Written question asked by Brian Jenkins (Labour) on Thursday, 22 May 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 3 June 2003. It was answered by Charles Clarke (Labour) on Tuesday, 3 June 2003 on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills.

Dept for Education and Skills

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many schools have signed a Microsoft Schools Agreement Contract. - Including ref to How to choose between software licences http://ictadvice.org.uk/index.php?section=ap&pagenum=1&NextS tart=1&rid=1005&rr=1. How to upgrade software http://www.ictadvice.org.uk/index.php?section=ap&cat=004006& rid-1006 and Microsoft's own licensing information at: http://www.microsoft.com/uk/education/microsoft-licensing/.

Answer: Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools have signed a Microsoft Schools Agreement contract. [116660] Mr. Charles Clarke: The Government do not collect this information. Schools are free to make their own arrangements about what software to use and how to pay for it. The British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta), which is the Government's lead agency for ICT in education, has published a number of documents on its ICT Advice website that help schools to make informed choices. They include: "How to choose between software licenses" http://ictadvice.org.uk/index.php?section= ap&pagenum=1&NextStart=1&rid=1005&rr=1 "How to upgrade software" http://www.ictadvice.org.uk/index.php?section= ap&cat=004006&rid=1006 Microsoft's own licensing information can be found at: http://www.microsoft.com/uk/education/microsoft- licensing/

Secondary information