---

26 Feb 2009 : Column 1084W—continued

26 Feb 2009 : Column 1085W

Schools: Closures

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many primary schools in (a) rural and (b) urban areas closed in each of the last 10 years. [256452]

Jim Knight: The following table sets out the numbers of maintained mainstream primary schools in (a) rural and (b) urban areas which have closed in each year under local decision making arrangements, which were introduced in September 1999. Information about decisions made under the arrangements that operated prior to September 1999 is not reliable and is, therefore, not included:

26 Feb 2009 : Column 1086W

Closed—cease to maintain
Locale	Rural	Urban
2000	2	7
2001	1	19
2002	5	15
2003	6	18
2004	11	21
2005	10	17
2006	10	25
2007	14	23
2008	14	28
Total	73	173

The table shows only school closures where the provision has ceased to be maintained and has not been replaced. There are other changes to school provision where a school closure is part of the process, but where replacement provision has been established e.g. a change to a school’s religious character or where an infant and junior school amalgamate to become a primary school.

Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many small schools in each local education authority area have closed in each of the last 10 years. [258283]

Jim Knight: The number of small schools in each local education authority in England that have ceased to be maintained between 2002 and 2008 is shown in the following tables, broken down by primary, secondary and middle deemed secondary schools. Information on school size was not routinely collected prior to 2002.

26 Feb 2009 : Column 1087W

26 Feb 2009 : Column 1088W

Number of small( 1) primary schools ceased to be maintained since 2002
Local authority	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	Total
Barnsley	—	—	—	—	—	1		1
Bath and North East Somerset	—	—	—	2	—	—	—	2
Bedfordshire	—	1	—	—	—	—	—	1
Bolton	1		—	—	—	1	1	3
Bury	—	2	—	—	—	—	—	2
Cheshire	—	1	1	—	1	—	3	6
Cornwall	—	—	1	—	—	1	—	2
Cumbria	—	—	2	1	1	—	1	5
Derby, City of	—	1	—	—	—	—	—	1
Derbyshire	—	—	—	—	—	1	2	3
Devon	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	1
Dudley	—	—	—	—	1	—	—	1
Durham	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1
East Riding of Yorkshire	1	1	1	—	—	—	—	3
Gloucestershire	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	2
Hackney	—	1	—	—	—	—	—	1
Hampshire	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1
Herefordshire	1	—	—	1	—	1		3
Hertfordshire	—	2	—	—	—	—	—	2
Kent	—	1	—	—	1	4	1	7
Lincolnshire	—	—	1	1	1	1	—	4
Liverpool	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	1
Manchester	—	—	—	—	1	—	—	1
North Somerset		1	—	—	—	—	—	1
North Yorkshire	—	—	—	—	1	2	1	4
Northamptonshire	—	—	—	1	—	—	—	1
Northumberland	—	1	—	3	—	—	1	5
Nottingham, City of	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1
Nottinghamshire	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	2
Oxfordshire	—	1	—	—	—	—	—	1
Sefton	1	—	—	1	—	—	—	2
Shropshire	1	—	—	—	—	—	1	2
Somerset	—	—	—	—	1	—	—	1
Staffordshire	—	—	—	—	2	1	1	4
Suffolk	—	—	1	—	—	—	1	2
Surrey	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	1
West Sussex	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1
Wigan	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	1
Wiltshire	—	—	2	2	1	2	—	7
Wirral	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	2
Wolverhampton	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	1
Worcestershire	—	1	—	—	—	—	1	2
Total	6	14	9	12	11	22	21	95
(1) Small Primary = Less than 100 pupils

---