§ Sir Nicholas BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will make a statement about the powers of local education authorities to retain a percentage of education funding for administration costs before distributing funding to schools. [11953]
§ Mr. Robin SquireAt present, each local education authority may retain up to 15 per cent. of its potential schools budget centrally, to meet expenditure on administration and other purposes specified in its scheme for the local management of schools. The Government intend to reduce this permitted percentage to 5 per cent. of a redefined PSB. There is, however, no separate limit applicable to administrative as distinct from other central expenditure by LEAs.