Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to address concerns over interruption to schooling arising from the use of schools as polling places ahead of the local government elections in May.

Local authorities have the power to require schools to allow their premises to be used as polling stations during an election. They must use this power reasonably. Whether or not a school closes or remains open in these circumstances is a decision for the head teacher.

Head teachers’ decisions about closure will depend upon whether arrangements can be made for voting to take place discretely within their school. It may be possible for a school to remain open if pupils and the voting public can be kept apart, with a separate entrance and exit with no compromise to the school's controlled access.