(1)It shall be for the governing body of a maintained school to determine—
(a)whether any payment should be made by the local education authority in respect of the dismissal, or for the purpose of securing the resignation, of any member of the staff of the school, and
(b)the amount of any such payment.
(2)Subsection (1) does not, however, apply in relation to a payment which the local education authority are required to make—
(a)by virtue of any contract other than one made in contemplation of the impending dismissal or resignation of the member of staff concerned, or
(b)under any statutory provision.
(3)The local education authority—
(a)shall take such steps as may be required for giving effect to any determination of the governing body under subsection (1), and
(b)shall not make, or agree to make, a payment in relation to which that subsection applies except in accordance with such a determination.
(4)Costs incurred by the local education authority in respect of any premature retirement of a member of the staff of a maintained school shall be met from the school’s budget share for one or more financial years except in so far as the authority agree with the governing body in writing (whether before or after the retirement occurs) that they shall not be so met.
(5)Costs incurred by the local education authority in respect of the dismissal, or for the purpose of securing the resignation, of any member of the staff of a maintained school shall not be met from the school’s budget share for any financial year except in so far as the authority have good reason for deducting those costs, or any part of those costs, from that share.
(6)The fact that the authority have a policy precluding dismissal of their employees by reason of redundancy is not to be regarded as a good reason for the purposes of subsection (5); and in this subsection the reference to dismissal by reason of redundancy shall be read in accordance with section 139 of the [1996 c. 18.] Employment Rights Act 1996.
(7)Nothing in this section applies to a maintained school at any time when the school does not have a delegated budget by virtue of any suspension under section 17 or Schedule 15.