Tax on school budgets

Schools that are prudent with their finances or saving for big projects would be penalised by the government's plans to impose a 5% levy on schools that hold any surpluses at the end of each financial year, whether or not the money had already been earmarked for specific projects.

Although the levy will not be imposed until 2008-09 it will be backdated to balances at the end of March 2007, raising the prospect that establishments will be asked to pay back money they have already spent.