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2. Delegation Process

reality, it felt like it was being done for the sake of it, rather than the earlier delegations where
it has been seen very positively, ‘And these are the benefits for schools’. It was more ‘We’ve got
to get this one done to get over the percentage’. It was a shame, because it went against all the
previous delegations that we’d done, in that spirit. They had all been very positive and ‘Yes we
can do that’.

2.5 LEAs reported consulting with schools, and head teachers of case study schools recalled
the consultation process. Some LEAs were strongly influenced by the responses to
consultation when making the final decisions. Several officers described lengthy periods
of somewhat limited consultation in which letters and information packs about the
implications were sent to schools and governing bodies. Often there was little response
to the consultation process, perhaps reflecting a lack of priority or grasp of the issue by
schools at that time. One LEA officer commented that it was
‘not until the eleventh hour’,
when it was too late, that some schools came back to say that they did not want to take
up this option.

2.6 In LEAs which had decided against across the board delegation to primary schools,
consultation was minimal, since the decision for each school was optional.

I think we came out of it reasonably well in the eyes of the schools, in PR terms. We didn’t
consult them properly but at the same time, we didn’t force it on them. We did moot it at some
of our forums and it was ‘No we don’t want the bother’ and the ones who did want the bother,
got the chance to opt for it.

2.7 For two LEAs, the consultation with head teachers had been a strong factor in the
decision not to delegate to primary schools. One LEA commented that the general
feeling had been that schools did not want to take on more responsibility for the
service.

The heads have got so much on their plates now that school meals is not something they would
want to take on board. Whereas with the secondaries, they tend to employ business managers
now so the head can pass that responsibility on. Primaries don’t have that luxury of being able
to employ business managers.

2.8 In a number of LEAs, officers reported that the consultation had been conducted with
schools in the expectation, and with the reassurance, that the delegation would make no
difference.

It was explained that whatever the schools had delegated, that sum would be what was invoiced
so it was nil cost. So Heads who took it had no risk associated to it. We ensured that the
charge made would be exactly that that was delegated out through the formula. We explained
that we had to meet delegation targets and that this was now no longer an option and if schools
went along with that and they realised that they did not have a lot of choice, they wouldn’t
actually lose out.

2.9 However, in some LEAs where budgets were all to be delegated, consultation generated
a range of issues to be resolved, particularly where delegation of kitchen repair and
maintenance budgets had also to be considered. Several LEAs reported consulting with
the Fair Funding Group to come up with a range of delegation options which were then
put to all schools for a consensus view.

12



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