The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutoryfine.
Under current legislation, even a single objection to a proposal to close a school immediately triggers a lengthy statutory process, re-visiting in fine detail all aspects of the way a decision was taken, with the Minister then required to make a final determination, a process which in some cases has dragged on for several months given the complexity of many proposals.