To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what progress has been made in issuing guidance to local authorities on producing revised expressions of interest for Building for the Future waves 7 to 15; and which of the factors raised in the consultation which closed on 4 July were taken into account in drafting the guidance. (224488)

[holding answer 6 October 2008]: The guidance was issued on 19 September. It reflected the responses to the consultation. This means that those involved in these later waves of Building Schools for the Future will benefit from the experience of those involved in the earlier waves, such as local authorities, schools, diocesan bodies and private sector bodies engaged in construction finance and design. In line with Government guidelines, we have now issued a summary of the consultation responses.

We received 145 responses, of which 67 were from local authorities (46 per cent.), 21 from schools, 16 from representative organisations, five from diocesan bodies, nine from the private sector in construction finance and design, and 27 other—which include further private sector consultants. 55 (38 per cent.) of the responses were from bodies involved in waves 1 to 6 of Building Schools for the Future, and 90 not.

The guidance issued in the light of the responses asks for responses by 30 November 2008. When the Department has received the responses, we will prioritise projects in the way that the guidance specifies. We aim to announce the new national programme in early 2009, which will provide authorities with an indication on when they can expect to join the programme.