Decision details

That the draft Dedicated Schools Grant Deficit Recovery Management Plan be noted and that progress be monitored in addressing the deficit, including guidance from the Department for Education.

Dedicated Schools Grant is a ring-fenced specific grant used to support the schools’ budget across four notional blocks comprising the Schools block; the High Needs block; the Central School Services block and the Early Years block, each of which are determined by a separate national funding formula.  Where local authorities have an overall deficit of Dedicated Schools Grant of 1% or more, they are required to submit a recovery plan to the Department for Education, setting out how the overall Dedicated Schools’ Grant account will be brought into balance.  Whilst the Local Authority was one of the last London Boroughs to enter a Dedicated Schools’ Grant deficit, it is now facing significant financial pressures with a projected deficit of £12M in Dedicated Schools Grant by the end of the 2022/23 financial year.  The Dedicated Schools Grant Management Plan has been developed to address this, setting out the local Bromley position and providing a comprehensive action plan.