To ask the Minister of Education to detail the rationale for the proposal to require Ministerial approval for temporary school closures in an emergency situation.

The legal authority to close a school rests with the Department under the 1973 Regulations - The Primary Schools (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1973 and The Secondary Schools (Grant Conditions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1973 which set out the number of days a school must be operational other than those sanctioned by the Department in exceptional circumstances.