To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what research his Department has (a) completed and (b) commissioned on the effects of academies on neighbouring schools; and if he will make a statement. (173242)

The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) commissioned a five-year independent evaluation of the academies programme by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in 2003. The aim of the evaluation is to assess the overall effectiveness of the programme in terms of its contribution to educational standards, including the impact of academies on neighbouring schools. The first four reports have already been published and the fifth and final report will be published in summer 2008.

In its report on the academies programme published in February 2007, the National Audit Office found that academies do not appear to impact unfairly on the performance of neighbouring schools.