HC Deb 31 January 1994 vol 236 cc519-23W
Mr. Mike O'Brien

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what are the numbers and percentages of surplus places in each local education authority; if he will list in rank order the local authorities according to the proportion of surplus places in(a) primary, (b) secondary and (c) special schools; and what estimate he has made of the percentage of surplus school places in grant-maintained schools in each of the local education authorities.

Mr. Forth

The tables show the number and percentage of surplus places in each local education authority in England, in primary and secondary schools respectively, as at January 1991, the latest date for which comprehensive information is available. No information is available centrally on surplus places in special schools.

The information set out in the tables was provided by LEAs in response to a survey by the Department and includes all primary and secondary schools which were LEA maintained at the survey date. Numbers of grant-maintained schools have increased significantly since that date and no estimate has been made of the current level of surplus school places in grant-maintained schools in each LEA. We intend, however, to make regulations under section 21 of the Education Act 1993 which will require both LEAs and the new Funding Agency for Schools to submit annual information on the numbers of surplus places in LEA-maintained and grant-maintained schools respectively, beginning this year. LEAs and the FAS will shortly be consulted about this requirement.

Capacity of maintained secondary schools in England—January 1991
Surplus places Percentage surplus
Hammersmith 3,251 41
Lambeth 3,852 39
Manchester 13,350 36
Wandsworth 1 3,908 36
Solihull 6,645 33
Southwark 3,837 33
Brent 4,480 33
Sandwell 7,722 31
Knowsley 3,925 31
Doncaster 8,550 30
Wolverhampton 5,740 30
Nottinghamshire 26,198 30
Liverpool 11,545 30
South Tyneside 3,528 29
Merton 2,544 27
Sheffield 8,730 27
Kensington and Chelsea 1,046 27
Durham 13,626 27
Wakefield 7,763 27
Cumbria 9,673 25
Salford 3,711 25
Newcastle-upon-Tyne 5,425 25
North Tyneside 4,942 25
Leeds 15,684 25
Dudley 5,134 25
Newham 3,899 24
Hillingdon 3,693 24
Birmingham 17,171 24
Wirral 6,580 24
Coventry 5,657 24
Lewisham 3,223 24
Ealing 3,533 24
Leicestershire 16,644 23
Avon 14,904 23
St. Helens 3,621 23
Cleveland 11,298 23
Oxfordshire 9,589 23
Kent 26,589 23
Trafford 2,955 22
Walsall 4,667 21
Calderdale 2,891 21
Humberside 14,891 21
Lancashire 20,135 21
Enfield 3,976 21
Warwickshire 5,796 21
Bexley 3,436 20
Kirklees 6,222 20
Waltham Forest 2,706 20
Sefton 4,519 20
Gateshead 2,941 20
Hertfordshire 15,153 20
Essex 24,319 20
Surrey 8,400 19
Hackney 1,780 19
Islington 1,715 19
Derbyshire 12,487 19
Greenwich 3,260 19
Rotherham 3,761 18
Befordshire 9,409 18
Shropshire 5,718 18
Barnsley 2,644 18
Wiltshire 9,682 18
Rochdale 2 2,525 18
Norfolk 7,682 17
Wigan 4,025 17
Surplus places Percentage surplus
Gloucestershire 5,756 17
East Sussex 6,350 17
Hounslow 2,598 17
Croydon 3,149 17
Hereford and Worcester 9,570 17
Havering 3,229 17
Berkshire 8,825 17
Buckinghamshire 5,564 16
Northamptonshire 8,058 16
Hampshire 13,601 16
Bradford 8,331 16
West Sussex 7,634 16
Lincolnshire 5,440 15
Suffolk 8,015 15
North Yorkshire 7,404 15
Cheshire 11,149 15
Kingston-upon-Thames 1,117 14
Tameside 1,854 14
Dorset 5,941 14
Devon 9,012 14
Stockport 2,732 14
Sunderland 2 2,566 13
Northumberland 3,727 12
Bromley 1 1,309 12
Somerset 3,793 12
Westminster 868 11
Tower Hamlets 1,051 10
Isle of Wight 1,101 10
Oldham 1,692 10
Cornwall 3,209 10
Staffordshire 7,783 10
Camden 1,148 10
Bolton 1,612 9
Bury 1,013 9
Barking 717 8
Richmond-upon-Thames 643 8
Sutton 1 513 7
Harrow 466 6
Barnet 983 6
Cambridge 2,642 6
Redbridge 695 5
1Figures for secondary schools in these LEAs are incomplete.
2Figures for secondary schools in these LEAs are calculated on a slightly different basis since directly comparable figures are not available.
Capacity of maintained primary schools in England—January 1991
Surplus places Percentage surplus
Wandsworth 9,096 39
Liverpool 19,481 32
Hammersmith 2,981 29
Gateshead 6,422 28
Brent 6,585 26
North Tyneside 3,802 24
Southwark 5,511 24
Doncaster 7,076 22
Wigan 7,811 22
Hertfordshire 20,503 22
Staffordshire 24,485 22
Wolverhampton 6,116 22
Knowsley 4,004 21
Oxfordshire 10,004 21
Lambeth 4,479 21
Northumberland 4,902 21
Bedfordshire 9,782 21
Berkshire 14,013 20
Hackney 3,019 19
Barnsley 4,220 19
Newcastle-upon-Tyne 4,515 19
Islington 2,958 19
Newham 4,587 18
Humberside 16,347 18
Wiltshire 9,682 18
Coventry 6,022 18
Surplus places Percentage surplus
Durham 11,516 18
Sheffield 9,048 18
Nottinghamshire 17,253 18
Hillingdon 3,754 18
Hampshire 24,719 17
Rotherham 4,346 17
Suffolk 7,902 17
Leeds 8,335 17
Hereford and Worcester 9,296 17
Cheshire 17,045 17
Salford 4,171 17
Buckinghamshire 11,252 17
Cleveland 10,391 16
Bradford 6,370 16
Richmond-upon-Thames 1,845 16
Calderdale 3,324 16
Shropshire 5,396 16
South Tyneside 2,619 16
Essex 22,611 16
Solihull 3,332 16
Kensington and Chelsea 1,090 16
Manchester 7,617 16
Bexley 2,914 15
Tower Hamlets 2,864 15
East Sussex 7,955 15
Wakefield 4,314 15
Sunderland 4,674 15
Norfolk 10,842 15
North Yorkshire 9,524 15
Walsall 3,823 14
Cambridge 9,401 14
Warwickshire 7,305 14
Devon 10,575 13
Sutton 1,619 13
Greenwich 2,718 13
Stockport 3,557 13
Surrey 11,084 13
Lincolnshire 7,236 13
Gloucestershire 5,506 12
Derbyshire 10,230 12
Merton 1,639 12
West Sussex 6,940 12
Croydon 3,389 12
Cumbria 5,674 12
Ealing 3,016 11
St. Helens 1,886 11
Kent 15,431 11
Kirklees 3,291 10
Trafford 1,878 10
Camden 972 10
Westminster 891 10
Corporation of London 21 10
Bromley 2,259 10
Avon 6,359 9
Lewisham 1,609 9
Dudley 2,551 9
Leicestershire 7,204 9
Northamptonshire 4,714 9
Barking 1,368 9
Havering 1,971 9
Waltham Forest 1,445 8
Birmingham 8,711 8
Rochdale 1,784 8
Barnet 1,463 7
Hounslow 1,226 7
Somerset 2,524 7
Sefton 1,944 7
Oldham 1,319 6
Bolton 1,602 6
Wirral 1,953 6
Redbridge 796 5
Tameside 968 5
Isle of Wight 357 5
Kingston-upon-Thames 485 5
Harrow 888 5
Lancashire 6,754 5
Enfield 765 4

Surplus places Percentage surplus
Dorset 1,165 3
Cornwall 744 2
Sandwell 328 1
Bury 0 0