Self-Governing Schools etc. (Scotland) Act 1989

52 Transfer of school for establishment of new school

(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, where, for the purpose of establishing a new independent school, any person (“the proposer”) proposes to occupy the premises of a school which is being wound up, the Secretary of State may, in an order under section 50 of this Act, transfer any of the land and moveable property mentioned in section 51(1) of this Act to that person; and the provisions of the said section 51 shall apply in relation to land or moveable property transferred to a proposer by virtue of this section as they apply to land or moveable property transferred to an education authority by virtue of that section.

(2) Where land or moveable property is transferred as described in subsection (1) above, the proposer shall pay the appropriate consideration to the education authority.

(3) An order made by virtue of subsection (1) above may provide for—

(a) the payment by the proposer to the Secretary of State of any sums expended by the latter by way of—

(i) capital grants to the board of management of the discontinued school prior to the making of a winding up order in respect of the school; and

(ii) grants made by him under subsection (5) of the said section 50;

(b) the payment by the proposer of any sums for which the board of management are liable in respect of—

(i) any outstanding debts or monetary obligations, including redundancy payments to former staff of the school; or

(ii) the expenses of the winding up,

in so far as any such payments have not been met out of grants made by the Secretary of State; and

(c) for any sums paid by the proposer under paragraph (a) or (b) above to be deducted from the money payable by the proposer to the education authority under subsection (2) above.

(4) In this section “the appropriate consideration” means, in relation to—

(a) land, such an amount as the Secretary of State determines to be the market value of the land as at the dissolution date or as at a date no earlier than six months before that date; and

(b) moveable property, such an amount as the Secretary of State determines to be a fair consideration for the transfer of that property.