To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what funding his Department provided to religious bodies as a contribution to their capital expenditure on voluntary-aided schools of a religious character in each year from 1997-98 to 2003-04; what proportion of his Department’s expenditure such expenditure represented in each of those years; and in what instances his Department’s contribution represented (a) up to 90 per cent. and (b) 90 per cent. or more of total project expenditure. (277665)

The information set out as follows shows the amount of grant payable from 2001-02, the earliest year for which we have the information, to the governing bodies of those voluntary aided (VA) schools with a religious character. This is then shown as a proportion of the total departmental capital programme (including PFI credits) for all schools. Some VA schools will also have received some funding from programmes other than the main VA programmes but as these records are maintained mainly at local authority level we do not keep records of the amounts. The proportions in the table are therefore likely smaller than the actual share.

Although most capital expenditure at voluntary aided schools requires a 10 per cent. contribution from their governing bodies, we do not have information relating to any other contributions made either by governing bodies or from any other source.