http://www.mieonline.org/home/articles/271/1/The-schools-system-in-England/Page1.html

Published on 14/07/2006

Each council or local authority in the UK has a Local Education Authority and they are primarily responsible for public spending on schools. The government is very keen for authorities to distribute money directly to schools to spend as they wish. So education authorities have a more strategic than operational role within schools.