Merthyr Tydfil council leader Brendan Toomey said there are "significant challenges ahead for all who work within our education services in order to raise standards of attainment and achievement for our children and young people".

BBC: Empty classroom

Some Silicon Valley companies, including Facebook, have closed small firms they have bought in order to set their talent to work on their own services.

ECONOMIST: Social networking

"The decision to close the organisation for a week and save on salary in order to protect services was accepted voluntarily by the people who work in Barnardos, who are totally committed to the children and families we work with, " he added.

BBC: Irish charity Barnardos closes for a week due to cutbacks

In order to enable the continued growth of on-line data center services we need to work on three important areas.

FORBES: Nothing Comes for Free