School Standards and Framework Bill

School Standards and Framework Bill - continued	House of Commons
PART II, NEW FRAMEWORK FOR MAINTAINED SCHOOLS - continued

back to previous text


	Local education authority schemes
LEAs' financial schemes.	46. - (1) Each local education authority shall prepare a scheme dealing with such matters connected with the financing of the schools maintained by the authority as are required to be dealt with in the scheme by or by virtue of-
	(a) regulations made by the Secretary of State; or
	(b) any provision of this Part.
	(2) Regulations under subsection (1) may, in particular, require a scheme to deal with-
	(a) the carrying forward from one financial year to another of surpluses and deficits arising in relation to schools' budget shares;
	(b) amounts which may be charged against schools' budget shares;
	(c) amounts received by schools which may be retained by their governing bodies and the purposes for which such amounts may be used;
	(d) the imposition, by or under the scheme, of conditions which must be complied with by schools in relation to the management of their delegated budgets, including conditions prescribing financial controls and procedures;
	(e) terms on which services and facilities are provided by the authority for schools maintained by them.
	(3) Where there is any inconsistency between a scheme prepared by a local education authority under subsection (1) and any other rules or regulations made by the authority which relate to the funding or financial management of schools which they maintain, the terms of the scheme shall prevail.
	(4) Schedule 14 (which provides for the approval or imposition of schemes by the Secretary of State and for the revision of schemes) shall have effect.
	(5) In this Part any reference to "the scheme", in relation to a maintained school, is a reference to the scheme prepared (or by virtue of paragraph 1(6) of Schedule 14 treated as prepared) by the local education authority under this section, as from time to time revised under paragraph 2 of that Schedule.
	Financial delegation
Maintained schools to have delegated budgets.	47. - (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), every school which becomes a maintained school on the appointed day in accordance with Schedule 2 (an "existing school") shall have a delegated budget as from that day.
	(2) An existing school shall not have a delegated budget as from the appointed day if-
	(a) the governing body's right to a delegated budget has been suspended under section 117 of the Education Act 1996 (suspension of financial delegation for mismanagement etc.), section 28 of the School Inspections Act 1996 (suspension of right to delegated budget) or section 17 above; and
	(b) that suspension has not been previously revoked with effect from that or any earlier day.
	(3) The Secretary of State may by order determine that an ex-grant-maintained school shall not have a delegated budget as from the appointed day where he considers that it would not be expedient for the school to have such a budget as from that day for reasons connected with-
	(a) the financial position, or
	(b) the financial management,
	of the school.
	(4) Where the Secretary of State makes an order under subsection (3) in relation to a school, paragraphs 2 to 4 (but not 3(1)(a)) of Schedule 15 shall apply to the school as if the school had a delegated budget but the right of the governing body of the school to such a budget had been suspended by the local education authority under paragraph 1 of that Schedule as from the date of the order.
	(5) Every maintained school other than an existing school shall have a delegated budget as from the school opening date, unless a different date applies by virtue of subsection (6).
	(6) A school within subsection (5) shall have a delegated budget-
	(a) as from a date earlier than the school opening date if the local education authority so determine; or
	(b) as from a later date if the authority so determine with the written approval of the Secretary of State; or
	(c) as from such date as the Secretary of State may determine, if the authority have determined that the school should have a delegated budget as from a later date but that date is not approved by him.
	(7) Subject to-
	(a) section 48 (right of governing body to spend budget share where school has a delegated budget),
	(b) paragraph 4 of Schedule 15 (power of governing body to spend amounts out of budget share where delegation of budget suspended),
	(c) section 489(2) of the Education Act 1996 (grants for education support and training), and
	(d) any provisions of any scheme,
	a local education authority may not delegate to the governing body of any maintained school the power to spend any part of the authority's general schools budget.
	(8) In this section-
	(a) "an ex-grant-maintained school" means an existing school which immediately before the appointed day was a grant-maintained or grant-maintained special school within the meaning of the Education Act 1996; and
	(b) "the school opening date" means the date of the beginning of the term in which the school first admits pupils.
	(9) In this Part-
	(a) references to a school having a delegated budget are references to the governing body of the school being entitled to manage the school's budget share; and
	(b) where a school has a delegated budget the governing body are accordingly said to have a right to a delegated budget.
Effect of financial delegation.	48. - (1) Where a maintained school has a delegated budget in respect of the whole or part of a financial year the local education authority shall secure that in respect of that year there is available to be spent by the governing body-
	(a) where the school has a delegated budget in respect of the whole of that year, a sum equal to the school's budget share for the year, or
	(b) where the school has a delegated budget in respect of only part of that year, a sum equal to that portion of the school's budget share for the year which has not been spent.
	(2) The times at which, and the manner in which, any amounts are made available by the authority to the governing body in respect of any such sum shall be such as may be provided by or under the scheme.
	(3) Subject to any provision made by or under the scheme, the governing body may spend any such amounts as they think fit-
	(a) for any purposes of the school; or
	(b) (subject also to any prescribed conditions) for such purposes as may be prescribed.
	(4) In subsection (3) "purposes of the school" does not include purposes wholly referable to the provision of-
	(a) part-time education suitable to the requirements of persons of any age over compulsory school age, or
	(b) full-time education suitable to the requirements of persons who have attained the age of 19;
	but any such purposes may be prescribed by regulations under paragraph (b) of that subsection.
	(5) Nothing in subsection (3) shall be read as authorising the payment of allowances to governors otherwise than in accordance with regulations under paragraph 6 of Schedule 11.
	(6) The governing body may delegate to the head teacher, to such extent as may be permitted by or under the scheme, their powers under subsection (3) in relation to any amount such as is mentioned in that subsection.
	(7) Any amounts made available by a local education authority to a governing body under this section shall remain the property of the authority until spent by the governing body or the head teacher under subsection (3) or (6); and any amount so spent shall be taken to be spent on behalf of the authority.
	Such an amount shall not be taken to be spent on behalf of the authority-
	(a) where it is paid by way of repayment of the principal of, or interest on, a loan, or
	(b) where it is spent by the governing body of a voluntary aided school to meet expenses payable by the governing body under paragraph 3(1) or 3(2) of Schedule 3 or paragraph 14(2) of Schedule 6.
	(8) The governors of a school shall not incur any personal liability in respect of anything done in good faith in the exercise or purported exercise of their powers under subsection (3) or (6).
	Suspension of financial delegation
Suspension of financial delegation for mismanagement etc.	49. Schedule 15 (which provides for the suspension by a local education authority of a governing body's right to a delegated budget in the case of failure to comply with requirements as to delegation or of financial mismanagement, etc.) shall have effect.
	Information
Financial statements.	50. - (1) Before the beginning of each financial year a local education authority shall prepare a statement containing such information relating to the financial provision they plan to make out of their general schools budget as may be prescribed.
	(2) After the end of each financial year a local education authority shall prepare a statement containing such information with respect to the following matters as may be prescribed-
	(a) the planned financial provision in that year specified in the statement prepared by the authority under subsection (1),
	(b) expenditure actually incurred in the year for the purposes of all schools maintained by the authority during any part of the year, and
	(c) expenditure actually incurred in the year which was incurred, or is treated by the authority as having been incurred, by or in respect of each such school,
	together with such other information relating to expenditure incurred from the authority's general schools budget as may be prescribed.
	(3) A statement under this section shall-
	(a) be prepared in such form, and
	(b) be published in such manner and at such times,
	as may be prescribed.
	(4) The authority shall furnish the governing body of each school maintained by them with a copy of each statement prepared by the authority under this section or, in such circumstances as may be prescribed, with a copy of such part or parts of it as may be prescribed.
	(5) A governing body provided with a statement under subsection (4) shall secure that a copy of it is available for inspection (at all reasonable times and free of charge) at the school.
	(6) Subsection (5) does not apply to a temporary governing body of a new school.
Certification of statements by Audit Commission.	51. - (1) A local education authority shall, if directed to do so by the Secretary of State, require the Audit Commission for Local Authorities and the National Health Service in England and Wales to make arrangements in accordance with section 29(1)(d) of the Local Government Finance Act 1982 for certifying-
	(a) such statement or statements prepared by the authority under section 50 above, or
	(b) such part or parts of any such statement or statements,
	as may be specified in the directions; and for the purposes of section 29(1)(d) of that Act any statement under section 50 above shall be treated as a return by the authority.
	(2) The arrangements made by the Audit Commission in pursuance of subsection (1) shall include arrangements for sending to the Secretary of State-
	(a) a copy of the statement or statements so certified, or
	(b) a copy of the part or parts so certified,
	as the case may be.
	(3) Directions given under subsection (1) may relate to any local education authority or to local education authorities generally or to any class or description of such authorities.

Prepared 4 December 1997