Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his Written Ministerial Statement of 11 May 2018 on Good School Places, HCWS676, what proportion of schools approved in Wave 13 are located in the Government’s Opportunity Areas.

On Friday 11 May, the department launched guidance for the Wave 13 free school application round. This is published on GOV.UK and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/free-school-application-guide.

The department has not yet received any applications for Wave 13; a timetable is included in the published guidance. It is not possible to say how many applications will be received from Opportunity Areas, nor how many will be approved. The application process is competitive and all applications will be assessed against the rigorous and robust criteria set out in the guidance.