Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat). It was answered on Wednesday, 3 June 2009.

Schools: Primary School Places

Question: My Lords, I declare an interest as joint president of London Councils, representing the London boroughs. The Minister will be aware that the shortfall in places for reception-age children over the next five years is predicted to be more than18,000. While the funding that she has announced is extremely welcome, it is a short-term measure. The London boroughs are concerned about the likely postcode lottery, since some authorities will not even be eligible to apply for emergency funding. Will the Minister give us some comfort over the long term by, for instance, relaxing the rules so that loans can be given by central government, to be repaid when property prices have risen and local authorities are able to realise assets and repay them?

Answer: My Lords, I reassure the noble Baroness and all those concerned about the provision of school places for reception-age children—and even London Councils agrees—that in September there will be plenty of places available for children starting school. Obviously, with changes in the birth rate, there is a lag between the children being born and when they start school. Local authorities have access to the information about rises in birth rate, so in theory the system should work well to predict increases in birth rate and, therefore, the need for more school places. However— Excuse me, my Lords. The Government accept that there have been some unpredictable rises in some places, and we are committed to working with local authorities to deal with the issue.

Secondary information