§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans he has to help maintain small schools in rural areas of the three counties of Yorkshire, and Humberside.
§ Mr. ButcherIt is for the individual local education authorities concerned to decide their policies in relation to small schools in rural areas; but my right hon. Friend provides an education support grant for the support of small rural primary schools. My right hon. Friend is also supporting a research project by the university of Leicester to evaluate the pilot projects with a view to making recommendations on practices which could be replicated successfully in other local education authorities.