Schools: Finance
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools in England required emergency financial support from her Department in the most recent financial year.
Answered by Georgia Gould
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only
The department publishes details of academy trusts receiving funding support as an annex to the ‘Academies sector annual report and accounts’.
The department sets robust expectations for how trusts should manage their finances effectively. Trusts must have the financial, leadership and management capacity to plan appropriately and act in the best interests of their pupils.
Where a trust experiences financial difficulty, the department will take a robust approach. In a small number of cases, as a last resort, a trust may require additional funding to secure long-term educational sustainability. This support carries strict conditions and is typically accompanied with a notice to improve, setting out conditions the trust must meet to avoid further intervention. The department has the power to terminate a trust’s funding agreement if there is a serious breakdown in management or governance.
Local authorities are responsible for overseeing the financial management and additional financial support for maintained schools.
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