Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-01-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support they make available for stand-alone academies facing budget deficits and the possibility of becoming bankrupt.

Lord Nash

Academy trusts are required to set balanced budgets each year, and it is the trustees’ responsibility to manage the funding for their school effectively and appropriately.

Where stand-alone academy trusts are facing genuine financial difficulties, there are a number of ways they can access support to help them return to financial stability. These include:

• Accessing the recently launched suite of tools and information designed to improve financial health and efficiency within schools
• Working with the Education Funding Agency (EFA) to agree a recovery plan to identify savings and ensure value for money
• In the most serious cases, the EFA may agree to provide an advance of funding that is repayable over an agreed timeframe
• If appropriate, working with Regional Schools Commissioners to consider joining a multi-academy trust