HC Deb 09 May 2000 vol 349 cc353-4W
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many(a) primary and (b) secondary special schools have closed since 1995 in each local education authority. [119539]

Jacqui Smith

[holding answer 17 April 2000]: The table sets out the number of maintained special schools which have closed in each local education authority area since 1995. It does not include those authorities where no such closures have taken place. It includes closures which have been approved but which have not yet taken place. But the closure of some special schools is usually followed by the opening of others, or by the establishing of special units within mainstream schools.

While there are some special schools which cater for pupils wholly of primary school age, or wholly of secondary school age, there are many others which cover both phases, so it is not possible to split the figures between primary and secondary.

Table of local authorities showing number of special schools approved for closure or closed since 1995
Local education authority Number
Avon 1
Barking 3
Barnet 1
Barnsley 3
Bedfordshire 1
Birmingham 5
Blackburn 2
Bolton 2
Bradford 1
Bristol 2
Bromley 1
Bury 1
Cambridgeshire 2
Camden 4
Cheshire 1
Derbyshire 4
Durham 8
Essex 5
Gateshead 4
Gloucestershire 4
Hackney 1
Hampshire 2
Haringey 1
Harrow 2
Hertfordshire 4
Islington 1
Kingston upon Hull 2
Kirklees 1
Knowsley 2
Lambeth 4
Lancashire 3
Leeds 3
Lewisham 1
Liverpool 11
Manchester 2
Merton 1
Newcastle upon Tyne 10

Table of local authorities showing number of special schools approved for closure or closed since 1995
Local education authority Number
Newham 6
North Lincolnshire 2
North Somerset 2
Northumberland 2
Nottingham City 7
Oldham 3
Oxfordshire 2
Peterborough 1
Rochdale 1
Salford 3
Sandwell 1
Sheffield 3
South Gloucestershire 2
Southwark 1
St. Helens 2
Staffordshire 2
Stockport 4
Sunderland 1
Telford and Wrekin 4
Tower Hamlets 2
Trafford 6
Wakefield 2
Walsall 1
Waltham Forest 1
Wandsworth 3
Warwickshire 5
Westminster 1
Wigan 5
Wiltshire 1
Total 185