To ask the Minister of Education to detail (i) the action his Department is taking, in conjunction with the Education Authority, to examine evidence of expected future demand for integrated education; and (ii) the methodology used to collate this evidence.

Officials in my Department are working closely with colleagues in the Education Authority to develop and conduct a survey of parents who have recently made school preference decisions through the admissions portal. This survey will ask parents and guardians, in line with the Integrated Education Act, whether they have a preference for Integrated Education and how various factors have influenced their school preferences. This data will allow my Department to consider existing and future demand and provide data on which existing Area Planning structures can take action to aim to meet that demand.