Issue - meetings

Background:

This report provided details of the final funding proposals for Medway’s schools and academies for 2018/2019. Officers, working with the Schools Forum, had consulted with schools and academies on the proposed new funding formula options for 2018/2019. It was noted that the Schools Forum had recommended these options to Cabinet in November 2017, which were approved.

Final pupil numbers and the total funding available through the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) had been confirmed by government in December 2017.

The Schools Forum met on 10 January 2018 and its final recommendations to Cabinet were set out in the first addendum report. A second addendum report provided the revised funding available for each funding factor, after the 2018/19 final funding formula had been processed using the revised census data issued by the Education and Skills Funding Agency.

The Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services (Lead Member) placed on record his thanks to the Schools Forum.

It was noted that in line with rule 15.11 of Chapter 4, Part 5 of the Constitution, call-in could be waived where any delay likely to be caused by the call-in process would seriously prejudice the Council’s or the public’s interests. In this case, the deadline for the submission of the final funding formula to the Education and Skills Funding Agency was 19 January 2018. The Chairman of the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee had agreed that the decisions proposed were reasonable in all the circumstances and to them being treated as a matter of urgency and to waive call-in.

Reasons:

The local authority is required to implement the funding formula changes from 2018-19 in accordance with the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2014. This is a Cabinet function.

The deadline for the submission of the final funding formula to the Education and Skills Funding Agency is 19 January 2018.