§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent assessment she has made of(a) school places and (b) the shortage of teachers in the Buckingham constituency. [17861]
§ Mr. TimmsMy Department does not collect detailed information on school places. The Government believe that decisions concerning the supply of school places are best taken locally by the main partners in the provision of education, who have knowledge of local needs. Local education authorities have a duty to ensure that there are sufficient school places in their area. They must publish annually a School Organisation Plan setting out how they plan to deal with any surplus or deficit of places over a five-year rolling period.
Where an LEA can demonstrate overall growth in the need for school places it may apply to my Department for capital funding.
My Department does not hold figures on teacher shortages in the Buckingham constituency centrally.
§ Mr. FlightTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what latest assessment she has made of the shortage of(a) school places and (b) teachers in Arundel and South Downs. [18308]
§ Mr. TimmsMy Department does not collect detailed information on school places. The Government believe that decisions concerning the supply of school places are best taken locally by the main partners in the provision of education, who have knowledge of local needs. Local education authorities have a duty to ensure that there are sufficient school places in their area. They must publish annually a School Organisation Plan setting out how they plan to deal with any surplus or deficit of places over a five-year rolling period.
1210WWhere a local education authority can demonstrate overall growth in the need for school places it may apply to my Department for capital funding.
There were 82 teacher vacancies in the maintained schools sector, 1.6 per cent. of teachers, in West Sussex at January 2001. Figures for the constituency of Arundel and South Downs are not held centrally.