Education Act 1996

Provision by a scheme for determination of budget shares

105 Calculation of local education authority’s aggregated budget

(1) The part of a local education authority’s general schools budget for a financial year which is available for allocation to individual schools under a scheme (and as such constitutes the authority’s “aggregated budget” for the year under the scheme) is the amount remaining after deducting from the amount of the authority’s general schools budget for the year—

(a) the amount of any expenditure of the authority in the year on excepted heads or items of expenditure; and

(b) any other amounts which fall in accordance with the scheme to be deducted in determining the authority’s aggregated budget for the year.

(2) In subsection (1) “amount” means an amount determined (and from time to time revised) in accordance with the scheme.

(3) In subsection (1) “excepted heads or items of expenditure” means the following heads or items of expenditure (so far as taken into account in determining the authority’s general schools budget for the year)—

(a) all expenditure treated by the authority as expenditure of a capital nature;

(b) all expenditure in respect of the repayment of the principal of, the payment of interest on and the discharge of any other financial obligation in connection with any loan raised to meet expenditure falling within paragraph (a);

(c) expenditure falling to be taken into account in determining central government grants of any prescribed description; and

(d) such other items of expenditure as may be prescribed.

106 Application of the allocation formula

(1) The provision to be included in a scheme for determining the budget share for a financial year of each school required to be covered by the scheme in that year shall require that share to be determined (and from time to time revised) by the application of the allocation formula under the scheme.

(2) For the purposes of this Part the “allocation formula” under a scheme is a formula laid down by the scheme for the purpose of dividing among all schools required to be covered by the scheme in any financial year the local education authority’s aggregated budget for the year.

(3) In subsection (2) “formula” includes methods, principles and rules of any description, however expressed.

(4) The allocation formula under a scheme—

(a) shall include provision for taking into account, in the case of each school required to be covered by the scheme in any financial year, the number and ages of registered pupils at that school on such date or dates as may be determined by or under the scheme in relation to that year, and

(b) may include provision for taking into account any other factors affecting the needs of individual schools which are subject to variation from school to school (including, in particular, the number of registered pupils at a school who have special educational needs and the nature of the special educational provision required to be made for them).

(5) The allocation formula shall, however, not include provision for taking into account persons provided with—

(a) part-time education suitable to the requirements of persons of any age over compulsory school age, or

(b) full-time education suitable to the requirements of persons who have attained the age of 19.

(6) A scheme shall provide for all amounts relevant to the determination of a school’s budget share under the scheme for a financial year to be determined initially before the beginning of that year.