Hutton Primary School closure decision: letter to Dumfries and Galloway Council
Letter from Learning Directorate, to Dumfries and Galloway Council, with decision to close Hutton Primary School.
To: Gillian Brydson, Director - Skills, Education and Learning, Dumfries and Galloway Council
From: Orlando Heijmer-Mason, Deputy Director, Workforce, Infrastructure and Digital Learning Directorate
4 December 2024
Dear Gillian,
Schools (consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010: Hutton Primary School
I refer to your email of 15 October 2024 notifying Scottish Ministers of Dumfries and Galloway Council’s decision of 10 October 2024 to implement the proposal to close Hutton and split the catchment area between Applegarth Primary School and Langholm Primary School. Ministers have considered this proposal in line with the requirements set out in the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 (“the 2010 Act”).
Under section 17 of the 2010 Act, Ministers may only issue a call-in notice if it appears to them that the education authority may have failed:
(a) in a significant regard to comply with the requirements imposed on it by (or under) the
Act so far as they are relevant in relation to the closure proposal, or
(b) to take proper account of a material consideration relevant to its decision to implement the proposal.
Section 15(2) of the 2010 Act requires an education authority to provide a copy of the proposal paper and the consultation report prepared under the Act to Ministers when notifying them of a closure proposal.
Section 15(4) of the 2010 Act requires Ministers to take into account any relevant representations made to them by any person during the three-week period from the date that a closure decision is made. In relation to this closure proposal, the three-week period began on 10 October 2024 and expired on 30 October 2024. No representations were received.
Having reviewed the documents provided by Dumfries and Galloway Council under section 15(2) and considered all relevant representations made under section 15(4), Ministers consider that Dumfries and Galloway Council has fulfilled its obligations under the 2010 Act and do not intend to issue a call-in notice for this proposal.
Dumfries and Galloway Council may now implement its decision to close Hutton Primary School in line with the timescales set out in its proposal paper. As noted in Education Scotland’s report on the proposal, Dumfries and Galloway Council should continue to engage with the local community in the area surrounding the school regarding the long-term use of the building.
Yours sincerly,
Orlando Heijmer-Mason
Deputy Director, Workforce, Infrastructure and Digital Learning Directorate
