§ Mr. Tudor Watkinsasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the procedure of his Department in respect of the alteration and amendment of development plans of education committees in respect of primary and secondary schools; and what safeguards these procedures give to local government electors when amendments to such plans are made without local consultations.
§ Mr. Gordon WalkerSection 11 of the Education Act, 1944, called for the preparation of development plans by local education authorities with a view to ensuring that all authorities made sufficient provision of primary and secondary schools to meet the needs of their areas.
158WThere is no specific provision in this Section for the amendment of an approved development plan. But procedure to meet changing circumstances is afforded by Section 13 of the Act which deals with the establishment and discontinuance of individual schools. Sub-section (3) of that Section provides opportunities for local government electors as well as managers or governors of voluntary schools affected and any local education authority concerned to submit objections within two months of the publication of Statutory Notices, and subsection (5) provides that a local education authority shall not, without leave of the Secretary of State, do or undertake to do anything (whether or not provided for by the development plan for the area) until proposals have been approved by the Secretary of State.