Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance exists for local authorities making permanent school closure decisions during the period before Local Government Reorganisation.

Until reorganisation formally takes effect, local authorities retain their statutory duties and decision‑making powers. Authorities proposing the permanent closure of a maintained school must continue to follow existing legislation and the department’s statutory guidance on school organisation, including the guidance on opening and closing maintained schools. This guidance sets out the statutory process, consultation requirements and decision‑making criteria, and applies irrespective of future local government.