Archived decisions

SCHOOLS CAPITAL - CONSULTATION ON CHANGES TO BASIC NEED FUNDING

1. The Executive Member for Education has considered a consultation paper from the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) on a replacement system for allocating capital funding to provide new pupil places, otherwise known as basic need. The current system defines basic need as the excess of forecast demand for pupil places in an area over the existing schools' capacity to provide them. The present approach, which has been in place for many years, requires local authorities to make a detailed case to the DfES each year for the number of extra pupil places needed, based on calculations of the capacity of all schools in the area and forecasts of future growth. The process is complex, time consuming and prone to error. In the light of the recent development of Asset Management Plans and other changes, the DfES wishes to change the way in which funding for basic need places is allocated and has put forward four models as the basis for consultation.

2. The Executive Member has given detailed consideration to the four models and their implications and has made the following responses to DfES:

· There is a case to simplify the process, but some of the reasons given for the need to change are not convincing.


· Any new model must continue to support adequately local education authorities with significant housing growth.


· For those authorities with significant future housing developments, such as Hampshire, the preference is for those models which allow local education authorities to continue to define growth areas, as that builds on the existing method, whilst providing greater flexibility than the current system.


· That if a model is selected which allocates funding on the basis of projected need set against overall provision, the level of surplus provision taken into account is set only after subsequent consultation and taking full account of the complex and time consuming process of reducing surplus places.


· Projections made by local authorities should be the measure of demand.
The County Council's forecasting model has been commended by the Audit Commission as an example of good practice and the use of a centralised forecasting model would not allow important local factors to be taken into account.


· The move to local decision making for almost all capital funding means that local education authorities should be given the flexibility to contribute to voluntary aided schemes where basic need new places are being provided, particularly where there may be a funding shortfall.


· Any formula for funding pupil places must have a clear mechanism to ensure that significant local growth can be funded where formula allocations are inadequate.

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