§ Mr. AshdownTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many bids have been received from schools in Somerset since 1 May 1997 for all centrally allocated spending, classified as(a) capital funding, (b) Standards Fund funding and (c) other funding; how many of such bids have been (i) successful and (ii) unsuccessful; and if he will make a statement. [107789]
§ Ms Estelle MorrisCentrally allocated funds, including the Standards Fund and funding for capital work, are usually distributed on a formula basis or as a result of bids from Local Education Authorities, not via bids from individual maintained schools. Non-maintained special schools can bid directly for capital grant, but there are no such schools in Somerset. Until March 1999 grant maintained schools bid to the Funding Agency for Schools (FAS) for capital grants on a rolling programme. Between May 1997 and March 1999, 13 bids from grant maintained schools located in Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset were successful. The FAS maintained no record of the number of unsuccessful bids. Schools in Somerset have also led two successful bids for setting up Education Action Zones.