A government crackdown has revealed the extent of financial mismanagement, deficits and fraud among maintained schools nationwide.
More than one in three councils reported school funding fraud over two years, and eight councils stripped schools of budget powers because of financial issues in 2020-21.
Schools Week has seen data that local authorities are now forced to hand over to central government following ex-academies minister Lord Agnew’s crusade to bring transparency and accountability in line with academy rules.
Yet some experts suggest the Department for Education should go further, claiming controls remain weaker than for academies.
