NI schools asked to take ‘any and all actions’ to reduce expenditure

Schools in Northern Ireland have been asked to take “any and all actions possible to reduce expenditure” amid a funding crisis.

Education Authority (EA) chief executive Richard Pengelly has written to all principals and chairs of boards of school governors in the region, asking them to take measures including restricting the use of substitute cover.

The letter, seen by the PA news agency, says the EA, which manages schools in Northern Ireland, is facing a funding shortfall of around £300 million.

Mr Pengelly said the education sector is living “with the consequences of years of increasingly unmanageable funding shortfalls”.

He said: “The warnings about this year’s budget that were made publicly by the Department (of Education) and others are sadly being borne out by events.

“At this juncture, EA is currently reporting a funding gap of c£300m and, unlike the position in previous years, we have been advised that no further significant funding allocations are likely to be made available to address this shortfall.

“We are therefore currently on a trajectory towards a significant overspend at year end.”

He added: “In that context, it is critical that school leaders seek to take any and all actions possible to reduce expenditure.

“This should include, among other issues, not proceeding with discretionary spend, minimise, as far as possible, entering into new financial commitments related to appointments, and restricting the use of substitute cover.”

Mr Pengelly said the EA and Department of Education are working together in seeking to identify a range of strategic measures to reduce costs.

He added that the EA “cannot ignore the reality that all schools’ expenditure impacts on the overall education sector financial position”.

The letter said: “Specifically, the use by schools of any accumulated surpluses is unfunded, and would be an additional pressure on the EA budget.

“Therefore, I am asking you to ensure that a rigorous approach is taken to all spending decisions within your schools, and to take all reasonable steps to contain expenditure where possible.

“Approval to incur expenditure should only be given to the highest priority and inescapable requests.

“I regret having to make this request but, given the scale of the financial pressures this year, I trust you understand that we must all play our part.”