NEARLY £3 million was wiped from Herefordshire Council’s fixed assets by just three schools converting to academies over the 2013-14 financial year.

The previous year the conversion  of six schools to academies saw more than £19 million was written out of the council’s balance sheet as fixed asset disposals.

Five schools converted to academies in 2013-14: Barrs Court School, Mordiford C of E primary school, Burghill Community primary school, Marden primary school and St Thomas Cantilupe C of E primary school.

As a result of the last three schools converting to academies £2.65 million has been written out of the council’s balance sheet as fixed asset disposals.

Barrs Court School and Mordiford primary  had previously converted to Foundation status, so their assets had already been removed from the Balance Sheet in previous years.

Fairfield High School converted to an academy after the year end, its assets will  be removed from the balance sheet in 2014/15.

The net book value of the school’s land and buildings is £2.58 million as at the end of March this year.

Academies are publicly funded local schools that are independent of the council, responsible to, and funded directly by, government.

Freed from national restrictions such as the teachers’ pay and conditions documents, the national curriculum and Ofsted inspection requirements, academies receive additional top-up  funding to reflect their extra responsibilities which are no longer provided by the local authority.

As at the end of March this , the county had  26 academies with 8,612 pupils or 39% of the total pupil number.

With both foundation schools and academies, the ownership of the school land and  buildings is transferred from the council to the school by issuing a long-term lease at a  peppercorn rent.

The assets are removed from the balance sheet when the legal  agreement is completed.

Net assets on the council’s  balance sheet total £127.7 million up from £79.7 million in 2012/13.

The £48 million improvement over the course of the year includes an increase in the value of long-term assets of £18 million and a reduction on the pensions liability of £28 million.

Falling net asset values had been a trend with a high of £187.4 million in March 2011 to a low of £79.7 million in March 2013.

The fall of £107.7 million was mostly due to the transfer of schools to academies and increasing pension liabilities.