To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools in Essex use a lottery system to allocate school places; and if he will make a statement. (178841)

We do not prescribe what policies individual admission authorities should use and therefore do not hold information centrally on the number of schools using random allocation as part of their oversubscription criteria. The school admissions code allows schools to use a number of ways to allocate places if they are oversubscribed, including random allocation. This is not new—it has long been acceptable to use these criteria. Admission authorities are free to choose appropriate admission arrangements on the basis of local circumstances and parental demand, as long as they comply with the school admissions code and admissions legislation.