It should be noted that this is largely the result of malicious compliance on the part of local authorities. There are plenty of ways to get exemptions from the

It should be noted that this is largely the result of malicious compliance on the part of local authorities. There are plenty of ways to get exemptions from the statutory duty, but it's a great excuse to dispense of stuff you didn't really want to maintain anyway. Nobody in politics these days, and I say nobody, really wants to be accountable for running a service, any service. That's because it dramatically increases risks to their own job security. So anything that can be ejected without backlash, will be.