Issue - meetings

Report ED18085

The Schools’ Forum considered a report which outlined the estimated Dedicated Schools’ Grant (DSG) allocation for 2019/20 and provided an overview of how the grant would be spent.  Due to the overall position for the DSG the LA felt it was important to share this information with the Schools’ Forum at the earliest opportunity.

The indicative DSG funding for 2019/20 was based on October 2017 pupil numbers and would be uplifted in December 2018 to reflect the October 2018 census data.  The DSG for 2019/20 was divided into four blocks (High Needs, Early Years, Schools, and Schools Central) and for indicative purposes the expected income was, subject to any adjustments made as a result of the October 2018 census data :

Schools Central Block

This newly established block was showing a small overspend of around £24k.  This was based on the assumption that there would be a contribution of £250k from Council reserves to offset the deficit. However, should the Council contribution not be agreed significant savings in this area would need to be identified or DSG reserves used to offset this as in previous years.  It was noted that the £1m contribution from the Council was currently a projection as no decisions around this funding had been taken.

In response to a question from the Vice-Chairman, the Head of ECHS Finance confirmed that any deficit at the end of the year would be funded through DSG reserves.  The Director of Education confirmed that the Local Authority was reviewing all options to reduce expenditure and that as part of this it would be helpful for the Schools’ Forum to be provided with a detailed breakdown of expenditure in order to fully understand how funding was utilised.

Early Years Block

The Early Years Block was showing as being balanced however, the income was based on October 2017 pupil numbers which were likely to change considerably in October 18 to reflect the impact of the additional 15 hours which was introduced last year.  There was a particular pressure on this block due to the fact that historically Bromley has funded two years olds at a higher rate than that received in the DSG. If there was any pressure on this block then this would likely be the first area to be considered rather than adjusting the 3 and 4 year olds funding formula.  The Head of ECHS Finance confirmed that fluctuations in pupil numbers in this block would lead to a corresponding fluctuation in funding and if pupil numbers dropped the DfE wold claw back funding.

In response to a question from the Vice-Chairman, the Head of Schools Finance Support emphasised that currently there were no proposals in place that would affect the 2 year old funding.  There would need to be detailed modelling of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19