02 May 2003
Every local authority will be asked to explain its education budget decisions in an attempt to resolve the row between ministers and councils over allocations to schools.
Education Secretary Charles Clarke will write to every authority on May 2 when he publishes the results of the section 52 returns, which detail each council's decisions, Public Finance has learned.
Those authorities that have not passed on the full education Formula Spending Share will be asked to provide a detailed response to ministers justifying their decisions.
A senior education figure told PF that ministers were stepping back from their previous confrontational stance, and the move was a genuine attempt to get at the facts so the dispute could be resolved. The increasingly bitter row, focused on the government's claim that authorities have not passed on £500m to schools, has now entered its third week.
The source scotched reports that Clarke would use publication of the section 52 returns to 'name and shame' authorities that had held back money. The letters sent out would not be used to criticise decisions but merely to request clarification, he added.
'They're going to be asking questions about how much money the LEAs have got, how much they're holding back and how much they're passing on to schools.' He added: 'Where there are apparent anomalies they will try to find out why.'
Stephen Lord, finance programme manager at the Local Government Association, told PF it was possible money had been held back, but added that there were legitimate reasons.
He cited the example of funding for support packages for newly qualified teachers, not yet allocated to schools because councils did not know how many would be at each school.
Some standards fund money had also been held back because allocations for individual schools were still being finalised. Lord added: 'A lot of the money being held back is intended for schools and will go to schools.'
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