Closure by stealth

Closure by stealth

Closure by stealth is a term most frequently used in the UK and Ireland to refer to the deliberate downgrading of a service by the management or owners with the intention of driving away users or customers. The aim is to make the service uneconomical, and thereby justify its closure or withdrawal.[1][2] It is most widely used in the case of government-regulated services, where a company needs permission from local government or central government to withdraw a service.

Contents

Railways

The classic examples of closure by stealth involve UK railway services.[3][4][5] These are often regulated at some level by local or national government, and the only way the owner can withdraw such a service is by demonstrating that the local population no longer needs that service. Some of the UK rail closures made under the Beeching Axe while British Rail were operating services were justified at the time by deliberately not including future efficiencies and bringing forward many years of future costs into a short time frame to show, by accounting, that the route was not sustainable. By degrading the quality of the service — for example by scheduling trains to run at inconvenient times or frequencies (known as parliamentary train services) or by raising fares — transport operators can force passengers to take other modes of transport, justifying the view of the service owner that the service is no longer required (a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy) [6][7]

Public telephones

Closure by stealth is also happening to public telephones in the UK, which are regulated by the UK Government under the Universal Service Directive of the European Union. For coin-operated payphones, the minimum charge (October 2011) is 60p[8] - substantially more than the cost of using a mobile phone. In rural areas, the situation is even worse. Most rural phone boxes do not accept coins and are difficult and expensive to use. For further information on pricing see Payphone#United_Kingdom.

Post offices

In the UK, Post offices are being downgraded by withdrawal of services. For example, it is no longer possible to buy a TV licence at a Post office.[9]

Other services

Apparent closures by stealth have been observed in other services, such as hospitals, public libraries and magistrate courts.[10][11][12][13]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Consultation on the Implementation of the Railways Act 2005 Provisions on Closures and Minor Modifications - A response from the City of Edinburgh Council". Scottish Government Office. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/117814/0029023.pdf. Retrieved 2008-05-29. 
  2. ^ Peter Johnston (2003-08-31). "Letters to the Editor - Off the rails". London: Guardian News and Media Limited. http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2003/aug/31/letters.theobserver1. Retrieved 2008-05-29. 
  3. ^ "Long battle to save Settle-Carlisle line ended in triumph". Bradford Telegraph & Argus. http://archive.thisisbradford.co.uk/1999/4/10/164330.html. Retrieved 2006-11-04. 
  4. ^ Graham Ellis. "Melksham and TransWilts train service - closure by stealth?". Well House Consultants. http://www.savethetrain.org.uk/melkshamrailway/51_Melksham_and_TransWilts_train_service_closure_by_stealth.html. Retrieved 2006-11-04. 
  5. ^ Ray King. "RDS rescue plan for threatened line". Railwatch. http://www.railwatch.org.uk/backtrack/rw75/resc.html. Retrieved 2006-11-04. 
  6. ^ "Response to the Office of the Rail Regulator’s Interim Review of Track Access Charges Third Consultation paper". Rail Passengers Council and Committee. http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/upload/pdf/ir4-rpc.pdf. Retrieved 2006-11-04. 
  7. ^ Hansard. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 6 Dec 2004 (pt 14)". Hansard. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmhansrd/vo041206/debtext/41206-14.htm. Retrieved 2006-11-04. 
  8. ^ http://www.payphones.bt.com/publicpayphones/paymentprices.htm
  9. ^ https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/pay/payment-methods/index.aspx
  10. ^ Erica Watson. "Closure by stealth of Westbury Hospital". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/actionnetwork/A9791436. Retrieved 2006-11-04. 
  11. ^ Rosie Murray-West (2006-10-23). "Indecision that blights 1,000 post offices". London: The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/10/23/npost23.xml. Retrieved 2006-11-04. 
  12. ^ Ian Thomas (2000-05-19). "Is there a future for public libraries?". BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/749030.stm. Retrieved 2008-05-29. 
  13. ^ Bob Walter, MP. "MP leads campaign to halt North Dorset court closures". Bob Walter, MP. http://www.robertwaltermp.com/magistratescourts241000.htm. Retrieved 2006-11-04. 

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Wealden Line — Taking its name from its route through the chalk hills of the North and South Downs of the Weald, England, the Wealden Line [http://www.wealdenlink.org.uk/ Wealden Link Website] is a partly abandoned double track railway line in East Sussex and… …   Wikipedia

  • Settle-Carlisle Railway — The Settle ndash;Carlisle Railway (S C) is a convert|72|mi|sing=on long main railway line in northern England. It is also known as the Settle and Carlisle . It is a part of the National Rail network and was constructed in the 1870s. Apart from… …   Wikipedia

  • Payphone — Japanese Public IC TEL Bicycle payphone in Uganda …   Wikipedia

  • Barlaston railway station — Infobox UK station name = Barlaston code = BRT manager = London Midland locale = Barlaston borough = Stafford start = 17 April 1848 platforms = 2 lowusage0405 = 1,849 lowusage0506 = 1,113 lowusage0607 = 773Barlaston railway station served the… …   Wikipedia

  • Newhaven Marine railway station — Newhaven Marine View from the north; the platform is on the left Location Place …   Wikipedia

  • Thorpe Park — Infobox Amusement park name = Thorpe Park location = flagicon|UK Chertsey, United Kingdom opening date = May 31 1979 previous names = season = February to November area = convert|500|acre|km2 rides = 24 coasters = 5 water rides = 3 owner = Nick… …   Wikipedia

  • Optimus Prime — is a fictional character from the Transformers franchise. Prime is the leader of the autobots, a faction of transforming robots from the planet Cybertron. The autobots are constantly waging war against a rival faction of transforming robots… …   Wikipedia

  • Business and Industry Review — ▪ 1999 Introduction Overview        Annual Average Rates of Growth of Manufacturing Output, 1980 97, Table Pattern of Output, 1994 97, Table Index Numbers of Production, Employment, and Productivity in Manufacturing Industries, Table (For Annual… …   Universalium

  • Area 51 — This article is about the U.S. Air Force installation in Nevada. For other uses, see Area 51 (disambiguation). Area 51 …   Wikipedia

  • Doppelmayr (North America) — Doppelmayr Type Subsidiary Founded 2002 Headquarters Salt Lake City, Utah Key people Mark Bee, President Website doppelmayrusa.com …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”