To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what target he has set for the number of city academies to be established in England by May 2010. (140969)

The Government are firmly committed to establishing 400 Academies over time. The formal target for 2010, as announced in the Government's five-year strategy for education of July 2004, is for 200 academies to be open or in the pipeline by 2010.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many academy schools (a) are taking students, (b) will open to students before the end of 2007, (c) have opened and (d) he has discussed with sponsors. (140972)

There are 47 academies now open. We anticipate that a further 36 will open before the end of 2007. As part of progress towards the target of 400 academies, the Department is in discussion with sponsors, schools and local authorities about 47 open academies; 25 academy projects in their implementation phase; and 68 projects where the Secretary of State has agreed a formal expression of interest with a sponsor for an academy project.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills who decides whether an academy school has a sixth form; and how many academies have no sixth form. (140974)

The general policy is for academies to be post-16 providers in their own right to address low participation rates by adding to the diversity and quality of local provision. Where an academy proposal does not include post-16 provision, the Government would need to be assured that arrangements for post-16 students leaving the academy are comparable to those which could be provided by the academy itself. If, during the course of the consultation process that all academy projects are subject to, convincing arguments were put forward as to why the community would benefit more from an 11 to 16 than an 11 to 18 academy, this would of course be taken into account on a case by case basis.

Of the 47 open academies, three have no post-16 provision.