Written question asked by Liam Byrne (Labour) on Thursday, 4 November 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 18 November 2004. It was answered by Stephen Twigg (Labour) on Thursday, 18 November 2004 on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills.

Dept for Education and Skills

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, whether, under new guidance restricting the sale of school playing fields, 100 per cent. of the proceeds from such land sales must be spent in the local community; and what definition of local community he uses in such guidance.

Answer: Mr. Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether, under new guidance restricting the sale of school playing fields, 100 per cent. of the proceeds from such land sales must be spent in the local community; and what definition of local community he uses in such guidance. [197268] Mr. Stephen Twigg: The new Guidance restricting the sale of school playing fields sets out the criteria against which applications for consent to dispose, or change the use, of school playing fields are assessed. The three main criteria are: schools' needs: that playing field provision and curriculum requirements at the school making the disposal, and at other schools in the local area, are met; Community use: that community use of a school's playing fields is taken into account, with alternative facilities made available if necessary; and finance: that any sale proceeds must be used to improve outdoor sports provision wherever possible, so that local authorities will have to provide first class outdoor facilities for schools before introducing new indoor sports or other educational buildings; There is no requirement to use proceeds from the sale of school land to provide local community facilities. We encourage all schools, wherever possible, to open up on site facilities to help them become the centre of the communities that they serve.

Secondary information