Asked by: Michael Fabricant (Conservative - Lichfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria were used to calculate the uplift of (a) primary and (b) secondary students grant per pupil in each local education authority; and for what reasons Staffordshire received no special uplift.
Answered by David Laws
In 2015-16, in addition to funding all local authorities at the same cash level per pupil as in 2014-15, we will add a further £350 million funding for the least fairly-funded authorities.To allocate this as fairly as possible, we selected the characteristics we think contribute most to the attainment of pupils and viability of schools, and set indicative minimum funding levels for each of these. The characteristics we selected were as follows:
1. An age-weighted basic per pupil unit of funding; and
2. Additional units of funding for:
2.1. deprived pupils;
2.2. pupils with low attainment;
2.3. pupils with English as an additional language;
2.4. children who are looked after, for example in foster care;
2.5. a lump sum for all schools, regardless of size, to help with fixed costs; and
2.6. funding for schools serving sparsely populated rural areas.
These are all characteristics that local authorities already use in distributing schools funding. We looked at the average value attached by local authorities to each of these characteristics and used these as a basis for our proposed minimum funding levels for primary and secondary pupils and schools. As Staffordshire already attracts funding above these levels, it does not stand to gain from these proposals.
Full details of our methodology can be found in the consultation document at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/fairer-schools-funding-2015-to-2016
Asked by: Michael Fabricant (Conservative - Lichfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the education funding per pupil is in (a) Staffordshire and (b) Brent for 2014-15.
Answered by David Laws
The information requested is provided in the table below.
Funding per pupil (Dedicated schools grant) 2014-15 |
Early years block per pupil, 2014-15 |
Higher needs block 2014-15 total* | |
Staffordshire | £4,310 | £3,515 | £62.19 million |
Brent | £5,066 | £5,930 | £55.54 million |
*High needs funding is no longer allocated on a per-pupil basis.
In addition, schools will receive money from the pupil premium for pupils recorded on the January 2014 School Census: £1,300 for each primary pupil, and £935 for each secondary pupil, known to have been eligible for free school meals in the last six years; £1,900 per pupil for each pupil recorded as adopted from care under the Adoption and Children Act 2002 or who has left care under a Special Guardianship or Residence Order; and £300 for each pupil whose parents were in the armed services in the last four years or is in receipt of a child pension from the Ministry of Defence.