Liverpool’s education budget is unlikely to receive a “significant increase” in funding and underspends may need to be stretched to balance the books.
An underspend of around £7m on the budget for education across the city has been reported following the closure of the books on the last financial year and may well be needed to plug any gaps left by government support, according to a report to the Liverpool Schools Forum. The panel of school representatives and officers from across the city, will meet virtually and in private on Wednesday to discuss the outturn for the last financial year.
A report to members has identified that the £7.3m that was not used during the last financial year may be required to support additional places being created in specialist schools and to balance the budget for 2023-24. The analysis of the last 12 months found that an underspend of almost £1m occurred in early years provision as numbers remained below pre-covid figures.
