Wokingham Tories close ranks on Ryeish Green School

12.00.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 14th Jun 2007

At last night's Scrutiny Committee meeting at Wokingham Borough Council, which met to discuss the decision to close Ryeish Green School, the Tory majority on the committee voted to confirm the Executive's decision.

The Liberal Democrats had called the Executive decision in because they were not happy with the way the consultation process had been handled.

Councillor Stephen Conway (Deputy Leader of the Lib Dem Councillor Group and Councillor for Twyford ward) told the Scrutiny Committee, "Consultations about school closures need to be approached with sensitivity, and with an open mind. Unfortunately, neither of these essential qualities was much in evidence in the Ryeish Green consultation. Responsibility for this must reside with the Council's decision-making Executive and especially with the lead councillor for education, who is also the leader of the Council (Frank Browne).

"The impression given from the beginning of the process was that the council was determined to close the school whatever anyone might say in its defence. Frank Browne, the lead councillor for education, appeared to have made up his mind before the consultation even began. He seemed to disregard the opinions of teachers, pupils, the governing body, and parents. He even announced to the press that the school would close the week before the Executive was due to make its formal decision in February."

Councillor Prue Bray (Leader of the Lib Dem Councillor Group, and member of Wokingham Borough Council's Scrutiny committee) expressing her disappointment at the way the Tories behaved, said, "The Lib Dem Group called in the decision because they were unhappy at the way the Tories had conducted the consultation. But the Tories on the Scrutiny committee were more interested in closing ranks to protect their Executive than in hearing the evidence.

"None of the Tory Executive members had seen the public responses to the consultation, they failed to address many issues that had been raised, and they did nothing to allay people's suspicions that they had already made up their minds to close the school.

"But regrettably the Tories on the Scrutiny committee decided, in the face of all the evidence to the contrary, that the Tory Executive had conducted the consultation properly and that the decision to close Ryeish Green School was the right one. However, this is not the end of the story - the Lib Dem Group will continue to oppose the closure."