§ Lorna FitzsimonsTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what the numbers and percentages of surplus places are in each local education authority in England; and if he will make a statement on his policy on surplus places in schools. [69657]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe supply of and demand for school places must be brought more closely into balance to maximise parental preference and ensure good quality education in the most cost-effective way. Empty school places represent a poor use of resources, especially where those schools with high levels of surplus are also performing poorly or where parental preference is not being met elsewhere in the authority. When planning school provision, authorities should initially focus on those schools with a quarter or more of their places unfilled, having particular regard to standards at those schools. The annual survey of surplus school places provides the Department with an opportunity to monitor action by each authority.
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Surplus places by local authority area (excluding GM schools in stage 1 authorities) at January 1998 Primary 1 Secondary Actual surplus 2 Schools with surplus of 25% or more 3 Actual surplus 2 Schools with surplus of 25% or more 3 LEA Number % Number % Number % Number % Barking 1,059 6 4 8 658 6 0 0 Barnet 1,389 6 4 5 1,458 7 2 410 Barnsley 1,262 6 3 3 1,655 11 2 14 Bath and NE Somerset 1,159 9 6 9 973 8 1 48 Bedfordshire 3,463 13 22 16 5,340 13 10 417 Bexley 1,206 6 2 3 746 5 1 46 Birmingham 7,418 7 21 6 7,236 10 10 413 Blackburn 840 6 5 8 499 6 0 0 Blackpool 379 3 2 6 846 11 2 25 Bolton 1,574 6 7 7 1,021 6 2 413 Bournemouth 581 6 2 7 882 9 1 410 Bracknell Forest 592 6 2 6 1,378 19 2 433 Bradford 4,935 13 25 16 4,694 10 16 420 Brent 1,776 9 4 7 1,502 10 1 58 Brighton and Hove 1,877 10 8 13 1,402 11 2 20 Bristol, City of 2,655 8 14 11 2,951 15 5 23 Bromley 481 2 0 40 968 5 0 50 Buckinghamshire 3,212 7 16 8 2,251 8 3 49 Bury 538 4 3 4 357 3 0 0 Calderdale 1,907 10 8 10 1,187 8 2 413 Cambridgeshire 3,907 9 14 7 1,498 5 1 43 Camden 551 5 1 2 1,313 12 2 418 Cheshire 7,709 12 45 16 4,698 10 6 14 Cornwall 2,205 5 10 4 404 1 0 0 Corporation of London 17 8 0 0 — — — — Coventry 2,963 10 11 12 2,715 12 4 21 Croydon 2,065 7 7 8 2,044 12 3 414 Cumbria 5,206 12 45 17 3,415 10 6 414 Darlington 613 7 5 13 1,101 17 2 29 Derby, City of 1,791 9 7 9 3,018 18 3 421 Derbyshire 5,670 9 34 10 5,173 11 8 417 Devon 4,503 8 17 5 991 3 2 6 Doncaster 5,815 17 31 27 2,859 13 3 19 Dorset 1,945 8 10 7 2,030 7 2 45 Dudley 2,852 10 8 10 1,484 7 3 414 Durham 6,690 14 54 22 4,740 13 8 22 Ealing 3,028 12 11 18 456 3 0 40 East Riding of Yorkshire 2,507 9 12 9 1,882 8 2 11 East Sussex 2,508 7 8 5 2,285 8 1 4 The tables set out the numbers of surplus places as at January 1998 for each local authority area, separately for primary and for secondary, together with the proportion that these represent of total capacity. They also include the numbers of schools which at that date had a surplus of 25% 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 1998 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 grant-maintained schools in stage 1 authorities are not available. These returns indicate that there were 761,671 surplus school places in January 1998, representing 10% of the total capacity of 7.6 million places. This is an overall reduction of just over 12,000 places on 1997 figures. The number of schools with a surplus of 25% or more, and at least 30 surplus places, also fell by 167 to 2,529 which represents 12% of the total number of schools.
The returns also provide the Department with details of what action authorities propose to take on schools with a 25% or more surplus. The returns indicate that in many cases action is being taken. Where there is no indication of action to reduce the surplus and no substantial reasons given, the Department will write to those authorities. 711W
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Surplus places by local authority area (excluding GM schools in stage 1 authorities) at January 1998 Primary 1 Secondary Actual surplus 2 Schools with surplus of 25% or more 3 Actual surplus 2 Schools with surplus of 25% or more 3 LEA Number % Number % Number % Number % Enfield 529 2 1 2 1,709 8 1 46 Essex 10,411 9 44 49 11,909 13 15 419 Gateshead 2,052 11 11 14 2,858 20 4 33 Gloucestershire 5,045 10 30 412 2,557 7 5 412 Greenwich 2,038 10 4 6 1,661 11 2 14 Hackney 1,673 10 7 13 1,360 16 2 22 Halton 2,810 19 19 35 1,436 16 2 25 Hammersmith and Fulham 1,293 14 6 16 1,295 17 2 425 Hampshire 8,509 8 35 8 6,139 9 6 48 Haringey 887 5 4 5 850 8 0 0 Harrow 1,593 8 4 7 1,007 12 2 22 Hartlepool 787 8 1 3 863 12 0 0 Havering 1,096 5 4 6 2,150 13 3 417 Herefordshire 1,506 10 9 11 1,412 14 4 29 Hertfordshire 8,627 9 50 12 10,848 13 20 423 Hillingdon 1,482 7 2 43 810 5 1 57 Hounslow 2,167 11 7 11 1,049 7 1 57 Isle of Wight 698 9 6 13 922 8 1 5 Isles of Scilly 110 44 2 50 123 52 1 100 Islington 1,709 11 10 19 1,182 14 2 22 Kensington and Chelsea 1,171 18 6 25 720 18 1 425 Kent 8,443 8 43 10 10,662 11 18 417 Kingston upon Hull 5,173 17 21 26 3,309 18 6 38 Kingston upon Thames 261 3 0 0 790 9 1 410 Kirklees 2,462 7 8 5 2,138 8 2 7 Knowsley 2,827 15 16 26 1,599 15 1 10 Lambeth 2,784 13 9 413 2,466 27 4 440 Lancashire 10,170 10 61 12 6,587 9 11 13 Leeds 7,841 11 37 15 5,044 10 10 23 Leicester 3,506 12 12 14 4,516 20 9 43 Leicestershire 3,388 6 15 7 4,960 11 11 22 Lewisham 1,233 6 7 10 2,714 20 5 38 Lincolnshire 4,969 9 29 410 4,158 9 8 413 Liverpool 7,422 15 33 20 4,488 13 7 420 Luton 2,366 12 11 16 891 7 0 40 Manchester 8,528 18 36 23 6,703 23 12 43 Medway Towns 1,919 7 7 8 2,329 11 3 411 Merton 655 5 2 4 1,050 12 2 418 Middlesbrough 1,261 8 2 4 1,104 12 1 9 Milton Keynes 3,248 13 14 17 1,696 13 2 420 Newcastle upon Tyne 3,336 15 18 23 2,456 12 4 19 Newham 1,081 4 2 3 1,530 9 2 15 Norfolk 5,798 9 39 10 4,268 10 6 412 North East Lincolnshire 2,507 14 14 22 1,822 14 3 25 North Lincolnshire 1,502 10 5 7 1,393 12 2 14 North Somerset 692 5 3 5 954 7 1 10 North Tyneside 2,611 15 13 23 2,251 14 5 23 North Yorkshire 5,324 11 40 12 2,494 6 4 9 Northamptonshire 3,962 8 18 7 5,537 9 11 418 Northumberland 3,439 16 32 23 4,279 13 10 17 Nottingham, City of 3,132 12 23 23 4,559 29 8 44 Nottinghamshire 5,238 8 24 8 10,277 26 15 27 Oldham 2,085 9 10 10 1,113 6 2 13 Oxfordshire 4,568 9 17 7 5,425 13 8 18 Peterborough 1,612 10 5 9 854 6 1 48 Plymouth, City of 4,034 16 19 24 1,665 9 3 19 Poole 662 6 2 7 379 5 0 40 Portsmouth 1,407 9 6 12 255 3 0 40 Reading 764 7 4 10 1,629 21 2 425 Redbridge 839 4 0 0 146 1 0 0 Redcar and Cleveland 1,975 13 9 17 1,389 12 3 23 Richmond upon Thames 354 3 0 0 357 5 1 13 Rochdale 1,050 5 2 3 2,082 13 4 429 Rotherham 2,189 8 10 9 1,544 8 2 12 Rutland 695 24 5 29 216 10 0 50 Salford 3,446 14 18 21 3,986 26 8 47 Sandwell 1,624 6 4 4 3,077 16 5 28 Sefton 2,754 10 15 16 2,173 10 4 18 Sheffield 3,924 9 20 14 2,447 9 3 12 Shropshire 2,525 11 18 13 1,162 7 1 45
Surplus places by local authority area(excluding GM schools in stage 1 authorities) at January 1998 Primary 1 Secondary Actual surplus 2 Schools with surplus of 25% or more 3 Actual surplus 2 Schools with surplus of 25% or more 3 LEA Number % Number % Number % Number % Slough 1,205 14 3 13 540 7 1 49 Solihull 1,625 8 5 7 972 6 1 8 Somerset 2,160 6 11 5 2,510 8 5 14 South Gloucestershire 1,345 6 5 5 1,071 7 1 7 South Tyneside 1,597 10 9 16 1,499 13 1 9 Southampton 2,238 11 11 16 728 6 0 40 Southend 1,192 8 2 45 1,333 11 1 48 Southwark 2,755 13 12 18 1,459 14 4 431 St Helens 1,496 9 9 15 1,438 11 2 17 Staffordshire 9,523 12 50 16 1,522 3 2 3 Stockport 2,201 8 10 9 1,562 9 1 7 Stockton on Tees 1,683 9 2 3 1,590 11 2 14 Stoke on Trent 3,844 15 18 20 1,414 10 2 13 Suffolk 4,506 9 19 7 5,205 10 7 9 Sunderland 3,728 12 22 23 1,361 7 2 12 Surrey 10,668 13 50 16 3,724 7 8 415 Sutton 218 2 0 0 556 4 1 47 Swindon 2,032 11 13 19 1,649 13 3 427 Tameside 1,410 6 6 8 1,234 8 2 411 The Wrekin 1,037 7 1 2 966 15 3 423 Thurrock 1,432 10 5 411 1,969 20 4 440 Torbay 144 2 1 3 333 5 0 0 Tower Hamlets 2,479 11 8 11 1,717 12 1 7 Trafford 1,243 6 3 4 1,432 9 2 411 Wakefield 2,841 9 14 11 1,824 9 0 0 Walsall 2,871 11 15 15 1,579 8 1 45 Waltham Forest 1,480 7 4 6 1,202 9 1 46 Wandsworth 1,068 7 3 6 960 9 1 411 Warrington 2,390 12 14 19 1,054 8 0 0 Warwickshire 6,699 14 42 22 3,472 10 6 416 West Berkshire 1,124 9 4 6 1,029 9 2 418 West Sussex 5,119 8 17 7 5,860 13 6 15 Westminster 674 7 3 7 837 11 2 25 Wigan 3,913 13 19 17 1,240 6 2 10 Wiltshire 4,322 11 26 412 2,091 7 3 49 Windsor and Maidenhead 515 6 3 7 790 8 2 414 Wirral 3,724 11 14 14 2,868 11 3 413 Wokingham 524 4 3 6 514 5 1 411 Wolverhampton 2,675 11 13 14 1,929 11 2 411 Worcestershire 3,903 9 16 8 4,842 12 9 16 York 2,157 14 12 19 1,517 14 3 25 Total 418,386 10 2,005 11 343,285 10 524 15 1 Primary figures show 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 Stage two for planning purposes (see 6) 5 Stage three for planning purposes (see 6) 6 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