Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Spring Budget 2024, HC 560, where the 15 new special schools will be located.

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 received a large number of high-quality applications from local authorities through the most recent special free schools application round. In March 2023, the department approved 33 new special free schools.

The Spring Budget announcement means that the department can now go further, by considering more high-quality applications that were not able to be approved at the time. Therefore, the department does not currently plan to invite new local authority applications for this wave.