School Standards and Framework Act 1998

Financial delegation

49 Maintained schools to have delegated budgets

(1) Every maintained school shall have a delegated budget.

(2) A new school shall have a delegated budget as from the school opening date, unless a different date applies by virtue of subsection (3).

(3) Such a school 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.

(4) Subject to—

(a) section 50 (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 [1996 c. 56.] Education Act 1996 (education standards grants), and

(d) any provisions of the 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 local schools budget.

(5) Any amount made available by a local education authority to the governing body of a maintained school (whether under section 50 or otherwise)—

(a) shall remain the property of the authority until spent by the governing body or the head teacher; and

(b) when spent by the governing body or the head teacher, shall be taken to be spent by them or him as the authority’s agent.

(6) Subsection (5)(b) does not apply to any such amount where it is spent—

(a) by way of repayment of the principal of, or interest on, a loan, or

(b) (in the case of a voluntary aided school) to meet expenses payable by the governing body under paragraph 3(1) or (2) of Schedule 3 or paragraph 14(2) of Schedule 6.

(7) 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.

50 Effect of financial delegation

(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 (or, in the case of temporary governors of a new school, regulations under section 44(5)).

(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) 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).