To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many guidance notes to (a) schools and (b) local authorities have been issued by his Department, its predecessors and its agencies in each (i) year, (ii) quarter and (iii) month since 1 January 1997; and if he will make a statement. (201198)

The number of documents sent to all primary and secondary schools is detailed in the table attached at Annex A. Where a document has been sent to both primary and secondary schools it will appear in the totals for both. The Department stopped sending regular paper mailings to schools in December 2004, replacing them with a regular fortnightly e-mail which allows schools to order the required numbers of documents at their discretion.

The guidance notes issued to local authorities are generally intended to help front-line staff to understand and implement their statutory duties effectively and improve outcomes for children, young people and families. The data available for this year and last are set out at Annex B.

Statistical data on the numbers issued is not normally collected and the cost would be prohibitive to supply figures for every guidance note we have issued for the 10-year period requested.