Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009

Information about local authority expenditure

251Information about planned and actual expenditure

(1)The Secretary of State may direct a local authority in England to provide information about its planned and actual expenditure in connection with—

(a)its education functions;

(b)its children’s social services functions.

(2)The Secretary of State may also direct a local authority in England to provide information about accountable resources held, received or expended by any person in relation to a school maintained by the authority.

(3)Information to which a direction under this section relates must be provided in accordance with the direction.

(4)A direction under this section may (in particular) include provision about—

(a)the period to which information is to relate;

(b)the form and manner in which information is to be provided;

(c)the persons to whom information is to be provided;

(d)the publication of information.

(5)If a direction under this section requires information to be provided to a person other than the Secretary of State, the direction may also require that person to make the information available for inspection in accordance with the direction.

252Information about expenditure: supplementary

(1)This section applies for the purposes of section 251.

(2)The education functions of a local authority in England are the functions conferred on or exercisable by the authority in its capacity as a local education authority.

(3)The children’s social services functions of a local authority in England are—

(a)functions conferred on or exercisable by the authority which are social services functions, so far as those functions relate to children;

(b)functions conferred on the authority under sections 23C to 24D of the Children Act 1989 (c. 41), so far as not within paragraph (a);

(c)functions conferred on the authority, in its capacity as a children’s services authority in England, under sections 10 to 12, 12C, 12D and 17A of the Children Act 2004 (c. 31).

(4)“Accountable resources”, in relation to a school maintained by a local authority, means resources that are not provided by the authority in its capacity as a local education authority, but in respect of which an obligation is imposed on the school’s governing body by virtue of regulations under section 44 of the Education Act 2002 (c. 32) (accounts of maintained schools).

(5)The Secretary of State may by order amend this section for one or more of the following purposes—

(a)adding to the functions that are education functions or children’s social services functions;

(b)removing or changing the description of functions that are education functions or children’s social services functions.

(6)In this section—

• “children’s services authority in England” has the meaning given by section 65(1) of the Children Act 2004 (c. 31);

• “social services functions” has the same meaning as in the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970 (c. 42) (see section 1A of that Act).

253Information about expenditure: consequential amendments

(1)The School Standards and Framework Act 1998 (c. 31) is amended as follows.

(2)In section 52 (the title of which becomes “Financial statements: Wales”), in subsections (1) and (2) after “local education authority” insert “in Wales”.

(3)Omit section 53 (certification of statements by Audit Commission).