Food for thought

Progress on the new Department for Education and Employment, which this week invited education scribblers to meet its armful of ministers, appears to be rapid.

The shiny DFE plate on the head office has been replaced with a grim brown DFEE one, and in the meeting room, pictures of former employment secretaries, including luminaries such as Michael Foot and Barbara Castle, have been propped up precariously to match Lady Thatcher and the other ex-education secretaries. But most impressive, the DFE sandwiches - thought to date from the era of Mark Carlisle - have been replaced by the best canapes anyone can recall being served at the taxpayer's expense, handed out by waiters who appear to be well on the way to their catering GNVQs. For hairier details of policy and implementation, wait a little longer.