Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to protect public assets and prevent academy trusts from selling freehold land in their possession.

We have published guidance which sets out how publicly funded land and school playing fields are protected. This guidance is available at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/protection-of-school-playing-fields-and-public-land-advice

If land ceases, or will cease, to be used for an academy, the Secretary of State may need to make a determination in order to protect the public investment in the land. The Secretary of State will consider a range of factors including:

1. the degree of public investment in the land and the degree of any enhancement to the value attributable to that investment;

2. the degree of private investment in the land and the degree of any enhancement to the value attributable to that investment;

3. the length of time that the land has been in public use;

4. the value of the land at the date of determination.

Information about the number of academies where land has been transferred from a governing body to an academy trust is not held centrally and could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.