Archived decisions

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Decision Report

1. Executive Summary

1.1. The purpose of this paper is to request that the Executive Lead Member consider a proposed amendment to Hampshire County Council's policy on providing School Uniform Grants to secondary age pupils.

1.2. The proposal will bring the policy more into line with the wording within legislation that allows the authority to make allowance for the provision of clothing to pupils attending Hampshire maintained schools.

1.3. It is recommended that the Executive Lead Member for Children's Services approve:

· revision to the Council's policy to allow School Uniform Grants to be paid to eligible pupils attending Hampshire County Council maintained schools but living outside the Hampshire County Council administrative boundary.

· that the authority begins a consultation on the proposal to amend the School Uniform Grant policy so that pupils living in Hampshire County Council's administrative area and attending schools outside the County Council's administrative area are not normally eligible for a school uniform grant from the County Council.

2. Contextual information

2.1. Hampshire County Council (HCC) provides grants to HCC residents (not Portsmouth or Southampton residents) whose children are eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) and have a child in Y7, Y9 or Y10, irrespective of whether they are attending a HCC school or a non-HCC school. Only one payment can be made in each school year. Currently, families living in other Local Authority Areas, whose children attend HCC schools are not eligible for a School Uniform Grant (SUG) from HCC. Provision of a SUG is a discretionary power, not all authorities provide grants.

2.2. Current full eligibility criteria is as follows; to qualify for a SUG (and free school meals) the parent/guardians must have a child in one of the specified year groups and be in receipt of one or more of the following benefits:

· Income Support.

· Income Based Job Seekers Allowance.

· Employment and Support Allowance (Income Based).

· Support under part VI of the Asylum Act 1999.

· Child Tax Credit, provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit, and have an annual income, as assessed by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, that does not exceed £16,040. Parents who receive Working Tax Credit in addition to Child Tax Credit do not qualify for free school meals.

· Guarantee element of State Pension Credit.

No other benefit is normally eligible.

2.3. The primary legislation that applies is the Education Act 1996, section 510(3) (Provision of clothing). The legislation (as amended) states

"Where it appears to a local education authority, in a case where neither subsection (1) nor subsection (2) applies, that a pupil at-

(a) a school maintained by them............., or

(b) a special school (whether maintained by them or not),

is unable by reason of the inadequacy or unsuitability of his clothing to take full advantage of the education provided at the school, the authority may provide him with such clothing as in their opinion is necessary for the purpose of ensuring that he is sufficiently and suitably clad while he remains a pupil at the school.

2.4. It is proposed that the policy should be amended to include payment to pupils attending HCC schools, irrespective of where they live, who otherwise meet the eligibility criteria for a SUG. This amendment is proposed so as to align HCC's SUG policy with those neighbouring local authorities who have SUG policies, all of whom provide grants to any eligible pupils attending schools maintained by them, irrespective of where the pupils live. If HCC continues to implement its current policy, it is possible for some children, those who live in the areas of other local authorities but who attend HCC schools, to be ineligible for a SUG under their home local authority's policy as well as under HCC's policy.

2.5. Take up of the SUG has, in academic years 2007/08 and 2008/09 resulted in approximately £150 000 of expenditure. Assessing potential demand comes about from considering the numbers of pupils eligible for Free School Meals (FSM). SUGs are paid to pupils in three year groups suggesting that approximately 60% of FSM secondary age entitled pupils will be eligible; take up has been at just over 50%. For 2009/10 take up under the current policy has increased and is forecast to result in costs of approximately £165 000.

2.6. If the proposed amendment to the Policy is made, using school census information, the potential number of newly entitled children would be approximately 50 in each year group, a total of 150 pupils. (There are approximately 600 pupils per year from outside Hampshire attending HCC secondary schools; FSM entitlement is measured at 7%, resulting in approximately 50 pupils in each of the qualifying yeargroups). This would result in a possible extra expenditure of £9 000.

2.7. The proposed wording of the new policy is in Appendix 1.

2.8. There is a further issue to consider. Under the current SUG policy, HCC provides some SUGs to children who live in the administrative area of HCC but who attend schools elsewhere. Some of those children are also eligible for a SUG under the terms of neighbouring local authorities' policies. However, some neighbouring local authorities do not have SUG policies and it is impossible to determine whether those children would be eligible for a SUG from those authorities. As a result, if HCC amended its SUG policy to exclude these children, they might not then be eligible for a SUG. It is proposed that the authority should undertake a consultation exercise regarding the proposal to amend the SUG policy so that pupils living in HCC's administrative area and attending schools outside HCC's administrative area are not normally eligible for a school uniform grant from the authority.

3. Finance

3.1. As indicated in the previous paragraph the possibility is that expenditure on the Secondary School Uniform Grants might increase annually by approximately £9 000.

4. Performance

4.1. The families that have entitlement to Free School Meals and consequently School Uniform Grants are generally accepted as vulnerable families. Better meeting their children's needs when in school, through considering their clothing provision, provides another support mechanism for promoting the achievement of this group of pupils.

5. Recommendation(s)

5.1. That the Executive Lead Member for Children's Services approve:

· revision to the Council's policy to allow School Uniform Grants to be paid to eligible pupils attending Hampshire County Council maintained schools but living outside the Hampshire County Council administrative boundary.

· that the authority begins a consultation on the proposal to amend the School Uniform Grant policy so that pupils living in Hampshire County Council's administrative area and attending schools outside the County Council's administrative area are not normally eligible for a school uniform grant from the County Council.

CORPORATE OR LEGAL INFORMATION:

Links to the Corporate Strategy

NB: If the `Other significant links' section below is not applicable, please delete it.

Other Significant Links

IMPACT ASSESSMENTS:

1. Equalities Impact Assessment:

1.1. No adverse impact in regard to race, culture, gender or disability arising from this report has been identified. However, to ensure that the admission arrangements do allow for the best interests of all children to be properly taken into account when applying the published policy an equality impact assessment is being undertaken.

2. Impact on Crime and Disorder:

2.1. N/A

3. Climate Change:

3.1. N/A

Appendix 1

Proposed wording for the new policy to apply from September 2010.

"In order to be eligible for a school uniform grant, your child should normally be entitled to free school meals and due to transfer to Year 7 in a Hampshire secondary school. An application form will be available in June 2010 at your child's primary school or the allocated secondary school. Detailed information about applying for the grant is on the form.

A further grant is payable for Year 9 and Year 10. If your child attends a Hampshire secondary school, you can obtain a form direct from the school office. If your child attends a school outside of Hampshire, please contact the Admissions Team for an application form.

The value of the grant is currently £61.25. Payment is made by cheque.

Although there is no similar entitlement at primary school level, your Locality Team had a small discretionary fund which can be used to help with school clothing. For information, call your Locality Team office."