§ 10. Mr. TylerTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what educational criteria she uses to assess the case for the retention of small village schools. [7060]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Employment (Mrs. Cheryl Gillan)The closures of county and voluntary schools are considered on their own merits.
§ Mr. TylerThe guidance that the Minister can give to local education authorities of all political colours will be very helpful and I hope that it will be spelt out in detail. May I ask her more specifically for advice on the plight facing Blisland school in my constituency, where the roll fell to such a level that it was no longer educationally or economically viable and the LEA, with the concurrence and support of the Secretary of State, decided that the school should be closed? What advice can the hon. Lady give in the present circumstances, where the school roll is increasing again and the local authority, with cross-party agreement, has decided to review the situation? Will the Secretary of State be prepared to review the closure and retrieve Blisland school? What educational and economic criteria will she need to be persuaded of to establish its future?
§ Mrs. GillanThe hon. Gentleman knows that I am well aware of the situation concerning Blisland school. The Liberal Democrat-controlled council published the proposal to close it as recently as March this year. Her Majesty's inspectorate visited the school, where there were nine pupils and one teacher. We received no representations from the hon. Gentleman about the school. He is now telling me that the Liberal Democrats have changed their minds, which does not surprise me and I am sure does not surprise anybody else. Now that the decision has been taken to close the school, and since the LEA made such a good case for doing so originally, I must advise him that it will be necessary for that local authority to publish fresh proposals to make a case for keeping the school open.
§ Dame Elaine Kellett-BowmanNo doubt my hon. Friend will be pleased to know that those of my village schools that have been assessed in the recent inspection round have had exceptionally good results, co-operate with one another to provide a much broader curriculum and are in every way admirable.
§ Mrs. GillanAs usual, I agree with my hon. Friend, who is obviously making a very strong point in favour of good rural schools. Good rural schools are supported by the Government.