The Education Reform(Northern Ireland) Order 1989

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).