Written question asked by George Osborne (Conservative) on Tuesday, 14 December 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 21 December 2004. It was answered by Stephen Twigg (Labour) on Tuesday, 21 December 2004 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 conferences were (a) attended by officials from her Department, (b) cancelled by and (c) facilitated by her Department in each year since 1997; and what the (i) cost to the Department and (ii) location was in each case.

Answer: Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many conferences were (a) attended by officials from her Department, (b) cancelled by and (c) facilitated by her Department in each year since 1997; and what the (i) cost to the Department and (ii) location was in each case. [205753] Mr. Stephen Twigg: The Department organises a large number of events for different target audiences and purposes each year, ranging from small scale workshops to introduce practitioners to new procedures or initiatives, to larger scale events to promote policy initiatives or present the bigger picture of the Department's activities to external partners and opinion formers. Examples of these during the past year range from a series of small local events to disseminate good practice in meeting the needs of anti bullying behaviour, to informing Headteachers and stakeholders on the Department's Five Year Strategy for Children and Learners in England. Records of all such events sponsored by the Department are not held centrally and the information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 205753; 428 c1695W;428 c1693W
Session: 2004-05
Subjects: Costs Civil servants Attendance Government departments Location Conferences Department for Education and Skills
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk