Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect of the 50 per cent cap on religious selection on ethnic diversity in Church of England and other Christian free schools; and what evaluation has been made of the potential effect on ethnic diversity of removing such a cap.

The “Schools that work for everyone” consultation document makes clear that, overall, the effectiveness of the 50% cap in faith admission in promoting inclusion and community cohesion is questionable and that it has not led to mixed intakes in many faith-designated free schools.

Many Church of England and Christian faith schools open a proportion of places to children of other faith and none. The Church of England has stated that it is their policy not to apply faith based oversubscription criteria for the free schools which they open in the future.