§ Mr. Kirkwoodasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is Her Majesty's Government's policy towards village schools in Scotland.
§ Mr. Allan StewartSchools in rural areas make a valuable contribution both to educational provision and to community life. At a time of declining pupil numbers and scarce financial resources it is essential that the future of all schools should be kept under review by education authorities. The special circumstances of rural schools are recognised in the requirement that authorities must seek the consent of the Secretary of State for any proposals for closure where the intended receiving school is five or more miles distant from that to be closed in the case of primary school, or ten or more miles distant in the case of a secondary school.
§ Mr. Kirkwoodasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many primary schools in each local authority area in Scotland have school rolls of 14 pupils or less in the current year.
§ Mr. Allan StewartProvisional information for September 1983 is set out in the following table:
Number of primary schools with schools rolls of 14 pupils or fewer at September 1983 (provisional) by education authority Authority Number of schools Borders 13 Central 7 Dumfries & Galloway 4 Fife 1 Grampian 12 Highland 39 Lothian 1 Strathclyde 25 Tayside 16 Orkney 6 Shetland 7 Western Isles 9 Scotland 140