§ Ms. ArmstrongTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what criteria will be used to assess applications for capital building projects in(a) grant 102W maintained schools and (b) local education authority schools under local financial management within the same authority.
§ Mr. ButcherApplications for capital building projects in grant-maintained schools will be judged in the light of the total resources available for capital building in all maintained schools; my right hon. Friend has made clear his intention to treat grant-maintained schools no more favourably than LEA-maintained schools. Initially this will be done on a case by case basis, but once numbers are large enough a national bidding system is expected to be introduced similar to that which now operates for voluntary-aided schools. Local authorities' allocations for prescribed expenditure are unhypothecated—that is, authorities are free to spend them on whatever projects they wish. The size of an authority's allocation in respect of county and controlled schools depends on the extents to which its overall plans coincide with my right hon. Friend's priorities which are currently:
- i. committed expenditure up to a level previously indicated to the authority.
- ii. basic need for additional school places in areas of population growth;
- iii. the removal of surplus places as school rolls fall;
- iv. the improvement or replacement of existing school buildings.
Allocations for major projects at aided and special arrangement schools relate to specific schemes and are determined according to the same priorities.