HC Deb 19 March 2002 vol 382 cc251-2W
Mr. Laurence Robertson

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to her answer of 29 January 2002,Official Report, column 231W, on school land sales, what rules govern whether a local education authority has to obtain permission to sell school land to developers; and if she will make a statement. [41912]

John Healey

[holding answer 11 March 2002]: Section 77 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 requires local authorities to obtain the consent of the Secretary of State before selling any playing fields which:

  1. (a) are used by a maintained school for the purposes of the school, or
  2. (b) have been used at any time within the last 10 years.

Applications to dispose, or change the use, of school playing fields are assessed against the following criteria:

  1. i. 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;
  2. ii. community needs: that community use of a school's playing fields is taken into account, with alternative facilities made available if necessary;
  3. iii. finance: that any sale proceeds are re-invested 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 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.