The Petition of pupils, parents and staff of Skerton Community High School and others in the Skerton community,
Declares that the Petitioners believe that Skerton Community High School provides excellent pastoral care and caters for a high number of special needs students and thus the Petitioners do not believe that it should be closed.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to take steps to support the school in its bid to remain open.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by David Morris, Official Report, 31 October 2013; Vol. 569, c. 1190.]
[P001256]
Observations from the Secretary of State for Education:
Lancashire County Council is proposing the closure of Skerton Community High School due to concerns over educational standards, very low pupil numbers and financial viability.
The Secretary of State has no role in the decision to close a school. All decisions are taken locally following a statutory process. That process includes an early consultation period to allow those affected by the closure proposals to submit views and comments. The proposals must then be published in a number of places and a formal representation period follows. This allows a further opportunity for views and comments to be submitted. All representations must be taken into account during the decision making process. As these decisions must be made locally, the Government are unable to influence the outcome.
The Secretary of State’s intervention powers in matters such as these are extremely limited. He may intervene only where the local authority has acted in breach of its statutory duties, or in a way that is so unreasonable that no other authority would have acted in such a way.