NASUWT logo

SHARE reserves AND STOP redundancy, says THE NASUWT

SHARE reserves AND STOP redundancy, says THE NASUWT

SHARE reserves AND STOP redundancy, says THE NASUWT

Commenting on the latest figures that show nearly half of schools in Wales hold reserves of 5% or above in their delegated budget, Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, the largest teachers’ union in Wales, said:

“Although the statistics demonstrate that school reserves have reduced from £74 million to £67 million, there are still far too many schools in Wales that stockpile money while others struggle to make ends meet and the school workforce faces redundancy.

“Almost half the schools in Wales, some 46%, hold reserves in excess of 5%, with 271 out of the 1,738 schools having reserves in excess of 10%.

“The unfairness in a school funding system that allows public money to be hoarded in this way must not be allowed to continue.

“To the Welsh Government’s credit, powers were introduced for local authorities to reclaim unspent balances where surpluses were £50,000 or more in a primary school and £100,000 or more in a secondary school or special school.

“The Welsh Government now needs to concentrate on making sure local authorities exercise these powers, rather than pressing them to increase school delegation rates.”

Rex Phillips, NASUWT Wales Organiser, said:

“The £67 million in school reserves could and should be used across schools in Wales to prevent staff redundancies.

“The means of avoiding compulsory redundancy in our schools cannot be left to languish in the reserves of schools where the piggy bank mentality is put before the interests of learners and the school workforce.

“It’s time for the Welsh Government to ensure that school-held balances in excess of 5% or £10,000, whichever is the greater, are pooled, either at an all Wales or local government level to ensure that our education system is no longer blighted by the incidence of compulsory redundancy and job loss.”

ENDS

Lena Davies
Press and Media Officer
Campaigns and Communications Team
NASUWT
0121 457 6250 / 07867 392 746
lena.davies@mail.nasuwt.org.uk