Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 2.25(3) of the Spring Budget 2024, HC 560, published on 6 March 2024, how local authorities can apply for funding for additional special school places.

The Spring Budget confirmed plans for 15 additional special free schools. An announcement on the location of these schools will be made by May 2024.

The department has received a large number of high quality applications from local authorities through the most recent special free schools application round. Funding available at the time allowed us to approve 33 new special free schools, in March 2023.

The Spring Budget announcement means that the department can now go further, by considering high quality applications that the department was not able to approve at the time. This means that the department does not currently plan to invite new local authority applications.