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The number of academy trusts in deficit has risen sharply, while more trusts were paying at least one person more than £150,000 and making compulsory redundancies, the latest sector accounts show.

The Department for Education’s and accounts for 2023-24 also reveal rising staff costs, growing consultancy spend and millions of pounds of extra financial support handed out to trusts.

Here are seven key findings from the report:

1. More trusts in deficit

There were 90 academy trusts with an in-year operational deficit in 2023-24, up from 55 the year before.

The proportion of trusts in deficit rose from 2.3 per cent to 4.0 per cent, and the combined deficit of these trusts increased from £18.5 million to £37.9 million.

The report says that larger multi-academy trusts are less likely to be in deficit and tend to hold larger surpluses, with most trusts in deficit being single-academy trusts.

2. CEO pay increases

The number of trusts paying at least one person £150,000 or more rose to 1,081 in 2023-24, up from 775 in 2022-23.

This is a 39 per cent year-on-year increase, meaning 45 per cent of all trusts had at least one individual in this pay band, compared with 30.8 per cent the year before.

The DfE says this rise reflects pay increases, with employer national insurance and pension contributions included in the figures.

����Vlog analysis in February revealed that one in four leaders at the largest academy trusts had a bigger proportional pay rise than teachers last year.

We found that 32 CEOs earned at least £200,000 in 2024-25. Of these, 12 earned more than £250,000 and five earned more than £290,000.

3. Greater financial uncertainty

The number of trusts whose auditors raised concerns about their financial viability rose from 32 to 75. That means 3.2 per cent of trusts faced this kind of warning in 2023-24, up from 1.3 per cent the year before.

The accounts also show that more trusts were publishing their financial accounts on the basis that they were shutting down, with this number rising from 167 to 198. The DfE says this reflects ongoing consolidation across the sector, as smaller trusts close and merge with larger MATs.

Meanwhile, 189 trusts were flagged by auditors for financial rule breaches or weaknesses in their handling of funds. That was slightly down from 192 the previous year, but it still meant about one in 12 trusts had some kind of issue.

The main problems involved weak internal financial checks and dealings with related parties, such as payments to companies or organisations linked to people in the trust.

4. Trusts get millions in extra DfE support

The accounts show trusts received a total of £18.5 million in additional financial support from the DfE in 2023-24, including £14.4 million in non-repayable funding and £4.1 million in repayable funding.

The support included “enabling financial recovery”, “building financial capacity” and facilitating transfers from one trust to another.

The DfE says inclusion of a trust on this list should not be taken as an indication of its past or current financial health, as decisions are made on a case-by-case basis.

5. Staff costs rising

Total staff costs rose from about £27.9 billion to £31.1 billion in 2023-24, an increase of 11.5 per cent, the accounts show.

The report points to factors such as higher numbers of pupils and academies, a 6.5 per cent average teacher pay award, progression up pay scales and higher temporary staffing costs.

6. Compulsory redundancies increase

Trusts agreed 1,431 compulsory redundancy exit packages in 2023-24, up from 1,220 the year before.

The cost of compulsory redundancies also rose from £14 million to £18 million.

Overall, the total number of exit packages of all kinds rose from 3,719 to 4,213, while total exit package costs increased from £45 million to £56 million.

7. Consultancy spending rises

Spending on consultancy in the academies sector increased from £412 million in 2022-23 to £465 million in 2023-24.

Educational consultancy spending rose from £343 million to £390 million, and non-educational consultancy spending increased from £69 million to £75 million.

That means total consultancy spending has more than doubled since 2019-20, when it was £228 million.

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