Written question asked by Keith Vaz (Labour) on Monday, 18 January 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 20 January 2010. It was answered by Lord Coaker (Labour) on Monday, 25 January 2010 on behalf of the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Schools: Snow and Ice

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools have closed owing to adverse weather conditions in (a) Leicester, (b) the East Midlands and (c) England in January 2010 to date; and how many pupils in each location have not been able to sit exams as a result.

Answer: There is no duty on local authorities or schools to report closures to the Department, so the Department does not collect this information. No definitive data are available on the number of students missing exams as a result of the weather, though we believe that the number missing exams because of school closure was very small. More information will be available after exams have been completed next month, though it will not be possible to be certain about the numbers of students missing exams because of the weather rather than for other reasons; nor will it be possible to provide a geographical breakdown of the student numbers.

Secondary information