Issue - meetings

Report ED15062

The Sub-Committee considered a report providing an update on management action taken by schools with significant revenue surplus balances or deficits.

The Schools Finance Team worked closely with all schools with deficits and large surpluses throughout the financial year, with all Local Authority Maintained schools required to submit details of their budgets, as approved by their Governing Bodies, and a detailed budget monitoring report to the Schools Finance Team at the end of each quarter.  Following consideration of the most recent quarterly budget monitoring reports, the two Local Authority Maintained schools identified as having deficits were expected to have fully repaid these deficits by the end of the 2014/15 financial year.  Similarly, all Local Authority Maintained schools identified as having large surpluses had budgeted to reduce these surpluses by the end of the 2014/15 financial year. 

All Local Authority Maintained schools would be required to submit an annual financial return to the Schools’ Finance Team at the end of March 2015.  This information would be checked for accuracy and consolidated into the Local Authority accounts with details of all Local Authority Maintained schools balances reported to Members in Summer 2015.

In considering the management action taken by schools with significant revenue surplus balances or deficits, the Chairman noted proposals by schools to reduce significant revenue surplus balances.  The Head of Schools Finance Support advised Members that surplus revenue balances were often used to fund capital projects, and that these could be subject to delays to the next financial year or be offset by capital funding from the Local Authority. 

The Portfolio Holder for Education underlined the need for significant revenue surplus balances to be utilised to deliver improved educational outcomes for children and young people, and highlighted the importance of ensuring that significant revenue surplus balances continued to be monitored closely as the funding received by schools increased from the 2015/16 financial year.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.