§ Mr. PawseyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what is the current total for the national schools budget; [4]
(2) what proportion of the national schools budget is currently transmitted to schools; [7]
(3) what is the average amount currently deducted from the national schools budget by local education authorities; [6]
(4) what action she will take to reduce the amount of local education authority holdback. [5]
§ Mr. Robin SquireThe total amount of the general schools budget as recorded in the local management of schools budget statements produced by the local education authorities in England for 1996–97 is £15,383.6 million, exclusive of capital expenditure and capital financing costs. The proportion of this figure delegated to schools through the aggregated schools budget is 79 per cent. The 21 per cent. retained centrally by LEAs amounts to £3,226.4 million, an average of £27.1 million per LEA.
The Government's plans for requiring a further reduction in "LEA holdback" are set out in chapter 2 of the White Paper "Self-Government for Schools", Cm 3315.