Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 39 of the Government's strategy for tackling loneliness, what records his Department holds on the number of schools that allow their premises to be used outside school hours.

The information requested is not held centrally as the Department does not currently hold data on the number of schools that allow their premises to be used outside school hours. The Department will collect data on the income generated by schools letting their premises for the year 2019-20. This data should be available towards the end of next year.

The Department encourages schools to make the best use of their facilities, particularly where this creates more opportunities for young people to access a broad range of activities.

Schools sit at the heart of their community and there are some excellent examples of this happening. For example, the Deanery CE Academy in Swindon, opened in September 2019, where community access has been designed in the layout of this school.