CALLS are being made for a cap on the amount of money headteachers can spend without approval from their governing body in light of a school's planned £30,000 staff trip to Marbella.

A national outcry forced Edensor Technology College to cancel its overseas training session in October - on the morning teachers were due to fly.

An investigation by Stoke-on-Trent's elected mayor Mark Meredith found governors had signed over the power to take financial decisions worth up to £100,000.

The Government does not limit the amount headteachers can spend under delegated authority.

But Stoke-on-Trent South MP Rob Flello is writing to Schools Minister Jim Knight and the city council's acting chief executive Chris Harman calling for an investigation.

Mr Flello said: "I have made initial inquiries with other governing bodies and the reaction to this amount of delegated spending is one of surprise. In my experience as a chair of governors on a number of bodies, I would never dream of delegating that level of authority to a headteacher.

"I have known governors to delegate spending of £3,000 to £5,000, but that is very different to the figures being talked about here.

"I am taking this very seriously. The first question is, is it true this amount was delegated? The second is, if so, is that legitimate?

"If schools are able to do this, I will be asking the Schools Minister to look at whether the rules should be changed and a cap introduced."

Some governors claim the delegated spending powers were approved by a sub-committee but never ratified by the full governing body.

Former local education authority governor Don Evans, who resigned in protest over unanswered questions about the trip, wants the matter investigated.

He said: "Only those governors that sat on the finance sub-committee were aware that the headteacher had been given approval by them to spend up to £100,000 without referral."

Headteacher Mr Richard Mercer said the school had acted correctly.

He said: "Working with the governing body, the school follows the financial guidelines laid down by the local authority."

A spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said: "Governors can make a decision to delegate responsibility for funding to the headteacher and we don't set a limit on that. But schools are expected to comply with the Financial Management Systems in Schools guidelines and that sets protocols for the use of funds and best practice.

"Even if a governing body does delegate decision making, they are still responsible in law and accountable, so it is up to them to set an amount they feel is reasonable."

A spokesman for the National Governors' Association said: "There is no figure set down in legislation that a governing body can or cannot delegate to the headteacher – different schools have different sized budgets, so what is reasonable for a governing body of a primary school with a budget of £200,000 to delegate may well be different to the governing body of a large secondary school with a budget of several million pounds.

"What all governing bodies should have are clear financial policies in which the responsibilities of the full governing body, the finance committee, the headteacher and any other staff with budgetary responsibilities are clearly set out and understood.