Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of using empty school classrooms for health services.

As set out in our Education Estates Strategy, to support strategic planning at a local level, we will work with the sector to develop a decision-making framework for the use of mainstream school space through demographic change.

This will ensure that we are balancing the opportunities created by the current fall in birth rates, including delivery of priorities such as support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities and Best Start Family Hubs, with a collective view on the long-term risks. This will be informed by new pathfinders to pilot flexible use of surplus spaces for join up with Best Start Family Hubs, housing, neighbourhood health service and youth centres and will build on the success of the school-based nursery programme, which is delivering thousands of nursery places to support children to get the best start in life.