Education (Scotland) Act 1980

7 Provision of educational facilities to be in accordance with schemes

(1) The functions of an education authority under the foregoing provisions of this Act shall be exercised in accordance with schemes prepared as hereinafter provided and approved by the Secretary of State under section 69 of this Act, except where such functions relate to—

(a) further education as described in sub-paragraphs (ii) and (iii) of section 1(5)(b) of this Act other than such voluntary part-time or full-time courses of instruction for persons over school age as the Secretary of State may direct; or

(b) such facilities as are mentioned in section 6(1) of this Act; or

(c) special education other than in special schools.

(2) It shall be the duty of an education authority within such time as may be prescribed to prepare and submit for the approval of the Secretary of State a scheme or schemes for the exercise of their powers and duties under the foregoing provisions of this Act.

(3) An education authority may at any time, and shall if and when so required by the Secretary of State, prepare and submit for his approval a revised scheme or modification of an existing scheme under this section.

(4) In considering and determining for the purposes of any scheme for the provision of school education what amount of public school accommodation or additional public school accommodation is required for their area, an education authority shall have regard to and take into account every school, whether public or not, and whether situated in the area or not, which, in their opinion, gives, or will when completed give, efficient school education, and is, or will when completed be, suitable and available for the education of the pupils in their area.

(5) An education authority shall for the purposes of subsection (4) above have power to call upon all head teachers and managers of schools other than public schools for such information and for access to and delivery of all such documents as shall to the education authority appear to be necesssary to enable them to discharge their duties under this Act, and an education authority may from time to time appoint fit and proper persons to procure such information and to inspect such documents.

(6) In the preparation of any scheme for the provision of school education, an education authority shall, in particular, have regard to the expediency of securing the provision of boarding accommodation, either in boarding schools or in hostels, for pupils for whom education as boarders is considered by then-parents and by the authority to be desirable.

(7) In the preparation of any scheme for further education, an education authority shall have regard to such of the following considerations as may be relevant—

(a) to any facilities for such education provided for their area by universities, central institutions, colleges of education, educational associations, and other bodies and to the need for consultation with any such organisations as aforesaid and with the education authorities for adjacent areas; and the scheme may include such provisions as to the co-operation of any such bodies or authorities as may have been agreed between them and the authority preparing the scheme ;

(b) to the need for consultation with persons concerned or engaged in crafts, industries, commerce or other employments in their area ;

(c) to the need for securing the adequate provision of technical education and, keeping in view the requirements of the crafts, industries, commerce and other employments in the area and the provision therefor made elsewhere, to the need for the establishment of local technical colleges offering courses of suitable standard;

(d) to the expediency of securing the provision of boarding accommodation, either as part of a junior college or in hostels, for pupils for whom residence at a distance from their homes is necessary in order that the greatest advantage may be derived from compulsory further education; and

(e) to the desirability of securing the provision of residential colleges for other forms of further education.

(8) Where general arrangements under section 50 of this Act are part of the measures to be taken by the authority to secure the adequate provision of school or compulsory further education for persons resident in any part of their area, information regarding the said arrangements shall be included in the appropriate scheme prepared under this section.