School funding

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 5 Jul 2021 Closed: 14 Dec 2021 Parliament page
A recent report by the National Audit Office (NAO) found that a new national schools funding formula has led to to a shift in funding from more deprived schools to better off schools. Government funding per pupil has remained virtually unchanged since 2014. The Department for Education (DfE) implemented a … Read more
11 Recommendations
27 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
2 Letters
1 Event
Activity timeline 5 events
14 Dec
2021
Report published
29 Nov
2021
Correspondence
22 Oct
2021
Report published
10 Sep
2021
Correspondence
15 Jul
2021
Oral evidence
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
15 Jul 2021
View on parliament.uk
School funding
Julia Kinniburgh · Department for Education Susan Acland-Hood · The Department for Education Tony Foot · Department for Education Warwick Sharp · Education and Skills Funding Agency
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Twenty-First Report - School Funding HC 183 22 Oct 2021 38 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
38 results
2 Recommendation Not Addressed
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
Under the national funding formula, schools that are more deprived have fared worse than those...
Under the national funding formula, schools that are more deprived have fared worse than those that are less deprived. In 2018–19, the Department introduced a national funding formula with the aim of allocating school funding more transparently, consistently and fairly … Read more
Government Response
The government did not address the recommendation to publish an assessment of the likely impact of moving to a hard national funding formula on individual schools before its implementation, instead reiterating that the NFF distributes funding fairly and fixes a broken system.
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3 Recommendation Rejected
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
It is not possible to tell whether individual academy schools are receiving the government’s guaranteed...
It is not possible to tell whether individual academy schools are receiving the government’s guaranteed minimum per-pupil funding levels. In 2018–19, the Department introduced minimum levels of schools block per-pupil funding for all schools in England. In January 2020, the … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation, stating it does not collect this information and it would not be practicable to do so. It suggests existing data on the Schools Financial Benchmarking website is sufficient for analysis.
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4 Recommendation Accepted
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
Schools are having to cross-subsidise their sixth forms with funding intended to support younger pupils.
Schools are having to cross-subsidise their sixth forms with funding intended to support younger pupils. Between 2014–15 and 2020–21, the balance of funding shifted from secondary schools to primary schools. Secondary school funding per pupil dropped by 3.9% in real … Read more
Government Response
The government accepted the recommendation, committing to continue considering how different funding streams interact to support the financial sustainability of schools with sixth forms in future funding decisions, noting significant additional investment in 16-19 education.
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5 Recommendation Accepted
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
The Department does not seem to have a grip on the impact of falling rolls...
The Department does not seem to have a grip on the impact of falling rolls on schools. Most school funding follows the pupils—under the national funding formula, the Department allocates nearly three-quarters of schools block funding on the basis of … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the recommendation and commits to writing to the Committee by March 2022 with an updated assessment of support for schools with decreasing pupil numbers.
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6 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
The Department cannot say when it will implement its commitment to a starting salary of...
The Department cannot say when it will implement its commitment to a starting salary of £30,000 for new teachers. In September 2019, the Government set out its intention that salaries for new teachers would rise to £30,000 by September 2022, … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees to the recommendation and will submit written evidence to the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) in early 2022, outlining its intended approach to delivering the £30,000 starting salary for teachers, although exact delivery remains subject to STRB recommendations.
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1 Conclusion Not Addressed
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence...
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Education (the Department) and the Education and Skills Funding Agency (the ESFA) on school funding in England.1
Government Response
The government response restates the committee's initial observation about taking evidence for the report, without addressing any specific findings or recommendations.
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7 Conclusion Accepted
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
There has also been a relative re-distribution of funding from more deprived schools (those with...
There has also been a relative re-distribution of funding from more deprived schools (those with a higher proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals) to less deprived schools. Between 2017–18 and 2020–21, average per-pupil funding for the most deprived … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees and will publish an analysis of the impact of transitional steps towards a hard National Funding Formula on individual schools and different types of schools in July 2022, updated annually.
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8 Conclusion Acknowledged
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
The written evidence that we received raised concerns about the impact of the national funding...
The written evidence that we received raised concerns about the impact of the national funding formula. Professor Tanya Ovenden-Hope said that the formula had not delivered the expected significant increases in funding for small schools, including rural schools which have … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges concerns about the national funding formula (NFF) and reiterates its belief that the NFF distributes funding fairly. It further states it has published a consultation on moving to a direct, single national formula, with a gradual transition proposed from 2023-24 and annual impact analyses to be published.
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9 Conclusion Accepted
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
The Department said that the national funding formula had fixed a system that had become...
The Department said that the national funding formula had fixed a system that had become broken. It explained that, between 2005 and 2017–18, school funding had not been adjusted to reflect changes in pattens of need across the country. For … Read more
Government Response
The government agreed with the Committee's observation that the national funding formula (NFF) fixed a broken system and fairly distributes funding. It committed to publishing an analysis of the impact of its proposed transitional step towards a hard NFF in July 2022, with annual updates.
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10 Conclusion Accepted
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
The Department told us that funding allocations were now catching up with changing levels of...
The Department told us that funding allocations were now catching up with changing levels of deprivation—some areas remained very deprived but were not as deprived as they had been in the early 2000s, while other areas remained less deprived but … Read more
Government Response
The government explains that the National Funding Formula (NFF) fairly distributes funding based on school and pupil needs, and the shifting patterns reflect the NFF catching up with changes in deprivation levels since the early 2000s.
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11 Recommendation Accepted
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
The Department also highlighted the impact of the new minimum per-pupil funding levels on the...
The Department also highlighted the impact of the new minimum per-pupil funding levels on the distribution of funding. The effect of these had been to shift funding in the direction of schools that had very low levels of deprivation.12 The … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the implicit recommendation to monitor funding impacts, committing to publish an annual analysis of the impact of transitional funding steps on individual and different types of schools, with the first due in July 2022.
HM Treasury
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12 Conclusion
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
The Department provides pupil premium funding (£2.2 billion in 2020–21) to help schools improve the...
The Department provides pupil premium funding (£2.2 billion in 2020–21) to help schools improve the attainment of disadvantaged pupils.14 From April 2021, the Department has calculated pupil premium allocations based on the number of eligible pupils recorded by schools in … Read more
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13 Conclusion Rejected
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
In 2018–19, as part of the national funding formula, the Department introduced minimum per-pupil funding...
In 2018–19, as part of the national funding formula, the Department introduced minimum per-pupil funding levels for all schools in England in support of the government’s aim of ‘levelling up education funding’.17 In January 2020, the Prime Minister guaranteed that … Read more
Government Response
The government disagreed with an implicit recommendation to collect information on minimum per-pupil funding levels from academy trusts, stating it does not collect such data and it would not be practicable. It instead pointed to the Schools Financial Benchmarking website as the best source for analysing academy expenditure.
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14 Conclusion Rejected
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
Local authorities can apply local funding formulae in deciding funding for maintained schools and academy...
Local authorities can apply local funding formulae in deciding funding for maintained schools and academy trusts. However, the Department limited the extent of local authorities’ discretion from 2020–21 by requiring them to include the minimum per- pupil funding levels in … Read more
Government Response
The government disagreed with an implicit recommendation regarding multi-academy trust funding distribution, stating it does not collect information on how trusts provide minimum per-pupil funding to their schools, and it would not be practicable. It advised using the Schools Financial Benchmarking website for expenditure analysis.
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15 Conclusion Rejected
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
We asked why multi-academy trusts had more freedom in how they distributed funding.
We asked why multi-academy trusts had more freedom in how they distributed funding. The Department replied that academy trusts and local authorities had different roles: local authorities were responsible for distributing funding between schools, whereas academy trusts had direct responsibility … Read more
Government Response
The government disagreed with an implicit recommendation regarding multi-academy trust funding freedoms, stating it does not collect information on how trusts distribute funding to their schools in this form, and it would not be practicable. It advised using the Schools Financial Benchmarking website for expenditure analysis.
HM Treasury
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16 Recommendation Rejected
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
We asked how the parent of a child in an academy school could establish whether...
We asked how the parent of a child in an academy school could establish whether the school was receiving the minimum per-pupil funding levels that they were promised. The ESFA said that the most accessible source of information was the … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation to publish specific per-pupil funding details for academy schools, stating it is not practicable to collect this information but will continue to review the Schools Financial Benchmarking website for transparency.
HM Treasury
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17 Conclusion Acknowledged
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
Overall, between 2014–15 and 2020–21, the balance of funding shifted from secondary schools to primary...
Overall, between 2014–15 and 2020–21, the balance of funding shifted from secondary schools to primary schools. Secondary school funding per pupil fell by 3.9% in real terms, while primary school funding increased by 4.2%. The main cause of this shift … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the committee's observation, stating its commitment to investing in 16-19 education, including school sixth forms, with an additional £1.6 billion by 2024-25, and will continue to consider how funding streams interact to support financial sustainability.
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18 Conclusion Acknowledged
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
The Department said that it had looked carefully at the balance between funding for primary...
The Department said that it had looked carefully at the balance between funding for primary and secondary schools when it had designed the national funding formula.26 We asked whether school sixth forms were losing out in an attempt to prop … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges concerns about cross-subsidy and commits to continued investment in 16-19 education, noting additional funding made available. It states that the department will continue to consider how different funding streams interact to support the financial sustainability of schools with sixth forms.
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19 Recommendation Accepted
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
The Department told us that it was mindful of the challenges facing 16-to-19 education, including...
The Department told us that it was mindful of the challenges facing 16-to-19 education, including significant demographic pressures.28 It recognised that some schools with sixth forms were cross-subsidising their post-16 provision from the rest of their budgets, and said that … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the recommendation and commits to explicitly considering how different funding streams interact in future funding decisions for 5-16 and post-16 provision, aiming to support the financial sustainability of schools with sixth forms.
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20 Conclusion Acknowledged
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
The funding that schools receive is largely determined by how many pupils they have.
The funding that schools receive is largely determined by how many pupils they have. Under the national funding formula, the Department allocates 73.5% of schools block funding based on pupil numbers. A further 17.9% of funding relates to the number … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the committee's observation on funding allocation and states it has published a consultation on moving to a direct, single national funding formula. It proposes a gradual transition from 2023-24 and will publish an annual analysis of its impact, with the first due in July 2022.
HM Treasury
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21 Recommendation Accepted
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
We have heard concerns about the funding of schools, across London and elsewhere, whose rolls...
We have heard concerns about the funding of schools, across London and elsewhere, whose rolls are falling. Small schools, such as those with a single-form entry, may face a disproportionate financial impact if their pupil numbers fall. The Department recognised … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees to the recommendation to carry out an evidence-based assessment of support for schools with falling rolls and will provide an update to the Committee by March 2022.
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22 Conclusion Accepted
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
The Department emphasised that all schools receive a single lump sum regardless of size to...
The Department emphasised that all schools receive a single lump sum regardless of size to cover some of the fixed costs that do not vary with pupil numbers. In addition, 25 C&AG’s report, para 1.12 26 Q 32 27 Q … Read more
Government Response
The government explained that existing National Funding Formula elements support schools with falling rolls, and local authorities are responsible for managing school places efficiently, with discretion to use Dedicated School Grant funds for this purpose. The department will provide an updated assessment of support for schools with decreasing pupil numbers by March 2022.
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23 Conclusion Not Addressed
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
We asked whether the Department was confident that the falling rolls fund had sufficient resources...
We asked whether the Department was confident that the falling rolls fund had sufficient resources to help all the schools that might need support. The Department replied that there were mechanisms for the funding to vary according to local need … Read more
Government Response
The government response describes how local authorities may use falling rolls funds under existing policy, but does not address the committee's specific concern about the Department's confidence in the fund's sufficiency or the adequacy of support.
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24 Recommendation Deferred
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
In September 2019, the Department announced a review of the support system for children with...
In September 2019, the Department announced a review of the support system for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The review aimed to improve services for families who needed support, equip staff to respond effectively to children’s additional … Read more
Government Response
The Department for Education has provided an update on the progress of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) review and plans to publish proposals for full public consultation, rather than immediately completing and publishing the review itself.
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25 Conclusion Deferred
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
In March 2021, the Department told us that it planned to publish a Green Paper...
In March 2021, the Department told us that it planned to publish a Green Paper towards the end of June 2021 with its proposals for improving SEND support.36 Consulting on proposals for change will be only the first step towards … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the issues around SEND support and funding, stating it has provided an update on the SEND review and plans to publish proposals for full public consultation to improve outcomes and value for money in the system.
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26 Conclusion Deferred
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
In July 2021, the Department wrote to tell us that it had decided it should...
In July 2021, the Department wrote to tell us that it had decided it should take more time to ensure its reform plans could deliver the systemic change needed, noting that the COVID-19 pandemic had materially altered the context for … Read more
Government Response
The Department outlined progress on the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) review, confirming plans to publish proposals for a full public consultation, which will involve future input from stakeholders.
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27 Conclusion Deferred
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
The Department recognised that the review process was taking much longer than it had wanted,...
The Department recognised that the review process was taking much longer than it had wanted, but explained that, as it had started to test its emerging proposals, the risk had become clear that the review would not be as effective … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the ongoing SEND review and states it has provided an update on progress and plans for publication, committing to publish proposals for full public consultation to shape how the department meets its goals for SEND.
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28 Conclusion Deferred
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
The Department highlighted three key things that it was doing while it worked on the...
The Department highlighted three key things that it was doing while it worked on the SEND review. First, it had increased high-needs funding by about £1.5 billion in two years and made available £300 million of capital funding in 2021 … Read more
Government Response
The government states it has provided an update on the SEND review and plans to publish proposals for full public consultation, committing to improving outcomes and value for money in the SEND system.
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29 Conclusion Deferred
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
We pressed the Department on the projected timeframe for the review to be completed, asking...
We pressed the Department on the projected timeframe for the review to be completed, asking if it might be autumn 2021, the end of the calendar year, or the end of the 2021–22 financial year. The Department would not commit … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the ongoing SEND review, stating it has provided an update on progress and plans to publish proposals for full public consultation, without committing to a specific completion date for the review.
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30 Conclusion Accepted
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
The school funding system currently involves local discretion in that local authorities and academy trusts...
The school funding system currently involves local discretion in that local authorities and academy trusts are free to vary the allocations that the Department calculates using the national funding formula. The government has said that it intends to move to … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges its intention to move to a 'hard' national funding formula, stating it has recently published a consultation on completing reforms to the NFF, proposing direct funding allocation based on a single national formula.
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31 Conclusion Acknowledged
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
The Department explained that it had begun a consultation process about moving to a hard...
The Department explained that it had begun a consultation process about moving to a hard funding formula on 8 July 2021. Ultimately, its goal was to allocate funding consistently across the system as whole, so that schools with the same … Read more
Government Response
The Department noted it has recently published a consultation document, 'Completing our Reforms to the NFF', which proposes moving to a direct funding allocation for schools based on a national formula.
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32 Conclusion Deferred
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
In September 2019, the Government set out its intention that salaries for new teachers would...
In September 2019, the Government set out its intention that salaries for new teachers would rise to £30,000 nationally by September 2022. It stated that this increase would make teacher pay among the most competitive in the graduate labour market.46 … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the commitment to a £30,000 starting salary for teachers, stating it will provide written evidence to the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) in early 2022 outlining its intended approach, though exact delivery remains subject to STRB recommendations and government response.
HM Treasury
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33 Conclusion Deferred
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
In its written evidence, the National Association of Head Teachers emphasised the need to improve...
In its written evidence, the National Association of Head Teachers emphasised the need to improve salaries for teachers and school leaders as a critical element of any strategy to resolve the “longstanding recruitment and retention crisis”. It said that schools … Read more
Government Response
The government states it will provide written evidence to the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) in early 2022, outlining its intended approach for delivering the £30,000 starting salary for teachers. However, the exact delivery is subject to the STRB's recommendations and the government's response.
HM Treasury
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34 Recommendation Deferred
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
In the three years from 2018–19, the Department gave grants towards teacher pay increases, and...
In the three years from 2018–19, the Department gave grants towards teacher pay increases, and to meet the full cost of increased pension contributions. From 2021–22, the Department will incorporate most of this additional funding within the dedicated schools grant … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the recommendation and will submit written evidence to the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) in early 2022, outlining its intended approach to delivering the £30,000 starting salary. However, the exact delivery remains subject to STRB recommendations and the government's response.
HM Treasury
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35 Conclusion Accepted
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
The Department said that it remained committed to the £30,000 starting salary for teachers.
The Department said that it remained committed to the £30,000 starting salary for teachers. It explained that it had had to adjust the rate of progress towards this based on conversations with HM Treasury and on the wider context. It … Read more
Government Response
The government agreed with the Committee's observation regarding its commitment to a £30,000 starting salary for teachers. It committed to providing written evidence to the School Teachers’ Review Body in early 2022, outlining its intended approach to delivering this commitment, subject to STRB recommendations.
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36 Conclusion
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
The Department plans to provide funding of £3.1 billion between 2020–21 and 2024–25 to help...
The Department plans to provide funding of £3.1 billion between 2020–21 and 2024–25 to help children and young people catch up on learning lost during the period of disrupted schooling caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.53 Most of the money is … Read more
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37 Conclusion
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
Sir Kevan resigned as the Education Recovery Commissioner in June 2021.
Sir Kevan resigned as the Education Recovery Commissioner in June 2021. In his resignation letter, he said that he did “not believe it is credible that a successful recovery can be achieved with a programme of support this size”.56 The … Read more
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38 Conclusion
Twenty-First Report - School Fundi…
The Department noted that a large part of the additional funding that Sir Kevan had...
The Department noted that a large part of the additional funding that Sir Kevan had recommended had related to suggested changes to the timing of the school day, which had met with a mixed reception among schools and teachers. It … Read more
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Government Response AI assessment · 34 of 11 classified
Accepted 11
Accepted in Part 1
Acknowledged 5
Deferred 9
Not Addressed 3
Rejected 5
Total 11 recs + 27 conclusions
Correspondence 2 letters
29 Nov 2021 Correspondence from Susan Acland-Hood, Permanent Secretary, Department for Education, re 21st PAC Report of Session 2021 – School Funding, dated 19 November 2021
Parliament page
10 Sep 2021 Correspondence from Susan Acland-Hood, Permanent Secretary, Department for Education, re School Funding in England, dated 12 August 2021
Parliament page