The School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2013

Strategic management

20.—(1) Expenditure on education functions related to—

(a) functions of the director of children’s services and the personal staff of the director;

(b) planning for the education service as a whole;

(c) functions of the authority under Part I of the Local Government Act 1999(1) (Best Value) and the provision of advice to assist governing bodies in procuring goods and services with a view to securing continuous improvement in the way the functions of those governing bodies are exercised, having regard to a combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness;

(d) revenue budget preparation, preparation of information on income and expenditure relating to education for incorporation into the authority’s annual statement of accounts, and the external audit of grant claims and returns relating to education;

(e) administration of grants to the authority (including preparation of applications), functions imposed by or under Chapter 4 of Part 2 of the 1998 Act (financing of maintained schools) and, where it is the authority’s duty to do so, ensuring payments are made in respect of taxation, national insurance and superannuation contributions;

(f) authorisation and monitoring of—

(i) expenditure which is not met from schools’ budget shares, and

(ii) expenditure in respect of schools which do not have delegated budgets,

and all related financial administration;

(g) the formulation and review of the methods of allocation of resources to schools and other bodies;

(h) the authority’s monitoring of compliance with the requirements of their financial scheme prepared under section 48 of the 1998 Act, and any other requirements in relation to the provision of community facilities by governing bodies under section 27 of the 2002 Act;

(i) internal audit and other tasks necessary for the discharge of the authority’s chief finance officer’s responsibilities under section 151 of the Local Government Act 1972(2);

(j) the authority’s functions under regulations made under section 44 of the 2002 Act(3);

(k) recruitment, training, continuing professional development, performance management and personnel management of staff who are funded by expenditure not met from schools’ budget shares and who are paid for services carried out in relation to those of the authority’s functions and services which are referred to in other paragraphs of this Schedule;

(l) investigations which the authority carry out of employees, or potential employees, of the authority, or of governing bodies of schools, or of persons otherwise engaged, or to be engaged, with or without remuneration to work at or for schools;

(m) functions of the authority in relation to local government superannuation which it is not reasonably practicable for another person to carry out, and functions of the authority in relation to the administration of teachers’ pensions;

(n) retrospective membership of pension schemes and retrospective elections made in respect of pensions where it would not be appropriate to expect the governing body of a school to meet the cost from the school’s budget share;

(o) advice, in accordance with the authority’s statutory functions, to governing bodies in relation to staff paid, or to be paid, to work at a school, and advice in relation to the management of all such staff collectively at any individual school, including in particular advice with reference to alterations in remuneration, conditions of service and the collective composition and organisation of such staff;

(p) determination of conditions of service for non-teaching staff, and advice to schools on the grading of such staff;

(q) the authority’s functions regarding the appointment or dismissal of employees;

(r) consultation and functions preparatory to consultation with or by governing bodies, pupils and persons employed at schools or their representatives, or with other interested bodies;

(s) compliance with the authority’s duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974(4) and the relevant statutory provisions as defined in section 53(1) of that Act, in so far as compliance cannot reasonably be achieved through tasks delegated to the governing bodies of schools; but including expenditure incurred by the authority in monitoring the performance of such tasks by governing bodies and, where necessary, the giving of advice to them;

(t) the investigation and resolution of complaints;

(u) legal services relating to the statutory functions of the authority;

(v) the preparation and review of plans involving collaboration with other local authority services or with public or voluntary bodies;

(w) provision of information to or at the request of the Crown and the provision of other information which the authority are under a duty to make available;

(x) the authority’s functions pursuant to regulations made under section 12 of the 2002 Act (supervising authorities of companies formed by governing bodies); and

(y) the authority’s functions under the discrimination provisions of the Equality Act 2010(5) in so far as compliance cannot reasonably be achieved through tasks delegated to the governing bodies of schools; but including expenditure incurred by the authority in monitoring the performance of such tasks by governing bodies and, where necessary, the giving of advice to them.

(2) References to schools in this paragraph are to schools maintained by the authority.

(1)

1999 c. 27.

(2)

1972 c. 70.

(3)

The Consistent Financial Reporting (England) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/674).

(4)

1974 c.37.

(5)

2010 c.15.