§ Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many primary and secondary schools, respectively, were closed in each of the last five years; and how many closures are contemplated in each of the next two years.
§ Mr. Alexander FletcherThe following table sets out the number of primary and secondary school closure proposals approved by the Secretary of State in the five years to 16 March 1981. In view of the reduction in school rolls I have no doubt that regional and islands councils will continue their efforts to reduce the amount of surplus accommodation, but I am unable to forecast how many school closure proposals they will make over the next two years.
School Closure Proposals approved between 17 March 1976 and 16 March 1981 17 March to 16 March Primary Secondary Primary and Secondary 1976–77 8 1 — 1977–78 18 3 — 1978–79 8 1 — 1979–80 18 2 — 1980–81 22 2 1 TOTAL 74 9 1 Footnote: Eight of these closures have not yet been implemented.