Twenty-First Report - School Funding
Select Committee
Public Accounts Committee
HC 183
22 October 2021
Government response
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Twenty-First report from Session 2021-22 · published 14 Dec 2021
Recommendations & Conclusions
11 results
4
Recommendation
Accepted
Schools are having to cross-subsidise their sixth forms with funding intended to support younger pupils.
Recommendation
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 Summary
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
The Department does not seem to have a grip on the impact of falling rolls...
Recommendation
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 Summary
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
There has also been a relative re-distribution of funding from more deprived schools (those with...
Conclusion
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 Summary
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
The Department said that the national funding formula had fixed a system that had become...
Conclusion
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 Summary
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
The Department told us that funding allocations were now catching up with changing levels of...
Conclusion
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 Summary
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
The Department also highlighted the impact of the new minimum per-pupil funding levels on the...
Recommendation
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 Summary
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
The Department told us that it was mindful of the challenges facing 16-to-19 education, including...
Recommendation
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 Summary
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
We have heard concerns about the funding of schools, across London and elsewhere, whose rolls...
Recommendation
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 Summary
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
The Department emphasised that all schools receive a single lump sum regardless of size to...
Conclusion
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 Summary
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
The school funding system currently involves local discretion in that local authorities and academy trusts...
Conclusion
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 Summary
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
The Department said that it remained committed to the £30,000 starting salary for teachers.
Conclusion
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 Summary
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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