School funding
Public Accounts Committee
Closed
Inquiry
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 …
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11
Recommendations
27
Conclusions
1
Report
1
Oral session
2
Letters
1
Event
Activity timeline 5 events
14 Dec
2021
2021
29 Nov
2021
2021
22 Oct
2021
2021
Report published
10 Sep
2021
2021
15 Jul
2021
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
Reports 1 report · click to expand
| Title | HC No. | Published | Items | Response |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twenty-First Report - School Funding | HC 183 | 22 Oct 2021 | 38 | Responded |
Recommendations & Conclusions
11 results
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 …
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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.
HM Treasury
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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 …
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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.
HM Treasury
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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 …
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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.
HM Treasury
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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 …
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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.
HM Treasury
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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 …
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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.
HM Treasury
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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 …
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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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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 …
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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.
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 …
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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.
HM Treasury
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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 …
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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.
HM Treasury
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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 …
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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.
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 …
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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.
HM Treasury
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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