Agenda item

Liz Williams, Head of Finance, was in attendance to introduce the report on ‘Schools National Funding Formula and High Needs Reform’. The Chairman agreed for the report on Schools National Funding Formula and High Needs Reform and the appendix on Schools National Funding Formula and High Needs Funding Formula Government Consultation – stage 1 to be heard as urgent items. The reason the items were agreed to be heard as urgent was because the schools funding consultation had been issued in the week beginning 7 March 2016 and the response date was set for 17 April 2016 and therefore, the Forum would have had no opportunity to provide a response if the items were to be heard at a subsequent meeting date. Mrs Williams explained that 2 consultations on funding formula had been issued; she informed those present that an Early Years consultation would follow and that the purpose of her report was to note the headlines on funding formula and what this would demand in terms of action points. It was stressed however, that a more detailed document on the topic would follow in the summer.

Mrs Williams highlighted that the government had signalled a new process for the national funding formula.  It was explained that, from April 2017 it was proposed that the School Level National Funding Formula, funding would be allocated directly to Local Authorities using that national formula for the subsequent 2 years and Local Authorities would then use a local formula to allocate the funds to schools within their County.

Attention was drawn to the fact that in the future all schools would be receiving money from a national funding formula only. It was noted that, only once the difference had been shown nationally, would the Schools Forum be able to make an informed decision about whether to change the local funding formula in the transitional period.

It was confirmed that the remaining funding guarantee would remain at -1.5% and that there would be a change to the baseline of the DSG block; which would ensure that money could not be moved between blocks. Indeed, this reform would effectively set the levels of the blocks for the future and they would be fixed. It was highlighted that, despite the proposed reform, in 3 years’ time there would be no flexibility over the block anyway and no de-delegations would be able to occur, as the budgets would have to be listed to schools themselves.

Concern was raised by some members that the current mechanism for distributing funding for the High Needs Funding Formula was unfair and it was confirmed that the proposal would move to a more formulaic approach; where factors such as low attainment and deprivation would be considered, however, the meeting was advised that the move to a formula could bring about radical changes to funding for Local Authorities although there is expected to be a minimum funding guarantee applied to protect against disruptive chance

It was discussed that a large number of responses to the proposal were needed and members agreed that Wiltshire should provide an overwhelming response that the County was in need of further funding for schools. Mrs Williams noted that the response date for the 7 March 2016 consultation was 17 April 2016 and recommended that the Schools Funding Working Group (SFWG) meet ahead of this deadline. It was agreed that the SFWG would meet before the Easter Holidays and that the consultation be communicated to as many governors as possible, in order for Wiltshire to be able to respond to the consultation with many voices, as opposed to purely one.

Having been put to the meeting, it was

Resolved:

       i.          That a meeting of the SFWG be held before the Easter Holidays, to agree a response to the consultations on national funding formula for schools and high needs funding reform

     ii.          That Wiltshire respond to the consultations by articulating Wiltshire schools’ need for increased funding