Bill Wiggin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Wiggin on 2014-05-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the average length of time between an application for free school status being made and a successful applicant school opening; and what plans he has to reduce the time taken.

Mr Edward Timpson

In cases where there is no existing school, the average length of time between an application for a free school being made and a brand new school opening is approximately eighteen months. There are instances where a free school is able to open in a shorter amount of time, for example, in the case of an existing independent school that wants to join the state sector.