Decision details

Mainstream schools and academies, and the North Yorkshire Schools Forum are to be consulted on the transfer of 0.5% funding from the Schools Block Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) to the High Needs budget for the 2024/25 financial year. In the event of the North Yorkshire Schools Forum not supporting the transfer request and the local authority still seeking to proceed with the transfer, the local authority will be required to submit a disapplication request to the DfE for Secretary of State consideration of the request. An in-principle approval for the submission of the disapplication request to the DfE is requested, in the event of this being required.
The final decision on the 2024/25 school budget, including any transfer of funding, where permitted, from the Schools Block DSG to the High Needs budget, will be taken by the Executive on 9 January 2024

To approve the submission of a disapplication request by North Yorkshire Council to the Department for Education (DfE), for consideration by the Secretary of State, for a 0.5% funding transfer from the 2024/25 Schools Block of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) to the High Needs Block DSG.
The disapplication request will be required to be enacted with the DfE in the event of the North Yorkshire Schools Forum not supporting the local authority proposed funding transfer at its meeting on 23 November 2023

The North Yorkshire Council Budget / MTFS makes provision for the projected high needs overspend. It does this by ensuring that there is sufficient funding to pay for the statutory services which the council has a duty to deliver and any deficit on DSG is set to be earmarked on the balance sheet at the year-end. The Budget / MTFS also provides for an equal and opposite provision to offset the projected deficit. In this way the Council is able to offset any deficit but, should the DfE provide the appropriate level of additional funds, then the Council can re-claim the offsetting provision and reduce its level of projected funding gap. The Council is therefore not currently funding the DSG deficit but is funding provision for the possibility that it may need to in the future in line with good and prudent financial practice.
The proposed funding transfer from the Schools Block DSG to the High Needs Block for the 2024/25 financial year would reduce the amount of Council budget provision required for this purpose.