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Saturday, August 14, 2010
Government regulation keeps empty school from closing
If you are ever looking for an example of the insanity of government regulation, all you have to do is remember the case of Capel Iwan Primary School:
The last 12 children left in July, but due to legal red tape education officials have said the school must be ready to open in the autumn, even though there will be empty desks.
The Welsh Assembly government has told the local authority it must go through the correct procedures before the school can be shut.
Those included a lengthy statutory consultation period with people in the area, before the issue can be fully discussed by Carmarthenshire council. The whole process could take more than a year to complete.
In the meantime, it would be illegal for the school to shut, even though not a single pupil will be taught.
Carmarthenshire council said it had set aside a budget of £110,000 last year for the school, on the basis that it would officially remain open until at least the end of March 2011.
Do you remember that episode of Yes Minister when the civil servants refused to shut down a hospital that had no patients? Suddenly it’s not as funny.
Posted by Hugh MacIntyre on August 14, 2010 | Permalink
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