Local education authorities came into existence with the 1902 Education Act, replacing the school boards. Unlike the latter, the new education authorities were also responsible for voluntary schools; the county and borough councils were also given responsibility for secondary and technical education. One important feature of the system was that each local education authority had to appoint an education committee (Section 101, Local Government Act (1972)), consisting of elected councillors and co-opted members. The political party gaining a majority at a local election elects from its members a chairman of this committee.
Traditionally, education accounted for a large part of a local authority’s budget. The situation changed with the introduction of education support grants in 1984, when grants were earmarked for specific education policies, and with the Interim Advisory Committee in 1987, which gave Secretaries of State for Education control over teachers’ pay and conditions of service. There were also changes in methods of raising local authority finances, particularly rate capping. The Education Reform Act (1988), which introduced local management of schools and grant maintained schools further undermined the role of local education authorities.
This has continued with the loss of polytechnics from local authority control and the independence granted to further education, tertiary and sixth form colleges under the Further and Higher Education Act (1992). Government education initiatives have additionally limited their role. However, the Green Paper, Modernising Local Government Finance (2000), recommended that LEAs were to retain responsibility for budget allocation, though a close watch should be kept on their spending priorities. In 2001 the DfEE published a policy paper called The Role of the Local Education Authorities in Education, confirming their important role in supporting schools to raise standards. It proposed to delegate 90 per cent of funding to schools in place of the existing 85 per cent. This paper identified areas where schools alone should not attempt to provide services such as planning, the supply of school places in an area, the co-ordination of special education needs services, and home-to-school transport. LEAs also have an important role to play in implementing national initiatives such as post-16 adult learning and the Connexions Service for 13–19-year-olds. (See also local education authority inspectors, Local Government Acts)
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