§ Mr. PendryTo ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) when he intends to complete his consideration of the responses to his consultation letter on the sale of school playing fields;
(2) if he will publish a full list of the organisations and individuals to whom his consultation letter on the sale of school playing fields was sent, the date on which the letter was sent to each organisation and individual and the date on which a response from each organisation and individual was received by his Department; and if he will place copies of each response in the Library;
(3) how many organisations have not responded to his consultation letter on the sale of school playing fields; what action he has taken to pursue those organisations for responses; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ForthMy right hon. Friend expects to inform local education authorities and others of his conclusions arising from this exercise shortly.
My hon. Friend the Member for South Ribble (Mr. Atkins), then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, wrote to the local authority associations on 19 December 1991 asking for their comments on his proposed letter to chief education officers by 28 February 1992. Copies of the consultation letter were also sent on 20 December 1991 to the Sports Council, the Central Council of Physical Recreation, the National Playing Fields Association and the regional councils for sport and recreation for information.
Following is a list of the bodies which commented on the consultation letter and the dates of their replies:
Date Association of District Councils 26 February 1992 Association of Metropolitan Authorities February 1992 Association of County Councils February 1992 Association of London Authorities 24 February 1992 The Sports Council 28 February 1992 National Playing Fields Association 5 March 1992 The Central Council of Physical Recreation 16 January 1992 Chiltern District Council 13 February 1992 Cornwall County Council 25 February 1992 Dorset County Council 26 February 1992 ACRE: The Rural Communities Charity 28 February 1992 Somerset County Council 4 March 1992 It is not our normal practice to place responses to consultations in the Library.
No response was received from the London Boroughs Association. My hon. Friend the Member for South Ribble wrote to the chairman of the association, on 19 December 1991, and a further copy of his letter was sent 527W to the association on 6 February 1992. Officials subsequently telephoned the association to ask whether a response would be forthcoming; a representative confirmed that the association did not intend to respond.
§ Mr. PendryTo ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish a full list of those local education authorities which have actively demonstrated that, in considering whether to retain playing fields released by a school proposed for closure, they have considered whether such playing fields should be retained to make up shortfalls at a neighbouring school, the method by which such consideration has been demonstrated, the total number of schools that have been subject to such consideration, the total number of schools at which the playing field has subsequently been released and the total number of schools at which the playing field has subsequently been retained.
§ Mr. ForthThe information requested is not available. Local education authorities are not required to provide such information when submitting proposals for school closure to my right hon. Friend.