Education (Scotland) Act 1980

Central administration

66 Inspection of educational establishments

(1) The Secretary of State shall have power to cause inspection to be made of every educational establishment being a school or junior college at such intervals as appear to him to be appropriate, and to cause a special inspection of any such school or junior college to be made whenever he considers such an inspection to be desirable, and he may from time to time cause inspection to be made of any other educational establishment, and such inspections shall be made by Her Majesty's Inspectors or other persons appointed by the Secretary of State for the purpose.

(2) It shall be no part of the duty of a person authorised under this section to make an inspection of any educational establishment, to inquire into instruction in religious subjects given therein or to examine any pupil in religious knowledge or in any religious subject or book.

(3) If any person obstructs any person authorised to make an inspection in pursuance of this section in the execution of his duty, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £20 or in the case of a second or subsequent conviction to a fine not exceeding £50 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

67 Local inquiries

The Secretary of State may cause a local inquiry to be held for the purpose of the exercise of any of his functions under this Act, and the provisions of Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect with regard to any such inquiry.

68 Power to require submission to medical examination

Where any question is to be decided by the Secretary of State under this Act or under any rule, regulation or order made thereunder, then, if in the opinion of the Secretary of State the medical examination of any pupil would assist the determination of the question, the Secretary of State may by notice in writing served on the parent of that pupil, if the pupil is enrolled at a school, or on the pupil himself if he is enrolled at a junior college or other educational establishment, require the parent to submit him, or require the pupil to submit himself, as the case may be, for such examination; and if any person on whom such a notice is served fails without reasonable excuse to comply with the requirements thereof, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £10.

69 Approval and carrying out of schemes

(1) The Secretary of State may, after considering any representations made to him on the subject and the report of any local inquiry which may have been held under section 67 of this Act, approve, either as submitted or with such modifications and amendments as he thinks proper, any scheme or revised scheme or modification of an existing scheme (in this section referred to as " the scheme ") submitted to him under this Act by an education authority; and thereupon it shall be the duty of the education authority to carry the scheme into effect as so approved.

(2) If an education authority inform the Secretary of State that they are aggrieved by his approval with modifications or amendments of the scheme, the Secretary of State shall cause the scheme as so approved to be laid before Parliament as soon as may be thereafter together with the report of any local inquiry which may have been held under section 67 of this Act. If either House of Parliament within the period of forty days beginning with the day on which the scheme is laid before it resolves that the approval of the scheme be annulled, the scheme as so approved shall cease to have effect, but without prejudice to anything previously done thereunder or to the submission and approval with or without modifications and amendments of any new scheme, revised scheme or modification of an existing scheme.

(3) In reckoning any such period of forty days, no account shall be taken of any time during which Parliament is dissolved or prorogued or during which both Houses are adjourned for more than four days.

70 Powers to enforce duty of education authorities and other persons

If the Secretary of State is satisfied, either on complaint by any person interested or otherwise, that an education authority, the managers of a school or educational establishment, or other persons have failed to discharge any duty imposed on them by or for the purposes of this Act or of any other enactment relating to education, the Secretary of State may make an order declaring them to be in default in respect of that duty and requiring them before a date stated in the order to discharge that duty. If by the said date the education authority, managers or other persons have not discharged the duty, one or other of the following steps may be taken to secure the discharge thereof—

(a) the Secretary of State may make such arrangements as he thinks fit for the discharge of the duty, and all expenses incurred by the Secretary of State in so doing shall be recoverable as a debt due by the authority, managers or other persons to the Secretary of State ; or

(b) the Court of Session may, on the application of the Lord Advocate, order specific performance of the duty.