Education written statement – made at on 27 March 2012.
Michael Gove
The Secretary of State for Education
As part of the structural reforms set out in the schools white paper “The Importance of Teaching” (November 2010), I am today announcing that three new executive agencies of the Department for Education will be established on
The Teaching Agency will be responsible for the supply and quality of the Majority of the education workforce and for the regulation of teacher conduct. This work was previously carried out by the Training and Development Agency for Schools, the General Teaching Council for England, the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency and the Children’s Workforce Development Council.
The Education Funding Agency will be responsible for the revenue and capital funding of education and training, taking over the functions of the Young People’s Learning Agency and Partnerships for Schools.
The national college, which is responsible for improving the quality of leadership in schools and early years, will change status from non-departmental public body to executive agency.
Copies of the framework documents for each agency have been placed in the House Libraries.
A document issued by the Government laying out its policy, or proposed policy, on a topic of current concern.Although a white paper may occasion consultation as to the details of new legislation, it does signify a clear intention on the part of a government to pass new law. This is a contrast with green papers, which are issued less frequently, are more open-ended and may merely propose a strategy to be implemented in the details of other legislation.
More from wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_paper
The term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.
