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: Finance

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will review the assessment process for the Financial Management Standard in Schools for the purposes of making available comparative data on the financial performance of schools in the same area.

Answer: The Financial Management Standard in Schools (FMSiS) was introduced in May 2004 was and is intended to help schools in evaluating the quality of their financial management. An independent evaluation report of FMSiS, published on 21 August 2008, recognised that the standard is helping to provide a consistent approach on resource management across all schools. In line with the recommendations from that evaluation the standard will continue in its current form.Consistent Financial Reporting provides income and expenditure data across a wide range of categories on a consistent basis for all local authority maintained schools in England. It is used within the Department and by external researchers for modelling the impact of new policies.The 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.The site is accessed by over 10,000 schools and local authority users each year.

Secondary information