§ Mr. WigginTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many(a) schools and (b) hospitals have been closed in Wales since 1997. [163134]
§ Mr. TouhigI will answer this question in two parts
(a) Local Education Authorities are responsible for the provision of suitable education within their locality. The Assembly has set them the target that all school buildings are to be in good physical shape and well maintained by 2010, and to that end, the Assembly has already invested over £300 million in over 3,000 school buildings. In addition, the number of pupils in schools across Wales has dropped by over 3,000 between 1997–98 and 2002–03 and in reflecting the LEAs need to provide access to high quality education for pupils, 52 schools have closed in Wales' since 1997.(b) In relation to part (b) of this question, I refer the hon. Gentleman to my earlier answer given on 27 February 2004, Official Report, column 608W.1Where the proposal was to close two schools and to re-open a new school on the site of one of these, this has been counted as one closure.