Markus Campbell-Savours
Main Page: Markus Campbell-Savours (Independent - Penrith and Solway)Department Debates - View all Markus Campbell-Savours's debates with the Department for Education
(1 day, 22 hours ago)
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Georgia Gould
As the hon. Member will be aware, local authorities have a responsibility to ensure that all children have a sufficient place. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which is progressing through the House of Lords, has some changes around admissions that we think will ensure that children get a place at a school that meets their needs.
The Department for Education recognises the importance of supporting rural schools and the educational offer in Warwickshire. We have worked in partnership with Warwickshire local authorities since Ofsted published an inspection report of “inadequate” in January 2023. Local authorities hold the statutory place-planning function, ensuring that there are sufficient schools to meet pupil needs. This includes collaborating with academy trusts and partners to balance supply and demand in line with changing demographics.
Markus Campbell-Savours (Penrith and Solway) (Ind)
It is not just about money. In my constituency of Penrith and Solway, we have seen the unrestricted change of use of properties from homes to holiday lets, which has led to the depopulation of villages and has undermined local schools. I understand that the Minister for Housing and Planning is currently deliberating on the regulation of the self-catering sector. Will the Minister raise this issue as part of those deliberations?
Georgia Gould
I thank the hon. Member for raising that critical issue. I would be happy to raise it to ensure that the impact on school places is taken into account as part of the decision making. I thank him for championing it.
We recognise these challenges. That is why we published “Running rural primary schools efficiently”, which examines how to run small rural schools effectively. Alongside it, “Opening and closing maintained schools” sets out statutory guidance for local authorities considering school closures. The guidance includes a presumption against the closure of rural schools. That does not, however, mean that a rural school will never close, but the case for closure must be strong and it must be clearly in the best interests of educational provision in the area.
I also want to respond to the points that have been made about home-to-school transport. We believe that it is critical for supporting children into education. I understand that Warwickshire county council has written to the Secretary of State with proposals to ask children to walk a greater distance, and the Secretary of State has responded very strongly against those proposals.