§ Mr. BradyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what criteria are used in determining an application for disposal of school playing fields, as to whether playing field provision and curriculum requirements at the school and other schools in the area will be met. [40299]
§ John HealeyApplications to the Secretary of State to dispose of school playing fields are assessed against three main criteria. These are:
- (i) schools' needs: that playing field provision and curriculum requirements at the school making the disposal, and at other schools in the local area, will be met;
- (ii) community needs: that community use of school playing fields is taken into account, with alternative facilities made available if necessary; and
498W
Use of proceeds for approved applications to sell school sports pitch areas Local education authority School Closed or closing Estimated proceeds (£) Use of proceeds Barnet Ashmole No 8,650,000 Teaching accommodation; all-weather pitch Bedfordshire Ashton St. Peter VA No 100,000 School consolidation Bedfordshire Silver Jubilee middle Yes 72,000 Teaching accommodation Birmingham Broadway No 900,000 Improve pitches; new clubhouse and changing facilities Bolton St. James's CE No 800,000 Sports facilities Bristol Monks Park secondary No 2,200,000 Sports hall, all-weather pitch. Capital works at other schools Buckinghamshire Bellfield first and middle Yes 468,000 Education capital programme Buckinghamshire Downley middle Yes 2,500,000 Education capital programme Buckinghamshire Heights first Yes 1,350,000 Education capital programme Buckinghamshire Terriers county first Yes 650,000 Education capital programme Calderdale Brooksbank No 1,038,000 Sports hall Cheshire Brookside county infant Yes 83,000 School amalgamation Cheshire Colshaw CP No 75,000 Nursery accommodation Cheshire Manor Park infant Yes 225,000 School consolidation Cheshire St. James CE junior No Payment in kind Teaching accommodation Cheshire Westlands high Yes 3,100,000 Teaching accommodation; pitches Croydon Haling Manor high No 3,000,000 Teaching accommodation Derbyshire Noel Baker community No 18,000 Changing facilities Derbyshire Pingle No 363,000 Improve pitches Derbyshire Western Mere Yes 200,000 Education capital programme Devon Highweek primary No 150,000 Teaching accommodation; pitches Dorset Fosters Yes 1,500,000 Improve pitches; new schools Durham The Avenue comprehensive Yes 32,600 Education capital programme Durham Westwood primary Yes 6,520 Education capital programme Essex Moulsham high No 1,000,000 Improve pitches; teaching accommodation Essex Oakview special No 1,000,000 Teaching accommodation Essex Tabor high No 3,000,000 School consolidation Essex The Stanway No 7,500,000 Improve sports facilities; teaching accommodation Gloucestershire The Catholic school of St. Gregory the Great No 900,000 All-weather pitch; teaching accommodation Halton Ashley special No 50,000 Sleeping accommodation for adults with learning difficulties Hammersmith and Fulham Gibbs Green special No 400,000 All-weather pitch Havering Frances Bardsley for girls No 6,850,000 Sports hall; all-weather pitch; consolidate school sites
- (iii) finance: that any sale proceeds are re-invested to provide new or improved sports facilities at schools, or are used otherwise to help raise standards by providing better educational facilities.
The criteria are set out in the Department's Guidance 0580/2001: "The Protection of School Playing Fields and Land for City Academies". The criteria enable the Secretary of State to take into account the team game playing field provision at other local schools. This is to ensure that where there are surplus fields at one school, other local schools are given the opportunity to use those surplus fields. As part of the schools' needs criterion, applicants are asked to say what impact the proposed disposal will have on the curriculum, and to demonstrate clearly how the curriculum will continue to be met if consent is given.
The School Playing Fields Advisory Panel provides advice on the extent to which applications meet the published criteria.
§ Mr. BradyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to her answers of 25 February 2002,Official Report, columns 730–34W and 27 February 2002, Official Report, column 1298w, what the proceeds of sale were for each playing field development application approved by the Secretary of State since 1998; and what (a) sports and (b) education facilities those proceeds were used to finance. [40382]
§ John HealeyThe information requested in respect of the proceeds arising from the sale of school sports pitches is shown in the table.
499W
Use of proceeds for approved applications to sell school sports pitch areas Local education authority School Closed or closing Estimated proceeds (£) Use of proceeds Kent Allhallows first Yes 75,000 Education capital programme Kent St. Thomas' special Yes 480,000 Education capital programme Lancashire Baines high No 315,000 Sports hall Lancashire St. Richards RC high Yes 1,000,000 Sports hall; education capital programme Lancashire St. Thomas Aquinas RC high Yes 225,000 Education capital programme Leeds Oakwood primary No Payment in kind Teaching accommodation Leeds Wetherby high No 720,000 All-weather pitch; sports hall Liverpool Childwall comprehensive No 2,500,000 New school; sports hall; improve pitches Milton Keynes Castles first Yes 480,000 Consolidate school sites Milton Keynes Denbigh Yes 5,000,000 Education capital programme Norfolk Redgate middle No 175,000 Sports hall; teaching accommodation North Tyneside St. Mary's Roman Catholic No 95,000 Grass playing fields; playground North Yorkshire Settle CE primary No Payment in kind New school Northamptonshire John Lea secondary Yes 4,000,000 Education capital programme Northumberland Gallowhill Hall special Yes 5,850 Teaching accommodation Northumberland St. Benet Biscop RC aided high No 1,350,018 Teaching accommodation; improve pitches Nottinghamshire Manor comprehensive No 140,000 Sports hall Oxfordshire Wallingford No 3,700,000 School consolidation Peterborough The King's No 1,000,000 Sports hall; all-weather pitch Rochdale Middleton technology No 400,000 Sports hall Rochdale Spring Hill high No 300,000 Sports hall Shropshire Lower Grove Yes 600,000 School amalgamation Staffordshire Sir Graham Balfour high No 1,700,000 New school; sports hall; improve pitches Surrey Banstead county junior and No 40,000 Education capital programme St. Anne's RC primary Surrey Boxgrove primary No Payment in kind School consolidation Surrey Merland Rise CP No 1,608,000 Education capital programme Surrey Okewood C of E Yes 10,000 Education capital programme Surrey Park Mead junior No 550,000 Grass pitches;teaching accommodation Surrey Rosebery No 1,400,000 All-weather pitch; sports hall Tameside Egerton Park high No Payment in kind Sports hall Telford and Wrekin Blessed Robert Johnson No 300,000 Sports hall Wakefield Kinsley first Yes 55,000 Education capital programme Wakefield South Elmsall middle Yes 50,000 Education capital programme Walsall Beacon Yes 2,000,000 Teaching accommodation Walsall St. Thomas More Catholiccomprehensive No 3,100,000 School consolidation Warwickshire Attleborough first Yes 245,000 Consolidate school sites Warwickshire Binley Woods first Yes 800,000 Consolidate school sites Warwickshire Exhall first Yes 300,000 Consolidate school sites Warwickshire Marie Corelli Yes 2,000,000 New school Warwickshire Stratford-upon-Avon high Yes 1,000,000 New school West Sussex Hazelwick No 2,945,000 Teaching accommodation; all-weather pitch Wigan Hindley Borsdane Brookspecial Yes 500,000 Consolidate school sites Wigan Orrell Holgate primary No 600,000 Education capital programme Wigan Rose Hill special Yes 500,000 Consolidate school sites Wigan Tyldesley Highfield special Yes 380,000 Consolidate school sites Wiltshire Castle Combe primary Yes 10,000 Education capital programme Wolverhampton Aldersley No 2,387,500 Teaching accommodation Worcestershire Callowbrook first Yes 2,000 Education capital programme Notes:
1. 'Sports pitch' means areas of open grassed land which are equal to, or larger than, the Football Association's recommended area for games played by under-10s, that is 2,000m2, and which have a configuration making them suitable for sports pitches (whether they are so laid out or not).
2. The table excludes applications withdrawn by the applicant and applications where schools would retain the same, or a better, level of access to the same sports pitch or to an equivalent sports pitch.
3. The table includes applications in respect of foundation and voluntary schools considered under Schedule 22 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 since 1 September 1999.
4. Prior to July 2001, local authorities were not required to specify what sports or education facilities were to be financed from proceeds of sale. It was sufficient for them to give an undertaking that any proceeds of sale would be allocated to their schools' capital programme. A requirement to provide details of the sports or education projects to be funded from sale proceeds was introduced by the revised guidance published in July 2001.
§ Mr. BradyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills in respect of each application for disposal of a school sports pitch since July 2001, if the application was supported(a) by the representative of (i) the National Playing Fields Association, (ii) the Central Council of Physical Recreation, (iii) Learning Through Landscapes, (iv) the National Association of Head Teachers and 500W (v) the Local Government Association on the School Playing Fields Advisory Panel and (b) by the School Playing Fields Advisory Panel as a whole. [40475]
§ John Healey[holding answer 5 March 2002]: The advice of the School Playing Fields Advisory Panel is presented as the collective view of the Panel. Of the applications to dispose of school sports pitches received 501W by the Department since 16 July 2001, the Panel has expressed collective support for the eight applications that have been approved.
§ Mr. BradyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent representations her Department has received from the National Playing Fields Association relating to the sale of school playing fields. [40476]
§ John Healey[holding answer 5 March 2002]: The Department has not received any recent representations from the National Playing Fields Association (NPFA) relating to the sale of school playing fields. The NPFA is, however, a member of the School Playing Fields Advisory Panel which advises the Department on the extent to which individual applications to dispose of school playing fields comply with the published criteria.