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Written question asked by Lindsay Hoyle (Labour) on Thursday, 2 July 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 6 July 2009. It was answered by Lord Coaker (Labour) on Thursday, 9 July 2009 on behalf of the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Schools: Expenditure

Question
(2) what mechanisms his Department has in place to monitor the performance of schools in relation to their spending.
Answer

Section 52 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 requires local authorities to prepare a statement containing information relating to their planned expenditure as prescribed before the beginning of each financial year and at the end of each financial year a statement of the expenditure actually incurred in the year in a prescribed form. The prescribed forms are currently set out in the Education (Budget Statements) (England) Regulations 2008 (as amended) and the Education (Outturn Statements) (England) Regulations 2009. The Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill currently before Parliament includes provision's to replace Section 52. In addition, the Consistent Financial Reporting (England) Regulations 2003 (as amended) require maintained schools to prepare a financial statement in accordance with approved headings and in compliance with the normal established accounting practices of the local education authority. Copies of these returns are sent to the Department. The financial data are validated and published.The local authority information is published on the section 52 website:"http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/localauthorities/section52/subPage.cfm?action=section52.default&ID=58"The Consistent Financial Reporting data underpin the Schools Financial Benchmarking website. This site provides users with the tools to compare their school's income and expenditure profile with that of similar schools so that they can make informed decisions on how to manage their resources effectively. They can tailor their spending and re-allocate resources to ensure that education spending reflects local educational policy and priorities and is effective in delivering them. Benchmarking is not used solely to focus on reducing costs, but to also improve the quality and impact of a school's services. Benchmarking is a requirement for meeting the Financial Management Standard in Schools.More details about the framework may be obtained from:"http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/valueformoney/index.cfm?action=Benchmarking.default"

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
495 c1002-3W; 284740
Session
2008-09
Subjects
Finance Expenditure Schools
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk