§ 54. Mr. HarrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans he has for continuing the service provided by village schools.
§ Mr. DunnIt is the responsibility of local education authorities to provide a proper service to villages and rural areas as well as to other areas. My right hon. Friend is currently supporting a number of projects, including one in Cornwall, designed to identify ways of enriching the curriculum of rural primary schools. Any proposal for the closure of a village school which comes before my right hon. Friend is considered very carefully in the light of the criteria set out in the Department's circular 3/87, which makes it clear that size alone is not a criterion for closure.