Education Budget (Hansard, 23 October 1990)

§ 4. Mr. MacGregor

The published budget statements for 1990–91 indicate that the amount which local education authorities are planning to retain for central administration varies from 2 per cent. to 8 per cent. of the funds available for spending by primary and secondary schools. The average is 3.8 per cent.

I am arranging for the details of each local authority's spending on central administration and on other items to be printed in the Official Report. I believe it is essential that as much as possible of the schools budget of local authorities should be given directly to the schools to manage themselves; and I shall be making further proposals to that end later this year.

141W

LEA ranked by discretionary exceptions percentage of PSB	Rank	Discretionary exceptions per cent.	Discretionary exceptions £000	Number of schools	Average discretionary exceptions per school £
	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)
Cornwall	41	22.90	23,660	288	82,000
Bexley	42	22.89	12,514	86	146,000
Trafford	43	22.76	10,566	100	106,000
Dorset	44	22.66	29,875	258	116,000
Warwickshire	45	22.53	25,310	283	89,000
Richmond	46	22.50	6,906	50	138,000
Cleveland	47	22.49	36,460	264	138,000
Cheshire	48	22.44	55,632	547	102,000
Salford	49	22.40	13,785	113	122,000
Tameside	50	22.37	12,518	103	122,000
Barnet	51	22.25	15,951	112	142,000
Knowsley	52	22.19	10,472	82	128,000
Wiltshire	53	22.18	28,074	339	83,000
Ealing	54	22.03	15,675	105	149,000
Sandwell	55	21.95	19,587	144	136,000
Surrey	56	21.90	45,602	439	104,000
Shropshire	57	21.80	23,696	258	92,000
Wigan	58	21.70	18,123	153	118,000
Gloucestershire	59	21.70	25,793	305	85,000
Harrow	60	21.67	10,056	64	157,000
Sutton	61	21.51	8,130	58	140,000
Rotherham	62	21.51	15,381	135	114,000
Brent	63	21.28	14,876	90	165,000
Dudley	64	21.23	14,791	111	133,000
Solihull	65	20.77	11,289	87	130,000
Buckinghamshire	66	20.70	31,211	341	92,000
Rochdale	67	20.69	11,279	101	112,000
Sunderland	68	20.64	15,941	125	128,000
Redbridge	69	20.61	9,898	71	139,000
Bedfordshire	70	20.47	29,172	292	100,000
Bolton	71	20.14	13,891	124	112,000
Liverpool	72	20.14	27,287	275	99,000
Essex	73	19.82	70,591	696	101,000
Walsall	74	19.60	15,326	131	117,000
Kent	75	19.59	65,607	736	89,000
Leeds	76	19.24	35,235	336	105,000
Bradford	77	19.00	25,806	255	101,000
Northamptonshire	78	18.79	28,182	339	83,000
West Sussex	79	18.66	24,939	285	88,000
Lincolnshire	80	18.64	23,732	363	65,000
Havering	81	18.44	11,419	94	121,000
Suffolk	82	18.31	26,683	339	79,000
Berkshire	83	17.49	28,341	339	84,000
Sefton	84	17.00	12,626	123	103,000
Notes to Table A
1990–91 budgets: Discretionary exceptions and school budgets
Column 1.	Rank. Each local education authority is ranked in order of the percentage of planned Potential Schools Budget retained as central spending on discretionary exceptions. Highest percentage is ranked as 1.
Column 2.	Discretionary exceptions as a percentage of the Potential Schools Budget.
Column 3.	Discretionary exceptions. Planned spending in £000s.
Column 5.	Average discretionary exceptions per school. Total discretionary exceptions (column 3) divided by the number of primary and secondary schools in the local education authority (column 4), expressed in £s.
Calderdale, Hampshire and Waltham Forest have not yet published their budget statements.

Table B
1990–91 Budgets: Total LMS spending
Lea	General schools budget (GSB)	Mandatory capital	Exceptions specific grants	Potential schools budget (PSB)	Discretionary exceptions	Aggregated schools budget (ASB)	ASB as per cent of PSB	Limited exceptions as per cent of GSB
	000's	000's	000's	000's	000's	000's	Per cent	Per cent
	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)	(7)	(8)
Avon	254,188	19,233	9,730	225,225	58,857	166,368	73.87	9.66
Barking	48,959	2,763	1,801	44,395	12,508	31,887	71.83	9.36
Barnet	82,118	6,806	3,613	71,699	15,951	55,748	77.75	7.55
Barnsley	64,857	5,563	2,480	56,814	14,393	42,421	74.67	9.76
Bedfordshire	166,429	16,573	7,327	142,529	29,172	113,357	79.53	8.89
Berkshire	186,750	17,114	7,598	162,038	28,341	133,697	82.51	7.10
Bexley	63,996	7,162	2,161	54,673	12,514	42,159	77.11	9.99
Birmingham	311,649	22,506	15,784	273,359	64,915	208,444	76.25	8.85
Bolton	76,989	3,896	4,128	68,965	13,891	55,074	79.86	6.39

142W 143W

Lea	General schools budget (GSB)	Mandatory capital	Exceptions specific grants	Potential schools budget (PSB)	Discretionary exceptions	Aggregated schools budget (ASB)	ASB as per cent of PSB	Limited exceptions as per cent of GSB
	000's	000's	000's	000's	000's	000's	Per cent	Per cent
	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)	(7)	(8)
Bradford	167,098	18,612	12,637	135,849	25,806	110,043	81.00	6.62
Brent	82,980	8,003	5,072	69,905	14,876	55,029	78.72	7.57
Bromley	72,167	6,723	2,192	63,252	15,101	48,151	76.13	9.61
Buckinghamshire	175,552	18,842	5,945	150,765	31,211	119,554	79.30	7.74
Bury	49,301	2,333	2,092	44,876	10,804	34,072	75.92	8.88
Calderdale	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Cambridgeshire	198,894	30,447	7,296	161,151	42,587	118,564	73.57	9.20
Cheshire	272,323	17,840	6,531	247,952	55,632	192,320	77.56	7.81
Cleveland	176,430	8,830	5,490	162,110	36,460	125,650	77.51	8.54
Cornwall	123,669	16,840	3,508	103,321	23,660	79,661	77.10	8.58
Coventry	103,753	16,435	5,285	82,033	22,121	59,912	73.03	8.31
Cumbria	148,681	13,874	4,196	130,611	37,605	93,006	71.21	7.84
Derbyshire	281,816	17,013	9,504	255,299	68,649	186,650	73.11	10.00
Devon	259,039	34,716	7,859	216,464	54,804	161,660	74.68	9.31
Doncaster	91,707	2,739	1,959	87,009	20,555	66,454	76.38	9.06
Dorset	150,463	14,480	4,149	131,834	29,875	101,959	77.34	9.91
Dudley	80,360	7,836	2,863	69,661	14,791	54,870	78.77	8.93
Durham	165,830	7,523	5,911	152,396	37,597	114,799	75.33	9.13
Ealing	75,718	2,130	2,431	71,157	15,675	55,482	77.97	9.70
East Sussex	152,548	12,762	3,920	135,866	34,183	101,683	74.84	9.92
Enfield	97,756	24,679	3,055	70,022	16,129	53,893	76.97	7.89
Essex	394,215	25,729	12,349	356,137	70,591	285,546	80.18	9.45
Gateshead	59,287	5,592	2,267	51,428	12,026	39,402	76.62	9.65
Gloucestershire	132,498	9,273	4,351	118,874	25,793	93,081	78.30	5.80
Hampshire	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Haringey	66,430	5,319	3,561	57,550	16,498	41,052	71.33	9.87
Harrow	52,453	3,947	2,101	46,405	10,056	36,349	78.33	9.52
Havering	71,544	7,247	2,378	61,919	11,419	50,500	81.56	9.79
Hounslow	70,621	8,297	3,821	58,503	15,358	43,145	73.75	9.21
Humberside	262,351	19,380	5,812	237,159	58,145	179,014	75.48	10.00
Isle of Wight	32,386	2,704	962	28,720	7,034	21,686	75.51	9.63
Kent	377,100	32,624	9,493	334,983	65,607	269,376	80.41	8.74
Kingston	38,856	4,847	1,185	32,824	8,238	24,586	74.90	9.76
Kirklees	118,125	7,934	5,822	104,369	27,095	77,274	74.04	9.17
Knowsley	51,385	2,008	2,178	47,199	10,472	36,727	77.81	9.69
Lancashire	389,891	35,985	15,820	338,086	78,055	260,031	76.91	9.74
Leeds	211,636	21,099	7,425	183,112	35,235	147,877	80.76	6.73
Lincolnshire	146,545	16,601	2,648	127,296	23,732	103,564	81.36	8.86
Liverpool	146,077	7,391	3,197	135,489	27,287	108,202	79.86	8.82
Merton	52,327	11,317	792	40,218	9,885	30,333	75.42	7.86
Newcastle	83,105	5,551	3,160	74,394	21,030	53,364	71.73	9.58
Norfolk	185,345	9,534	3,518	172,293	40,248	132,045	76.64	9.47
North Tyneside	59,694	2,782	2,097	54,815	13,237	41,578	75.85	9.82
North Yorkshire	181,033	7,862	6,529	166,642	43,087	123,555	7414	9.94
Northamptonshire	168,620	13,062	5,593	149,965	28,182	121,783	81.21	9.24
Northumberlaned	82,352	4,970	3,423	73,959	17,851	56,108	75.86	6.82
Nottinghamshire	289,244	12,839	8,384	268,021	65,781	202,240	75.46	9.55
Oldham	72,835	3,114	5,380	64,341	16,546	47,795	74.28	9.90
Oxfordshire	155,280	15,969	5,389	133,922	32,474	101,448	75.75	9.53
Redbridge	56,517	7,801	701	48,015	9,898	38,117	79.39	8.34
Richmond	35,893	3,919	1,282	30,692	6,906	23,786	77.50	9.61
Rochdale	65,145	6,739	3,893	54,513	11,279	43,234	79.31	8.22
Rotherham	77,711	4,004	2,187	71,520	15,381	56,139	78.49	7.29
Sandwell	102,615	8,086	5,300	89,229	19,587	69,642	78.05	10.00
Salford	72,487	8,191	2,762	61,534	13,785	47,749	77.60	8.07
Sefton	81,776	7,265	246	74,265	12,626	61,639	83.00	5.85
Sheffield	138,252	10,135	5,835	122,282	28,178	94,104	76.96	9.96
Shropshire	121,021	7,889	4,456	108,676	23,696	84,980	78.20	9.36
Solihull	61,559	5,040	2,173	54,346	11,289	43,057	79.23	8.98
Somerset	125,560	12,579	4,788	108,193	25,955	82,238	76.01	9.75
South Tyneside	49,393	6,896	1,698	40,799	10,702	30,097	73.77	7.14
Staffordshire	286,997	17,662	12,033	257,302	60,397	196,905	76.53	8.14
St. Helens	59,191	5,915	1,812	51,464	13,350	38,114	7406	8.98
Suffolk	171,625	20,527	5,389	145,709	26,683	119,026	81.69	7.93
Sunderland	85,708	5,878	2,580	77,250	15,941	61,309	79.36	7.21
Surrey	235,802	21,794	5,748	208,260	45,602	162,658	78.10	5.92
Sutton	47,324	8,341	1,184	37,799	8,130	29,669	78.49	8.59
Tameside	62,562	3,778	2,833	55,951	12,518	43,433	77.63	9.00
Trafford	64,027	15,690	1,908	46,429	10,566	35,863	77.24	6.94
Wakefield	92,050	6,396	3,088	82,566	20,968	61,598	74.60	9.81
Walsall	90,437	7,392	4,857	78,188	15,326	62,862	80.40	7.99
Waltham Forest	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Warwickshire	126,498	8,834	5,321	112,343	25,310	87,033	77.47	7.46

144W 145W

Lea	General schools budget (GSB)	Mandatory capital	Exceptions specific grants	Potential schools budget (PSB)	Discretionary exceptions	Aggregated schools budget (ASB)	ASB as per cent of PSB	Limited exceptions as per cent of GSB
	000's	000's	000's	000's	000's	000's	Per cent	Per cent
	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)	(7)	(8)
Westminster	53,080	5,565	2,864	44,651	11,651	33,000	73.91	8.88
West Sussex	152,463	14,308	4,519	133,636	24,939	108,697	81.34	7.91
Wigan	91,278	4,393	3,385	83,500	18,123	65,377	78.30	9.52
Wiltshire	144,302	12,139	5,563	126,600	28,074	98,526	77.82	9.90
Wolverhampton	82,331	5,872	4,180	72,279	18,489	53,790	74.42	9.48
Averages	—	—	—	—	—	—	77.23	8.76

1990–91 Budgets: Discretionary exceptions as percentage of potential schools budget
LEA	Unlimited items	Limited items
	Central Admin	Home to school transport	School meals	Transitional items	Other unlimited items	Total unlimited items	Repairs and maintenance	Other limited items	Total limited items	Total discretionary items
	Per cent	Per cent	Per cent	Per cent	Per cent	Per cent	Per cent	Per cent	Per cent	Per cent
	(9)	(10)	(11)	(12)	(13)	(14)	(15)	(16)	(17)	(18)
Avon	3.06	1.86	5.15	3.23	1.93	15.23	2.78	8.12	10.90	26.13
Barking	8.20	0.33	4.20	3.37	1.75	17.85	5.16	5.16	10.33	28.17
Barnet	4.67	0.42	547	1.94	1.09	13.59	1.29	7.36	8.65	22.25
Barnsley	2.56	0.18	7.20	3.07	1.18	14.20	0.44	10.70	11.14	25.33
Bedfordshire	3.70	2.04	3.31	0.00	1.04	10.08	2.91	7.47	10.38	20.47
Berkshire	2.55	2.08	0.48	3.33	0.86	9.30	1.97	6.22	8.19	17.49
Bexley	4.38	0.35	4.02	0.81	1.63	11.19	3.30	8.40	11.70	22.89
Birmingham	4.01	0.38	6.11	1.69	1.48	13.66	2.96	7.13	10.09	23.75
Bolton	1.81	0.45	8.48	1.46	0.82	13.01	1.38	5.76	7.13	20.14
Bradford	3.64	0.50	5.36	0.00	1.35	10.85	0.65	7.49	8.14	19.00
Brent	4.53	0.29	5.58	0.00	1.90	12.30	0.00	8.98	8.98	21.28
Bromley	4.24	0.98	2.49	2.20	3.00	12.91	2.42	8.55	10.97	23.87
Buckinghamshire	4.28	2.82	1.04	2.72	0.82	11.69	2.44	6.57	9.01	20.70
Bury	4.35	0.34	6.97	0.00	2.65	14.32	1.47	8.29	9.76	24.08
Calderdale	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Cambridgeshire	4.39	2.49	4.48	1.91	1.80	15.08	3.99	7.36	11.35	26.43
Cheshire	4.74	1.49	4.41	2.10	1.12	13.86	3.38	5.20	8.58	22.44
Cleveland	5.15	0.47	6.85	0.00	0.73	13.20	3.08	6.21	9.29	22.49
Cornwall	3.43	2.74	5.00	0.00	1.47	12.63	2.69	7.58	10.27	22.90
Coventry	5.41	0.27	4.90	4.58	1.29	16.45	1.14	9.37	10.52	26.97
Cumbria	3.49	2.76	6.03	4.93	2.66	19.87	0.96	7.96	8.92	28.79
Derbyshire	2.59	1.31	8.41	2.59	0.95	15.86	2.57	8.46	11.03	26.89
Devon	2.75	2.55	4.06	3.52	1.29	14.18	3.90	7.24	11.14	25.32
Doncaster	2.05	0.12	7.79	2.71	1.40	14.07	2.44	7.11	9.55	23.62
Dorset	4.45	2.13	0.60	2.78	1.38	11.35	3.71	7.60	11.32	22.66
Dudley	3.39	0.20	3.86	2.15	1.33	10.93	1.79	8.51	10.30	21.23
Durham	3.94	2.06	6.32	1.00	1.41	14.73	1.24	8.70	9.94	24.67
Ealing	6.04	0.54	3.98	0.00	1.15	11.71	1.81	8.51	10.32	22.03
East Sussex	2.16	1.10	6.35	3.55	0.87	14.02	3.45	7.69	11.14	25.16
Enfield	5.25	0.19	2.99	2.38	1.20	12.01	4.01	7.01	11.02	23.03
Essex	3.92	2.34	1.44	0.80	0.86	9.37	2.79	7.67	10.46	19.82
Gateshead	2.77	0.31	3.88	3.82	1.48	12.26	2.37	8.76	11.13	23.38
Gloucestershire	3.29	2.37	3.90	3.50	2.18	15.24	0.00	6.46	6.46	21.70
Hampshire	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Haringey	5.42	0.00	7.50	2.62	1.74	17.28	0.80	10.59	11.39	28.67
Harrow	5.53	0.67	3.25	0.00	1.46	10.91	1.60	9.16	10.76	21.67
Havering	2.21	0.67	1.74	0.33	2.17	7.13	2.55	8.76	11.31	18.44
Hounslow	4.69	0.24	5.70	3.67	0.83	15.13	1.68	9.43	11.12	26.25
Humberside	3.30	1.21	4.12	2.29	2.53	13.46	4.31	6.75	11.06	24.52
Isle of Wight	4.29	2.81	2.88	2.76	0.90	13.63	1.81	9.05	10.86	24.49
Kent	3.59	2.28	1.46	1.51	0.90	9.74	2.18	7.66	9.84	19.59
Kingston	6.77	0.46	4.08	0.00	2.24	13.54	2.06	9.49	11.56	25.10
Kirklees	3.54	0.73	7.12	3.36	0.84	15.59	1.41	8.96	10.38	25.96
Knowsley	4.81	0.11	4.89	0.00	1.82	11.64	4.04	6.51	10.55	22.19
Lancashire	3.39	1.08	5.16	0.71	1.15	11.86	2.82	8.41	11.23	23.09
Leeds	3.63	0.72	3.76	1.75	1.60	11.46	1.16	6.62	7.78	19.24
Lincolnshire	2.56	2.81	1.62	0.00	1.45	8.44	4.11	6.09	10.20	18.64
Liverpool	3.83	0.22	5.74	0.00	0.84	10.63	0.84	8.67	9.51	20.14
Merton	7.43	0.19	1.29	4.00	1.45	14.35	1.81	8.41	10.22	24.58
Newcastle	5.50	0.33	6.16	3.57	2.00	17.57	1.67	9.04	10.70	28.27
Norfolk	3.71	3.04	5.31	0.00	1.11	13.17	2.70	7.49	10.19	23.36
North Tyneside	4.63	0.13	6.81	0.89	0.98	13.45	2.40	8.30	10.70	24.15
North Yorkshire	3.72	2.98	4.82	2.46	1.08	15.06	0.00	10.80	10.80	25.86
Northamptonshire	3.53	1.95	2.22	0.00	0.71	8.41	1.97	8.42	10.39	18.79
Northumberland	2.72	3.47	2.86	6.01	1.49	16.54	1.34	6.26	7.60	24.14

146W 147W

LEA	Unlimited items	Limited items
	Central Admin	Home to school transport	School meals	Transitional items	Other unlimited items	Total unlimited items	Repairs and maintenance	Other limited items	Total limited items	Total discretionary items
	Per cent	Per cent	Per cent	Per cent	Per cent	Per cent	Per cent	Per cent	Per cent	Per cent
	(9)	(10)	(11)	(12)	(13)	(14)	(15)	(16)	(17)	(18)
Nottinghamshire	4.78	1.04	6.32	1.42	0.67	14.23	2.30	8.01	10.31	24.54
Oldham	4.53	0.07	6.42	2.52	0.97	14.51	1.92	9.29	11.21	25.72
Oxfordshire	5.09	2.14	4.77	0.00	1.21	13.20	1.89	9.16	11.05	24.25
Redbridge	4.71	0.51	2.58	0.94	2.06	10.80	2.58	7.24	9.82	20.61
Richmond	6.70	0.36	2.74	0.00	1.46	11.26	2.38	8.86	11.24	22.50
Rochdale	2.36	0.32	7.18	0.00	1.00	10.86	2.78	7.05	9.83	20.69
Rotherham	3.41	0.58	5.95	2.33	1.32	13.59	1.57	6.35	7.92	21.51
Sandwell	3.52	0.36	5.88	0.00	0.70	10.45	3.60	7.90	11.50	21.95
Salford	2.94	0.01	4.35	3.67	1.93	12.90	0.41	9.10	9.51	22.40
Sefton	4.23	0.35	4.73	0.00	1.25	10.56	2.38	4.06	6.44	17.00
Sheffield	3.25	0.17	6.68	0.00	1.69	11.78	2.40	8.86	11.26	23.04
Shropshire	2.29	2.23	5.34	0.00	1.52	11.38	3.56	6.86	10.42	21.80
Solihull	2.31	0.51	5.00	1.62	1.17	10.61	2.15	8.02	10.17	20.77
Somerset	3.28	3.41	4.91	0.00	1.07	12.67	1.77	9.55	11.32	23.99
South Tyneside	3.70	0.04	6.59	5.29	1.96	17.58	0.00	8.65	8.65	26.23
Staffordshire	4.08	1.29	4.77	3.50	0.76	14.39	2.41	6.67	9.08	23.47
St. Helens	3.29	0.57	5.50	4.99	1.27	15.61	1.48	8.85	10.33	25.94
Suffolk	2.62	2.53	1.16	0.94	1.72	8.98	2.03	7.30	9.34	18.31
Sunderland	2.83	0.25	6.52	1.86	1.18	12.64	1.99	6.01	8.00	20.64
Surrey	5.64	1.80	5.38	1.54	0.83	15.19	1.11	5.60	6.71	21.90
Sutton	3.81	0.61	3.15	2.17	1.02	10.76	1.74	9.02	10.75	21.51
Tameside	2.27	0.39	5.05	2.59	2.01	12.31	1.82	8.25	10.07	22.37
Trafford	3.20	0.49	5.62	2.35	1.54	13.19	1.32	8.25	9.57	22.76
Wakefield	2.69	0.35	7.64	1.99	1.80	14.46	3.02	7.91	10.94	25.40
Walsall	3.16	0.30	5.90	0.00	0.99	10.36	0.91	8.34	9.24	19.60
Waltham Forest	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Warwickshire	3.55	1.90	4.87	2.35	1.47	14.13	1.99	6.41	8.39	22.53
Westminster	7.77	0.45	4.76	0.00	2.55	15.53	1.08	9.48	10.56	26.09
West Sussex	1.82	1.46	4.91	0.66	0.79	9.64	2.36	6.66	9.02	18.66
Wigan	3.48	0.32	5.44	0.22	1.83	11.30	0.96	9.45	10.41	21.70
Wiltshire	3.71	2.41	3.09	0.00	1.69	10.89	2.78	8.50	11.28	22.18
Wolverhampton	4.79	0.38	5.15	3.45	1.02	14.79	1.54	9.25	10.79	25.58
Averages	3.77	1.39	4.61	1.71	1.32	12.81	2.29	7.68	9.97	22.77
Notes to Table B
1990–91 Budgets: Total LMS spending and percentages of potential schools budget
Column 4	Potential Schools Budget. The amount potentially available for allocation through the LMS formula. Equal to the General Schools Budget (Column 1) less mandatory exceptions (Columns 2 and 3).
Column 6	Aggregated Schools Budget. The amount planned to be allocated through the LMS formula. Equal to the Potential Schools Budget (Column 4) less discretionary exceptions (Column 5).
Column 8	Limited excepted items as percentage of General Schools Budget. This measures planned spending on limited discretionary exceptions against the limit of 10 per cent. of the General Schools Budget placed on the total of these items.
Column 12	Transitional exceptions. Planned spending on activities subject to compulsory competitive tendering (mainly building cleaning and grounds maintenance). This spending will be allocated through the formula following the expiry of initial contracts.
Column 13	Other unlimited exceptions. Planned spending on advisers and inspectors, dismissals and premature retirements, and governors' insurance. Each item averages under 1 per cent. of the Potential Schools Budget.
Column 14	Total unlimited exceptions. The total of Columns 9 to 13.
Column 16	Other limited exceptions. Planned spending on all limited items other than structural repairs and maintenance (Column 15). Mainly insurances, pupils with statements of special educational need, special units, educational psychologists, education welfare officers, peripatetic teachers, pupil support, LEA initiatives, supply teaching, teachers' safeguarding allowances and contingency funds. Each item averages under 1 per cent. of the Potential Schools Budget.
Column 17	Total limited exceptions. The total of Columns 15 and 16.
Column 18	Total discretionary exceptions. The total of Columns 14 and 17.
NB.—Where percentages are totalled, slight differences may occur due to rounding.
Calderdale, Hampshire and Waltham Forest have not yet published their budget statements.
Comparisons: problem areas
Comparisons between authorities will indicate variations due to policy decisions (for example, whether to delegate or retain funds centrally) and the diversity of LEAs' areas (for example, a rural county is likely to have higher home to school transport costs than a London borough). But there will also be differences which are due purely to LMS treatment or accounting practices adopted. The following are the areas most significantly affected:
1. The scope of the General Schools Budget. There is no detailed legal definition of what items are to be included in the GSB. Circular 7/88 indicates the general principle that it should include not only direct institutional costs of schools but also indirect costs for services used by them or attributable to them.
2. Capital spending. The GSB includes spending on capital works. This item is large and will fluctuate widely from year to year and from LEA to LEA. Use of the Potential Schools Budget as the base line, rather than the GSB, largely removes any distortion.
3. Central administration. Although accounting principles recommend that all administration costs should be allocated to front-line services, authorities are free to use a variety of bases for such allocation. Judgment is required—to decide for instance what proportion of costs of central departments such as finance and personnel is attributable to education, and what proportion of the Chief Education Officer's salary relates to LMS schools. There is a large range for spending on central administration—2 per cent. to 8 per cent. of the PSB—but it is unclear how much this range reflects real differences in central bureaucracy and how much merely different accounting judgments.

148W 149W

Transitional excepted items. There are two possible methods of treating costs of contracts already let for activities subject to competitive tendering. Some LEAs have allocated funds through the formula but schools remain bound by existing contracts; others have retained the costs as an excepted item for the duration of these contracts. Different treatment will not affect schools' freedom but will distort comparisons.