Aberdeen council bosses have vowed improvements after millions of pounds due to schools went unspent.
As of January this year there was an underspend of some £2million in schools across the city on the Scottish Government’s flagship Pupil Equity Funding (PEF) project.
A key reason some schools had not spent all the allocated funding was because of the difference between the school calendar and financial year, yesterday’s audit committee heard.
However, teachers will now be informed that the money needs spent before the end of each financial year.
The policy awards schools funds dependent on the number of children receiving free meals and other factors with the aim of reducing inequalities between rich and poor pupils.
A report to councillors yesterday said the unspent money could be carried over into the next year but only in “exceptional circumstances”.
It read: “In 2017/18 Aberdeen city schools received a total of £2.745million and the allocation for 2018/19 increased to £2.845million.
“Whilst Pupil Equity Fund (PEF) local guidance was issued to head teachers for 2018/19, this was after the start of the financial year in June 2018, increasing the risk of inappropriate or delayed expenditure at the start of the financial year.
“A number of exceptions were noted in relation to compliance with procurement regulations, including: schools failing to raise purchase orders, expenditure exceeding £50,000 not being reported to committee on a work plan with a related business case, competitive tendering not taking place as expected and contracts not being included on the contracts register.
“As of July 31, 2018, 51 schools still had unspent 2017/18 funds ranging from £400 to £56,000, and totalling £471,000, which carried forward to the next school year.
“In the current financial year to January 31, 2019, the total spend in the financial year was £2.436 million, out of a revised budget of £4.463 million, leaving an underspend of £2.027 million.”
Councillor Christian Allard said: “I’m a little concerned that this underspend now means that some children who have left school won’t benefit from the funding.”
