HL Deb 01 November 2000 vol 618 cc104-5WA
Baroness Walmsley

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many requests have been made to the Secretary of State under paragraph 2(2) of Schedule 8 to the Learning and Skills Act 2000 by local education authorities seeking to dispose of, or enter into contract or grant the option for, a freehold or leasehold interest in land held by the authority from the date of the Act's Royal Assent to 30 September 2000; and how many of the requested consents have been granted within—

  1. (a) one working day;
  2. (b) more than one but less than five working days; and
  3. (c) five or more working days. [HL4304]

Baroness Blackstone

We have received 48 requests from local education authorities for consent under paragraph 2(2) of Schedule 8 to the Learning and Skills Act 2000. The table below sets out the time taken to respond on receipt of relevant information.

1 working day more than 1 day but less than five working days 5 or more working days Total number
Consent granted 3 42 0 45
LEAs informed that consent is not required 0 2 1 3
Total number 3 44 1 48

These figures exclude 28 cases where a joint application has been made for consent under Section 77 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 to dispose of school playing fields. The department aims to give a decision on applications under Section 77 within 10 weeks of receipt of all necessary information. This timetable reflects the need to scrutinise applications carefully in light of national concern about the loss of school playing fields under the previous government.