Education and Inspections Bill

moved Amendment No. 128: After Clause 35, insert the following new clause- ““REVERTER OF SITES Nothing in Schedule 22 to SSFA 1998 (disposals of land in case of certain schools and disposals and discontinuance) shall apply to land that is subject to the trust arising under section 1 of the Reverter of Sites Act 1987 (c. 15) (right of reverter replaced by trust) or would be so subject if it ceases to be used for or in connection with the provision of education.”” The right reverend Prelate said: In moving the amendment I shall speak also to AmendmentsNos. 130, 131, 132 and 137 in my name. They relate to technical matters relating to ownership of sites. We understand that new foundation schools will be owned not by the local authority but by one or more foundations. When such schools close or are moved to new premises, the public interest in the land needs to be preserved. However, the Bill needs to recognise that the provisions intended to protect the public interest might also catch existing schools, owned not by the local authority but by trustees, principally among some Church schools where there is already a strong existing body of law and practice. Amendment No. 128 relates to reverter of sites. It makes a tentative proposal, broadly worded, to limit the circumstances in which the premises of closed schools revert to the original landowner. The amendment would have the effect of placing some small limits on reverter in the case of the discontinuance of certain schools. Amendment No. 130 to Schedule 4 recognises on the one hand the right of the local authority to make decisions about the use of land following the closure of a school, and on the other hand the right of the trustees to compensation for costs and expenses they have incurred in waiting for a decision. These costs are likely to be those of boarding up, providing security for the premises to avoid vandalism and depredation of a closed school building. Amendment No. 131 to Schedule 4 would have the effect of ensuring that two obligations working in opposite directions did not make it impossible for the trustees of a closed school to do the right thing. The terms of their trust might make it impossible to pass proceeds of sale to a third party even though that was the decision of the local authority supported by the adjudicator. The amendment would have the effect of overriding the limitations imposed by the trust. Amendment No. 132 would require a public hearing where the adjudicator is to determine the destiny of proceeds of sale. That would seem to be best practice and indeed the adjudicator might hold a public hearing in any case. That would simply require that such a hearing was held. The final amendment in this grouping in my name is Amendment No. 137, which concerns the disposal of hard play areas attached to closed school premises. The Government and Sport England are committed not to dispose of playing fields unless that can be avoided. Hard play areas around a closed school could, we understand, attract the interest of those seeking to prevent their disposal. The most obvious problem for us would be in relation to the disposal of former school premises in an urban area without playing fields, as generally understood, with a playground and a tennis court. If the Secretary of State were to rule that the hard play areas in such cases were to be retained for educational purposes, which although it might be illogical is not inconceivable, that could blight the premises and render it virtually or actually impossible for the trustees to dispose of the land or gain any benefit from its disposal. In those perhaps unlikely circumstances, we propose that the Secretary of State would have to acquire land that he had blighted from the trustees. I beg to move.