§ Mr. BradyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list(a) schools and (b) local education authorities which have expressed an interest in establishing companies under the provisions of the Education Act 2002; and for what purpose. [88883]
§ Mr. MilibandProvisions of the Education Act 2002 concerning school companies will commence on 20 January 2003, at the same time as relevant regulations come into force, and therefore no such school companies yet exist.
Although some schools and LEAs have contacted officials to discuss the power to form or join school companies, these inquiries are purely informal.
Regulation 25 of The School Companies Regulations 2002 and Regulation 17 of The School Companies (Private Finance Initiative Companies) Regulations 2002 provide for the supervising authority of a school company to notify the Secretary of State of certain details concerning the school company. Through this notification the Secretary of State will know the number of school companies in existence at any one time.