Leeds school's potential closure due to austerity, says senior councillor

Leeds City Council started a four-week consultation in September on plans to shut Queensway Primary in Yeadon due to a low intake

The potential closure of a school in Leeds is a result of austerity, a senior councillor has said.

Leeds City Council started a four-week consultation in September on plans to shut Queensway Primary in Yeadon due to a low intake.

The Labour administration has come under fire from parents and staff.

Jonathan Pryor, executive member for education, told a full council meeting the school's budget had shrunk by £1.7m since 2010.

He said that neighbouring schools had declined to reduce their own intake of pupils to keep Queensway open and that councils no longer had powers to force schools to do so, while under the current funding system schools were paid a set amount per pupil they teach.

'Direct impact of cuts'

Addressing opposition councillors directly, he said: "We talk in here about austerity. This is the effect of austerity. We're not making it up or just saying it for political reasons.

"This is the direct impact of your cuts."

Mr Pryor said: "Any consultation over whether or not to close a school is always going to be emotive, controversial and clearly quite upsetting to those directly impacted.

"But it's important to be clear that no decision has been made and so I'm not in a position to talk about some things, because that may pre-empt the decision."

The school has a higher than average number of pupils with additional needs and from deprived backgrounds, and councillors had earlier applauded a group of parents who spoke emotionally about the "undue anxiety" the process had caused.

Around 40 pupils had already been taken out of the school by their parents since the idea first came to light, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Conservative councillor Dan Cohen told the meeting: "I can only imagine the sledgehammer of horror this council has hit parents with, with the suggestion of closing this school.

"I'm not surprised parents have voted with their feet."

The council's senior leadership team is set to decide next week whether to progress the proposal, which would see a second consultation take place after Christmas.