Parliamentary Bureau Motion: S2O-1432

04/03/2004 - Official Report

10. Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will respond to the representations of parents at Temple and Borthwick primary schools in Midlothian, currently facing possible closure. (S2O-1432)

The Minister for Education and Young People (Peter Peacock): The proposals are Midlothian Council's and it is for the council to consult on them and to have regard to the representations made to it before reaching a decision.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: Is the minister aware of what Ross Finnie said to the Rural Affairs Committee on 20 June 2000? Mr Finnie said:

"The only school closures that are automatically examined by ministers are closures of rural schools ... The whole reason why rural schools are treated differently is the recognition of the importance that a rural school has, not just in its educational provision but in its place in the community."-[Official Report, Rural Affairs Committee, 20 June 2000; c 1037.]

Is the minister aware that Midlothian Council proposes to close five schools in rural areas? Will he say whether he agrees with Mr Finnie's principled stand against the mass closure of rural schools?

Peter Peacock: Lord James Douglas-Hamilton makes one interpretation of what Ross Finnie said, but the Executive is committed to ensuring that we have an adequate network of schools across Scotland. It is a statutory duty of a local authority to ensure that it provides adequate and efficient education in its area, but school closure proposals are essentially local matters and it is far better for them to be determined locally. Democratically elected local politicians are accountable for their actions. They have to take account of the very local circumstances in their areas, and it would be wrong for us to second-guess those proposals from the centre.

On the point about what matters are referred to ministers, a proposed rural primary school closure would be referred to ministers only if the school was 5 miles away from the school that it was proposed that the pupils should move to. For a secondary school, a proposal would be referred if the school was 10 miles away. There is also an 80 per cent occupancy level threshold at which ministers may be asked to examine specific proposals. It is not clear to me at the moment whether any of the schools in Midlothian would be referred to ministers, because they may not meet any of those criteria.

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): Can the minister assure me that the Education (Publication and Consultation Etc) (Scotland) Regulations 1981 require local authorities adequately to carry out consultation of parents and school boards and that local authorities have to take account of any representations made within the statutory consultation period?

Peter Peacock: Yes. The regulations make it clear that there is a statutory duty on local authorities to consult school boards, parents and the community. Local authorities must take those representations into account before they come to a decision. I stress again that these are local matters, but it is clear that we expect local authorities to consult. The statute requires that and we expect local authorities to have regard to the consultation before they arrive at their judgments.