§ Mr. BaronTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the shortage of school places for the next academic year in(a) England and (b) Billericay. [6218]
§ Mr. TimmsAssessments of this kind are made by each local education authority and not by my Department. Local education authorities have a duty to ensure that there are sufficient school places in their area. They must publish annually a School Organisation Plan, which sets out how they plan to deal with any surplus or deficit of school places over a rolling five-year period.