§ Mr. Damian GreenTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children failed to gain a place at the school of their choice in(a) primary schools, (b) secondary schools, (c) special schools and (d) all schools in each year since 1997, broken down by local education authority. [110125]
§ Mr. MilibandThe Department does not keep statistics on how many children fail to gain a place at the school of their choice at primary, secondary and special schools. Individual local education authorities may have information. Collecting reliable data is difficult, because many parents apply for places at more than one school and it may not be clear which is their first preference. Research published by the Department in June 2001 suggested that, nationally, 96 per cent. of parents receive an offer of a place at at least one of the schools for which they express a preference.