Somerset Schools Forum
7 December 2016
Central Schools Budget
(CSB)
Ken Rushton
Service Manager - School Finance
Forum decisions & responsibilities
• The LA proposes
• The Schools Forum decides on spend and the criteria
•
for funding for significant pre-16 pupil growth, including
new schools set up to meet basic need.
The Schools Forum decides for each line on:
- EY block provision
- Places in independent schools for non-SEN
- Services previously funded by the retained ESG
- Admissions
- Schools Forum
Decisions & responsibilities
•
•
The Schools Forum decides for each line on:
- Capital expenditure funded from revenue –
no new projects to be charged post April 2013
- Contribution to combined budgets, where the
forum agreed prior to April 2013
- Prudential borrowing costs – the commitment
must have been approved prior to April 2013
The Schools Forum decides whether to carry
forward a deficit on central expenditure to the next
year to be funded from the schools budget
Historical Commitments
•
•
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April 2013 – to have been agreed by Schools Forum
and the value should not exceed the 2012/13 level
The SEPB will review the Combined Budgets area
over the coming months and decide on whether the
the area of spend meets with the criteria, if not then
with involvement from stakeholders a decision will
be required:
To cease and allocate the funds, change or
continue and hold or allocate the funds and whether
SSE or alternative provider then offers a traded
service
Future of the CSB
•
•
•
March 2016 consultation implied once the retained
duties element transfers to the DSG that the DfE
would bring central schools element and retained
duties funding streams together into a new central
schools block, distributed on a simple formulaic
basis. Therefore we have to assume this will be per
pupil.
Nationally ESG retained and CSB is £0.750 billion
Nationally Per pupil - £95.20, In Somerset - £146.70
Future of the CSB
•
•
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Minimum target is to close the gap of £51.50 per
pupil or £3.535m by April 2018
We can move some Combined Budget funding into
Schools Forum and Admissions, as the pre April
2013 cap no longer applies – Forum decides on the
level of spend (SEPB meeting costs and Choice
Advisor)
Other easy wins, some funds are no longer required
and a part year saving on the fixed costs of the
WAN
Future of the CSB
•
•
•
•
•
•
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The DfE stage 2 consultation due shortly will
provide more information about the CSB block
Expect the DfE to reduce the amount available and
use the saving to fund the transition to a NFF
Overall Somerset’s CSB and retained ESG is £10m
If reduced to £80 per pupil - £5.5m
If reduced to £70 per pupil - £4.8m
If reduced to £60 per pupil - £4.1m
If reduced to £50 per pupil - £3.4m