§ Mr. StrawTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what allocation or planning figure has been made, for capital expenditure for grant maintained schools, for the current and any subsequent financial year;
(2) by what criteria he proposes to judge applications by grant-maintained schools for capital expenditure; and in what way these criteria will differ from those he applies in respect of approvals for capital expenditure by local education authorities on their schools.
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerThere will be no grant-maintained schools in the current financial year. Allocation will be made for future financial years; the total will depend upon the number of schools. The needs of the first grant-maintained schools will be considered on a case-by-case basis. As numbers build up, schools within the grant-maintained sector will participate in a bidding system similar to that now operated for voluntary-aided schools.