§ Mr. BeithTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what recent visits have been made by officials of his Department to first schools in Northumberland; and whether any advice has been given to the education authority about possible closures of these or other schools in the area.
§ Mr. FallonOfficials of the Department visited a number of first schools in Northumberland on 9 and 10 May this year. The visit was made in response to a request from the local education authority for advice from the122W Department on how they might best deal with serious structural deficiencies present in some of their timber-framed schools.
Officials did not advise on the closure of individual schools. The decision to repair, replace or close structurally unsound timber-framed schools is one entirely for the Northumberland LEA in the first instance.