§ Mr. Laurence RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the Government's policy regarding the selling of school-owned land for development purposes. [29263]
§ John Healey[holding answer 22 January 2002]: Land at maintained schools is owned and held by a number of different bodies depending on the origins and category of school in question. Normally, only the governing bodies of foundation schools own their school land. At voluntary schools, the site ownership is usually split between school trustees and the local education authority, although at voluntary schools that were formerly grant-maintained, governing bodies will own the land transferred to them from the local authority. Local education authorities own land at community schools. It is also the case that some governing bodies may own land that is gifted to the school, but such land is usually held on specific trusts.
Governing bodies of foundation schools have always needed the Secretary of State's consent before they could dispose of any land. At any other category of maintained school where governing bodies own land they may be required to obtain consent from the Secretary of State before they sell their land. In other cases the sale of land will be subject to the terms of the trust on which the land is held. The sale of trustee owned land at schools has always been governed by the terms of the trust under which the land is held.