If the council ignores the letter, the direction will be enforced through a High Court injunction.
"I have always been clear that using legal powers is a last resort but continuity of education is a national priority. Greenwich council leader Danny Thorpe said yesterday Public Health England had advised the authority to shut all 133 schools as Covid cases were "escalating extremely quickly". In a letter to Boris Johnson, he said "urgent consideration must...be given to closing secondary schools, sixth form and FE colleges a few days early and keeping them closed for longer after Christmas".It can take legal action against councils which shut schools under the Coronavirus Act, which allows officials to issue 'directions' to headteachers during the pandemic.