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Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, responded to the launch of a consultation to improve transparency around local authority-run schools and to apply academy accountability 

“It is wrong to suggest that academies have more transparency and accountability than council maintained schools.   

“A key goal of the academy programme was that schools would be subject to less oversight and control, and the Department for Education cannot have effective oversight of spending in more than 7,000 academies. What we need is greater transparency in how academies are managing their finances and urgent action taken to balance the books where necessary.

“Councils, which have vast experience running – and balancing - large complex budgets, are best placed to oversee the performance and finances of all schools in their area. This would ensure democratic accountability, and give parents the certainty and confidence in knowing that their child’s school is able to deliver the best possible education and support, without risk of financial failure.”

Notes 

Councils in England face an overall funding gap of £8 billion by 2025. The LGA’s #CouncilsCan campaign calls on the new Prime Minister to ensure the forthcoming Spending Review secures the future of vital local services and the long-term financial sustainability of councils. Visit our campaign page for more information.

Related information:

• Financial transparency of LA maintained schools and academy trusts
• Local authority schools to be more transparent and accountable