Liverpool headteachers who squirrel away balances are being threatened with tough action by the local authority. Heads are being offered workshops to help them spend balances which total pound;16 million, almost double five years ago. One school has reserves of pound;445,000.
The authority will withdraw financial delegation from those who still refuse to relax the purse strings and their affairs will be run by council officials.
A city council committee recommended the workshops to overcome heads’ acceptance of poor premises and equipment rather than spend money.
The climate of uncertainty in the mid-1990s taught many heads to budget with extreme caution. Now those who refuse to spend the money will be “issued a formal warning notice or ultimately delegation will be withdrawn on grounds of financial mismanagement”.
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