§ Mr. PageTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many schools have applied for local management for schools status in England and Wales and in the South West Hertfordshire education division; and what are their relevant percentages of the total schools.
§ Mr. FallonSeventy-eight per cent. of secondary and 30 per cent. of primary schools in England already have delegated budgets; none of these is in Hertfordshire. All secondary and those primary schools with a pupil population of 200 or more must have delegated budgets on or before 1 April 1993; primary schools with fewer than 200 pupils must have delegated budgets by 1 April 1994.
Schools which are dissatisfied with the timing of delegation proposed by their local education authorities may apply to the Secretary of State for accelerated delegation, to take effect from as early as 1 April 1992. We have had a number of informal inquiries from schools but no formal applications to date.