Issue - meetings

Recommendations:

Executive Members are asked to note the contents of this report, and to recommend to the Chief Executive Officer that using his emergency powers (as outlined in section 2) to agree that the Council:

i.      Applies a Minimum Funding Guarantee (MFG) of +2.0% in the calculation of school budgets for the 2022/23 financial year.

ii.     Uses age weighted pupil units (AWPU) as the methodology for the allocation to school budgets of any surplus funding available within the Schools Block DSG after the calculation of the school funding formula using National Funding Formula (NFF) values.

iii.    Includes an exceptional circumstance lump sum of £50,000 for very small sparse secondary schools (which would otherwise be unable to attract sufficient funding to remain viable) in the 2022/23 North Yorkshire school funding formula. The estimated £100k additional funding requirement to be funded from the DSG Schools Block Reserve.

iv.   Continues to push for a fairer and more equitable funding settlement for schools in North Yorkshire, and continue to lobby for a fairer settlement of High Needs resources.

Considered:

A report of the Corporate Director for Children & Young People’s Services seeking Executive approval for a number of recommendations relating to school funding for 2022-23.

County Councillor Patrick Mulligan introduced the report and drew members’ attention to the key factor this year of an increase in the national funding formula of 3%, and to the proposed awarding of a £50k lump sum to two small rural secondary schools from the Education Authority’s reserve DSG fund.   He highlighted the County Council’s ongoing concerns for its rural schools which over recent years had struggled as a result of under-funding, and stressed the awarding of reserve funds should be considered a red flag to the Authority.  He also noted the previous lobbying of Government that had taken place to try to address the situation, and it was agreed this should be continued, and raised ata future meeting with the local MPs.

Members noted the report and voted unanimously in favour of the report recommendations.  It was therefore

Resolved – That it be to recommend to the Chief Executive Officer that using his emergency powers he approve that the Council:

i.       Applies a Minimum Funding Guarantee (MFG) of +2.0% in the calculation of school budgets for the 2022/23 financial year.

ii.      Uses age weighted pupil units (AWPU) as the methodology for the allocation to school budgets of any surplus funding available within the Schools Block DSG after the calculation of the school funding formula using National Funding Formula (NFF) values.

iii.     Includes an exceptional circumstance lump sum of £50,000 for very small sparse secondary schools (which would otherwise be unable to attract sufficient funding to remain viable) in the 2022/23 North Yorkshire school funding formula. The estimated £100k additional funding requirement to be funded from the DSG Schools Block Reserve.

iv.   Continues to push for a fairer and more equitable funding settlement for schools in North Yorkshire, and continue to lobby for a fairer settlement of High Needs resources.