§ Mrs. GormanTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he has any proposals to ensure that schools operating local management of schools receive a very high proportion of the schools' budget; and if he will make a statement;
(2) if he will make it his policy to devolve the whole of the schools' budget to eligible schools operating under local management of schools; and if he will make a statement;
(3) what measures are in place on the proportion that local education authorities can retain of schools' budgets; and if he will make a statement;
(4) what powers he has to ensure that a high proportion of the schools' budget is administered by the schools themselves.
§ Mrs. RumboldStatutory guidance on local management of schools states that local education authorities are expected to delegate to governors responsibility for the large majority of their expenditure on schools. Most of the resources held back at the discretion of local education authorities are subject to an initial overall ceiling of 10 per cent. of total spending, with a target of reducing this proportion to 7 per cent. within three years. We will review in the light of experience the limit on discretionary retention of resources, including the items of spending subject to this limit.