Schools: Standards

Tim Loughton
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 2 June 2009, Official Report, column 442W, on schools: standards, for what reasons comparable information for each year since 1997 is not available; and for which years comparable information is available.

Mr. Coaker
The information provided in the answer of 2 June 2009 was based on a review of the department's field forces, providing support and challenge to LAs, conducted in autumn 2008. Comparable information is not available for other years since this was a one-off exercise and no equivalent exercise had been conducted in previous years. Information about the numbers and costs of all field forces has not been routinely recorded centrally for each year since 1997. To collect this information retrospectively would exceed the cost threshold of £750 applicable to central Government.