§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what arrangements are made for the transfer of assets, land and buildings, when voluntary aided and voluntary controlled schools close. [62842]
§ Mr. MilibandThe normal pattern of property ownership at a voluntary aided or voluntary controlled school is for the trustees to own the site and buildings and for the local education authority to own the playing fields. When a voluntary aided or voluntary controlled school closes, the playing fields remain the property of the local education authority but what happens to the site and buildings depends on the type of school and the circumstances of the closure.
When a church voluntary school which is located on its original site closes, the Secretary of State may be asked to make an order under section 554 of the Education Act 1996, which allows the diocese in which the school is situated to use proceeds from the sale for the benefit of other church schools within its area.
However, where a local education authority has provided new or additional premises for a voluntary school, the local education authority may later claim compensation from the proceeds of sale of the former premises. If the local education authority and the trustees are unable to reach agreement on the amount of compensation the local education authority should receive, the Secretary of State may be asked to determine the amount.
Where the trustees of a voluntary school have given notice to terminate the school's occupation of any land, the Secretary of State may require the trustees to repay to the Department any funds it has provided, or to transfer to the local education authority any part of the premises it needs for educational purposes. The Secretary of State may require the local education authority to pay compensation to the trustees, or vice versa, depending on whether she has ordered land to be transferred to the local education authority, and on the extent of any public expenditure on the premises.