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Document Classification

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many documents are held by his Department that are subject to security classification, broken down by category of classification. [107360]

Mr. Stephen Twigg: The information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. My Department follows the Cabinet Office guidance on document marking and control.

Energy Policy

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement, in relation to his Department and each agency and non-departmental public body for which his Department is responsible, on (a) the amount of energy consumed, (b) spending on (i) energy and (ii) energy efficiency measures, (c) the amount saved through energy efficiency measures and (d) energy policy in each of the last five years. [108866]

Mr. Stephen Twigg: The information for my Department is as follows:

	Energy consumption (GWh per year)	Energy expenditure (£ million per year)	Energy/m2(kWh/m2 per year)	Savings over 1997–98 (percentage)	Energy efficiency spend(£000 per year)
1997–98 DfEE	32.98	1,347,403	305.36	—	45
1998–99 DfEE	29.90	1,056,810	287.46	6	63
1999–2000 DfEE	30.58	1,111,660	288.77	5	27
2000–01 DfES	35.16	1,025,894	341.69	-12	11
2001–02 DfES	34.90	1,120,938	339.17	-11	14

Notes:

1. Energy consumption: this is weather-corrected in the usual manner, using annual degree days relative to the 20-year average for 1990–91. The figures are those reported on for the Central Government Estate campaign, and generally include each Department's main estate plus all agencies, but not NDPBs.

2. Energy expenditure: this is actual spend, and from April 2001, includes the Climate Change Levy.

3. Energy/m2: this variable allows for changes in both weather and estate size on energy consumption. So annual changes will generally reflect efficiency changes.

4. Savings over 1997–98: these have been expressed as percentage savings relative to the first year quoted here, and are based on the figures in the preceding column.

5. Energy efficiency spend: note that this is not necessarily a good measure of an effective energy efficiency policy. For example, when a new building is commissioned or an existing one refurbished, good design can actually reduce capital costs, e.g. by avoiding air conditioning. The costs of an effective energy management team may also not be included.

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Information on energy consumption by the Department's NDPBs is not held centrally.

The Energy White Paper, "Our Energy Future—Creating a Low Carbon Economy", made clear the importance the Government attach to improving energy efficiency in their own estate. This is reflected in several targets. There is currently an interim target of a one per cent. per annum on-going reduction in weather-corrected carbon emissions, pending the development of new indicators and targets based on benchmarking the performance of each Department's largest buildings. These new targets are planned to be in place later this year. New targets for Government Departments' use of CHP generated electricity will also be established during 2003.

In addition, the review of Government procurement has identified areas where procurement could reinforce the achievement of these targets, and arrangements are being made centrally for Departments to purchase goods with high energy efficiency standards and which provide good value for money.

On the purchase of renewable electricity, Ministers agreed the following target in May 2001:

"All Departments will ensure that by 31 March 2003, at least five per cent. of their electricity comes from renewable sources that are exempt from the Climate Change Levy or from self generation, provided this does not entail excessive cost. This will rise to at least 10 per cent. supply from such sources by 31 March 2008, but will be reviewed after 31 March 2003 to take account of market conditions following the introduction of the renewables obligation. The review of 2003 will include consideration of increasing or bringing forward the target".

Teacher Training

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what resources he has allocated to fund the Education Fast Track Initiative; and if he will make a statement. [111577]

Mr. Miliband: The Fast Track teaching programme is a programme of accelerated professional development, designed to attract, retain and rapidly develop transformational school leaders of the future. The total investment in the Fast Track programme in 2002–03 was just over £8 million. The total investment allocated for 2003–04 is £13.5 million, an increase which reflects the rapid growth in numbers on the Fast Track programme, from 249 teachers and trainee teachers in September 2002 to an estimated 600+ expected by September 2003.

This allocation funds all aspects of the programme, including the practical resources for teachers and schools: enhanced Initial Teacher Training; Fast Track bursaries; national professional development events; regional and local events; a network of Area Co-ordinators; in-school mentors; a facilitated on-line community; additional teachers' pay; laptops and associated software and hardware; and individualised support for professional development.

Free School Meals

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether his Department has

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informed local education authorities of the free school meals available to children from low-income households as a result of the child tax credit. [111447]

Mr. Stephen Twigg: Information was issued to all local education authorities on 15 January 2003, which outlined the changes to free school meal eligibility that would apply from April 2003. Further information, which dealt specifically with the new free school meal (tax credit) eligibility category, was issued to all local education authorities on 28 February 2003. From 6 April 2003, children whose parents receive the following 'support' payments are eligible to receive free school meals: income support; income based jobseeker's allowance; support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999; and child tax credit, provided that they do not also receive working tax credit and have an annual income (as assessed by the Inland Revenue) that does not exceed £13,230.

Mr. Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he is taking to monitor and assess the quality of (a) selection of trainees, (b) in-school training and (c) overall outcome of the Graduate Teachers programme. [111779]

Mr. Miliband: All entrants to initial teacher training in England must satisfy the requirements that my right hon. Friend has laid down in "Qualifying to Teach: Professional Standards for Qualified Teacher Status and Requirements for Initial Teacher Training". The selection of individual candidates is, however, the responsibility of training providers themselves. The Teacher Training Agency's functions include the enhancement of quality of both conventional and employment-based training routes. In this context, measures taken by the Agency to promote high-quality employment-based training include the creation, from September 2002, of 80 Designated Recommending Bodies responsible for the allocation of most places on the Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP) and the supervision of in-school training. The Agency also oversees the monitoring and peer review of candidates' training plans and an annual survey of employment-based trainees whose main focus is the level of their satisfaction with the training received.

Intense competition for places on the GTP has ensured a high standard of entrant to the programme. This is reflected in the fact that, since the programme was created in 1998, over 90 per cent. of GTP trainees have consistently succeeded in gaining Qualified Teacher Status.

Information Technology

Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his Department's (a) total managed expenditure, (b) total spending on Information Technology and (c) spending on Information Technology as a proportion of its total managed expenditure was in each financial year since 1997–98. [107181]

Mr. Stephen Twigg: (a) The contribution by DfES to the Total Managed Expenditure can be measured by the total of spending under resource and capital budgets, less non-cash items in AME. Data for 1998–99 to 2001–02 were published in the 2002 Departmental

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Report (Cm 5402). New estimates will be published in the same table in the 2003 Departmental Report, in May 2003.

(b) Estimates of spending on all Information Technology are not held centrally, and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. However figures are available for administrative capital spending on Information Technology i.e. computers, telecommunications and software. This was 11.3 million in 1997–98, 9.0 million in 1998–99, 8.9 million in 1999–2000, 7.6 million in 2000–01, 8.7 million in 2001–02 and provisionally 7.5 million in 2002–03.

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(c) As information is not held on all Information Technology spend, data is not available on a comparable basis to total managed expenditure.

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