Section 251 budget and outturn statements

Local Authorities (LAs) are required (under Section 251 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009) to prepare, submit and publish statements about their planned and actual expenditure on education and children's social care.

The section 251 statements are the primary means of informing schools and the public in general about local authority funding and expenditure plans. They're intended to give detailed information on each local authority's planned and actual expenditure on their education and children's social care functions, including:

• How the local formula is working to produce budget shares for each school in the Local Authority's area.
• How much the Local Authority intends to spend outside the schools budget on education and other children's services.