Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the presumption against closure of rural schools in England contained in the Education and Inspections Act 2006; and what assessment she has made of the effect of that provision on rural communities.

The Government recognises the importance of rural schools and the need to maintain access to a local school in rural areas. Often these schools are at the heart of their community. This is why the Government is supportive of the presumption against closing rural maintained schools. The Government is also introducing a new ‘double lock’ to provide additional protection against the closure of rural academies, to ensure that both local authorities and the Department for Education have a role in such closures.

The Government has committed £7 billion to create new school places between 2015 and 2021, in addition to our investment in 500 new free schools, to support LAs in meeting this duty.