Decision details

 The Forum received a presentation from Paul Clark, Group Accountant for Children, Young People and Learning which provided members with an update on the Schools Budget for 2011-12. The presentation included details of changes now expected from those presented to the last meeting of the Forum in respect of the forecast level of income, pressures on budgets delegated to schools and pressures on budgets managed by the Council.

Changes in forecast income included a significant increase in hours participation for three and four years olds and an increase of 1.1 pupils in maintained schools which had resulted in an overall increase in Dedicated Schools Grant income of £0.914 million.

Annex B of the report detailed changes to budget pressures, with the total net change to the budgets delegated to schools calculated at £0.697 million and the total net change to budgets managed by the Council at £0.180 million. After taking in to account the additional income and revised cost of pressures, there remained  balance of budget to allocate of £0.051 million. In accordance with the agreed budget strategy it was proposed to distribute this funding to schools and Early years providers, on the basis of 85% by reference to pupil numbers and 15% as a fixed amount per school.

RECOMMENDED to the Executive Member for Education that the 2011-12 Schools Budget include:

1.      funding for the budget proposals as set out in the shaded column of Annex B calculated at £2.084m;

2.      allocating the remaining £0.051m uncommitted budget to schools and early years providers in accordance with the agreed budget strategy, as detailed in paragraph 5.31.

AGREED that:

1.    the school specific contingency for 2011-12 be set at £0.571m (paragraph 5.33 (1), Table 3);

2.    the Minimum Funding Guarantee payment due to Brakenhale Secondary School be fully removed by the end of the 2012-13 financial year with the resultant savings redistributed within the Schools Budget (paragraph 5.33 (2));

3.    the combined services budget that supports joint education and children’s social care initiatives be set at £0.591m (paragraph 5.33 (3)).

NOTED that:

1.    the Central Expenditure Limit had not been exceeded (paragraph 5.34);

2.    the resultant budget for each service was set out in Annex D.