Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has in place for increasing secondary school places in Ashford after 2022; and if he will make a statement.

There are 21,211 more school places in Kent than there were in 2010 - as part of our drive to create a million more school places this decade, the largest expansion for at least two generations.

Local authorities are under a statutory duty to ensure that there is a school place available for every child, and the Department provides basic need funding for every place that local authorities tell us they need. Kent has received £246 million to provide new school places from 2011-2018, and has been allocated a further £52 million from 2018-2021. Capital funding for education beyond the current period will be agreed as part of the next Spending Review.