Secondary-source transcript

IR 43475: June follow-up request and response

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Banchory-Devenick School - Press Briefing and FOI Evidence Pack - Prepared by Kevin Forbes
Appendix B - Follow-on FOI response to request dated 03/06/2026
Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 ("The Act")
Please accept our apologies for the delay in responding to your request dated 03/06/2026 08:13, for the following information. This is a 
follow on to IR 43081. Requesting details of financial analysis and decision making, legal advice, political and member briefings and 
learning estate reviews.
We confirm that the Council holds the following information, which we believe satisfies your request.
1. Financial Analysis and Decision-Making
All spreadsheets, calculations, financial models and cost estimates used in support of the recommendation to commence consultation on 
the closure of Banchory-Devenick School.
No additional information held other than previously provided in ECS report.
Any documents showing projected revenue savings arising from closure.
Not held but will form part of the statutory consultation document which is in development.
Any documents showing projected maintenance savings arising from closure.
No additional information held other than previously provided in ECS report.
Any documents showing projected staffing savings arising from closure.
Not held.
Any documents showing projected transport costs associated with closure.
Not held; will form part of the statutory consultation document which is in development.
Any documents comparing: retaining the school; repairing the school; relocating pupils; permanent closure.
No additional information held other than previously provided in ECS report.
2. Legal Advice and Risk Assessment
The documents disclosed refer to legal advice being sought and legal sign-off being obtained. Please provide dates on which legal advice 
was requested, the questions submitted to Legal Services, any briefing notes, summaries, reports or risk assessments produced as a 
result of legal advice, and any records identifying legal risks associated with closure proposals.
Aberdeenshire Council has identified information within the scope of all parts of your request. However, all information held which relates 
to the seeking, provision, content, or outcome of legal advice is being withheld in its entirety.
This includes:
- Dates on which legal advice was requested, where disclosure would reveal the timing and context of legal engagement
- Questions submitted to Legal Services
- Briefing notes, summaries, reports or risk assessments derived from or reflecting legal advice
- Records identifying legal risks where these are informed by, or would reveal, legal advice
Although some elements of your request may appear factual in nature, in this case they are not separable from the substance of the legal 
advice. Disclosure of even limited information (such as dates, framing of risks, or the fact that issues were referred for legal advice) would 
enable inferences to be drawn about the content and focus of that advice, thereby undermining legal professional privilege.
Exemption Applied: Section 36(1) of FOISA (Confidentiality in Legal Proceedings).
Public Interest Test: the Council considered the public interest in favour of disclosure and in favour of maintaining the exemption, 
concluding that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs disclosure.
3. Political and Member Briefings
Learning Estates officers met with ward members on 10/02/26 and informed them of what was happening and they were invited to the 
parent meetings. Council co-leaders were provided with a briefing which contained the content of the ECS report previously provided, the 
only additional information is the following:
Next Steps
Initial engagement with parents on 5 March 2026 to:
- Update on facilities situation
- Advise of intention to progress statutory consultation on closure (a report will be presented to Education & Children Services Committee 
on 26 March 2026)
- Notify that Banchory Devenick School will relocate to Fishermoss School as a 'school-within-a-school' after the Easter break to mitigate 
risk of disruption to learning and to mitigate any Health & Safety risks
- Advise that home to school transport will be provided for in-zone pupils, and transport from Banchory Devenick School for OOZ/City 
pupils
- Emphasise that if we don't do a 'managed move' and the boiler fails, there will be an emergency move overnight causing disruption to 
learning.
4. Learning Estate Review

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Banchory-Devenick School - Press Briefing and FOI Evidence Pack - Prepared by Kevin Forbes
The committee report states that closure would likely have been recommended as part of the wider Learning Estate Review irrespective 
of the boiler issue. Please provide all Learning Estate Review documents referring to Banchory-Devenick School.
Review for Portlethen Cluster has not yet commenced. All documents relating to the Learning Estates Review to date are provided on the 
engage page.
Any scoring matrices used to assess school viability.
SWOT and scoring matrix templates provided as Appendix 1 and 2.
Any reports ranking schools by viability, utilisation, sustainability or strategic importance.
Review not commenced as per above.
Any reports identifying schools for potential closure.
There are no reports identifying potential schools for closure.
Any documents discussing Banchory-Devenick School prior to December 2025.
Not held.
5. Pre-December 2025 Discussions
Please provide copies of any documents, reports, emails, meeting notes, presentations, briefing papers or internal communications 
created before 1 December 2025 which discuss closure, mothballing, amalgamation, relocation, viability, sustainability, estate 
rationalisation or future use of Banchory-Devenick School.
Not held.
6. Alternatives to Closure
Please provide all documents created to date which identify, assess, score, compare, reject or otherwise discuss alternatives to 
permanent closure, including but not limited to minimum repair options and phased repair programmes.
Please find combined attached as Appendix 3.
For shared management arrangements, revised staffing structures, community partnership arrangements, shared use models, 
mothballing and temporary closure options, the Council referred to pre-engagement activity including a survey and drop-in session.
Yours faithfully
Freedom of Information Co-ordinator
Education & Children's Services: Education