Agenda item

Report ED18008

The Sub-Committee considered a report outlining the provisional budget outturn position for the Education Portfolio for the 2016/17 financial year.  This showed an underspend of £109k for the “controllable” element of the Non-Schools’ Budget, a reduction from the last reported figure of £75k overspend based on activity at the end of December 2016.  This was largely due to an underspend on staffing and running expenses for the Early Intervention Service including additional recharge of Public Health grant, as well as a small underspend on the Youth Offending Service relating to staffing and running costs. There was also an underspend of £226k on the Schools’ Budget which was funded by the Dedicated Schools Grant, and would be added to £1.4M carry forward funding remaining from 2015/16, giving a total of £1.6M to be carried forward into 2017/18.  A number of carry forward requests had been agreed by the Council’s Executive at its meeting on 20^th June 2017, which related to either unspent grant income or delays in expenditure where cost pressures would follow through into 2017/18.

The Head of Education, Care and Health Services Finance advised Members that the Secretary of State for Education had recently announced additional funding of £1.3B for schools in England comprising £400M for 2018/19 and £880M for 2019/20 to be drawn from savings within the Department for Education budget, the free schools budget and ‘healthy pupils’ projects that would be provided as a ‘per pupil’ cash increase.  From 2018/19, the new National Funding Formula would be introduced. This would initially be via a ‘soft’ formula that could be directed by the Schools’ Forum, but from 2020/21, the National Funding Formula would be centrally-controlled and the Schools’ Forum would have no input on how funding was allocated to Bromley schools.  The Schools’ Forum would retain a role in considering how funding should be allocated in other areas, such as the High Needs block.  A briefing note on the Ministerial Statement on Schools Funding would be provided to Members of the Sub-Committee following the meeting. 

In considering the provisional budget outturn position, the Chairman noted that there had been an overspend of £504k for Special Educational Needs transport for 2016/17 which was lower than projected due to increased income, and that additional funding had been agreed within the Education, Children and Families Portfolio budget for 2017/18 to ensure sufficient funding was available to meet the costs of Special Educational Needs transport.

In response to a question from a Member, the Head of Education, Care and Health Services Finance confirmed that the overspend of £95k relating to Community Vision and Blenheim nurseries was due to lower than expected take up of the places reserved for social care clients. 

RESOLVED that the Portfolio Holder be recommended to:

1)  Note the underspend of £109k on controllable expenditure at the end of 2016/17;

2)  Note the carry forward requests agreed at the meeting of the Council’s Executive on 20^th June 2017; and,

3)  Approve the provisional budget outturn for the Education Portfolio for 2016/17.