To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teachers have applied to the £2 million fund for the professional development of music teachers; and how much of that fund is expected to be spent. (138296)

The contract to develop and deliver a programme of professional development for practitioners involved in music in primary schools was agreed with the Open University and Trinity College London after a tender exercise last autumn. Funding for the programme is for both the development and delivery of a national CPD programme, which is free for participants.

Every practitioner has a mentor and an individualised training programme. So far 356 applications have been received from people wanting to become training mentors and 203 people have already been trained. 760 applications have been received for the practitioner training, which began last month. Registrations can continue to be taken up to November 2007 and we expect that the funding available will all be spent by the end of this financial year.