Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the level of financial reserves held by schools in England is.

We are delivering the biggest improvement to the school funding system for well over a decade and our national funding formula will create a fairer system.

We trust schools to manage their own budgets with the great majority having a cumulative surplus of funds, built up over a number of years. The latest published figures for England’s schools showed an overall cumulative surplus of more than £4 billion (for schools with a cumulative surplus), against a cumulative deficit of less than £300 million.

We continue to provide support to schools to help them use their resources in the most efficient way, so they can deliver the best value for the taxpayer.