2. What is the Welsh Government's policy on school closures in North Wales? OAQ52214

Thank you, Mark. The responsibility, as I said earlier, for the planning of school places rests with each local authority. Local authorities do have to keep under review, as I said earlier, the extent to which their current provision meets the number of children they are statutorily required to educate now and in the future, and the needs of a modern curriculum.

Diolch. I previously raised concerns with you that, in Flintshire, in the past, old and inaccurate data was used in breach of the school organisation code in terms of school closures in Llanfynydd, Flint Mountain and John Summers High School. There are now proposals to close and forcibly amalgamate Lixwm County Primary School, which I hope will be on your list, because it's very much a rural school in every sense of the term. The consultation recently closed. Although it identified a high level of pupils with special educational needs or additional learning needs, it didn't then meet the code's requirements in terms of the matters that need to be reported in the consultation document. It consulted with the school council, but I understand from governors that the initial engagement didn't present them with the option of closure and they were quite relaxed. When the actual options were given to them subsequently, of course they opposed the proposal for closure and amalgamation, and much more besides. I have submitted a consultation response making these points, so you've no need to suggest that I might, but, given your response just a few moments ago, and your response to Darren Millar in the Chamber on 25 April, as I've said quite clearly, my expectation is that local authorities should be working the grain of the new code, with the presumption against rural school closure within it. What action can you now take if a council proceeds with proposed closure in accordance with consultation if the evidence suggests that the content of that consultation did not reflect the current circumstance?

I would expect all local authorities to be designing consultation documents on school closures or mergers that contain accurate information. If they do not, then that simply is not good enough, and if the Member has any evidence that the consultation documents that are currently being issued with regard to the closures that he refers to do not contain accurate information, then I would be very glad to receive that evidence. 

We are working as quickly as we can to publish the new schools organisation code. I'm very pleased to say that the initial consultation had a broad level of support, but there were also responses to the consultation that urged the Government to go even further, and to publish a more extended list of schools. Because it's a consultation, I am minded to take those representations on board and, as a result of that, I have now written to all local authorities and dioceses to indicate my desire to extend the list of schools that we initially consulted on. There is a short, focused consultation, and I hope to publish the revised code and the first ever list of rural schools as quickly as possible.