Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Mike Hancock (Liberal Democrat). It was answered on Thursday, 16 March 2006 on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills.

Trust Schools

Question: Will the Minister confirm that, when a trust school is established, it will be wholly responsible for all the maintenance commitments on the school site? Will the trust have the right to dispose of the school's assets when the local authority currently holds the freehold?

Answer: And read my speech from yesterday, in which I spelled out the provisions for ensuring that, although the assets of a trust school, like those of foundation schools, will be vested in the trust, there are also considerable provisions governing the disposal of assets. They are aimed at protecting publicly funded assets so that, to dispose of them, the trust would need to inform in advance the local authority, which would be in a position to agree a share of the proceeds or alternative use. If a school broke its link with a trust, the assets would revert to the school or, in the case of closure, the local authority.

Secondary information