Education Act 1944

99 Powers of Minister in default of local education authorities or managers or governors.

(1) If the Minister is satisfied, either upon complaint by any person interested or otherwise, that any local education authority, or the managers or governors of any county school or voluntary school, have failed to discharge any duty imposed upon them by or for the purposes of this Act, the Minister may make an order declaring the authority, or the managers or governors, as the case may be, to be in default in respect of that duty, and giving such directions for the purpose of enforcing the execution thereof as appear to the Minister to be expedient; and any such directions shall be enforceable, on an application made on behalf of the Minister, by mandamus.

(2) Where it appears to the Minister that by reason of the default of any person there is no properly constituted body of managers or governors of any county school or voluntary school, the Minister may make such appointments and give such directions as he thinks desirable for the purpose of securing that there is a properly constituted body of managers or governors thereof, and may give directions rendering valid any acts or proceedings which in his opinion are invalid or otherwise defective by reason of the default.

(3) Where it appears to the Minister that a local education authority have made default in the discharge of their duties relating to the maintenance of a voluntary school, the Minister may direct that any act done by or on behalf of the managers or governors of the school for the purpose of securing the proper maintenance thereof shall be deemed to have been done by or on behalf of the authority, and may reimburse to the managers or governors any sums which in his opinion they have properly expended for that purpose ; and the amount of any sum so reimbursed shall be a debt due to the Crown from the authority, and, without prejudice to any other method of recovery, the whole or any part of such a sum may be deducted from any sums payable to the authority by the Minister in pursuance of any regulations relating to the payment of grants.