Parliamentary Commentary
Governmental Commentary
Andy Slaughter keeps on asking!
Andy Slaughter is our local MP. He keeps questioning the Secretary of State.
16 June 2011
Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith, Labour)
Since the beginning of the year, at the request of parents in my constituency, I have been trying to find out the funding basis of the several free schools due to open there. I have with me correspondence from the Department giving every possible excuse for not giving that information—it even makes “The dog ate my homework” sound plausible. The last correspondence, from two months ago, concerned my appeal against the refusal under the Freedom of Information Act. I have had no response whatever from the Department, which is concealing the information either because it does not know it because it is incompetent, or because free schools are being treated in a preferential way. Will the Minister please now answer those questions?
Details of free schools will be published once they open, so the hon. Gentleman will be able to see all that information once that free school opens. We are concerned about disclosing details of proposals for free schools where they have been turned down, because that can cause embarrassment to the individuals who have made those proposals, who will sometimes be teachers who have existing jobs. There are all kinds of reasons why we have to maintain confidentiality for those proposals, but all those details will be made available for any free school that opens.
Hansard source (Citation: HC Deb, 16 June 2011, c941)
March 18, 2011
Written Answers – Education: Free Schools (18 Mar 2011)
Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith, Labour)
To ask the Secretary of State for Education
(1) what estimate he has made of the average number of pupils in free schools;
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of pupils who will attend each free school (a) in their first year of operation and (b) at planned full operating levels.
As at 8 March 2011, 40 proposals for free schools have been approved to business case and plan stage. It is not possible at this point to provide details of pupil numbers for these schools as this will vary widely and be dependent on the admissions process.
Hansard source (Citation: HC Deb, 18 March 2011, c703W)
March 14, 2011
Bob Stewart is the MP for Bekcenham, and on March 24 he questioned Nick Gibbs, Minister of State for Schools on factors taking into account when assessing effects of free schools upon existing local schools.
Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what factors he takes into consideration when determining whether the proposed location of a free school will have a detrimental effect on admissions to existing schools in the locality. [36008]
Mr Gibb: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has a duty under section 9 of the Academies Act 2010 to consider what impact establishing an additional school would have on existing maintained schools, academies and further education institutions before entering into an academy arrangement for a free school. When exercising this duty, the Secretary of State takes account of a number of factors including the effect on local provision in terms of choice and standards, and any representations made by the relevant local authority, local schools and further education colleges.
February 28, 2011
Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith, Labour)
To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much he plans to allocate to each free school to develop projects.
Nick Gibb (Minister of State (Schools), Education; Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, Conservative)
Support for all free school projects is considered and approved on a case by case basis, based on the needs of each individual project.
February 14, 2011
On February 14, 2011 Andy questioned The Secretary of State on our local free schools situation in a debate on Building Schools for the Future — Oral Answers to Questions — Work and Pensions
You can see the full debate here: House of Commons Debates, 14 Feb 2011 3:33pm
Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith, Labour)
“The Secretary of State willknow that schools in Hammersmith and Fulham lost£200 million in well worked-up, mature BSF proposals. Instead, we have free schools enrolling pupils, despite the fact that they have no approved business case, their consultation is not complete and they have no secured site. Will he reconsider decision making in Hammersmith and Fulham before he is back in the High Court? “
Michael Gove (Secretary of State, Education; Surrey Heath, Conservative)
“I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his point. I have had the opportunity to visit with him many of the outstanding schools in Hammersmith and Fulham, including Phoenix high school, which we both hold in high regard. The new free school that is likely to be opened, the West London Freeschool, is being opened at a significantly lower cost than that for which schools were built under BSF. It will be in a handsome building adjacent, I believe, to the fee-paying independent school Latymer upper, where he enjoyed such a great education.”
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