The Schools Budget Shares (Wales) Regulations 2004

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

A local education authority’s individual schools budget is to be divided between the schools which they maintain in the form of budget shares for each school. These Regulations provide the basis on which, for any financial year beginning after 31 March 2005, a local education authority may determine the amount from their individual schools budget to be allocated to each school as its budget share for a financial year.

Subject to transitional provisions in regulation 3, these Regulations revoke on 1 April 2005 the Financing of Maintained Schools Regulations 1999 (to the extent not previously revoked) as amended by the Financing of Maintained Schools (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2000; the Financing of Maintained Schools (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2001; the Financing of Maintained Schools (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2002 and the Financing of Maintained Schools (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2003.

Regulation 4 requires a local education authority to allocate all of its individual schools budget for a financial year as the budget shares of schools which they maintain.

Regulation 5 requires the initial determination of a school’s budget share to take place before the beginning of the financial year in which it will apply. A local education authority is permitted to retain an amount of the individual schools budget for redetermination or correction of errors.

Regulation 6 indicates when and who the local education authority must consult about any proposed changes to the factors and criteria or the methods, principles and rules which were adopted in their formula.

Regulation 7 requires the local education authority to determine the formula to be used in determining schools' budget shares in the financial year having regard to the factors, criteria and requirements in the Regulations.

Regulation 8 describes the circumstances in which a local education authority must take into account in their formula the numbers of registered pupils at the schools. The requirement does not include pupils over compulsory school age or children in places reserved for special educational needs.

Regulation 9 makes provision for pupils registered at more than one school.

Regulation 10 enables a local education authority to make provisions in their formula in relation to determining budget shares for special schools and schools with places reserved for children with special educational needs.

Regulation 11 requires a local education authority to include factors or criteria in their formula in respect of deductions from their schools budget of planned expenditure relating to schools of a particular description.

Regulation 12 precludes a local education authority from making provision in their formula which discriminate between schools by reference to their category except where it is justified by differences in the functions of the governing bodies of schools of different categories.

Regulation 13 enables a local education authority in specified circumstances to take into account the factors or criteria set out in the Schedule to these Regulations in determining budget shares for schools. A local education authority is also required to take account in their formula in determining budget shares a factor or factors based on the incidence of social deprivation among pupils.

Regulation 14 makes provision for the funding of pupils over compulsory school age. In providing budget shares the local education authority is required to include a sum allocated in accordance with the conditions of grant payable by the National Council under s36 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000.

Regulation 15 requires the local education authority to redetermine a secondary school’s budget share where the National Council notifies a revision in the grant previously determined.

Regulation 16 requires the local education authority to make budget share adjustments to take account of changes to numbers of registered pupils and change to other data in the preceding financial year. The local education authority must include factors or requirements in their formula to satisfy the requirements of the regulation.

Regulation 17 requires the local education authority to include factors or criteria in their formula to enable them to determine a school’s budget share where specified reorganisation of the school has occurred or will take place.

Regulation 18 requires the local education authority to include factors or criteria in their formula to redetermine a school’s budget share if they wish to take account of specified changes to pupil numbers and other changes.

Regulation 19 provides formulae to be used to redetermine a school’s budget share where a pupil is permanently excluded from a school.

Regulation 20 requires the local education authority to ensure that in determining budget shares their formula provides that at least 70 per cent of the amount which is their individual schools budget is allocated in one or more of the specified manners.

Regulation 21 enables a local education authority to redetermine a school’s budget share for that financial year to correct an error.

Regulation 22 enables the National Assembly to authorise the local education authority to determine or redetermine budget shares in accordance with approved arrangement that supersede the requirements of the Regulations.