidelines to all Government Departments. DfES has intentionally not focused just on gender issues but have focused on a wider range of equality issues.

Our recent mainstreaming review indicated that while we have good equality practices in some areas of the organisation, we could do more in the policy processes to support this. As a result, we have further developed this approach by encouraging all our policy makers to "mainstream" Equal Opportunities into all programmes and policies. To this end, we have developed a webtool to help them build equality considerations into their work from the outset. The "Fairway" web tool also includes good practice examples showing how some policy teams have taken this forward. Other "equality" measures included:

Embedding equality into our staff appraisal process;


Equality processing our business planning and our end of year reviews with the Permanent Secretary;


We regularly discuss equality and diversity issues with the members of the board and regular meetings between the Senior Equality Adviser and the Permanent Secretary.

An example of these actions is that our Connexions Partnerships are required in their business plans to state how they will ensure that Personal Advisers come from a diversity of backgrounds. The Connexions Service National Unit monitors the diversity of each partnership's Personal Adviser workforce, including gender and ethnicity.

We publicise all this through our internal communications system or our external DfES website (if appropriate).

Effective mainstreaming requires policy developers to work in consultation and partnership with organisations representing minority and disadvantaged groups, using research, monitoring and evaluation to understand customer needs and the impact their policies are having on them.

We will continue to address this and measure our progress.

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