Explanatory note

Section 42 of the Education Reform Act 1988 requires local education authorities whose financial provision for county and voluntary schools maintained by them is subject to regulation by a scheme made under section 33 of that Act to prepare before the beginning of each financial year a statement of the financial provision they plan to make for those schools in that year (a “budget statement”) and after the end of each financial year a statement of the expenditure actually incurred for the purposes of those schools in that year (an “outturn statement”).

Subsection (4) of section 42 specifies certain particulars of the amount appropriated for such schools to be included in a budget statement and requires the inclusion of such other particulars and information as are prescribed by regulations. Subsection (6) of that section requires an outturn statement to contain such information as is prescribed by regulations. Subsection (7) of that section requires a statement to be prepared in such form, and to be published in such manner and at such times as are prescribed by regulations.

These Regulations prescribe the form in which budget and outturn statements are to be prepared (regulation 2); the particulars and information additional to that specified by section 42 which are to be contained in budget statements (regulations 4 to 7 and Schedules 1 to 3); the information to be contained in outturn statements (regulation 8) ; the manner in which budget and outturn statements are to be published (regulation 9) and the times by which such statements are to be so published (regulation 10).