The Education Reform(Northern Ireland) Order 1989

Winding up and disposal of property

Winding up

82.—(1) Where, in the case of any grant-maintained integrated school, the Department has—

(a) approved a proposal for discontinuance of the school made under Article 80; or

(b) given notice to the Board of Governors of the school under Article 81 specifying a date on which it intends to cease to maintain the school;

the Department may by order make provision for the winding up of the Board of Governors of the school and the disposal of the school property.

(2) An order under this Article may—

(a) set out a timetable for the winding up;

(b) make provision with respect to the exercise of the functions of the Board of Governors in relation to the school, including in particular—

(i) provision requiring the Board of Governors in the exercise of those functions to comply with any directions given by the Department;

(ii) provision authorising any of those functions to be exercised by any member of the Board of Governors specified in the order; and

(iii) provision for the application of the seal of the Board of Governors to be authenticated by the signature of any person so specified;

(c) make provision for conferring or imposing functions on the Board of Governors in relation to the winding up and the management and disposal of the school property;

(d) make any provision authorised by Article 83 for or in connection with the transfer of the school property;

(e) make provision with respect to the discharge of the liabilities of the Board of Governors and the payment of the costs of the winding up;

(f) require the Board of Governors to give to persons employed by it notice terminating their contracts of employment as from a date specified in the order; and

(g) appoint a date on which the Board of Governors is to be dissolved.

(3) Below in this Part—

(a) references to a Board of Governors in liquidation are references to a Board of Governors in respect of which an order has been made under this Article; and

(b) references, in relation to any such Board of Governors or the grant-maintained integrated school under, or formerly under, the management of any such body, to the dissolution date are references to the date appointed in relation to that Board of Governors by virtue of paragraph (2)(g).

(4) The Department may make grants to a Board of Governors in liquidation for the purpose of—

(a) discharging any liabilities of that Board of Governors;

(b) meeting any costs incurred by that Board of Governors for the purposes of the winding up under this Article.

(5) The Department may impose on a Board of Governors to which any such payment is made such requirements as it may from time to time determine (whether before, at or after the time when the payment in question is made).

(6) The Department shall not by an order under this Article appoint a date on which a Board of Governors in liquidation is to be dissolved unless it is satisfied that—

(a) all liabilities of the Board of Governors (other than any liabilities which fall to be transferred under Article 83(6)) have been discharged;

(b) all costs of the winding up have been met; and

(c) any provision authorised by Article 83 or 84 which is possible and expedient in the circumstances of the case has been made and anything required to be done by the Board of Governors for the purposes of or in connection with any such provision has been done.

(7) In this Part—

(a) references, in relation to a grant-maintained integrated school under, or formerly under, the management of a Board of Governors in liquidation, to the school property are references to—

(i) the premises used or formerly used for the purposes of the school;

(ii) any interest belonging to the Board of Governors or held by any trustees on trust for the purposes of the school in any dwelling house or other residence used or held or formerly used or held for occupation by a person employed to work at the school; and

(iii) all other equipment and property used or held or formerly used or held for the purposes of the school;

(b) references to a grant-maintained integrated school formerly under the management of a Board of Governors in liquidation apply in circumstances where the school has been discontinued before the dissolution date and refer to the school as managed immediately before discontinuance (and “formerly” in heads (i) to (iii) of sub-paragraph (a) applies in the same circumstances and refers to the time immediately before the discontinuance of the school concerned).

Transfer of school property

83.—(1) Where a proposal under Article 14 of the principal Order that a new school be established on the premises of a grant-maintained integrated school under the management of a Board of Governors in liquidation has been approved by the Department, then—

(a) if the new school is to be a controlled school, an order under Article 82 may vest the school property, or any part of it, in the board which is to manage the school;

(b) if the new school is to be a voluntary school, an order under Article 82 may vest the school property, or any part of it, in persons specified in the order to be held on trust for the purposes of the new voluntary school.

(2) Where a person proposes to establish a new independent school on the premises of a grant-maintained integrated school under the management of a Board of Governors in liquidation, an order under Article 82 may vest the school property, or any part of it, in that person.

(3) The vesting in any board or person under paragraph (1) or (2) of—

(a) any of the school property of a grant-maintained integrated school which was a controlled school immediately before it became a grant-maintained integrated school; or

(b) land in respect of which a direction was given under Article 75(5);

shall be subject to the payment by that board or person of such an amount as the Department determines to be a fair consideration for the transfer of the property.

(4) In a case within paragraph (3)(a) the consideration is payable to the board by which the controlled school mentioned in that sub-paragraph was managed and in a case within paragraph (3)(b) the consideration is payable to the trustees from whom the land mentioned in that sub-paragraph is transferred.

(5) Where school property is held on trust for the purposes of a grant-maintained integrated school, an order made under Article 82 by virtue of paragraph (1) or (2) may vest the property in a board or person beneficially or on such trusts as appear to the Department to be appropriate.

(6) Where an order is made under Article 82 by virtue of paragraph (1) or (2) that order may provide for the transfer to the board or person to which or to whom any school property is transferred of such of the liabilities of the Board of Governors in liquidation as may be specified in the order.

Vesting of surplus assets

84.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), all school property of a grant-maintained integrated school under, or formerly under, the management of a Board of Governors in liquidation which has not been transferred under an order made under Article 82 shall, by virtue of this paragraph, be transferred to and vest in the Department on the dissolution date.

(2) Where the Department is satisfied as to the whole or any part of any such school property that it ought to be transferred to a board or any other person, the Department may by order made before the dissolution date vest that property in that board or person on the dissolution date, either beneficially or to be held on such trusts as the Department may specify.

(3) Without prejudice to the power of the Department under paragraph (2), any transfer of property under this Article shall be free of any trusts on which property is held before the transfer.

(4) Where land in respect of which a direction was given under Article 75(5) is vested in the Department, a board or any other person under this Article, there shall be payable by the Department, that board or that person (as the case may be) to the trustees from whom the land in question was transferred such an amount as the Department determines to be a fair consideration for the transfer of the property.

(5) Where—

(a) any school premises are vested under paragraph (2) in a board; and

(b) any person subsequently acquires those premises or any part of them from that board (whether compulsorily or otherwise),

the Department may require the board to pay to it the whole or any part of the consideration or purchase money paid in respect of the acquisition to meet, or contribute towards, the amount of grants paid by the Department under Article 82(4) to the Board of Governors of the school.