Agenda item 6
Meeting: Schools Forum
Date: 17 January 2022
Report of: Head of Health, Adults, Families, Children and Learning Finance
Subject: Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) 2022/23
Wards Affected: All
To update the Schools Forum on the DSG for 2022/23.
To note the updated 2022/23 estimated DSG of £204.208m for 2022/23 (see para 3.2).
To note the additional estimated supplementary grant allocations relating to the Schools and High Needs Blocks in 2022/23. These equate to £4.425m for the Schools Block and £1.287m for the High Needs Block.
To consider and agree de-delegation of the school improvement grant for 2022/23 as detailed in the separate school improvement paper and summarised in paragraph 4.4 of this report.
To confirm agreement of the de-delegation of items within Exception 1 previously agreed at the October 2021 Forum as per paragraph 4.4. There is an increase of £0.006m for EMAS.
To confirm agreement of the Growth Fund of £0.271m as per paragraph 5. This is a reduction of £0.007m compared to the October 2021 Forum report.
To note the items previously agreed within the Central Services Schools Block (CSSB) of £1.445m as per paragraph 6.
3.1 On 16 December 2021 the Department for Education (DfE) published the updated information for the DSG for 2022/23.
3.2 The updated block allocations now reflect data from the October 2021 school census and also incorporate other recently announced funding arrangements, such as the early years settlement.
| Financial Year | Schools Block* | CSSB | High Needs Block* | Early Years Block | Total DSG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | £153,922 | £2,270 | £32,983 | £15,033 | £204,208 |
| 2021/22 | £150,859 | £2,415 | £30,632 | £15,631*** | £199,537 |
| Increase | £3,063 | (£145) | £2,351 | (£598) | £4,671 |
*Schools Block allocation for 2022/23 prior to adjustment for non-domestic rates described in paragraph 3.4 below.
**High Needs Block allocation after deduction of direct funding of external high needs places by the Education Skills Funding Agency equating to £0.234m in 2022/23.
*** the 2021/22 DfE published Early Years Block is currently still based on January 2020 census data whereas the 2022/23 figure has been updated using January 2021 data. The DfE will make an adjustment to the 2021/22 EYB in January 2022 to reflect more recent census data and the LA is anticipating this will result in a reduction to the current EYB figure of £15.631m of c. £1m. This will mean that the published figure for 2022/23 will ultimately represent an increase of c. £0.4m from the adjusted 2021/22 EYB allocation.
3.3 The Schools Block pupil numbers have decreased from 29,933 in October 2020 to 29,752 in October 2021. Despite this, the core Schools Block allocation has increased by just over £3m in 2022/23.
3.4 For 2022/23, the DfE has also confirmed there will be a change in the process of the payment for non-domestic rates (NDR) when the Education and Skills Funding Agency will pay billing authorities directly. In effect, the funding for rates will be removed from the DSG payments made to LAs by the Government. This arrangement will be cost neutral to schools but in terms of presentation the net DSG allocation and net school budget totals will exclude the element of funding for rates. This means the adjusted published DSG figures after DfE deductions for 2022/23 are as follows:
| Gross Schools Block | Rates within Schools Block | Adjusted Schools Block | CSSB | High Needs | Early Years | Total DSG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £153,922 | £2,887 | £151,035 | £2,270 | £32,983 | £15,033 | £201,321 |
In addition to the core DSG for 2022/23, the government has also announced an additional significant grant. This is being provided in respect of the impact of both the Health and Adult Social Care Levy (national insurance increase) and other anticipated cost pressures. For mainstream schools it is estimated that this will equate to an additional £4.425m, whereas the high needs block is anticipated to receive an additional £1.287m through this grant. More detail is provided in the separate Schools Block and High Needs Block January 2022 Forum reports.
This funding also applies to early years and post-16 provision. For early years provision in schools, and for maintained nursery schools, the rate will be £24 per pupil (based on the January 2022 early years census). The base per-student funding rate for 16-19 provision in schools, including 16 to 19 schools and academies, will be £35 per student using the student count for the 2022/23 main sixth form allocations.
This additional funding will be provided in each year of the current spending review period. The government’s intention is that payment of this additional funding in the form of a separate grant will be for 2022/23 only. Thereafter the funding will be incorporated into core budget allocations for 2023/2024 where possible.
4.1 The initial 2022/23 figures per phase are shown in the table below. These were agreed at the October 2021 Forum meeting on a phase-by-phase basis.
| Service | Primary | Secondary | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mainstream Schools Contingency | £157,000 | £143,000 | £300,000 |
| Ethnic Minority Achievement Service (EMAS) | £377,000 | £0 | £377,000 |
| Free School Meals (FSM) eligibility administration | £19,000 | £11,000 | £30,000 |
| Insurance | £308,000 | £215,000 | £523,000 |
| Staff Costs (Union Duties / Jury service / Suspension) | £50,000 | £50,000 | £100,000 |
| TOTAL | £911,000 | £419,000 | £1,330,000 |
4.2 There has been a minor adjustment to the funding requirement for EMAS since October due to an increase in overhead costs. This has resulted in an increase of £6k compared to the figure reported at the October 2021 Forum.
4.3 In addition, there is a request for Schools Forum to approve additional de-delegation for the school improvement monitoring grant. This proposal is set out in detail in a separate paper.
4.4 The final figures for 2022/23 are shown below:
| Service | Primary | Secondary | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mainstream Schools Contingency | £157,000 | £143,000 | £300,000 |
| Ethnic Minority Achievement Service (EMAS) | £383,000 | £0 | £383,000 |
| Free School Meals (FSM) eligibility administration | £19,000 | £11,000 | £30,000 |
| Insurance | £308,000 | £215,000 | £523,000 |
| Staff Costs (Union Duties / Jury service / Suspension) | £50,000 | £50,000 | £100,000 |
| TOTAL | £917,000 | £419,000 | £1,336,000 |
| School Improvement Monitoring | £69,000 | £41,000 | £110,000 |
| UPDATED TOTAL | £986,000 | £460,000 | £1,446,000 |
5.1 As part of the new funding arrangements, the expectation of the Government is that the vast majority of the Schools Block will be delegated to schools through the local formula. However, as in 2021/22, the LA is proposing to use the Growth Fund to recognise cases where schools are taking on additional forms of entry or extending the age range of pupils. The Schools Forum approved the central retention of the growth fund for 2022/23 at the October 2021 meeting. At the time this was estimated at £0.278m.
5.2 The updated budget provision required in the Growth Fund in 2022/23 is now £0.271m (as detailed in Appendix 1), and this reflects the increase in the per pupil funding for 2022/23. The growth fund will be ring-fenced so that it is only used for purposes of supporting growth in pupil numbers and will be for the benefit of both maintained schools and academies. This funding will be allocated directly to the individual schools affected.
6.1 For these items, the DfE will allow expenditure on these lines up to the total budgeted for in 2013/14, but no new commitments or additional expenditure will be permitted unless DfE approval is granted.
6.2 This block contains the items previously considered under Exception 2, Exception 3, Copyright Licenses and Statutory Duties. DfE are using a national formula to calculate the CSSB, based on 90% pupil numbers and 10% deprivation, and then increased by the Greater Labour Market (GLM) Area Cost Adjustment (ACA).
6.3 The table below shows the total already agreed by the Schools Forum in October 2021 for the CSSB of £1,442k.
| Service | SF Decision | Original Total 2022/23 | Updated Total 2022/23 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ex 2 – Combined Services – Legionella works | Agreed | £33,000 | £33,000 |
| Ex 2 – Miscellaneous Expenditure – Headteacher Support | Agreed | £20,000 | £20,000 |
| Ex 3 – School Admissions | Agreed | £341,000 | £341,000 |
| Ex 3 – Termination of employment costs | Agreed | £252,000 | £252,000 |
| Ex 3 – Schools Forum | Agreed | £40,000 | £40,000 |
| Ex 4 – Copyright licenses as notified by DfE | Agreed | £147,000 | £150,000 |
| Other Duties – Statutory and regulatory duties | Agreed | £219,000 | £219,000 |
| Other Duties – Access for Education | Agreed | £112,000 | £112,000 |
| Other Duties – Asset Management | Agreed | £149,000 | £149,000 |
| Pay and Pension grant for centrally employed teachers | Agreed | £129,000 | £129,000 |
| Total Central School Services Block | £1,442,000 | £1,445,000 |
6.4 Since October 2021, DfE has advised there has been an increase of £3k for the amount required for copyright licenses.
6.5 The change to the notified CSSB allocation and the requirements for centrally retained funding are summarised in the table below
| October 2021 | December 2021 | |
|---|---|---|
| CSSB Notified Allocation from DfE | £2,282,000 | £2,270,000 |
| Central Retention Required | £1,442,000 | £1,445,000 |
| Balance to be transferred to Schools Block | £840,000 | £825,000 |
The reduction of £12k in the notified CSSB between October 2021 and December 2021 is due to the change in pupil numbers between October 2020 and October 2021.
7.1 This table provides a summary of the 2022/23 notified DSG allocation and also details how the LA is proposing to apply this between the funding blocks. This table presents the position including the provision for non-domestic rates in the Schools Block. The table also assumes additional de-delegation for the School Improvement Grant is agreed by Forum.
| Schools Block | Central Services Schools Block | High Needs Block | Early Years Block | Total 2022/23 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schools Block – Exception One | £1,446,000 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £1,446,000 |
| Schools Block – Growth Fund | £271,000 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £271,000 |
| Central Services Schools Block | £0 | £1,445,000 | £0 | £0 | £1,445,000 |
| £1,717,000 | £1,445 | £0 | £0 | £3,162,000 | |
| Funding available in HNB & EYB | £0 | £0 | £32,983,000 | £15,033,000 | £48,160,000 |
| Post de-delegation funding to schools | £153,030,000 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £153,030,000 |
| Total Blocks (to be applied) | £154,747,000 | £1,445,000 | £32,983,000 | £15,033,000 | £204,208,000 |
| DfE Blocks (estimated as per paragraph 3.2) | £153,922,000 | £2,270,000 | £32,983,000 | £15,033,000 | £204,208,000 |
| Difference – LA transfer of funding from CSSB to Schools Block | £825,000 | (£825,000) | £0 | £0 | £0 |
7.2 The Education Skills and Funding Agency will recoup funding for academies and free schools in line with budgets calculated within the Schools Block. The provisional recoupment figures from the overall DSG are shown in the table below:
| Schools Block | Central Schools | High Needs | Early Years | Total DSG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total DSG – as above | £154,747,000 | £1,445,000 | £32,983,000 | £15,033,000 | £204,208,000 |
| Adjustments: | |||||
| Academy Recoupment – BACA | (£5,003,000) | £0 | £0 | £0 | (£5,003,000) |
| Academy Recoupment – PACA | (£5,773,000) | £0 | £0 | £0 | (£5,773,000) |
| Academy Recoupment – City Academy Whitehawk | (£2,113,000) | £0 | £0 | £0 | (£2,113,000) |
| Academy Recoupment - Moulsecoomb | (£1,132,000) | £0 | £0 | £0 | (£1,132,000) |
| Free School Recoupment – Kings School | (£4,018,000) | £0 | £0 | £0 | (£4,018,000) |
| Free School Recoupment – Bilingual Free School | (£2,469,000) | £0 | £0 | £0 | (£2,469,000) |
| Total Academy Recoupment | (£20,508,000) | £0 | £0 | £0 | (£20,508,000) |
| Updated split of 2022/23 DSG – January 2022 Forum | £134,239,000 | £1,445,000 | £32,983,000 | £15,033,000 | £183,700,000 |
| Secondary Schools growing from September 2018 | Approx. AWPU | Extra Pupils (September 2022 | Part Year | Pupil Funding Allocation | Additional Revenue Funding | Total Revenue Funding |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blatchington Mill - additional form of entry from September 2018 to Sep 2022 | £4,562 | 30 | 0.583 | £79,835 | £5,000 | £84,835 |
| Patcham High - additional 10 pupils from September 2018 to Sep 2022 | £4,562 | 10 | 0.583 | £26,612 | £2,500 | £29,112 |
| Varndean - additional form of entry from September 2018 to Sep 2022 | £4,562 | 30 | 0.583 | £79,835 | £5,000 | £84,835 |
| Kings - additional 25 pupils from September 2018 to Sep 2022 | £4,562 | 25 | 0.583 | £66,529 | £5,000 | £71,529 |
| 95 | £252,811 | £17,500 | £270,311 |