§ Mr. TredinnickTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will ascertain the number of classrooms of wooden construction currently in use in Leicestershire, indicating their location, the number of pupils currently educated in them and the date their safety was last checked. [18203]
§ Mr. ByersIt is for LEAs to determine how they provide the school places for pupils in their own area. I recognise that many LEAs do currently have to rely on classrooms of wooden construction which are at the end of, or beyond, their design life. The New Deal for Schools (NDS) will help LEAs to redress such problems. It provides for bids covering a variety of school building needs. Over 2,000 schools will benefit from the £115 million which the Prime Minster announced would be spent in the current financial year. By the end of this Parliament we expect an additional £2 billion to be spent as a result of the NDS.