School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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.