§
Mr. Byers
The focus of all our policies is raising standards. Surplus school places represent a poor use of resources, particularly where schools with surplus places are performing poorly or where parental preference is not being met elsewhere in the authority. The supply of, and demand for, places must be brought more closely into balance so that parental preference can be maximised and good quality education can be provided in the most cost-effective manner. The Audit Commission has drawn attention to this issue and, with District Auditors, is promoting good practice. Authorities should review their performance and, in line with Audit Commission recommendations, should focus initially on schools with 25 per cent. or more surplus places, having particular regard to standards at those schools.
The annual survey of surplus places provides the Department with an opportunity to monitor action by each authority. In the light of results of the 1997 survey, we will be writing to all local education authorities with schools with high levels of surplus, and the Funding Agency for Schools, asking for a detailed response on the justification for continuing to maintain such schools, particularly where performance is poor and there is evidence that parental preference for school places is not being met elsewhere in the authority. The Department recognises that authorities will want to take into account any unusual circumstances, for example geography and social make-up.
The following tables relate to the position as at January 1997 and set out the numbers of surplus places by local authority area, separately for primary and for secondary, together with the proportion that these represent of total capacity. In line with the approach we will be taking, they also include the numbers of schools which at that date had a surplus of 25 per cent. or more, and at least 30 surplus places, together with the proportion that these represent of the total number of schools. The data are drawn from the returns made during 1997 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 376 grant-maintained schools in stage 1 authorities are not available. These returns indicate that there were just under 774,000 surplus school places in January 1997, representing 10 per cent. of the total capacity of 7.6 million places. There were also 2,696 schools with
365W
surplus of 25 per cent. or more and at least 30 surplus places, representing 12 per cent. of the total number of schools.
| Surplus places by local authority area (excluding GM schools in stage 1 authorities) at January 1997 |
|
Primary1 |
|
|
|
Schools with surplus of 25 per cent. Or more3 |
|
Actual surplus2 |
| LEA |
Number |
Per cent |
Number |
Per cent |
| Barking |
1,115 |
7 |
5 |
10 |
| Barnet |
1,273 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
| Barnsley |
1,391 |
7 |
7 |
8 |
| Bath and North East Somerset |
1,380 |
10 |
8 |
12 |
| Bedfordshire |
3,685 |
13 |
24 |
17 |
| Berkshire |
4,956 |
8 |
24 |
9 |
| Bexley |
1,394 |
7 |
4 |
7 |
| Birmingham |
7,380 |
7 |
21 |
6 |
| Bolton |
2,350 |
9 |
15 |
14 |
| Bournemouth |
395 |
4 |
2 |
8 |
| Bradford |
3,944 |
10 |
19 |
12 |
| Brent |
2,061 |
10 |
5 |
9 |
| Brighton and Hove |
2,224 |
12 |
11 |
18 |
| Bromley |
822 |
4 |
6 |
*8 |
| Buckinghamshire |
3,846 |
9 |
17 |
9 |
| Bury |
469 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
| Calderdale |
2,331 |
12 |
13 |
16 |
| Cambridgeshire |
5,467 |
9 |
25 |
10 |
| Camden |
632 |
6 |
1 |
2 |
| Cheshire |
12,198 |
13 |
79 |
19 |
| City of Bristol |
2,428 |
8 |
15 |
11 |
| City of Derby |
2,080 |
10 |
7 |
9 |
| City of Kingston-upon-Hull |
4,830 |
16 |
20 |
25 |
| Cornwall |
2,775 |
7 |
15 |
6 |
| Corporation of London |
9 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
| Coventry |
3,626 |
12 |
12 |
13 |
| Croydon |
1,538 |
6 |
5 |
5 |
| Cumbria |
5,050 |
12 |
49 |
18 |
| Darlington |
582 |
6 |
3 |
8 |
| Derbyshire |
6,432 |
10 |
41 |
12 |
| Devon |
8,285 |
9 |
43 |
10 |
| Doncaster |
4,466 |
14 |
24 |
21 |
| Dorset |
1,856 |
7 |
11 |
8 |
| Dudley |
2,824 |
10 |
7 |
9 |
| Durham |
6,537 |
13 |
55 |
22 |
| Ealing |
3,402 |
13 |
11 |
18 |
| East Riding of Yorkshire |
3,007 |
11 |
16 |
12 |
| East Sussex |
2,712 |
7 |
11 |
7 |
| Enfield |
492 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
| Essex |
12,311 |
8 |
46 |
*8 |
| Gateshead |
2,450 |
13 |
14 |
18 |
| Gloucestershire |
5,218 |
10 |
26 |
*10 |
| Greenwich |
2,251 |
11 |
4 |
6 |
| Hackney |
1,486 |
9 |
7 |
13 |
| Hammersmith and Fulham4 |
1,342 |
14 |
7 |
19 |
| Hampshire |
9,136 |
9 |
39 |
9 |
| Haringey |
674 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
| Harrow |
1,457 |
7 |
3 |
5 |
| Hartlepool |
766 |
8 |
1 |
3 |
| Havering |
964 |
5 |
3 |
4 |
| Hereford and Worcester |
5,471 |
10 |
29 |
10 |
| Hertfordshire |
9,063 |
10 |
56 |
13 |
| Hillingdon |
1,417 |
7 |
2 |
*3 |
| Hounslow |
2,228 |
11 |
4 |
6 |
| Isle of Wight |
558 |
8 |
4 |
9 |
| Isles of Scilly |
115 |
46 |
3 |
75 |
| Islington |
1,655 |
10 |
6 |
11 |
| Kensington and Chelsea |
669 |
11 |
5 |
21 |
| Kent |
10,130 |
8 |
48 |
9 |
| Kingston upon Thames |
76 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Kirklees |
2,454 |
7 |
9 |
6 |
| Knowsley |
2,872 |
15 |
14 |
23 |
| Lambeth |
4,122 |
19 |
19 |
*25 |
| Lancashire |
10,813 |
8 |
66 |
11 |
366W
| Surplus places by local authority area (excluding GM schools in stage 1 authorities) at January 1997 |
|
Primary1 |
|
|
|
Schools with surplus of 25 per cent. or more3 |
|
Actual surplus2 |
|
|
| LEA |
Number |
Per cent |
Number |
Per cent |
| Leeds |
7,759 |
11 |
41 |
17 |
| Leicester |
3,182 |
11 |
11 |
13 |
| Leicestershire |
3,581 |
7 |
18 |
8 |
| Lewisham |
1,035 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
| Lincolnshire |
6,454 |
11 |
42 |
*15 |
| Liverpool |
7,985 |
16 |
42 |
25 |
| Luton |
2,274 |
11 |
12 |
18 |
| Manchester |
6,649 |
14 |
33 |
20 |
| Merton |
594 |
4 |
3 |
6 |
| Middlesbrough |
1,807 |
11 |
6 |
12 |
| Milton Keynes |
2,222 |
10 |
9 |
11 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne |
2,987 |
13 |
15 |
19 |
| Newham |
1,421 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
| Norfolk |
4,987 |
8 |
29 |
8 |
| North East Lincolnshire |
2,412 |
13 |
10 |
15 |
| North Lincolnshire |
1,822 |
12 |
13 |
18 |
| North Somerset |
886 |
6 |
3 |
4 |
| North Tyneside |
2,745 |
16 |
14 |
25 |
| North Yorkshire |
5,522 |
11 |
44 |
13 |
| Northamptonshire |
3,769 |
8 |
17 |
7 |
| Northumberland |
4,522 |
20 |
45 |
32 |
| Nottinghamshire |
8,539 |
9 |
49 |
12 |
| Oldham |
2,313 |
10 |
11 |
11 |
| Oxfordshire |
6,160 |
12 |
39 |
16 |
| Poole |
815 |
7 |
2 |
7 |
| Portsmouth |
1,535 |
10 |
8 |
15 |
| Redbridge |
319 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
| Redcar and Cleveland |
2,080 |
13 |
8 |
15 |
| Richmond upon Thames |
426 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
| Rochdale |
881 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
| Rotherham |
2,298 |
9 |
9 |
8 |
| Rutland |
723 |
23 |
6 |
35 |
| Salford |
2,939 |
12 |
17 |
19 |
| Sandwell |
1,547 |
6 |
5 |
5 |
| Sefton |
2,684 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
| Sheffield |
4,032 |
9 |
14 |
10 |
| Shropshire |
3,836 |
10 |
24 |
12 |
| Solihull |
1,790 |
9 |
5 |
7 |
| Somerset |
2,000 |
5 |
5 |
2 |
| South Gloucestershire |
1,456 |
11 |
4 |
4 |
| South Tyneside |
1,664 |
11 |
9 |
16 |
| Southampton |
2,883 |
14 |
17 |
25 |
| Southwark |
3,048 |
14 |
13 |
20 |
| St Helens |
1,612 |
10 |
11 |
18 |
| Staffordshire |
11,713 |
15 |
69 |
22 |
| Stockport |
2,185 |
8 |
10 |
9 |
| Stockton on Tees |
1,627 |
9 |
5 |
8 |
| Stoke on Trent |
3,702 |
14 |
16 |
18 |
| Suffolk |
4,461 |
9 |
25 |
10 |
| Sunderland |
3,741 |
12 |
17 |
18 |
| Surrey |
7,693 |
10 |
40 |
13 |
| Sutton |
122 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Swindon |
2,040 |
11 |
11 |
*15 |
| Tameside |
1,602 |
7 |
8 |
10 |
| Tower Hamlets |
2,123 |
10 |
5 |
7 |
| Trafford |
1,111 |
6 |
3 |
4 |
| Wakefield |
3,246 |
10 |
15 |
11 |
| Walsall |
2,625 |
10 |
12 |
12 |
| Waltham Forest |
1,704 |
8 |
4 |
6 |
| Wandsworth |
1,406 |
9 |
6 |
11 |
| Warwickshire |
6,647 |
14 |
42 |
22 |
| West Sussex |
4,832 |
8 |
16 |
7 |
| Westminster |
581 |
6 |
1 |
2 |
| Wigan |
3,938 |
13 |
22 |
19 |
| Wiltshire |
4,653 |
12 |
28 |
*13 |
| Wirral |
4,197 |
13 |
20 |
20 |
| Wolverhampton |
2,935 |
11 |
11 |
12 |
| York |
1,975 |
13 |
10 |
16 |
| Total |
422,997 |
10 |
2,128 |
12 |
367W
|
Secondary |
|
|
|
Schools with surplus of 25 per cent. or more3 |
|
Actual surplus2 |
|
|
| LEA |
Number |
Per cent |
Number |
Per cent |
| Barking |
409 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
| Barnet |
1,497 |
7 |
1 |
*5 |
| Barnsley |
1,636 |
11 |
2 |
14 |
| Bath and North East Somerset |
1,119 |
9 |
3 |
*23 |
| Bedfordshire |
5,480 |
14 |
12 |
*21 |
| Berkshire |
5,495 |
10 |
8 |
*14 |
| Bexley |
416 |
3 |
0 |
*0 |
| Birmingham |
7,787 |
11 |
14 |
*18 |
| Bolton |
1,515 |
8 |
2 |
*13 |
| Bournemouth |
772 |
8 |
1 |
*10 |
| Bradford |
3,772 |
8 |
11 |
*13 |
| Brent |
1,256 |
9 |
0 |
**0 |
| Brighton and Hove |
1,389 |
12 |
1 |
10 |
| Bromley |
324 |
2 |
0 |
**0 |
| Buckinghamshire |
2,448 |
9 |
4 |
*11 |
| Bury |
401 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
| Calderdale |
1,090 |
7 |
2 |
*13 |
| Cambridgeshire |
2,449 |
6 |
2 |
*5 |
| Camden |
978 |
9 |
1 |
*9 |
| Cheshire |
7,658 |
11 |
8 |
13 |
| City of Bristol |
3,542 |
18 |
7 |
32 |
| City of Derby |
2,915 |
18 |
3 |
*21 |
| City of Kingston-upon-Hull |
3,445 |
19 |
5 |
31 |
| Cornwall |
1,129 |
4 |
1 |
3 |
| Corporation of London |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| Coventry |
3,421 |
15 |
5 |
26 |
| Croydon |
1,379 |
9 |
1 |
*5 |
| Cumbria |
3,331 |
10 |
7 |
*17 |
| Darlington |
636 |
10 |
2 |
29 |
| Derbyshire |
5,197 |
11 |
8 |
*17 |
| Devon |
3,281 |
6 |
5 |
9 |
| Doncaster |
4,707 |
19 |
9 |
41 |
| Dorset |
2,172 |
8 |
3 |
*8 |
| Dudley |
1,712 |
9 |
3 |
*14 |
| Durham |
4,630 |
13 |
8 |
22 |
| Ealing |
541 |
4 |
0 |
*0 |
| East Riding of Yorkshire |
1,931 |
9 |
2 |
11 |
| East Sussex |
1,800 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
| Enfield |
1,522 |
8 |
0 |
*0 |
| Essex |
16,299 |
14 |
22 |
*21 |
| Gatehead |
2,948 |
21 |
5 |
42 |
| Gloucestershire |
2,748 |
8 |
5 |
*12 |
| Greenwich |
1,514 |
10 |
2 |
14 |
| Hackney |
1,307 |
15 |
3 |
33 |
| Hammersmith and Fulham4 |
1,772 |
25 |
4 |
*50 |
| Hampshire |
6,075 |
9 |
8 |
*11 |
| Haringey |
933 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
| Harrow |
669 |
8 |
2 |
22 |
| Hartlepool |
827 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
| Havering |
2,109 |
13 |
4 |
*22 |
| Hereford and Worcester |
6,590 |
13 |
15 |
21 |
| Hertfordshire |
11,049 |
14 |
21 |
*24 |
| Hillingdon |
816 |
5 |
1 |
**7 |
| Hounslow |
811 |
5 |
0 |
*0 |
| Isle of Wight |
1,060 |
9 |
3 |
14 |
| Isles of Scilly |
130 |
55 |
1 |
100 |
| Islington |
1,107 |
13 |
1 |
11 |
| Kensington and Chelsea |
790 |
18 |
1 |
*25 |
| Kent |
14,061 |
12 |
25 |
*20 |
| Kingston upon Thames |
628 |
7 |
0 |
*0 |
| Kirklees |
2,587 |
10 |
4 |
13 |
| Knowsley |
1,601 |
15 |
1 |
10 |
| Lambeth |
2,663 |
29 |
4 |
*40 |
| Lancashire |
8,277 |
10 |
14 |
14 |
| Leeds |
5,312 |
11 |
9 |
21 |
| Leicester |
3,577 |
17 |
9 |
43 |
| Leicestershire |
5,387 |
12 |
10 |
20 |
368W
|
Secondary |
|
|
|
Schools with surplus of 25 per cent. or more3 |
|
Actual surplus2 |
|
|
| LEA |
Number |
Per cent |
Number |
Per cent |
| Lewisham |
2,594 |
20 |
5 |
38 |
| Lincolnshire |
4,419 |
10 |
7 |
*11 |
| Liverpool |
4,836 |
14 |
6 |
*18 |
| Luton |
889 |
7 |
0 |
*0 |
| Manchester |
6,609 |
23 |
12 |
43 |
| Merton |
1,132 |
13 |
1 |
*9 |
| Middlesbrough |
1,412 |
14 |
2 |
18 |
| Milton Keynes |
1,114 |
9 |
1 |
*11 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne |
2,661 |
13 |
5 |
24 |
| Newham |
1,744 |
11 |
2 |
15 |
| Norfolk |
4,732 |
10 |
6 |
*12 |
| North East Lincolnshire |
1,879 |
15 |
3 |
25 |
| North Lincolnshire |
1,563 |
13 |
3 |
21 |
| North Somerset |
1,019 |
8 |
1 |
10 |
| North Tyneside |
2,263 |
14 |
4 |
18 |
| North Yorkshire |
3,230 |
8 |
5 |
11 |
| Northamptonshire |
5,374 |
11 |
12 |
*19 |
| Northumberland |
3,156 |
10 |
14 |
23 |
| Nottinghamshire |
14,453 |
19 |
25 |
33 |
| Oldham |
1,055 |
6 |
1 |
7 |
| Oxfordshire |
4,911 |
12 |
9 |
20 |
| Poole |
408 |
5 |
1 |
*11 |
| Portsmouth |
142 |
2 |
2 |
*0 |
| Redbridge |
346 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
| Redcar and Cleveland |
1,431 |
12 |
3 |
23 |
| Richmond upon Thames |
262 |
3 |
1 |
13 |
| Rochdale |
2,402 |
15 |
5 |
*36 |
| Rotherham |
1,547 |
8 |
3 |
18 |
| Rutland |
219 |
10 |
0 |
**0 |
| Salford |
2,200 |
16 |
6 |
35 |
| Sandwell |
2,922 |
15 |
5 |
28 |
| Sefton |
2,733 |
13 |
5 |
23 |
| Sheffield |
2,884 |
10 |
4 |
16 |
| Shropshire |
2,395 |
9 |
4 |
*11 |
| Solihull |
739 |
5 |
1 |
8 |
| Somerset |
1,710 |
6 |
3 |
8 |
| South Gloucestershire |
1,009 |
7 |
1 |
7 |
| South Tyneside |
1,562 |
14 |
3 |
27 |
| Southampton |
671 |
6 |
0 |
*0 |
| Southwark |
1,529 |
14 |
3 |
*23 |
| St Helens |
1,635 |
12 |
2 |
17 |
| Staffordshire |
3,638 |
7 |
6 |
9 |
| Stockport |
1,619 |
10 |
1 |
7 |
| Stockton on Tees |
1,606 |
11 |
3 |
21 |
| Stoke on Trent |
1,226 |
9 |
2 |
13 |
| Suffolk |
5,604 |
10 |
12 |
15 |
| Sunderland |
2,381 |
11 |
4 |
24 |
| Surrey |
3,501 |
7 |
5 |
*10 |
| Sutton |
409 |
3 |
1 |
*8 |
| Swindon |
1,876 |
15 |
3 |
*27 |
| Tameside |
1,154 |
8 |
2 |
*11 |
| Tower Hamlets |
1,314 |
10 |
1 |
7 |
| Trafford |
1,417 |
9 |
2 |
*11 |
| Wakefield |
2,204 |
10 |
3 |
16 |
| Walsall |
1,856 |
9 |
2 |
*10 |
| Waltham Forest |
1,223 |
10 |
1 |
*6 |
| Wandsworth |
1,181 |
11 |
1 |
*11 |
| Warwickshire |
3,609 |
11 |
4 |
*11 |
| West Sussex |
5,609 |
12 |
17 |
18 |
| Westminster |
867 |
11 |
2 |
25 |
| Wigan |
1,434 |
7 |
4 |
19 |
369W
|
Secondary |
|
|
|
Schools with surplus of 25 per cent. or more3 |
|
Actual surplus2 |
|
|
| LEA |
Number |
Per cent |
Number |
Per cent |
| Wiltshire |
2,191 |
8 |
3 |
*9 |
| Wirral |
2,751 |
11 |
4 |
*17 |
| Wolverhampton |
2,078 |
12 |
3 |
*17 |
| York |
1,536 |
14 |
3 |
25 |
| Total |
350,823 |
11 |
568 |
16 |
| * Stage two for planning purposes5. |
| ** Stage three for planning purposes5. |
| 1 Primary figures shown surplus after taking account of any summer entry |
| 2 Actual surplus is defined as the difference between capacity and number on roll for all schools where capacity exceeds number on roll. |
| 3 Schools with less than 30 surplus places are not included. |
| 4 Secondary surplus figures for Hammersmith and Fulham do not take account of pupils registered at some secondary schools but who attend solely the William Morris Academy, which falls outside the scope of the return. To include such pupils would understate the surplus place position in the schools covered by the return. |
| 5 Stage 1 = LEA has sole responsibility for planning the supply of school places. |
| Stage 2 = LEA and the Funding Agency for Schools share responsibility for planning the supply of school places. |
| Stage 3 = The Funding Agency for Schools has sole responsibility for planning the supply of school places. |