The Financing of Maintained Schools (England) (No. 2) Regulations 2003

Minimum funding guarantee

15.—(1) A local education authority shall in determining budget shares for primary schools (but not including maintained nursery schools) and secondary schools include an amount equal to the minimum funding guarantee.

(2) The minimum funding guarantee is the amount by which any such school’s guaranteed funding level for the financial year beginning on 1st April 2004 exceeds the school’s initially determined adjusted budget share for that year, or, in the case of a redetermination carried out in accordance with regulation 21, that budget share.

(3) The minimum funding guarantee does not apply to any such school opening on or after 1st April 2004 save in the circumstances set out in paragraph 4 of Schedule 2.

(4) Schedule 2 has effect for the purpose of determining any such school’s guaranteed funding level.

(5) For the purposes of this regulation, any such school’s adjusted budget share is its budget share determined in accordance with this Part and Part 3 but not taking into account the effect of this regulation, regulations 12, 16(1), 18, 19, 22, 23, 24, and 25, paragraphs 8 and 29 of Schedule 1 and any amounts added in respect of funding for named pupils which is deducted from a school’s budget share when that pupil leaves school, including amounts for pupil exclusions above that permitted by regulation 22 but not including amounts for the cost of providing free school meals.

(6) A local education authority shall provide in their formula that any amount allocated in accordance with regulation 11(1)(a) in respect of a place at a special school shall be at least 4% higher than the amount initially determined in relation to the financial year beginning on 1st April 2003 in respect of a place appropriate to a pupil with the same characteristics at that school under the corresponding provision of the 2003 Regulations.

(7) That portion of the initially determined budget share of a special school for the financial year beginning on 1st April 2004 calculated otherwise than in accordance with regulation 11 (but not including adjustments due under regulations 18, 19 and 22) shall be at least 4% higher than that portion of the initially determined budget share for the financial year beginning on 1st April 2003 calculated otherwise than in accordance with regulation 11 of the 2003 Regulations but not including regulations 17, 18 and 22 of those Regulations.