We asked the Department why so many maintained schools were in deficit. The Department highlighted that the financial health of the school system had held up well and that most maintained schools and academy trusts were in surplus. The ESFA noted that only four local authorities had a net deficit when all their individual school balances were combined.18 It said that it was not obvious what the drivers were for the geographical variation, for example there was no clear rural-urban split and it was not linked to deprivation.19 The Department told us that it thought a number of factors contributed to the variation across the country and the situation was challenging because the factors 8 Q 167 9 Qq 151–152 10 Q 172 11 C&AG’s Report, para 6 12 C&AG’s Report, School funding in England, Session 2021–22, HC 300, 2 July 2021, para 10 13 HC Committee of Public Accounts, School Funding, Twenty-First Report of Session 2021–22, October 2021 14 Q 96 15 C&AG’s Report, paras 8, 1.9 16 C&AG’s Report, para 9 17 C&AG’s Report, para 1.15, Figure 5 18 Qq 36, 39–40 19 Q 36, C&AG’s Report, para 1.16 Financial sustainability of schools in England 9 interacted. It explained that historical patterns of funding and the balance of maintained schools to academies in each local authority area were important factors. In addition, in some cases, capital investment and the condition of school buildings made a significant difference.20