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Jonathan Nankivell's avatar

There are many ways to regulate. I am aestheticly opposed to "apply for permission, the bureaucracy will get back to you"-type systems.

Here are some other methods to try:

Do you have object-level rules with punishments for breaking them?

Do you have mechanisms where victims get paid damages?

Does the government mediate contract disputes?

Does the government mandate liability insurance?

Does the government have a credentialing system where credentialed people are given licence to use their judgement?

Does the government have a bond system where people who have paid in are given licence to use their judgement?

Does the government give activists objecting to a project the right to be heard?

Does the government give activists objecting to a project the power to obstruct it?

Does the government use taxation or subsidisation as a form of regulation?

Does the government let you avoid procurement process by buying at the London Metals Exchange?

Does the government require detailed reporting of actions taken?

Does the government require external audits?

Does the government have a whistleblowing scheme?

Does the government have a bounty scheme where snitches get riches?

Does the government require annual skills and knowledge training?

Other:

Does the government make you sign an "I am stupid" certificate before taking a certain class of actions?

These methods are not built the same: some preserve liberty, others don't; some are more effective than others; some impose greater compliance costs than others. I would be interested in a NICE for Regulation: what combinations of regulation are most cost effective?

Not de-regululation, but re-regulation: hone in on regulation that works.

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Ian Walker's avatar

One thing that would really help schools struggling to deal with highly needy children would be a statutory definition of when a child can be educated in a 'mainstream setting'

My wife is a deputy head in a primary, and they have some children who require TWO full time adults to manage their needs and behaviour. On what planet is that 'mainstream'? And yet, because of so-called 'parent choice' more and more of these come each year. The funding provided never covers the cost of the provision, and so everyone loses.

Of course, the council loves "parent choice" as it's much cheaper to provide £500 of higher needs funding than provide a £10,000 place in a specialist school. And it doesn't help that those specialist schools are filled not with the most needy children, but with the children of the well off and clued in parents who have armies of solicitors and barristers to make sure they come first in the race for spaces.

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