§ Dr. Evan HarrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills who the owners of the land and buildings in a church-run city academy are; and in cases where the land and buildings are not owned by the local education authority, under what circumstances ownership would revert to the local education authority. [126184]
§ Mr. MilibandSites for academies are usually provided by local education authorities, which transfer ownership to the academies themselves, on a leasehold or freehold basis. Where an academy is sponsored by a church, however, particularly if it replaces an existing church school, the site may be provided by a religious foundation.
Our normal expectation is that the site and buildings of an academy will revert to whichever body provided the site initially, in the event they are no longer required for the purposes of the academy. Individual academy funding agreements will make specific provision for this. Where a local education authority has transferred the land or buildings to an academy trust the Secretary of State has powers to transfer the land back to the authority if the academy ceases to exist or moves to another site.