DCSF underspend shameful, say professionals

8 Jun 09
A £2.4bn underspend by the Department for Children, Schools and Families last year has been called ‘shameful’ by teachers

8th May 2009

By Hollie Ewers

A £2.4bn underspend by the Department for Children, Schools and Families last year has been called ‘shameful’ by teachers.

The National Audit Office’s report on the department’s financial management said that, although there had been some improvements, the 2008/09 underspend was up from £1.9bn the previous year.

Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said: ‘It is shameful that children are being taught in temporary huts while the DCSF has a capital underspend of almost £2.5bn.’

Schools minister Jim Knight said that the figure included funds for the Building Schools for the Future programme and Sure Start Children’s Centres. He added: ‘We have always been clear that we will not release funding until project proposals are in really good shape. The taxpayer would expect no less.’

The NAO also noted that £1.9bn was sitting unspent in school and local authority bank accounts. Public Accounts Committee chair Edward Leigh said the size of the surplus was ‘alarming’.

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