Academy conversions cost councils £22m, says LGA

According to the Local Government Association, town halls had to pay £22.4m in conversion costs for schools in 2011/12 and 2013/14.

Under arrangements for schools converting to academies, town halls are responsible for meeting the upfront costs of the switch, which include payments to close any deficit and any legal fees. These may run into hundreds of thousands in individual cases, the LGA said, while the National Audit Office said in October there were 4,200 academy schools in England.

The LGA called on the Department of Education to take over these payments to relieve pressure on local authority budgets.

David Simmonds, chair of the LGA’s children and young people board, said that it was simply not fair that some struggling schools are burdened with a deficit when under council control, while others could become academies and leave town halls with the bill.

‘Councils already have to subsidise the costs of school places and free school meals from existing budgets. This is yet another example of central government not providing enough money to pay for its policies and of local communities being forced to pick up the tab.

‘We have long been concerned the Department for Education does not have sufficient funds to support the rapid expansion in schools converting to academy status,’ he added.

‘Councils, with their role at the heart of their community, want to be able to hold all schools in their areas to account for the quality of the education they provide. It is not right that we are having to pay this money for legal and structural changes to schools, rather than it being spent in ways which directly benefit the achievements of pupils.’

A DfE spokesman said the LGA was wrong. ‘Local authorities are only required to cover a school’s deficit costs if it has become a sponsored academy after a prolonged period of underperformance. This underperformance has almost always taken place while the school was under the control of a council.’


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