The schools gave up too easily

Of course the heavy snow has created huge difficulties for schools as for other public services - as demonstrated by the piles of rubbish mounting up on some streets. Shutting down the bus network and much of the Tube - decisions now coming under heavy fire from passenger and motoring organisations - made it impossible for many teachers and other staff to get to work on Monday. That afternoon, many schools chose not to open on Tuesday on the basis of bad weather forecasts which did not then materialise.

A few also cited the risk of lawsuits should they be sued by parents of children who slip over in playgrounds or are hit by ice. One head, Jo Shuter of Quintin Kynaston School in St John's Wood, still partly closed today, says children might hurt themselves throwing ice. The solution, surely, is better discipline and faster clearing of playgrounds. The Schools Secretary, Ed Balls, says health and safety laws are not the issue. However, if councils and heads fear there is a problem, it is up to Mr Balls to clarify the rights of heads to put their duty to educate ahead of the small risk of injury. As with the withdrawal of all buses on Monday, it is hard to avoid the impression that those providing vital public services are not trying as hard as they might to keep going.

If the snowfall predicted for Friday materialises, parents will expect schools to open as normal, even if they have to manage with staff shortages. Closing yet again is simply unacceptable.

Longer trains

CATTLE-truck conditions remain a daily reality for far too many commuters, the London Assembly points out today. Overcrowding is routine. The people who generate London's wealth and pay a vast share of its taxes struggle to work on an overground network which has failed to catch up with the expansion of employment in the capital over the past decade.

As this newspaper's "Seat for Every Commuter" campaign has shown, some trains regularly operate at almost double their capacity. Far from falling, certain measures show use of the transport system is still rising despite the recession. Population, housing and jobs in London and the South-East remain likely to increase sharply in years to come, thanks to migration from inside and outside the UK.

It would be wholly wrong for anyone in the train operating companies or in government to use the present downturn as an excuse to abandon investment which is necessary in the longer term. More carriages, longer platforms and better signalling are already desperately needed. The Mayor's Transport Strategy, due later this year, must hold the Government to its pledges to renew the rail infrastructure. The network has not simply failed to keep up with London's growth; its growing shortcomings could jeopardise the capital's future prospects.

Art bounce

A BRONZE of a dancer by Edgar Degas has fetched double its 2004 price, at £13 million. Prices for contemporary art may have crashed last November, but there appears at least to be some resilience elsewhere in the art market. With this comes reassurance for that part of London's cultural scene that revolves around the auction houses, the galleries and the leading collectors.