9. Key Findings
III Conclusions
9. Key Findings
9.1 This short but focused study aimed to explore the impact of the shift to delegated
school meals funding on LEAs, schools, and nutritional standards. The study revealed a
wide range of experiences for LEAs and schools in the delegation of school meals
budgets and the consequences of that delegation. It found that the majority of LEAs
delegated funding to all primary schools, with less than a fifth retaining budgets and
delegating only by request on a school by school basis. Specific findings in relation to
the project’s objectives are as follows.
Difficulties for LEAs and schools in moving to delegated funding
9.2 Most LEAs experienced no difficulties with the delegation of school meals funding and
believed that the process had been undertaken successfully. However some LEA
catering services experienced a decline in their role as a direct consequence of
delegation, with schools leaving the central contract and finding new sources of supply.
Those DSOs which had lost contracts to supply schools believed that their role would
continue to diminish as more schools took the opportunity to seek new suppliers.
9.3 The delegation process had been more complex in some LEAs. At least one LEA had
experiencing on-going difficulties in finding a delegation formula acceptable to all
schools and governing bodies.
9.4 At school level, many schools decided to remain with an existing central contract in the
expectation of mitigating any problems that might arise as a consequence of delegation.
However some schools had faced unforeseen expenses when they found themselves
responsible for aging kitchens and equipment.
9.5 Delegation had provided the opportunity for some schools to renegotiate contracts with
existing or new suppliers or to launch out with their own in-house meal provision.
Whilst this had been a positive experience for schools, exploring new provision had
required a substantial time commitment on the part of school staff and unpaid
governors.
9.6 Some schools are known to have received delegated budgets when they had made clear
to the LEA that they would have preferred the funding to have been retained centrally.
Some schools had closed kitchens as a direct result of delegation, as the sums delegated
were insufficient to maintain a meals service without subsidy from the school main
budget.
Best practice in the administration and delivery of delegation of budgets
9.7 The study revealed an important issue around the delegation of funding for free school
meals.
9.8 It would seem good practice that LEA delegation formulae should ensure that schools
are reimbursed for the free school meals they provide so that they do not need to
subsidise free school meals from their own budgets or find themselves with unspent
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