Academy trusts' growing debt brings total deficit to £65m
'The rise is another sign of the impact of the government’s cuts to school funding'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A growing number of academy trusts have fallen into debt - bringing their total deficit to £65m, government data shows.
Union leaders have warned the rise was another sign of the impact of government cuts to school funding.
The figures from the Department for Education show 6.1 per cent of academy chains had a cumulative deficit at the end of the academic year 2016-17, compared to 5.5 per cent in 2015-16.
The cumulative deficit of the 185 academy trusts was £65m, compared to £50m the year before.
The proportion of academies that are in trusts with a deficit stood at 4.3 per cent – a total of 300 academies, the report from the Department for Education (DfE) shows.
Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said: "The rise in the number of academy trusts that are in deficit is another sign of the impact of the government’s cuts to school funding, cuts that will further limit pupils’ educational opportunities.”
The report also found that 91.6 per cent of academy trusts had a surplus, and 2.3 per cent had a zero balance. Overall, the academy sector had a surplus of £2.4bn.
It highlighted that data published by the DfE published last year found that 9.4 per cent of council-run schools in the financial year 2016-17 had a deficit.
Dr Bousted added: “It is clear that the academies sector and schools as a whole are feeling the effects of an unsustainable funding model.
"Earlier this year some of the largest academy trusts warned in their annual accounts of the risks that they faced due to funding pressures and highlighted deficits in the individual academies they oversee.
"The funding pressures on individual schools within trusts are not reflected in these figures.”
The DfE has been approached for a comment.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments