§ Mr. HobanTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many times he has used the power under section 71 of the Education Act 2002 to direct a local education authority to exercise its powers to secure provision for an additional number of pupils. [173783]
§ Mr. MilibandIt has not yet been necessary to exercise this power under section 71 of the Education Act 2002. It was introduced as a complement to the powers of Section 70 of the Act, which require competitions for additional secondary schools. Effectively, it extends the powers of Schedule 7 to the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 to allow LEAs to respond to a direction to provide for an additional number of pupils by either holding a competition for a new school, or using their other powers for the reorganisation of schools.
LEAs are responsible for the provision of sufficient school places in their; area, and these powers were always intended as reserve powers in exceptional circumstances.