§ Mr. GreenwayTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what procedures she has in place to monitor the extent to which the proceeds of sale from the disposal of school playing fields are being used for sport and education. [51917]
§ John Healey[holding answer 23 April 2002]: Section 77 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 requires local authorities to obtain the consent of the Secretary of State before disposing of school playing fields.
Applications to dispose of school playing fields are assessed against the following criteria:
(a) schools' needs: that playing field provision and curriculum requirements at the school making the disposal, and at other schools in the local area, will be met;(b) community needs: that community use of a school's playing fields is taken into account, with alternative facilities made available if necessary;(c) finance: that any sale proceeds are reinvested to provide new or improved sports facilities at schools, or are used to help to raise standards by providing better educational facilities.Only those applications that meet the criteria, including the finance criterion, are approved. Since July 2001, all applications have been scrutinised by the independent School Playing Fields Advisory Panel to make sure that they comply with the published criteria. The panel comprises representatives from the National Playing Fields Association, the Central Council of Physical Recreation, the education organisation Learning through Landscapes, the National Association of Head Teachers and the Local Government Association.