Section 12A — Requirement that education be provided in mainstream schools

Part of Standards in Scotland's Schools etc Bill: Stage 3 – in the Scottish Parliament at 4:15 pm on 7 June 2000.

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Photo of Mary Mulligan Mary Mulligan Labour 4:15, 7 June 2000

As Peter Peacock said, the amendment is imperfect, even with the substitution of "unreasonable". However, the word "unreasonable" signifies that the expenditure would have to be unreasonable within the context of the budget of a local authority. It also puts the onus on the local authority to say why the expenditure is unreasonable, rather than having the parents of the children battling against the local authority. However, we recognise that we have to consider individual cases and not take the broad-brush approach that Nicola Sturgeon has taken.

It is unfortunate that people have been misled in this debate and I hope that this amendment will reassure the parents, families and children that we want to ensure that all the children, where suitable, have the option of mainstream education.