SUPPORTERS of Midlothian's rural schools won the backing of MSPs this week when they appeared before the Parliament's Petitions Committee on Wednesday.

Their petition, presented by Richard Lock on behalf of Midlothian Rural Schools Action Group, calls for the Scottish Parliament "to urge the Scottish Executive to restore the presumption against closure of rural schools and that any departure from this presumption in individual cases shall be on the grounds of the balance of educational advantage to the children of those schools being clearly and independently demonstrated."

Mr Lock said that in England and Wales — as also in Northern Ireland — local authorities were obliged to refer closure of rural schools to the appropriate Minister. There was a presumption in the rest of the UK in favour of keeping rural schools open.

Local MSP Rhona Brankin said that a previous committee had looked at the issue of guidance and recommended that CoSLA draw up new guidelines.

The understanding at the time had been that the Scottish Executive had plans to do that and CoSLA had not pursued the subject.

No review had been forthcoming and Carolyn Leckie (SSP) said she was concerned at the tardiness of the Executive.

The delay had meant that these five schools — and no doubt others — had been put in a position that could have been avoided.

Ms Irene Stewart said that the only requirement from the Executive was that there should be a minimum of 28 days consultation and that the decision had to be referred to the Ministers if a school was more than 80 per cent full or more than five miles from the school to which pupils were going to be transferred.

The situation in Scotland ought to be the same as in the rest of the UK and if it was not, it should be explained why it was not.

She added that there had been no "informal" consultation with local councillors.

"They now cannot answer our questions because we are in a formal consultation period, and it could bar them from taking part in the decision," she said.

Mike Watson (Lab) agreed that the 28-day consultation period was "far too short" and added that stronger guidance was need than the Ministerial reply given on April 1.

John Scott (C) said the committee should ask the Scottish Executive to make their position clear and Jackie Baillie (Lab) said that what there currently was was inadequate and that there ought to be specific guidelines for rural schools.

The Executive should be asked to look again at its guidance.

She was supported by Helen Eadie, Labour MSP for Dunfermline East, who said that with a similar mixed constituency to Midlothian, she could well find herself in the same position as Rhona Brankin.

The committee agreed to ask for the views of the Executive quickly and are looking for a reply within a month.

Convenor Michael McMahon commented; "Let's give them 28 days."

A plan by Midlothian Council to shut five rural schools has attracted strong opposition from local people, who have welcomed a new property survey on behalf of the Council confirming the fabric of the threatened schools is sound.

There has been widespread criticism that the report recommending closure of Borthwick, Cousland, Cranston, Howgate and Temple primary schools is based on out of date information.

The Midlothian Rural Schools Action Group (MRSAG) say there has been condemnation from parents and politicians alike that the Council's proposals centre on the fabric of the school buildings themselves rather than any educational benefits that might result from the forced closures and relocation of pupils.

The group claims a proposal to close Cranston Primary School, housing pupils in temporary portakabin accommodation at the 'already overcrowded Pathhead Primary School site' has caused much concern.

Fiona Hill, a Cranston parent said: "We knew that our school was in a good state of repair. You only need to look at it. But all buildings whether they be homes, offices or schools need to be maintained and what this new report shows is that some fairly minor remedial work will give us a school building that will be fit for years to come."

Jim Murray, Chairman of the Cranston School Board said: "We've been saying all along that there must be a better and a cheaper way. And we're willing to work with the Council to achieve the best learning environment for our children. They've admitted that housing the pupils in temporary accommodation is going to cost the best part of £300,000 of council taxpayers' money. We said that we could create a better environment if we were allowed to stay where we are for half that. And this new report actually says that it will take one third of what the council is planning to spend on a temporary quick fix to fully refurbish our school premises."

The public consultation on the Council's proposals is due to end today, with a vote by cabinet members expected to take place in early May.

• Scotsman story
• Some quotes from the MRSAG website include:

"This closure programme is short sighted and will be extremely damaging to the rural villages and countryside. With an ever increasing expansion of the housebuilding programme in Midlothian and increasing population, we should be opening more schools not closing them."

"I just wanted to send you some support in your battle for the retention of small community based schools. We have been through a similar fight in New Zealand recently (our school was given its reprieve only 2 days ago). Our battle was with the central government but was similar in many other aspects."