PARENTS fighting to save three village primary schools from closure have been thrown a lifeline.

Dumfries and Galloway Council has announced a “pause” in the process to shut Ae, Garlieston and Kirkbean schools, which have a combined total of 37 pupils.

The move comes after widespread concern officials failed to follow correct procedures in its consultation process. The council disputes the allegations.

Under the 2010 Schools Consultation (Scotland) Act a number of safeguards were introduced to reflect the importance of schools to fragile rural and remote communities.

The Act stipulates a presumption against closure and lays down obligations on the part of the council - including the requirement to prove any closure will bring educational benefits.

However, parents believe the consultation contained factual errors and that any decision to close would have been “called in” by the Scottish Government for review.

A joint statement from campaigners at all three schools said: “These schools are the focal point of their close-knit rural communities.

“There were deep reservations throughout the entire process and families felt ignored and frustrated by the council’s lack of consideration for the facts.

“We now hope councillors will vote to drop the closure process completely and give schools, families and communities the hard earned and justly fought victory they deserve.”

Joan McAlpine, an SNP MSP who raised concerns about the closures in the Scottish Parliament, said she believed the council would now back down.

She said: “I am confident that this is a victory and council members will turn this pause into a full stop.

“It is a welcome acknowledgement of the strength of feeling against the proposed closures which would have resulted in the inexorable decline of the villages targeted.

“We were able to pick apart the council officers’ case for closure which was based on flawed figures, a flawed consultation process and a misunderstanding of the law.”

Sandy Longmuir, chairman of the Scottish Rural Schools Network, accused the council of “multiple breaches” of the 2010 Act.

He said: “If this goes ahead I cannot conceive of any way that documents of the standard produced by the council would not result in a review from Scottish ministers.

“So many times in the past councils have claimed that closure proposals are about education and that financial considerations are secondary.

“Even if this were true in this case it is not an excuse for getting it so badly wrong.”

A council spokesman confirmed that there would be a “pause” in the process to assess feedback.

He said: “The formal process to consider the future of three of our rural schools has reached the end of the first stage in the process and received wide ranging representations from parents, community and politicians.

“It’s important the council has the time to listen and consider these fully before determining future stages.

“At this time the council has decided to ask officers to pause the process and take extra time to consider the representations rather than progressing with the next phase of consultation.”

The council said schools quango Education Scotland - which has to be consulted as part of the process - had been informed of the decision.

The schools were originally identified by the council for closure because pupil rolls have fallen below 50 per cent capacity.