Statutory Instruments 1999 No. 101
The Financing of Maintained Schools Regulations 1999
- continued

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In exercise of the powers conferred on the Secretary of State by sections 46, 47, 48(1) and (2), 138(7) and (8) and 144(1) and (2)(g) of, and paragraph 1(7) of Schedule 14 to, the School Standards and Framework Act 1998[1] the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, as regards England, and the Secretary of State for Wales, as regards Wales, hereby make the following Regulations, a draft of which has been laid before, and approved by, each House of Parliament:



PART I

INTRODUCTION

Citation, commencement, application and interpretation
     1.  - (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Financing of Maintained Schools Regulations 1999 and shall come into force on the seventh day after the day on which they are made.

    (2) These Regulations shall apply for the purposes of the financing of maintained schools in any financial year beginning on or after 1st April 1999.

    (3) In these Regulations - 

    "the 1998 Act" means the School Standards and Framework Act 1998;

    "the 1998 Regulations" mean the Education (Grant-maintained and Grant-maintained Special Schools) (Finance) Regulations 1998[3].

    (4) In these Regulations "maintained school" means - 

    (a) in relation to the period ending immediately before 1st September 1999, a county, voluntary, maintained special, grant-maintained or grant-maintained special school within the meaning of the 1996 Act; and

    (b) in relation to the period beginning on 1st September 1999, a community, foundation or voluntary school or a community or foundation special school.

    (5) In these Regulations a reference (however framed) to a county, voluntary or maintained special school within the meaning of the 1996 Act includes a proposed school proposals for the establishment of which have been published under section 35, 41 or 339(1) of the 1996 Act but not yet implemented and which has a temporary governing body.

    (6) In these Regulations a reference (however framed) to a community, foundation or voluntary school or a community or foundation special school includes a proposed school which on implementation of proposals under section 35, 41 or 339(1) of the 1996 Act or section 28 or 31 of, or paragraph 5 of Schedule 7 to, the 1998 Act will be such a school and which has a temporary governing body.

    (7) In these Regulations a reference to a governing body includes the temporary governing body of a proposed school falling within paragraph (5) or (6).

    (8) In these Regulations a reference to a primary or secondary school - 

    (a) in relation to the period ending immediately before 1st September 1999, means a primary or secondary school which is a county, voluntary or grant-maintained school within the meaning of the 1996 Act; and

    (b) in relation to the period beginning on 1st September 1999, means a primary or secondary school which is a community, foundation or voluntary school.

    (9) In these Regulations a reference (however framed) to schools maintained by a local education authority does not include schools which are not maintained schools as defined in paragraph (4).

    (10) In these Regulations a reference to the permanent exclusion of a pupil is a reference to his permanent exclusion as defined from time to time for the purposes of section 494 of the 1996 Act[4].

    (11) Unless the context otherwise requires, words or expressions used in these Regulations set out in the first column of the following table shall have the meanings attributed to them by the provisions set out opposite thereto in the second column.

budget share section 47(1) of the 1998 Act
delegated budget section 49(7) of the 1998 Act
expenditure regulation 2(2) of these Regulations (for the purposes of Part II of these Regulations)
financial year section 579(1) of the 1996 Act
formula regulation 10 of these Regulations
individual schools budget section 46(2) of the 1998 Act
key stage section 355 of the 1996 Act
local schools budget section 46(1) of the 1998 Act
maintained school regulation 1(4) of these Regulations
maintenance grant sections 244(1) and 250(1) of the 1996 Act
nursery school section 6(1) of the 1996 Act
permanent exclusion regulation 1(10) of these Regulations
scheme section 48(5) of the 1998 Act (in relation to the period on and after 1st April 1999) or section 101(1) of the 1996 Act (in relation to the period before 1st April 1999)
school maintained by a local education authority regulation 1(9) of these Regulations
school year section 579(1) of the 1996 Act[5]
special educational needs section 312(1) of the 1996 Act.

    (12) Unless the context otherwise requires, a reference in these Regulations to a numbered regulation or Schedule is a reference to the regulation of, or Schedule to, these Regulations so numbered and a reference to a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph so numbered in the regulation or Schedule in which the reference appears.



PART II

LOCAL AND INDIVIDUAL SCHOOLS BUDGET

Local schools budget
     2.  - (1) The classes or descriptions of local education authority expenditure specified in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) below are hereby prescribed for the purposes of section 46(1) of the 1998 Act and the determination of a local education authority's local schools budget subject to the exceptions in regulation 3 - 

    (a) expenditure incurred in connection with the authority's functions in relation to the provision of primary and secondary education; and

    (b) expenditure on items listed in paragraph 25(a) to (d) and (r) to (t) of Schedule 1 or, as the case may be, paragraph 28(a) to (d) and (r) to (t) of Schedule 2, in so far as such expenditure does not fall within sub-paragraph (a) above.

    (2) For the purposes of this Part expenditure does not include expenditure defrayed by fees and charges collected by the governing body of a maintained school which are - 

    (a) specifically required or permitted to be collected by any provision of the Education Acts; or

    (b) in respect of the use of school premises or equipment.

Exceptions
    
3. A local education authority's local schools budget shall not include the following classes or descriptions of expenditure - 

Individual schools budget for local education authorities in England
     4. A local education authority in England may deduct from their local schools budget any or all of the classes or descriptions of planned expenditure set out in Schedule 1, in whole or in part, in order to arrive at their individual schools budget for a financial year.

Individual schools budget for local education authorities in Wales
    
5.  - (1) Subject to paragraphs (2) to (4), a local education authority in Wales may deduct from their local schools budget any or all of the classes or descriptions of planned expenditure set out in Schedule 2, in whole or in part, in order to arrive at their individual schools budget for a financial year.

    (2) Paragraphs 23, 25, 29, 39 and 42 of Schedule 2 do not apply in relation to planned expenditure in respect of schools which are, or were immediately before 1st April 1999, grant-maintained schools.

    (3) In the case of planned expenditure in respect of other maintained schools, planned expenditure of a kind referred to in paragraphs 23, 29, 39 and 42 of Schedule 2 - 

    (4) Planned expenditure of the kind referred to in paragraph 25(a) of Schedule 2 in relation to secondary schools may not be deducted by an authority from their local schools budget for any financial year beginning after 1st April 1999.



PART III

SCHOOLS' BUDGET SHARES

Determination of budget shares
    
6. This Part applies for the purpose of determining the amount which a local education authority may determine as a maintained school's budget share for a financial year.

Allocation of individual schools budget
    
7. A local education authority shall allocate in each financial year in accordance with this Part all of their individual schools budget for that financial year as the budget shares of schools which they maintain.

Timing of initial determination of budget shares
    
8. The amount of a school's budget share for a financial year shall be initially determined by the local education authority before the beginning of that year.

Consultation
    
9.  - (1) A local education authority shall consult the governing body and head teacher of every county, voluntary, maintained special, grant-maintained or grant-maintained special school within the meaning of the 1996 Act which they will maintain on 1st April 1999 in relation to the factors and criteria which the authority propose to take into account, in the formula referred to in regulation 10, in determining budget shares for the financial year beginning on 1st April 1999 and in relation to any methods, principles and rules which they propose to adopt in that formula in relation to such determinations.

    (2) In relation to subsequent financial years a local education authority shall consult the governing body and head teacher of every school which they maintain about proposed changes in relation to the factors and criteria that were taken into account, or the methods, principles and rules that were adopted, in their formula in the preceding financial year (including any new factors, criteria, methods, principles or rules).

    (3) Consultation under this regulation shall take place in sufficient time to allow the outcome to be taken into account in the determination of the authority's formula and in the initial determination of schools' budget shares before the beginning of a financial year.

    (4) The requirement to consult in paragraph (1) can be satisfied by consultation which takes place on and after 20th October 1998 in the case of a local education authority in England, or on and after 23rd October 1998 in the case of a local education authority in Wales, and (in either case) before the coming into force of these Regulations.

    (5) A local education authority shall inform all those who were consulted of the outcome of the consultation.

Formula for determination of budget shares
    
10.  - (1) A local education authority shall determine before the beginning of a financial year, and after the consultation referred to in regulation 9, the formula which they will use to determine schools' budget shares in that financial year having regard to the factors, criteria and requirements set out in this Part.

    (2) A local education authority shall have regard to the desirability of such a formula being simple, objective, measurable and predictable in effect, and clearly expressed.

    (3) Subject to regulation 23 a local education authority shall use the formula determined under paragraph (1) in all determinations and redeterminations of budget shares in respect of that financial year.

Pupil numbers
    
11.  - (1) In determining budget shares for primary and secondary schools, a local education authority shall take into account in their formula the number of registered pupils (other than pupils in places which the authority recognise as reserved for children with special educational needs or for children in nursery classes) at those schools on such date or dates as may be determined by the authority, weighted if the authority consider it appropriate in accordance with paragraph (7).

    (2) Paragraphs (3) and (4) shall not apply in relation to pupils in nursery or reception classes whom the authority take into account under paragraph (1) (pupils in nursery classes not occupying places which the authority recognise as reserved for such pupils or pupils in reception classes).

    (3) Where the authority determine only one date for the purposes of paragraph (1) that must be a date which falls - 

    (a) before 1st April in the financial year in question; and

    (b) in the school year in which 1st April in the financial year in question falls.

    (4) Where the authority determine more than one date for the purposes of paragraph (1) then - 

    (a) one of those dates must satisfy paragraph (3);

    (b) of the other date or dates - 

      (i) no date may be earlier than the beginning of the school year in which 1st April in the financial year in question falls;

      (ii) the authority may determine a date or dates which are in the future and estimate the number of registered pupils at the school on that date.

    (5) An authority may in determining budget shares for special schools, or for primary or secondary schools with places which the authority recognise as reserved for children with special educational needs or for children in nursery classes, take into account in their formula the number of registered pupils at those special schools or the number of pupils in those reserved places at primary or secondary schools on such date or dates as may be determined by the authority, weighted if the authority consider it appropriate in accordance with paragraph (7).

    (6) If the authority estimate the number of registered pupils at a school they must consult the head teacher of the school.

    (7) A local education authority may weight pupil numbers according to any or all of the following factors - 

    (a) age, including weighting according to key stage or year group;

    (b) whether a pupil is provided with nursery education by a school;

    (c) the subject or course of study in the case of pupils in a sixth form;

    (d) special educational needs; and

    (e) whether a pupil is being educated through the medium of Welsh.

    (8) A local education authority may adjust the number of registered pupils used to determine a school's budget share where it is appropriate to do so in order to take into account, wholly or partly, the permanent exclusion of a pupil from the school or the admission of a pupil following his permanent exclusion from another school maintained by a local education authority.

Places
    
12. In determining budget shares for special schools, or for primary or secondary schools with places which the authority recognise as reserved for children with special educational needs or for children in nursery classes, the local education authority may take into account in their formula the number of places which they wish to fund at those special schools or the number of places of the kind described above at those primary or secondary schools and in both cases may take account of the special educational needs in question.

Schools of a particular description
    
13. Where a local education authority deduct from their local schools budget planned expenditure which relates to maintained schools of a particular description, they shall include factors or criteria in their formula in respect of that planned expenditure in relation to maintained schools which do not fall within that description.

Discrimination by reference to category
    
14. A local education authority shall not use in their formula any factors or criteria which discriminate between schools by reference to their category under the 1998 Act or their category under the 1996 Act except where - 

justify such discrimination.

Additional factors or criteria
    
15. A local education authority may, in determining budget shares for schools which they maintain, take into account in their formula, as they consider appropriate, any or all of the factors or criteria set out in Schedule 3.

Budget share adjustments
    
16.  - (1) Subject to paragraph (3), where a school's budget share (within the meaning of the 1996 or 1998 Act) or maintenance grant for the preceding financial year was - 

the local education authority shall determine that school's budget share so as to take into account those differences.

    (2) Subject to paragraph (3) and regulation 21, a local education authority may determine a school's budget share so as to take into account any other change during the course of the preceding financial year in the data by reference to which the school's budget share (within the meaning of the 1996 or 1998 Act) or maintenance grant for that year was determined, if those changes were not taken into account in a redetermination of the school's budget share or maintenance grant for that preceding financial year.

    (3) Paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not apply to a school which received transitional funding under regulation 9 of the 1998 Regulations in that preceding financial year.

    (4) A local education authority may adjust the number of registered pupils used to determine a school's budget share where it is appropriate to do so in order to take into account, wholly or partly - 

    (5) A local education authority shall include factors or criteria in their formula which satisfy the requirements of this regulation.

 
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