An alternative provision school spent more than £36,000 to on a trip to New York with “no clear audit trail or explanation”, a government investigation has found. The Department for Education found Stone Soup Academy, a single-academy trust in Nottingham, also breached rules by approving a 13 per cent rise in pay for a senior member of staff and spending £1,200 on alcohol for a reunion event. An investigation outcome report published by the government said the setting of pay for a member of staff was “not fully evidence-based, transparent or subject to independent scrutiny by the board”. Chris Manze, who founded the school and has since returned as principal, said the trust “accepts the DfE’s findings and recommendations in full and apologises that historic decisions did not meet the standards expected for the stewardship of public funds”. Accounts from 2022-23 for Stone Soup Learns, the name of the single-academy trust, admitted to using £1,200 of trust funds to buy the alcohol. Spending trust money on alcohol is strictly prohibited in the academy trust handbook. ‘No clear audit trail’ The DfE then discovered £36,156 was spent on an overseas trip, which the trust confirmed was for a trip for six pupils and three staff members to New York. A budget of £10,000 had initially been approved by the trust, before rising to £16,000. The investigation said “no clear audit trail or explanation was provided”, while the trust “could not evidence compliance with policy, value for money, procurement or approval requirements”, the DfE said. Manze said the trip appeared to be an “enrichment and reward activity”, but that the trust “accepts this was unacceptable”. The DfE also found a 13.7 per cent pay rise for a senior staff member was implemented “without independent scrutiny by the board or transparency”. It added there was “inadequate” documentation to support the rationale for the increase. Manze and five other founders returned to the trust in March after the conclusion of the DfE’s investigation, the trust said. Manze said: “We have strengthened internal controls and finance system so expenditure cannot be approved without correct authorisation, commissioned an external National Governance Association review, appointed a new chief financial officer from a local multi-academy trust with DfE approval and are working closely with the DfE to ensure compliance.” The DfE confirmed a new leadership team was in place, with the trust “working closely with the department to drive improvement and ensure strong financial standards and effective governance”.