Finances of Public Medicine and State Schools

[binbagsss]

Who decides finances in a state school or public medical practice? They are funded from the government right, and then for small amounts I guess they are able to do what they want. But for a certain amount I assume they would have to get the government's permission?

 

[Frabjous]

It is really country dependent.

 

[Baluncore]

Who decides finances in a state school or public medical practice?

The Government allocates funds in the budget. The Department of Education, or Health, specifies the outcome standards that must be met.

Those specifications are higher than can be met with the regional funding provided. The front-line managers allocate the available resources, as best they can, while blaming the Government for failing to supply sufficient funding.

The teachers and medical staff try to survive, under stress, with too much work, on too little pay. The staff are sacrificed, while the people suffer.

Everyone blames those above for insufficient funding.
Everyone blames those below for unreasonable demands.

National education and medical services are too important to the health of the nation to go unfunded.

 

[binbagsss]

It is really country dependent.

apologies ofc should have said, UK

 

[binbagsss]

The Government allocates funds in the budget. The Department of Education, or Health, specifies the outcome standards that must be met.

Those specifications are higher than can be met with the regional funding provided. The front-line managers allocate the available resources, as best they can, while blaming the Government for failing to supply sufficient funding.

The teachers and medical staff try to survive, under stress, with too much work, on too little pay. The staff are sacrificed, while the people suffer.

Everyone blames those above for insufficient funding.
Everyone blames those below for unreasonable demands.

National education and medical services are too important to the health of the nation to go unfunded.

Okay, I guess I more meant, say the school decides to buy some equipment, spending like 1k on it... would that sort of amount need to be checked by higher up, or I assume something relatively small like that would not need higher up approval then whoever is in charge of the schools'/ medical practices' finances?

 

[Vanadium 50]

It depends. If one buys bandages with the money, it's probably not a big deal. If someone buys a night on the town, it probably is.

 

[binbagsss]

I mean I assume there's some threshold amount which also needs authorisation from higher up. Was looking for a rough idea of that.

 

[BillTre]

It would depend on how things are budgeted.

You may have a disposable supply budget, spend up to X in a year.
You may have a personnel budget, spend up to X, but you would be spending more in one place ((a new hire).
Once its budgeted, someone has to have the authority to spend it. Items more than certain amounts may require more documentation and getting agreements.
A new building is a special expense that a higher power would have to fund.

All this will vary with:

• where you are in the control hierarchy
• what exactly you are talking about
• how things are being run
• where your money is coming from.

 

[pbuk]

Who decides finances in a state school or public medical practice? They are funded from the government right, and then for small amounts I guess they are able to do what they want.

apologies ofc should have said, UK

But for a certain amount I assume they would have to get the government's permission?

No, this is not how it works in the UK.

https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/04/26/school-funding-everything-you-need-to-know/
https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/primary-care/

(Note the above are for England, there are differences in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland).