There has been considerable talk about the government slowing down expenditure on schools.
I can’t speak from inside knowledge – I just observe what they are up to, but it does seem to me that rather than slowing down, they are trying to put more money into schools in order to help the economy limp along.
This is rather a long post – but if you are interested in how much money is coming into schools it is worth going through it – there’s some interesting detail in the government figures below.
The latest idea is that thousands of school modernisation projects across England can start 12 months early after £919 million was brought forward to boost the construction industry.
More than 100 local authorities in England will share £499m brought forward from 2010-11 to the coming financial year, after bidding for capital investment made available in last November’s Pre-Budget Report.
The DCSF has also accelerated another £390m of capital funding devolved to direct to every school head in England to invest in smaller projects as they see fit – from building new classrooms or science laboratories to fitting out new gyms or ICT facilities. A further £30m is now available for play areas.
It means that overall schools capital spending in 2009-10 will be will now be £7.943 billion – up from under £700m a year in 1997.
The government has also set up measures to support long-term public capital investment programmes by enabling private finance to keep flowing into the Building Schools for the Future programme (BSF) and other PFI-funded projects, announced today by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
The full details of the capital acceleration package are:
• £499 million allocated to 116 local authorities who bid for £800 million capital made available in the Pre Budget Report to be brought forward from 2010-11 allocations to 2009-11. It includes:
o £235 million for Local Authority Modernisation Grant
o £76 million for Primary Capital Programme
o £50 million for Locally Controlled Voluntarily Aided Programme
o £138 million for Targeted Capital Fund for 14-19, SEN and disabilities fund.
• £390 million is being allocated a year early direct to every headteacher in the country – bringing forward 40% of all Devolved Formula Capital allocated for 2010-11 to 2009-10. A further £5.1 million is being allocated direct to academies. It means:
o a typical unmodernised primary school of 250 pupils will now get £47,950 this year, including £13,700 brought forward from their 2010-11 allocations. A primary newly built, rebuilt or refurbished in the last decade will now get £23,975 up from £17,125.
o a typical unmodernised secondary school of 1000 pupils will now get £158,200, including £45,200 brought forward. A secondary newly built, rebuilt or refurbished in the last decade will now get £79,100 up from £56,500.
• £30 million of investment for play facilities brought forward from 2010-11 to 2009-10.
All accelerated spending will be taken off the 2010-11 local authority and school allocations. Ministers confirmed that 2010-11 capital allocations remain available for all local authorities to bring forward, including the 33 local authorities who have chosen not to bid so far.
In a separate announcement today, the Department for Children, Schools and Families also confirmed that nine more local authorities would get their 2010-11 Primary Capital Funding originally earmarked in the Schools Capital Settlement in 2007.
Fifty local authorities overall now have confirmed funding for their primary programme for the next two years – and department continues to work with a further 83 local authorities with confirmed funding only for 2009-10 and 15 who need to do more work before funding is confirmed for both 2009-10 and 2010-11.
Notes
1. The full allocations broken down by local authority are at http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/pnattach/20090045/1.html
2. The 2008-11 local authority capital settlement in October 2007 set out that £6.669 billion will be invested in 2008-09; £7.024 billion in 2009-10 and £8.235 billion in 2010-11. The revised national figures are now £7.943 billion and £7.316 billion.
3. The Chancellor announced in the Pre-Budget Report on 24 November 2008 that he made available £800 million to be advanced 12 months from the 2010-11 allocations from the Primary Capital Programme; Local Authority Modernisation Grant; Locally Controlled Voluntarily Aided Programme and Targeted Capital Fund for 14-19, SEN and disabilities fund. In total, £1.6 billion was allocated to the programmes in 2010-11 in last year’s three-year capital funding settlement.
4. The specific programmes involved are:
a. Primary Capital Programme: 41 local authorities with approved strategies for the next two years, also announced last November, were allowed to bid for accelerated capital. The programme aims to rebuild or refurbish half of all England’s 17,000 primaries over 14 years.
b. Local Authority Modernisation Grant (capital grant): to improve the infrastructure of the school estate (other than voluntary-aided schools and academies);
c. Locally Controlled Voluntarily Aided Programme: to improve the infrastructure of the voluntary-aided school estate; to support the provision of new pupil places; and to facilitate physical access to schools;
d. Targeted Capital Fund: to provide additional funding to areas not currently in the BSF programme to support 14 to 19 reforms, including diplomas; and to improve facilities for SEN and disabled pupils.
5. Ministers announced which local authority Primary Capital Programme Strategies for Change for 2009-10 and 2010-11 had been approved last November – they confirmed 41 had fully met the requirements and would get their earmarked allocations for 2009-10 and 2010-11; 92 would get funding for earmarked allocations for 2009-10 but needed more work before future funding was confirmed; and 15 would get tailored professional help to bring their plans up to speed before funding is released from April 2009. Nine local authorities Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Durham, North Somerset, Plymouth, Sandwell, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth and Windsor & Maidenhead in the second category have today had their 2010-11 funding confirmed.
The full local authority funding breakdown and other background material on Primary Capital Programme is at: http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/management/resourcesfinanceandbuilding/pcp/
Tony
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