Bureaucracy gone mad!

You couldn't make this up - Jayne Jones, a mother in Aberfan has been told by Merthyr Tydfil council that she cannot travel to school with her severely epileptic son Alex because she hasn't undergone a Criminal Records Bureau check. (BBC News: Mum's police check for school run) A system that was set up to protect children and put parents' minds at rest when other people are looking after them is now being used to stop a mother from being with her son in case he has an attack and needs drugs administered by someone trained. How is this benefiting anyone?

A spokesperson for the council said:

"We cannot comment on particular cases but can confirm that CRB checking is a requirement of our transport provisions in relation to adults travelling on home-to-school transport in the capacity of an escort.

"This is a standard requirement and has been for several years.

"Any adult acting as an escort will, in the public gaze, be viewed as acting with the full acquiescence of the council and hence with its implied authority.

"For the protection of the council and all vulnerable persons in its care it's essential all those endowed with an authority, implicit or explicit, should meet the security requirements within the transport contract provisions."

Can anyone make any sense out of this?