The School and Early Years Finance and Childcare (Provision of Information About Young Children) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2024

Additional criteria: schools

24.—(1) In order to determine the budget shares for schools maintained by it (other than special schools, pupil referral units and nursery schools), a local authority—

(a) must comply with the requirements for minimum per pupil funding, set out in regulation 26; and

(b) may take into account in its formula either or both of the criteria specified in paragraph (3).

(2) For the purposes of complying with the requirement mentioned in paragraph (1)(a), the date for ascertaining pupil numbers or proportions is 5th October 2023, unless these Regulations provide otherwise.

(3) In determining a formula under this regulation, a local authority may also take into account—

(a) non-domestic rates payable in respect of the premises of each school;

(b) payments in relation to a private finance initiative,

which may be determined on the basis of actual or estimated cost.

(4) Subject to paragraphs (6) and (7), where a school would otherwise receive a greater amount of redetermined adjusted budget share per pupil than it did in the previous funding period, the local authority may do one or both of the following—

(a) determine a percentage beyond which the per pupil amount of redetermined adjusted budget may not increase;

(b) determine a percentage by which the amount that the per pupil redetermined adjusted budget share would otherwise increase by will be reduced.

(5) Schedule 3 (minimum funding guarantee) applies for the purposes of interpreting the terms used in paragraph (4).

(6) Where the local authority decides to take one or both of the actions described in paragraph (4)(a) and (b)—

(a) this must be applied to the budget shares of all schools in the local authority’s area; and

(b) the local authority must ensure that no school in the area receives a budget share that is less than the amount it would receive under regulation 26 (the minimum per pupil amount).

(7) Paragraph (4) does not apply to the determination of budget shares for—

(a) special schools;

(b) pupil referral units;

(c) nursery schools; and

(d) any school that has opened since 1st April 2017 and does not yet have pupils in each year group for which it proposes to provide education.