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Scottish Education Minister, Mr Brian Wilson MP, today invited local authorities to apply a test of proportionate advantage to any proposed closure of a rural primary school saying that, " no rural primary school should be closed on solely cost grounds".

Speaking at a seminar in Dunoon Mr Wilson said:

"I have consistently made clear my view that no school should close on financial grounds alone. There must also be a credible educational justification for closure. I am now inviting education authorities to apply a test of proportionate advantage to any proposed closure of a rural primary school. In other words, do the educational and financial gains deriving from a closure stand up to scrutiny and do they outweigh the negative effects - on that rural community and the children and their families - which that closure will have?

"It is important that all those consulted on closure proposals feel that they have been listened to, and have the opportunity properly to assess the balance of arguments for and against. This will put an onus firmly on the education authority to demonstrate the case for closure, as well as on the community affected to demonstrate the case for retention.

"With immediate effect, I will ensure that all proposals for closure which are with or come to The Scottish Office under the distance criterion as set out in existing statutory arrangements will be considered according to this approach. I intend to consult with local authorities and other interested parties on the possible amendment of the criteria under which closure proposals are currently referred to the Secretary of State.

"I recognise the difficult decisions which education authorities have to make and also the fact that no school closure in history has been popular at the time it was first proposed or implemented. However, I also believe that people living in rural communities are entitled to know that there are adequate safeguards to ensure that educational arguments have proper weight and the wider interests of their communities are being taken into account."

BACKGROUND

1. Under the existing statutory arrangements education authorities in Scotland are required to obtain the Secretary of State's consent to a primary school closure where the distance between it and the alternative school is over five miles.

News Release: 0583/98
March 20, 1998