§ Mr. Peter BottomleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what are the numbers and percentages of surplus places in each local education authority in England. [13261]
§ Mr. Robin SquireThe following tables set out the numbers of surplus places, by local authority area, and the proportion that these represent of total capacity, as at January 1996. The data are drawn from the returns made during 1996 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 359 grant-maintained schools in stage 1 authorities are not available.
These returns indicate that there were just over 815,000 surplus school places in January 1996, representing 11 per cent. of the total capacity of 7.6 million places. This represents a reduction overall of just under 68,000 places between 1995 and 1996—some 1 per cent. of total capacity.
This is encouraging. But the tables illustrate considerable variation in numerical and proportionate levels of surplus across the country. In some cases, combinations of pupil population growth and rationalisation are expected to 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 is consultation my right hon. Friend will decide whether surplus place removal targets should be set for any of those authorities.
100W
Table 1: Surplus places by local authority area (excluding GM schools in stage 1 authorities) at January 1996 Primary1 Secondary Actual surplus Number Actual surplus Percentage Number Percentage Barking 1,259 8 472 5 Barnet 1,031 5 1,411 72 Barnsley 1,538 7 2,486 16 Bath and North-east Somerset 1,082 8 1,017 102 Bedfordshire 6,571 14 6,975 132 Berkshire 4,087 7 6,256 122 Bexley 1,146 6 853 62 Birmingham 7,480 7 9,130 122 Bolton 2,210 9 1,636 92 Bradford 3,574 9 4,595 92 Brent 1,833 9 1,046 73 Bromley 1,073 52 408 23 Buckinghamshire 8,075 12 3,195 82 Bury 465 3 552 5 Calderdale 2,471 13 1,342 92 Cambridgeshire 5,671 9 2,117 52 Camden 657 6 604 62 Cheshire 12,616 13 8,156 12 City of Bristol 2,404 8 5,648 26 City of Kingston upon Hull 4,426 15 3,503 19 Cornwall 2,966 7 1,109 4 Corporation of London 12 6 0 0 Coventry 4,112 13 4,062 17 Croydon 1,907 7 1,473 92 Cumbria 4,919 12 3,519 102 Derbyshire 8,955 11 8,408 132 Devon 8,372 9 3,283 6 101W
Table 1: Surplus places by local authority area (excluding GM schools in stage 1 authorities) at January 1996 Primary1 Secondary Actual surplus Number Actual surplus Percentage Number Percentage Doncaster 6,522 20 5,545 21 Dorset 3,123 7 3,663 82 Dudley 2,896 10 1,995 102 Durham 7,484 13 5,511 13 Ealing 3,640 14 581 42 East Riding of Yorkshire 3,477 13 2,211 10 East Sussex 5,288 9 3,316 9 Enfield 713 3 1,425 72 Essex 12,321 92 17,323 152 Gateshead 3,675 18 2,611 18 Gloucestershire 5,135 102 2,654 72 Greenwich 2,279 11 2,879 18 Hackney 1,641 10 1,342 16 Hammersmith 1,515 16 1,371 192 Hampshire 14,184 10 6,833 82 Haringey 923 5 756 7 Harrow 830 4 602 7 Hartlepool 749 8 752 11 Havering 1,389 7 2,220 132 Hereford and Worcester 5,429 10 6,160 12 Hertfordshire 10,030 11 11,969 152 Hillingdon 1,423 72 595 43 Hounslow 1,522 8 657 42 Isle of Wight 493 7 1,087 10 Isles of Scilly 103 41 125 53 Islington 1,655 10 1,327 15 Kensington 657 11 715 182 Kent 10,716 8 13,432 122 Kingston upon Thames 56 0 694 82 Kirklees 2,637 7 2,588 10 Knowsley 3,301 17 1,187 12 Lambeth 4,085 192 2,667 292 Lancashire 11,235 9 8,380 10 Leeds 8,152 12 6,574 13 Leicestershire 7,563 9 9,332 14 Lewisham 1,125 6 2,016 16 Lincolnshire 6,826 212 4,462 210 Liverpool 8,142 16 6,827 218 Manchester 6,909 15 7,736 26 Merton 653 5 1,142 213 Middlesbrough 2,390 14 1,924 18 Newcastle upon Tyne 2,858 13 2,704 14 Newham 1,797 7 1,901 12 Norfolk 5,110 8 4,386 210 North-east Lincolnshire 2,263 13 1,815 14 North Lincolnshire 1,816 12 1,514 13 North Somerset 882 6 1,061 8 North Tyneside 2,664 16 2,195 13 North Yorkshire 5,629 12 3,443 9 Northamptonshire 3,691 7 5,432 211 Northumberland 4,893 21 3,292 10 Nottinghamshire 9,060 10 15,016 19 Oldham 2,274 10 968 6 Oxfordshire 6,420 13 5,340 13 Redbridge 407 2 564 4 Redcar and Cleveland 1,949 12 2,093 17 Richmond upon Thames 407 4 213 3 Rochdale 796 4 2,068 214 Rotherham 2,352 9 2,203 11 Salford 2,775 12 2,227 16 Sandwell 1,559 6 2,886 15 Sefton 2,587 10 3,305 15 Sheffield 4,656 10 2,697 10 Shropshire 3,828 10 1,998 27 Solihull 1,799 9 880 6 Somerset 2,018 5 2,304 8 South Gloucestershire 891 4 1,369 9 South Tyneside 1,437 9 1,840 16 Southwark 3,360 15 1,899 217 St. Helens 1,651 10 1,998 15 Staffordshire 12,748 12 4,015 6 Stockport 2,316 9 1,499 9 Stockton on Tees 2,149 11 1,867 13 Suffolk 4,021 8 5,519 10 Sunderland 5,288 16 2,245 10 Surrey 8,534 11 3,488 27 Sutton 394 3 480 24
Table 1: Surplus places by local authority area (excluding GM schools in stage 1 authorities) at January 1996 Primary1 Secondary Actual surplus Number Actual surplus Percentage Number Percentage Tameside 1,611 7 1,143 28 Tower Hamlets 2,131 10 1,456 11 Trafford 1,339 7 1,721 212 Wakefield 3,416 11 4,041 17 Walsall 2,494 9 1,982 29 Waltham Forest 1,210 6 1,097 29 Wandsworth 2,513 15 1,361 213 Warwickshire 7,255 14 5,616 218 West Sussex 5,589 9 6,206 13 Westminster 501 6 853 11 Wigan 3,679 12 1,116 6 Wiltshire 6,104 12 4,589 211 Wirral 4,390 13 3,359 213 Wolverhampton 3,482 13 3,268 217 York 2,125 14 1,490 14 Total 438,916 10 376,464 12 1 Primary figures show surplus after taking account of any summer entry. 2 Stage two for planning purposes. 3 Stage three for planning purposes. 1. 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. 102W
Table 2: Distribution of surplus between LEA and GM schools in stage 2 and 3 authorities, January 1996 LEA GM Total Surplus Per cent. Surplus Per cent. Surplus Per cent. Primary Bromley 922 4 151 6 1,073 5 Essex 10,975 9 1,346 6 12,321 9 Gloucestershire 4,694 11 441 7 5,135 10 Hillingdon 1,274 7 149 5 1,423 7 Lambeth 3,800 20 285 11 4,085 19 Lincolnshire 6,214 13 612 7 6,826 12 Secondary Barnel 1,059 10 352 4 1,411 7 Bedfordshire 6,734 16 241 2 6,975 13 Berkshire 4,299 10 1,957 17 6,256 12 Bexley 684 6 169 4 853 6 Birmingham 7,608 13 1,522 9 9,130 12 Bolton 1,329 9 307 10 1,636 9 Bradford 4,423 10 172 3 4,595 9 Brent 152 9 894 7 1,046 7 Bromley 0 0 408 2 408 2 Buckinghamshire 2,725 9 470 5 3,195 8 Calderdale 567 11 775 8 1,342 9 Cambridgeshire 1,318 5 799 5 2,117 5 Camden 604 7 0 0 604 6 Croydon 987 12 486 6 1,473 9 Cumbria 2,454 11 1,065 8 3,519 10 Derbyshire 6,816 15 1,592 8 8,408 13 Dorset 3,009 9 654 6 3,663 8 Dudley 1,730 11 265 5 1,995 10 Ealing 364 5 217 3 581 4 Enfield 1,330 9 95 2 1,425 7 Essex 7,448 21 9,875 13 17,323 15 Gloucestershire 1,245 11 1,409 6 2,654 7 Hammersmith and Fulham 1,371 23 0 0 1,371 19 Hampshire 5,663 8 1,170 7 6,833 8 Havering 2,104 16 116 3 2,220 13 Hertfordshire 9,125 17 2,844 11 11,969 15 Hillingdon 146 6 449 4 595 4 Hounslow 649 5 8 0 657 4 Kensington and Chelsea 701 22 14 2 715 18 Kent 6,735 13 6,697 11 13,432 12 Kingston upon Thames 415 8 279 9 694 8 Lambeth 1,741 40 926 19 2,667 29
Table 2: Distribution of surplus between LEA and GM schools in stage 2 and 3 authorities, January 1996 LEA GM Total Surplus Per cent. Surplus Per cent. Surplus Per cent. Lincolnshire 3,087 13 1,375 7 4,462 10 Liverpool 6,110 18 717 19 6,827 18 Merton 1,142 15 0 0 1,142 13 Norfolk 3,847 11 539 5 4,386 10 Northamptonshire 4,225 11 1,207 11 5,432 11 Rochdale 1,981 15 87 4 2,068 14 Shropshire 1,876 8 122 3 1,998 7 Southwark 1,771 21 128 5 1,899 17 Surrey 2,802 8 686 4 3,488 7 Sutton 205 4 275 4 480 4 Tameside 1,143 9 0 0 1,143 8 Trafford 1,503 16 218 5 1,721 12 Walsall 1,221 9 761 10 1,982 9 Waltham Forest 1,075 10 22 1 1,097 9 Wandsworth 575 20 786 10 1,361 13 Warwickshire 4,803 19 813 13 5,616 18 Wiltshire 3,149 13 1,440 9 4,589 11 Wirral 3,033 14 326 9 3,359 13 Wolverhampton 3,021 19 247 9 3,268 17 1. The GM column includes schools which became grant-maintained on or before 1 April 1996. 2. LEA and GM percentage columns show the actual number of surplus places as a proportion of total capacity within that sector.