This is the full text of the Ministerial Statement on the Argyll and Bute school closure proposals, delivered today by Education Secretary , Michael Russell MSP, to the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood.

The statement

‘I am grateful for the opportunity to make a statement regarding proposed school closures in Argyll and Bute.

‘Long before I was an MSP, I was involved in campaigning for rural schools. This is a cause I have championed for almost my entire political career.

‘Rural schools are of critical importance to fragile communities.   They anchor the future of such places because young people are the future.   And the continued health of rural schools is about much more than education.

‘It might even be said, Presiding Officer, that the cause of rural schools goes to the heart of why this Parliament exists, for we are here to serve the interests of all of the communities of Scotland, no matter how small and to do so without fear or favour.

‘I know many other members share that view.  For example Cathy Peattie in the first Parliament was the rapporteur for an inquiry that not only saved some schools but which also presaged the Schools Consultation Bill.  Murdo Fraser brought forward a Bill on this topic, and Jackie Baillie has been working effectively to oppose local closures.

‘But at the outset let me make two points clear.   Firstly, whilst this statement has been requested by the Opposition parties and is, therefore, a Ministerial statement, any and all actions I took in relation to the proposed school closures in Argyll & Bute were not as a Minister.   Moreover that is a point that was made clear at every stage of the events I shall describe.

‘And, secondly, the moment there was the prospect of school closures in Argyll and Bute I took the correct steps to insulate myself as a Minister, and in keeping with official advice (which I had sought) put arrangements in place for another Minister to take decisions on, and to act in all capacities concerning the matter.  Those arrangements were then announced on the very day a formal process was started in that area.

‘Presiding Officer, the details of the Argyll and Bute school closure proposals are as follows:

‘In late October 2010, Argyll & Bute Council released a list of 26 schools they proposed should be closed.

‘This list was met with consternation locally. It represented almost one third of all local schools.  Many believed it would be a significant, perhaps fatal, blow to the entire diverse and disparate area.

‘The final decision on the proposals was due at a council Executive meeting on 2nd November but that meeting demurred and instead asked officials to bring back revised proposals to a full Council on 25th November.

‘Instantly the school closure plan became the single biggest local issue.   I received numerous requests to meet with councillors and parents but from the outset I was explicit that I could only do so as the Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the area and in that role alone.

‘So, in that capacity, on 5th November, at the request of the local councillor and during a visit to Kintyre, I met with parents of Glenbarr and Southend Schools. On 13 November, again at the request of the local councillor as well as the Parent Council, I met with the community on the island of Luing (whose school had been raised with me five days earlier in this chamber by Des McNulty).  On 20th November whilst undertaking local campaigning in Rothesay I met parents from North Bute School who were running a street stall, and on 27th November, while campaigning in Dunoon with a local councillor I visited a  coffee morning, in Strone  where yet again, the School  issue was  on everyone’s lips.    And on 13th December I visited Ulva and Lochdon on Mull, accompanied by no less than four councillors, including one Independent Liberal and one Independent.  Later that evening with two councillors, I was at Barcaldine.  And of course I had the issue raised with me in shops, in pubs, at events and in the streets across the whole area.   I even had it raised with me in neighbours’ houses, for of course I live in the constituency and in a community that was threatened with the closure of its own primary school.

‘In every one of these meetings and in every conversation I made three things clear. Firstly, I could only speak in my capacity as a Prospective Parliamentary Candidate. Secondly given my governmental office I could not and would not take a position on the issue of closure of any individual school; and finally, the only help I could give was to make sure that everyone was fully familiar with the rights of parents and communities under the Schools Consultation Act.

‘That is what I said on every occasion.    Or to put it another way, let me quote one of the parents I met, Mr Robert Miller of Southend, who last weekend told Scotland on Sunday:

‘ “He made that quite clear from the start. He said I can’t comment about the school and say anything with the job I’ve got.”

‘And I was very touched yesterday morning to be contacted by another member of one of the communities affected, who made it clear that her entire Parent Council would be willing to say exactly the same thing.

‘Where I entered schools these visits were arranged by, and at the invitation of, local councillors, the local teachers or the parents themselves and I did so as a local candidate.

‘Now as this chamber knows I am not exactly a shrinking violet.  Consequently, I was accompanied on a number of visits by local journalists who covered the discussions.  Their reporting, for example in the Campbeltown Courier and in the Oban Times, confirms what Mr Miller has said.

‘As a local candidate, I met local people to discuss local issues of concern to them.    What do other local candidates do?

‘Presiding Officer, at the meeting on 25th November the SNP Group in Argyll & Bute Council refused to back a list of closures that had only one change and consequently withdrew from the council administration. That was a decision for the council group and one they reached having listened to their constituents.

‘However, other councillors hadn’t. The six Liberal Democrats immediately joined the administration, backed by the two Tories and voted through the list of 25 school closures at that very meeting by 19 to 17.  If they had not, the closures would have fallen.

‘Yet as December dawned it became obvious to many that this unprecedentedly long list of formal closure proposals was deeply flawed.   Forensic work done by the Scottish Rural Schools Network, by the new Argyll Rural Schools Network and by the local media, including the Oban Times, the Campbeltown Courier, the Dunoon Observer and Argyll Online increasingly exposed the new Council Administration and the entire process to censure.   The national press joined in, with a particularly effective contribution from Ruth Wishart in The Herald.

‘As a result the Council clearly felt under some pressure.  On 17th December the Chief Executive of Argyll & Bute Council raised concerns about the process with the Permanent Secretary.  He responded to her on 23rd December emphasising the clear separation, that had already been publically announced, to ensure that I would take no role in any Governmental decision on call in or closure.   And the same week there was an extraordinary attack on critics of the proposals made on the official council website by one of the Council’s own staff.

‘On 5th January – just one week ago – a Special Council Meeting took place, requisitioned by the SNP Council Group working with Argyll First and some non aligned independent councillors.  Its purpose was to hear an authoritative presentation from the Scottish Rural Schools Network on the flaws in the closure proposals and to persuade Councillors to withdraw them because of these errors.  A summary of the SRSN information was circulated prior to the meeting.

‘And that was enough.  Faced with the facts and likely humiliation the Liberal / Independent administration – suddenly and without any prior notice – caved in.   They put forward a motion withdrawing the entire closure package.   They had been forced to recognise public anger and the mess that they had created.

‘However  two days before the meeting an email I had sent in mid November in reply to one from an SNP Councillor emailing from his official council address  was leaked  to a range of newspapers.

‘The Dunoon Observer, in a piece published last week, has revealed that my email was sent to them from an email address purporting to come from a John Mackinnon.  The journalist on that paper recounts how he emailed the sender back, asking how he had obtained it and if he was a member of, or worked for, any political party.  He got no response.

‘How this email came to be in the hands of the media is a question for others.  In what way it may have been linked to the special meeting also needs examination.   But, Presiding Officer, given that I had already decided that I would play no role in any possible Scottish Government decision on the closure I believe it was entirely appropriate to share my view as the local candidate with my local party colleagues.   Indeed it would have been inconceivable not to do so.

‘I am also clear that under the MSP code of conduct it is entirely permissible to take an active role in an issue in another constituency where you have the agreement of the relevant constituency MSP. I had that clear agreement of the relevant local constituency MSP, Jim Mather.

‘Presiding Officer, this Government introduced the Schools Consultation Bill, improving the way communities are consulted on closure plans and insisting that closures can only occur where they are of educational benefit to the pupils.

‘That is the standard we have set; we will apply it in every community across Scotland.    We are not saying that a rural school will never close but full consultation and consideration of viable alternatives is mandatory.  And a fair and robust process that is informed by accurate and verifiable data is the key to the matter.

‘Members across the chamber regularly talk to me about school closure issues in their own constituencies and regions.  I am always happy to explain to them that the legislation is not about second guessing decisions.  It is about ensuring fairness.

‘And if I can be helpful to members on such a thing, surely I should also be helpful to those who ask me elsewhere?

‘Presiding Officer this SNP Government will go on being fair to communities across Scotland.    Indeed I can update the Chamber this evening about further progress.       Today we have rejected proposals from Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar to close four schools – Shelibost Primary School, Carloway Primary School, S1/2 at Shawbost School and S1/2 at Lionel School.  I have also decided to call in the decision by Shetland Isles Council to close one school – Scalloway – for further consideration.  However, I have granted consent to Moray Council to go ahead with the closure of Cabrach Primary School as they have adhered to the process set out within the legislation.

‘Presiding Officer we should all be proud of the legislation we have passed giving better protection to vulnerable schools.  But more might usefully be done.  I have been reflecting on how the legislation works in practice and if it should take in issues such as calculation of capacity and the verification of information. I shall consider what is now needed to further improve the process.

‘Presiding Officer, since this SNP Government took office, where a Ministerial decision was required on a school closure, half have been refused consent or called in for further investigation by SNP Ministers.

‘Under the last Labour / Liberal administration, every time a Ministerial decision was required on a proposal to close a school – every single time – those Labour and Liberal Ministers closed the school.

‘Let that fact speak for itself.  I for one am glad to be known as a defender of our rural schools, in Argyll & Bute and across Scotland.  A defender who, I believe, has acted with propriety throughout.’