To ask the Minister of Education to detail the current anticipated cost of establishing a managing authority for Controlled Schools.

The proposed creation of a new organisation will create a more efficient and effective managing authority function for the controlled school sector. Costs will be offset by the transfer of functions and respective budgets from the Education Authority and Controlled Schools Support Council, the latter being likely to be subsumed in its entirety to the new body.

The overall confirmed financial impacts are yet to be fully explored as planning remains at an embryonic stage, but I can confirm, that overall final financial costings will be subject to full appraisal through the required business case process and costs will be met from within the current Departmental financial allocation.