Education Act 1996

65 Grants in respect of expenditure on premises or equipment

(1) The Secretary of State may—

(a) in the case of any aided school or special agreement school, or

(b) where proposals have been approved under section 43 for a school or proposed school to be maintained as a voluntary school and the Secretary of State has made an order under section 48 directing that the school is to be an aided school,

make grants to the governing body in respect of qualifying expenditure incurred by them.

(2) In subsection (1) “qualifying expenditure” means expenditure in respect of the provision, alteration or repair of premises or equipment for the school or proposed school.

(3) The amount of any grant paid under this section to the governing body in respect of any such expenditure—

(a) shall not exceed 85 per cent. of the expenditure, and

(b) in the case of any prescribed class or description of such expenditure, shall be such as may be determined in accordance with regulations.

(4) The times at which, and the manner in which, payments are made in respect of grant under this section shall be such as may be determined from time to time by the Secretary of State.

(5) Without prejudice to any other duty of his, the Secretary of State shall, in performing functions relating to the exercise of the power under this section to make grants in respect of expenditure on—

(a) such alterations to school buildings as are referred to in section 59(3)(a), or

(b) the repair of school buildings,

give priority to paying grant in respect of expenditure which is necessary for the performance by governing bodies of their duties; and the amount of any grant paid in the exercise of that power in respect of such expenditure on the repair of school buildings shall be 85 per cent. of the expenditure.

(6) A governing body to whom any payment is made in respect of grant under this section shall comply with such requirements determined by the Secretary of State as he may from time to time impose.

(7) Such requirements—

(a) may be imposed on, or at any time after, the making of any payment by reference to which they are imposed, and

(b) may at any time be waived, removed or varied by the Secretary of State.

(8) Such requirements may, in particular, if any conditions specified in the requirements are satisfied, require the payment to the Secretary of State of the whole or any part of the following amount.

(9) That amount is—

(a) the amount of the payments made in respect of the grant under this section, or

(b) so much of the value of any premises or equipment in respect of which grant was paid under this section as is determined in accordance with the requirements to be properly attributable to the payment of such grant,

whichever is the greater.

(10) No such requirement as is referred to in subsection (8) may be imposed where any payment is made in respect of grant under this section if—

(a) the grant is made in respect of the provision, alteration or repair of premises for a school or proposed school, and

(b) any freehold interest in the premises in respect of which the grant is made is, or is to be, held on trust for the purposes of the school.

(11) No grant may be paid under this section—

(a) in respect of any expenses incurred in the provision of any premises which it is the duty of the local education authority to provide, or

(b) in the case of a special agreement school, in respect of expenses incurred in the execution of proposals to which the special agreement relates or of repairs or alterations for the execution of which provision is made by the agreement.

(12) In relation to a proposed school, the references in this section to the governing body, in relation to any time before such a body are constituted, are to the persons who propose to establish the school; and where requirements are imposed in relation to grant paid under this section to such persons, the requirements shall be complied with by the governing body, when they are constituted, as well as by those persons.

(13) In this section “repair” does not include repair falling within section 59(4).