HC Deb 23 October 1990 vol 178 cc137-9W
12. Mr. Amess

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the latest number of schools to have applied for grant-maintained status.

Mr. MacGregor

Seventy-two proposals for grant-maintained status have been published following parental ballots. Of these, 66 have so far reached me for decision: I have approved 53, am minded to approve another one and have rejected 12.

15. Dr. Twinn

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what assessment he has made of the benefits grant-maintained schools gain from opting out.

Mr. MacGregor

Grant-maintained schools have many advantages: they are run by local people who know the schools; they can make their own decisions about how to make the best use of resources, including their share of LEA expenditure on centrally provided services; their governors and heads have greater autonomy than is provided by local management of schools, and they are proving very popular with parents.

28. Mr. David Shaw

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many schools became grant-maintained in September.

Mr. Eggar

Fifteen schools became grant-maintained at the beginning of the autumn term. Altogether 44 grant-maintained schools are now operating. Applications for grant-maintained status from another nine schools have already been approved.

168. Mr. David Nicholson

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many applications for grant-maintained school status have been received in each local education authority in England.

Mr. Eggar

To date, applications for grant-maintained status have been published by the governing bodies of 72 schools. My right hon. Friend has approved 53 applications; he is minded to approve one application and has rejected 12. He will make decisions on another six applications shortly. Proposals for grant-maintained status are awaited from a further six schools where parents have voted in favour of an application. The number of applications received from schools in each local education authority is as follows:

Authorities Number of applications
Avon 1
Barnet 2
Bedfordshire 1
Berkshire 2
Birmingham 3
Bolton 1
Brent 1
Bromley 2
Buckinghamshire 2
Calderdale 2
Cheshire 1
Derbyshire 2
Devon 1
Dorset 3
Dudley 2
Essex 1
Gloucestershire 5
Hammersmith and Fulham 1
Hampshire 1
Hertfordshire 4
Hillingdon 1
Kensington and Chelsea 1
Kent 5
Kirklees 2
Lancashire 3
Leicestershire 1
Lincolnshire 8
Liverpool 1
Newham 1
Norfolk I
Northamptonshire 2
Shropshire 1
Solihull 1
Southwark 1
Surrey 1
Sutton 1
Tameside 1
Wigan 1
Wolverhampton 1

No schools in the remaining authorities in England have applied for GM status.

82. Mr. Ken Hargreaves

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science in how many schools parents and governors have conducted a ballot on grant-maintained status; and what proportion of these ballots have been in favour.

Mr. Eggar

Parental ballots have been held at 107 schools in England. At 79 schools, 74 per cent., parents have voted in favour of an application for grant-maintained status.

Mr. Pawsey

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he intends to take to increase the number of grant-maintained schools; and what he sees and the principle benefits that will flow to such schools as a result.

Mr. Eggar

From 1 November all maintained primary schools with fewer than 300 pupils will become eligible to seek grant-maintained status. The result will be a tripling of the number of schools currently eligible and an important extension of parental choice. It is for parents and governors to decise whether to seek grant-maintained status for their schools. I am sure that in coming to a decision they will want to talk to existing grant-maintained schools. The first grant-maintained schools have been operating for over a year. Pupils have benefited from the greater flexibility which is available to governors and staff. The schools are spending more money on books, equipment and teachers and are developing exciting new ways of making the best use of resources.

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