HC Deb 09 December 1994 vol 251 cc410-3W
Mr. David Harris

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what are the numbers and percentages of surplus places in each local education authority in England.

Mr. Robin Squire

The tables set out the numbers of surplus places, by local education authority area, and the proportion that these represent of total capacity, as at January this year. The data are drawn from the returns made this summer by local education authorities in respect of their schools and by the Funding Agency for Schools in respect of grant-maintained schools in stage 2 and 3 authority areas: data on surplus places in the 286 GM schools stage 1 authorities are not available. These returns indicate that there were just over 1 million surplus school places in England in January this year, representing 13 per cent. of the total capacity of 7.7 million places.

The tables illustrate considerable variation in numerical and proportionate levels of surplus across the country. In some cases, combinations of pupil population growth and current rationalisation plans will probably reduce high levels of surplus to more acceptable levels. Where there is no indication of significant reduction in high levels of surplus, the Department will consult the authorities concerned about the extent to which any of that surplus is in practice removable. In the light of this consultation my right hon. Friend will decide whether surplus place removal targets should be set for any of these authorities.

Table 1: Surplus places by local authority area (excluding GM schools in stage 1 authorities) at January 1994
Primary (see note 1) Actual surplus Secondary Actual surplus
LEA Number Percentage Number Percentage
Avon 7,342 9 11,596 18
Barking 975 7 307 3
Barnet 1,598 7 1,947 110
Barnsley 1,496 7 2,611 17
Bedfordshire 7,272 15 9,021 117
Berkshire 5,946 9 7,754 114
Bexley 1,799 9 2,005 112
Birmingham 8,983 9 11,330 115
Bolton 2,187 9 2,000 111
Bradford 4,099 11 6,914 113
Brent 2,291 11 2,383 216
Bromley 1,442 7 891 15
Buckinghamshire 11,457 17 3,231 18
Bury 848 6 947 9
Calderdale 2,722 13 2,221 114
Cambridgeshire 7,978 13 2,837 17
Camden 325 3 1,047 19
Cheshire 14,860 15 7,983 12
Cleveland 7,426 12 8,276 19
Cornwall 3,005 8 2,601 8
Corporation of London 22 10
Coventry 5,133 16 4,236 18
Croydon 2,442 9 1,716 111
Cumbria 6,104 14 6,169 117
Derbyshire 10,637 13 10,782 116
Devon 9,032 10 4,160 7
Doncaster 6,632 20 6,439 23
Dorset 3,242 7 3,964 19
Dudley 3,352 11 2,218 111
Durham 8,368 14 8,144 18
Ealing 4,358 17 1,056 17
East Sussex 6,671 12 3,783 10
Enfield 1,013 5 1,781 19
Essex 17,814 112 18,008 116
Gateshead 4,887 23 2,695 19
Gloucestershire 6,234 13 3,417 110
Greenwich 2,220 11 3,038 18
Hackney 2,046 12 2,132 23
Hammersmith 1,591 16 2,606 131
Hampshire 18,287 13 10,114 112
Haringey 1,240 7 1,515 14
Harrow 998 5 278 4
Havering 1,817 9 2,284 113
Hereford and Worcester 6,505 11 7,851 15
Hertfordshire 14,517 16 13,552 117
Hillingdon 2,464 112 1,336 9
Hounslow 1,656 9 435 13
Humberside 11,612 13 10,912 16
Isle of Wight 384 5 1,093 10

Table 1: Surplus places by local authority area (excluding GM schools in stage 1 authorities) at January 1994
Primary (see note 1) Actual surplus Secondary Actual surplus
LEA Number Percentage Number Percentage
Isle of Scilly 67 27 223 65
Islington 1,630 10 1,656 19
Kensington 722 12 712 118
Kent 14,638 11 18,000 115
Kingston upon Thames 503 5 843 110
Kirklees 2,714 8 3,160 12
Knowsley 3,277 17 1,635 16
Lambeth 4,060 20 3,142 133
Lancashire 12,398 9 11,754 13
Leeds 10,425 15 6,358 13
Leicestershire 8,082 10 10,076 15
Lewisham 999 5 1,587 13
Lincolnshire 7,434 113 4,864 112
Liverpool 11,436 21 7,687 22
Manchester 5,657 12 12,294 36
Merton 1,100 8 1,488 17
Newcastle upon Tyne 3,704 16 4,421 21
Newham 3,631 14 2,794 17
Norfolk 7,383 11 4,041 19
North Tyneside 3,020 18 3,101 18
North Yorkshire 9,048 14 6,304 13
Northamptonshire 4,410 9 5,423 111
Northumberland 4,960 21 3,333 111
Nottinghamshire 13,457 14 20,327 25
Oldham 2,152 9 1,145 7
Oxfordshire 8,237 17 6,858 16
Redbridge 406 2 835 6
Richmond-upon-Thames 686 6 288 4
Rochdale 1,709 8 2,436 17
Rotherham 3,423 13 2,875 14
Salford 3,681 15 3,375 23
Sandwell 1,857 7 3,445 16
Sefton 2,884 11 3,956 18
Sheffield 6,696 14 5,612 18
Shropshire 4,902 12 4,947 117
Solihull 2,443 12 1,144 8
Somerset 2,487 7 3,486 11
South Tyneside 1,710 11 2,076 18
Southwark 3,980 18 2,296 120
St. Helens 1,985 12 2,245 16
Staffordshire 21,456 20 4,919 7
Stockport 2,448 9 2,209 12
Suffolk 4,559 10 6,000 11
Sunderland 6,104 18 2,408 11
Surrey 8,483 11 5,407 111
Sutton 1,110 9 367 13
Tameside 1,464 7 1,737 112
Tower Hamlets 1,522 7 2,239 17
Trafford 1,562 8 2,067 115
Wakefield 3,924 13 4,728 19
Walsall 3,556 13 3,565 116
Waltham Forest 1,422 7 1,737 113
Wandsworth 6,111 30 2,308 121
Warwickshire 7,966 15 6,607 121
West Sussex 6,951 12 6,051 13
Westminster 621 7 938 12
Wigan 5,734 17 2,969 14
Wiltshire 7,604 14 5,812 114
Wirral 4,398 13 4,064 18
Wolverhampton 4,412 17 3,638 119
Total 540,729 12 475,628 14
1 Stage two for planning purposes
2 Stage three for planning purposes

Note 1: Primary figures show surplus after taking account of any summer entry

Note 2: Stage 1 = less than 10 per cent of pupils in the GM sector

Stage 2 = between 10 per cent and 75 per cent. Of pupils in the GM sector

Stage 3 = 75 per cent. or more pupils in the GM sector

Table 2: Distribution of surplus between LEA and GM schools in stage 2 and 3 authorities (all, figures refer to the secondary sector unless otherwise indicated)
LEA GM Total
Surplus percentage Surplus percentage Surplus percentage
Barnet 1,202 12 745 7 1,947 10
Bedfordshire 8,126 19 895 9 9,021 17
Berkshire 6,477 14 1,277 15 7,754 14
Bexley 1,871 15 134 4 2,005 12
Birmingham 9,796 17 1,534 9 11,330 15
Bolton 1,599 11 401 13 2,000 11
Bradford 6,683 14 231 5 6,914 13
Brent 395 12 1,988 17 2,383 16
Bromley 207 4 684 6 891 5
Buckinghamshire 2,744 10 487 5 3,231 8
Calderdale 1,606 19 615 9 2,221 14
Cambridgeshire 1,840 7 997 6 2,837 7
Camden 1,041 12 6 0 1,047 9
Croydon 991 10 725 11 1,716 11
Cumbria 3,881 16 2,288 18 6,169 17
Derbyshire 9,071 18 1,711 10 10,782 16
Dorset 3,154 10 810 8 3,964 9
Dudley 1,891 12 327 7 2,218 11
Ealing 784 10 272 4 1,056 7
Enfield 1,403 10 378 6 1,781 9
Essex - primary 15,754 13 2,060 9 17,814 12
Essex - secondary 6,918 19 11,090 14 18,008 16
Gloucestershire 1,511 12 1,906 8 3,417 10
Hammersmith 2,606 36 0 0 2,606 31
Hampshire 8,834 13 1,280 8 10,114 12
Havering 2,266 17 18 0 2,284 13
Hertfordshire 10,485 18 3,067 13 13,552 17
Hillingdon - primary 2,340 13 124 4 2,464 12
Hillingdon - secondary 560 22 776 6 1,336 9
Hounslow 372 3 63 3 435 3
Kensington 712 22 0 0 712 18
Kent 10,697 18 7,303 13 18,000 15
Kingston-upon-Thames 403 8 440 14 843 10
Lambeth 2,466 45 676 17 3,142 33
Lincolnshire - primary 6,761 14 673 10 7,434 13
Lincolnshire - secondary 3,131 13 1,733 10 4,864 12
Norflok 3,529 10 512 6 4,041 9
Northhamptonshire 4,462 12 961 9 5,423 11
Shropshire 4,820 18 127 3 4,947 17
Southwark 1,907 22 389 12 2,296 20
Surrey 4,122 12 1,285 10 5,407 11
Sutton 175 4 192 3 367 3
Tameside 1,709 14 28 1 1,737 12
Tafford 1,711 17 356 10 2,067 15
Walsall 2,673 16 892 14 3,565 16
Waltham Forest 1,697 15 40 2 1,737 13
Wandsworth 1,129 33 1,179 15 2,308 21
Warwickshire 5,368 21 1,239 21 6,607 21
Wiltshire 4,159 17 1,653 11 5,812 14
Wolverhampton 3,278 20 360 13 3,638 19

Notes:

(1) The GM column includes schools which became grant-maintained on or before 1 April 1994.

(2) LEA and GM percentage columns show the actual number of surplus places as a proportion of total capacity within that sector.

Forward to