Issue - meetings

Report by Terence Herbert, Corporate Director

Councillor Laura Mayes and Philip Whitehead presented the report which proposed a revised funding formula for Wiltshire schools in order move towards the government’s proposed National Funding Formula (NFF) for schools. It is proposed that the revised formula is implemented from the 2018-19 financial year. Councillor Mayes thanked Councillor Philip Whalley and the Schools Forum for their work on the matter, and stated that she would continue to lobby government on the issues of fairer funding.

Resolved

1.    To set the Wiltshire formula for funding schools as close to the proposed National Funding Formula (NFF) for schools as possible. The proposed formula for Wiltshire therefore incorporates all of the factors proposed for the NFF.

2.    To note that final values for the individual factors in 2018-19 will be determined after the funding settlement is announced in December 2017.

Reasons for Decision:

The Schools Forum considered the approach to be taken in Wiltshire and proposed that school budgets should be moved towards the NFF during the transitional period. Whilst this does represent a change to the way in which schools in Wiltshire will be funded, it is the view of Schools Forum that it is appropriate to move school budgets in this direction whilst the LA can implement transitional protection. There is no indication of any transitional arrangement after April 2020 at this stage.