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Written question asked by Jim Cunningham (Labour) on Wednesday, 16 March 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 18 March 2011. It was answered by Nick Gibb (Conservative) on Thursday, 24 March 2011 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Qualifications and Curriculum Authority

Question
(3) how many staff were employed by the Qualifications Curriculum and Development Authority in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11; and how many he expects to be employed at that body at the end of financial year 2011-12;
Answer

[holding answer 23 March 2011]: A decision was taken to transfer some of the functions currently being carried out by the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA) in preparation for its planned closure by March 2012.The following responsibilities or functions have already transferred from QCDA:

Number Function Destination
1 Research Evidence Management Systems (REMS) Ofqual
2 Evaluation of new A levels and GCSEs The Department for Education
3 Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) Ofqual

There are a number of research functions that are due to transfer by the end of 2010-11.

Number Function Destination
1 Maths GCSE Linked Pair Pilot The Department for Education
2 Maths GCSE Linked Pair Pilot Evaluation The Department for Education
3 International Review of Curriculum and Assessment Frameworks Internet Archive (INCA) The Department for Education

Alongside the decisions on transferring functions, the Department is working closely with the management team in QCDA to ensure that staff are consulted and provided with all the support and information they need before functions are transferred. In taking these decisions, consideration is given to staff rights under the Cabinet Office's COSOP arrangements (Cabinet Office Statement of Practice) and the Transfer of Undertaking (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE).In 2009-10, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) employed 683 members of staff. 535 of these members of staff remained in QCDA when QCA split into QCDA and Ofqual. In 2010-11, QCDA employed 416 members of staff. It is expected that there will be no staff employed by QCDA by the end of financial year 2011-12 as it is due to close in March 2012.Ministers and the Department have discussed the implications of QCDA's closure with a wide range of bodies including awarding bodies and their representatives, as well as other interested governmental bodies such as Ofqual. Decisions about which functions are to continue and which are to be transferred are set out clearly in the Secretary of State's letters to QCDA's chair.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
48000; 525 c1261-2W
Session
2010-12
Subjects
Qualifications and Curriculum Authority
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk