§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what plans he has to discuss with Portsmouth City Council the provision of secondary school places to meet parental preferences; [29157]
(2) what recent representations he has received from Portsmouth City Council concerning the provision of secondary school places in the city to meet parental preferences.[29159]
§ Mr. ByersMy right hon. Friend is aware of concerns in Portsmouth about the provision of secondary school places; officials met with Portsmouth's Education Committee earlier this month. He has recently approved the provision of 148 new secondary school places in Portsmouth. In addition, on 10 February my hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government and Housing announced 23 more local authority PFI projects in line for revenue support, including a project to build a 1,000-place secondary school in Portsmouth using a Public Private Partnership.