Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 29 February 2024 to Question 15463 on Academies: Sports, if she will publish a list of academy trusts where consent was granted by her Department of freehold sale of publicly funded land which were not subject to conditions specifying that capital receipt should be reinvested in improving sports provision.

The department’s general policy is that the freehold sale of playing field land requires improvement to playing field in the educational estate by reinvesting capital receipt in sporting provision. Capital receipt from the sale of non-playing field land can be used for other benefits to the education estate, such as capital projects, save for any exceptional circumstances.

The department currently publishes a list of all playing field land disposals considered by the School Playing Field Advisory Panel since 2010, including freehold disposals, which is available on GOV.UK. This list is currently being updated for the period May to December 2023. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-land-decisions-about-disposals/decisions-on-the-disposal-of-school-land.