Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department issues guidance on the proportion of a school's annual budget it considers prudent for a school to hold as a cash balance.

For maintained schools, local authorities have devolved responsibility for their funding and determine locally their balance control mechanisms. For academies, the Trustees determine the appropriate level of reserves that the Trust should hold in accordance with their responsibilities under Charity Law. The Department monitors the overall level of balances across the sector and keeps this under review.