Where an education authority make a proposal of a prescribed kind, they shall, in such manner as may be prescribed, publish it or otherwise make it available and consult such persons as may be prescribed and shall not reach a decision on it without having regard to any representations made to them on it by those persons.

In this section “prescribed” means prescribed for the purposes of this section by the Secretary of State by regulations and in so prescribing kinds of proposals the Secretary of State shall include proposals to discontinue or change the site of any school under the management of an education authority.