The strike actions resulted in disruption of services including • 19,000 out of 21,700 schools in England closed or partially closed. • 6,000 out of 30,000 non-urgent medical operations cancelled. • 135,000 civil servants on strike, representing just over a quarter of the civil service. The
Department for Education said 58% of 21,700
state schools in England were closed, with 13% of these partially shut down. In
Scotland just 30 of the 2,700 council run schools remained open. In
Wales around 80% were believed shut and in
Northern Ireland more than 50% of 1,200 schools were closed. In the health sector,
NHS managers estimated that some 6,000 out of 30,000 routine operations had been cancelled throughout the UK, as well as tens of thousands of appointments. London Ambulance Service told the
BBC that it was struggling and people not in a life-threatening condition might not get an ambulance. The strike saw walkouts by tens of thousands of border agency staff, probation officers, radiographers, librarians, job centre staff, court staff, social workers, refuse collectors, midwives, road sweepers, cleaners, school meals staff, paramedics, tax inspectors, customs officers, passport office staff, police civilian staff, driving test examiners, patent officers and health and safety inspectors. In Wales unions reported around 170,000 workers on strike, and in Scotland around 300,000. Up to 1,000 marches and rallies took place across the UK. Four arrests were made ahead of the national rally in London, two for assaulting an officer and two for possession of a weapon. ==Reactions==