Guidance

Changes to leasing agreements for academy trusts

Published 28 March 2024

Applies to England

© Crown copyright 2024

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.

Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/leasing-for-academy-trusts/changes-to-leasing-agreements-for-academy-trusts

From 1 April 2024, a new international financial reporting standard (IFRS 16 leases) is being introduced, which will change the way that local authorities recognise in their accounts leases entered into by their schools.

Academy trusts are required through their funding agreement to seek consent from the Secretary of State for Education for any borrowing. This is also reflected in the academy trust handbook. We are making changes to this requirement from 1 September 2024.

What the changes mean for academy trusts

Leases for academy trusts will still be identified as either operating and finance leases under the Financial Reporting Standard 102 (FRS102).

Academy trusts may continue taking out operating leases as usual, except for land and building leases. The Secretary of State for Education has granted prior consent for the types of leased assets listed to allow academy trusts to continue taking out finance leases without additional administrative burdens. These new arrangements will apply from 1 September 2024,

Academy trusts do not need to make a specific request for consent where a finance lease is covered in the list. Any leased assets not included in the list will need to be submitted to the Secretary of State for Education for consent. These may include leases relating to land and buildings, further guidance on land disposals is available.

The following assets have been granted prior consent by the Secretary of State for Education:

  • all existing leases in place before 1 September 2024 for items included in this list
  • leases related to IT equipment (for example laptops, tablets, desktop computers, printers, photocopiers, servers, door entry security systems, CCTV Systems, whiteboards and touch screen boards)
  • leases related to telephony (for example mobile phones, landline phones and telephone systems)
  • leases related to catering and cleaning equipment (for example tills, water coolers, vending machines, dishwashers, washing machines, ovens, fridges, freezers, water boilers, small kitchen appliances, crockery and cutlery)
  • leases related to furniture (for example desks, tables and chairs)
  • leases related to bathroom and sanitary items (for example hand dryers, towel dispensers, sanitary bins)
  • leases related to gym equipment (for example treadmills, free weights and weight machines, rowing machines and exercise bikes)
  • leases related to groundskeeping equipment (for example lawn mowers, string trimmers, leaf blowers and salt spreaders)
  • leases related to LED lighting systems or to support renewable activity (for example lightbulbs, control mechanisms and control panels) - consent is granted where the product has been sourced with support from the Department for Education  through Get help buying for schools or from a recommended route on our Find a framework website
  • leases related to minibuses and other vehicles for the use of the school
  • leases related to temporary classrooms and equivalent structures (but not land leases they sit on, which may require separate consent – see school land transactions guidance)
Back to top