§ 14. Mr. PlaskittTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on exempting local education authorities from limitations on their central expenditure. [147879]
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§ Mr. MilibandWe have made clear that our priority for school funding in 2004–05 is getting money into schools' own delegated budgets. That is why a statutory limit on increases in central spend within education authorities' overall Schools Budgets is an important feature of the arrangements which my right hon. Friend announced on 29 October. We recognise however that some authorities, in exceptional circumstances, may have difficulty in complying with the national limit, and there is a process by which they may seek approval for a higher limit.