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Schools: Rural Areas

Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the number of rural schools that are likely to close in each year to 2015. [150258]

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Jim Knight: The Department has not made an estimate of the number of rural schools that are likely to close in each year to 2015. Decisions about school closures are made by the local authority, or schools adjudicator. When considering proposals, local authorities and the schools adjudicator are required to have regard to statutory guidance which contains a presumption against closing rural primary schools. While this does not mean that no rural primary school will ever close, the case for closure must be strong and in the best interests of educational provision in the area.

Local authorities are responsible for the overall planning of school places in their area and we expect them to ensure that school places are where parents want them.

Schools: Standards

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the structural changes necessary in the schools system to drive up standards; and if he will make a statement. [149939]

Jim Knight: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State made a statement to the House on 10 July setting out the Government's plans for raising standards in schools. The Education and Inspections Act 2006 put in place a new framework which will underpin these plans, including the creation of trusts to strengthen the
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governance of schools and enable schools to forge permanent relationships with external partners. The Act requires local authorities to promote diversity and increase choice, and gives them new powers to commission school places in response to parental demand. Local authorities also have enhanced powers to tackle poorly performing schools. The academies programme will continue to drive up standards in disadvantaged communities.

As my right honourable Friend made clear, the Government's focus is on standards. We are confident that the framework that we have put in place gives schools and local authorities the tools they need to deliver better outcomes for children and families.

Secondary Education: Admissions

Mr. Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of parents did not receive their first choice of school on transfer of their child from primary to secondary education, broken down by local education authority, in the last period for which figures are available. [149946]

Jim Knight [holding answer 16 July 2007 ]: The Department does not routinely collate data on preferences met, but did obtain this information from a number of local authorities during March 2007. A copy of the data received will be placed in the House Library.

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Outcome of the secondary school admissions process in England for entry in September 2007
Authorities	Number of offers issued	Number who obtained a preferred school	Percentage who obtained a preferred school	Number who obtained first preference	Percentage who obtained first preference	Number without any offer	Vacant school places
Barking and Dagenham	2,360	2,210	94.00	1,689	71.50	0	215
Barnet	3,383	2,991	88.40	2,058	60.80	0	0
Barnsley	2,774	2,739	98.70	2,614	94.20	36	327
Bath	1,616	1,555	96.00	1,498	93.00	0	223
Bedfordshire	4,650	4,567	98.21	4,299	92.45	0	259
Bexley	2,772	2,687	97.00	1,728	62.34	85	0
Birmingham	14,694	13,795	87.34	10,005	63.35	0	0
Blackburn	1,933	1,745	90.00	1,558	81.00	0	28
Blackpool	1,562	1,507	96.50	1,442	95.20	0	216
Bolton	3,520	3,444	97.84	3,281	93.21	0	70
Bournemouth	1,468	1,411	96.11	1,042	70.98	0	204
Bracknell Forest	1,229	1,145	93.00	—	—	0	39
Bradford	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Brent	2,767	2,580	92.00	1,963	69.80	45	42
Brighton	2,238	2,088	93.30	1,871	83.60	0	92
Bristol	3,641	3,451	95.00	3,173	87.00	0	650
Bromley	3,350	3,164	95.00	2,199	66.00	0	0
Buckinghamshire	5,855	5,511	92.40	3,345	56.08	0	83
Bury	2,083	2,046	98.20	1,893	90.90	37	0
Calderdale	2,414	2,347	97.20	1,945	80.60	0	85
Cambridgeshire	1,298	1,298	89.80	974	67.40	146	0
Camden	1,298	1,298	89.80	974	67.40	146 (10%)	0
Cheshire	7,616	7,236	95.00	6,893	90.50	202	731
City of London	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Cornwall	5,520	5,449	99.00	5,366	97.20	0	774
Coventry	3,278	3,082	94.25	2,976	88.73	196	478
Croydon	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Cumbria	5,595	5,548	99.20	5,563	95.90	0	0
Darlington	1,206	1,043	86.60	802	66.50	0	24
Derby City	2,592	2,553	98.50	2,259	87.01	39	305
Derbyshire	8,463	8,295	98.00	8,036	95.00	0	706
Devon	8,128	7,990	98.30	7,612	93.65	0	0
Doncaster	3,417	3,374	98.75	3,251	95.14	43	559
Dorset	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Dudley	3,903	3,365	86.20	3,099	79.00	0	47
Durham	5,568	5,516	99.00	5,424	97.40	0	940
Ealing	3,218	3,002	93.28	2,270	70.50	0	26
East Riding	3,620	3,586	99.00	3,518	97.00	20	420
East Sussex	5,221	4,857	93.00	4,578	87.70	0	487
Enfield	3,711	3,500	94.00	2,388	64.30	211	237
Essex	15,575	15,195	97.56	13,054	83.81	0	1,463
Gloucestershire	7,238	6,796	9390	5,892	81.40	0	0
Greenwich	2,601	2,452	94.27	—	—	0	254
Hackney	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Halton	1,328	1,334	99.60	1,288	97.00	6	343
Hammersmith and Fulham	1,138	1,138	88.50	728	62.00	136	225
Hampshire	14,575	14,285	98.00	13,820	95.00	0	1,190
Haringey	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Harrow	1,775	1,754	98.75	1,569	88.00	0	115
Hartlepool	1,119	1,119	100.00	1,101	98.00	0	132
Havering	2,736	2,599	95.00	2,161	79.00	137	227
Hereford	1,972	1,921	97.42	1,768	89.66	0	191
Hertfordshire	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Hillingdon	3,054	2,913	95.40	2,233	73.10	0	357
Hounslow	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Isle of Wight High Schools	1,521	1,480	97.00	1,453	95.50	0	135
Islington	1,512	1,512	96.00	1,083	73.00	74	225
Kensington and Chelsea	700	609	83.00	427	61.00	111	0
Kent	15,774	15,170	96.10	11,682	74.00	97	1,321
Kingston Upon Hull	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Kingston Upon Thames	1,446	1,352	92.00	875	60.00	22	51
Kirklees	4,773	4,773	100.00	4,150	86.90	0	517
Knowsley	2,210	2,086	94.40	1,852	88.78	0	0
Lambeth	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Lancashire	13,342		98.00		92.00	0	0
Leeds	8,132	7,657	94.20	6,704	82.40	0	0
Leicester City Council	3,371	3,210	95.20	2,888	85.70	177	323
Leicestershire	13,104	13,102	99.98	12,895	98.4	2	0
Lewisham	2,878	2,705	94.00	1,648	58.40	0	27
Lincolnshire	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Liverpool	5,933	5,429	92.00	4,629	78.02	0	0
Luton	2,423	2,280	94.00	2,009	83.00	0	145
Manchester	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Medway	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Merton	1,631	1,522	93.30	—	—	0	125
Middlesbrough	1,767	1,644	95.97	1,367	79.80	0	281
Milton Keynes	2,880	2,735	95.00	2,678	93.00	0	0
North Somerset	2,220	2,206	99.36	2,182	98.20	0	0
Newcastle	3,132	3,038	97.00	2,855	91.20	99	0
Newham	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Norfolk	11,018	10,698	95.60	10,143	90.60	16	1,479
North Lincolnshire	1,919	1,904	99.22	1,852	96.51	0	0
North East Lincolnshire	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
North Somerset	2,030	2,015	99.26	1,987	97.88	0	199
North Tyneside	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
North Yorkshire	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Northamptonshire	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Northumberland Middle to High	3,813	3,813	100.00	3,748	98.00	0	0
Nottingham City	2,790	2,720	97.49	2,493	89.35	50	904
Nottinghamshire	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Oldham	3,116	3,018	96.80	2,835	91.00	98	232
Oxfordshire	6,242	6,130	98.20	5,675	90.92	0	664
Peterborough	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Plymouth	2,703	2,658	98.34	2,549	94.30	0	376
Pools	1,117	1,097	92.00	1,053	88.00	23	196
Portsmouth	1,764	1,739	98.69	1,665	94.49	0	293
Reading	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Redbridge	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Redcar and Cleveland	1,660	1,607	97.00	1,555	94.00	0	254
Richmond	1,393	1,236	89.00	924	66.00	86	0
Rochdale	2,732	2,715	99.37	2,570	94.07	0	511
Rotherham	3,486	3,444	98.80	3,326	95.40	0	268
Rutland	294	292	99.30	278	94.50		26
Salford	2,353	2,276	97.00	2,096	87.00	53	0
Sandwell	4,153	4,025	96.61	3,181	76.59	0	0
Sefton	3,229	3,021	95.90	2,851	90.91	0	427
Sheffield	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Shropshire	3,123	3,081	98.60	2,877	92.00	0	0
Slough	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Solihull	2,621	2,591	99.00	2,101	80.00	0	0
Somerset	4,362	4,079	93.51	4,079	93.51	198	496
South Gloucestershire	2,958	2,928	98.90	2,828	95.60	*	298
South Tyneside	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Southampton	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Southend	1,974	1,911	96.80	1,239	64.83	63	111
Southwark	2,537	910	86.80	1,267	51.00	0	82
Staffordshire	10,905	10,580	97.02	10,192	97.20	325	0
St. Helens	2,011	2,000	99.45	1,938	96.37	0	156
Stockport	3,129	3,014	96.30	2,684	85.70	0	12
Stockton	1,276	1,276	100.00	1,276	100.00	18	346
Stoke on Trent	2,720	2,661	98.00	2,504	93.20	59	0
Suffolk	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Sunderland	2,488	2,373	95.00	2,252	91.00	0	0
Surrey	11,185	10,481	94.00	9,358	84.00	0	249
Sutton	2,105	2,019	94.00	1,382	65.00	33	0
Swindon	2,466	2,390	97.00	2,334	95.00	0	199
Tameside	3,120	2,997	96.05	2,740	87.82	0	95
Telford and Wrekin	2,011	1,967	97.81	1,812	90.10	0	308
Thurrock	1,868	1,838	98.00	1,662	89.00	0	78
Torbay	1,618	1,511	93.00	1,333	82.40	0	138
Tower Hamlets	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Trafford	2,522	2,377	94.20	1,372	93.00	0	0
Wakefield	3,736	3,717	99.50	3,648	97.60	0	411
Walsall	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Waltham Forest	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Wandsworth	—	—	92.60	—	52.00	0	0
Warrington	2,318	2,274	98.00	2,230	96.00	0	154
Warwickshire	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
West Berkshire	1,556	1,542	99.00	1,430	92.00	8	138
Westminster	1,001	1,001	92.00	748	69.00	83	101
Wigan	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
West Sussex	6,492	6,301	97.00	5,947	92.00	7	302
Wiltshire	4,750	4,665	98.20	4,398	92.60	85	679
Wirral	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Wokingham	1,740	1,727	99.25	1,436	83.15	0	211
Wolverhampton	2,791	2,637	94.48	2,169	77.71	0	403
Worcestershire	8,055	7,841	97.35	7,663	95.13	0	613
York	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Total	435,071	405,088	93.11	356,257	81.88	3,126	27,323
Notes: 1. This data was produced as a result of an ad-hoc request, asking local authorities for information on preferences met on national offer date (1 March) i.e. the date on which all offers for entry to secondary school in September 2007 should be sent. 2. As the Department does not specify how this data must be measured and reported, as it is not routinely collected, there are differences in how individual local authorities may have measured preferences met, e.g. most would have measured the proportion of parents living in their area who were offered a place at their first preference of school (regardless of the location of that school); while others measure the proportion of those offered a place at a school in that area for whom it was a first preference (regardless of where the parent resides). 3. The picture in most, if not all, local authority areas would have changed. National offer date is only the beginning of a process. Following receipt of offers of school places, parents have to say if they will accept them. Some will not, e.g. because they have moved away, taken a place at an independent school etc. These places can then be reoffered to other parents, who may be made an improved offer from that sent to them on 1 March. Between offer date and the end of July, many parents also appeal against refusal of places at preferred schools. In 2005-06, 36.4 per cent. of secondary school admission appeals were successful. Source: Data provided to the DfES during March 2007 (see notes).

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